Gujarat Education Overhaul: Govt Action After PARAKH

Gujarat Prepares Extensive Education Reforms Following PARAKH Survey Results

Daily Pulse News: The Gujarat government has taken significant steps toward an historic transformation of the state’s public education system. Following the startling results of the national-level learning assessment ‘PARAKH 2024’, the Education Department is now in action mode. The survey revealed that despite nearly 100% access at the primary level, there is a significant gap in children’s learning levels. Gujarat’s average learning score stands at 45, falling below the national average of 50. Notably, the score of 55 in Grade 3 drops to 39 by Grade 9, indicating a decline in educational quality as students progress.

To rectify this, the Chief Minister and top officials have decided that educational outcomes will be discussed in detail during every Wednesday Cabinet meeting. The state government plans a major decentralization of the education system. A coordination committee led by District Development Officers (DDOs) will now directly oversee primary-secondary education, DIET (District Institute of Education and Training), and infrastructure planning.

The biggest challenge lies in secondary education. Against 40,203 government primary schools, Gujarat has only 13,401 secondary schools. Due to this imbalance, underprivileged students are forced to rely on private schools for secondary education or drop out entirely. The government is now actively considering expanding the network of government secondary schools to prevent student migration to private institutions.

On the technical front, ‘Vidya Samiksha Kendra’ will be utilized to monitor student attendance and performance to identify potential drop-outs early. Furthermore, Gujarat will enhance social participation in education by adopting models like Maharashtra’s ‘Mothers Group’. In line with the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) 5+3+3+4 structure, the state will now emphasize skill-based and multidisciplinary education, where there will be no strict distinction between Arts or Science. Through these comprehensive changes, Gujarat aims to take its educational indicators to the top of the national rankings in the coming years.