Similarly, at the upper primary
level (classes VI to VIII), Gujarat ranked 14th in access, 3rd in
infrastructure, 12th in teacher and 21st in outcome among Indian
states. Put together the results of primary and upper primary
sections, Gujarat stood ninth.
Explaining the reason for the improvement in rank, an SSA official
said Gujarat has done majority of the implementation in 2022-12.
“For example, we recruited 11,689 teachers which improved the
student-teacher ratio. Also, in the same year, nearly 14,000
classrooms were built to boost the state’s performance in
infrastructure and enrolment. We added Class VIII in around 16,000
schools of the state which helped to retain the students,”
explained an official.
Officials also boasted that among the top 10 positions, four have
been occupied by Union Territories thereby putting Gujarat among
the top five states.
Sukhdev Patel, an education activist, however, said that it was
shameful for the state — which claims to be number one in every
category — occupying the ninth spot in education.
“Ideally, there should be no competition in education. All the
states should have 100 per cent results. But when there is an
evaluation like this, it is shameful that Gujarat ranked ninth.
Why is it not number one here? This shows how the Gujarat
government deceives us by giving fake figures of progress in
education,” said Patel.