Govt: 341 State-run primary schools in Gujarat functioning with single classroom

A total of 341 state-run primary schools in Gujarat functioned with single classrooms while more than 1,400 posts of administrative officers in the Education Department were lying vacant as of December 2023, the government told the legislative assembly on Tuesday. 

These facts were revealed in a written reply given by Education Minister Kuber Dindor to a query raised by Congress MLA Kirit Patel during Question Hour of the ongoing Budget session.

Demolition of dilapidated classrooms in recent times, sparse attendance of students, and non-availability of land to construct new classrooms are some of the reasons mentioned by the minister. 

He assured the House that new classrooms in these schools will be built in phases "as soon as possible".

Responding to another query raised by MLA Patel about vacant posts of class-1 and class-2 officers of the Gujarat Education Service cadre, Dindor said 781 posts were filled while 1,459 posts were lying vacant as of December 31, 2023. 

The minister said these vacant posts will be filled at the earliest through promotions and direct recruitment. During a discussion on the demands for grants, Patel alleged that the quality of education in Gujarat under the ruling BJP is deteriorating rapidly and the state stands nowhere in comparison to other states.

Dindor said more than 65,000 smart classrooms have been built by the state government so far and another 43,000 are under construction.

The minister also said that the dropout ratio in primary schools fell from 37.22 per cent to 2.68 per cent in 2022-23 due to the efforts undertaken by the government.