Gujarat amongst educationally backward states

Gandhinagar: With a meagre budgetary allocation of 13.9 per cent for education, Gujarat ranks amongst the educationally backward states in the country, state Congress president Arjun Modhvadiya said.

Gujarat ranked 14th in terms of budget allocation for the education sector, he said, during the discussion on budgetary demands for the Education Department in the Assembly.

“Number of students enrolled in state primary schools has dropped by 21 lakh. In 1999-2000, there were around 81.34 lakh students in primary schools, which got down to 61.32 lakh, a decline of around 21 lakh,” Modhvadiya claimed.

However, Education Minister Raman Vora refuted the claims, and blamed the Centre. “The Centre has allocated less than 50 per cent of the grants meant for the education sector, because of which the state government is facing hurdles in providing basic physical facilities,” Vora said.

“The number of students enrolled in schools has gone up primarily due to Kanya Kelavani Rath Yatra Shala Pravotsav and Gunostsav schemes, it has reached over 87 lakh,” he said.

For implementation of Right to Education Act, recruitment of 19,000 teachers was required, but only 15,000-odd could be recruited as Centre denied sanction, the minister alleged.