AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government on Tuesday said in the state assembly that as of December 31, 2023, there are 341 government primary schools in the state operating in a single room. The Gujarat government had announced a provision of Rs 43,651 crore for the Education Department in 2023-24.
The Gujarat education minister was replying to a question from a Congress MLA on how many government primary schools in Gujarat have only one classroom.
In its written response, the government gave several reasons for the operation of one-room schools. These include the low number of children in the schools, the low number of teachers, the abandoning of some rooms due to dilapidation, and the non-availability of land for expansion.
In response to another question in the Assembly on Tuesday, the government also said that as of December 31, 2023, there are 140 approved posts in Education Service Class 1 in Gujarat, with 107 filled and 33 vacant, and 982 approved posts in Gujarat Education Service Class 2, with 542 filled and 440 vacant.
Gujarat Congress spokesperson Hiren Banker slammed the government, saying, “On the one hand, the government claims that there are no teachers, so they must teach in a single room; on the other hand, the vacancies for teachers are unfilled, indicating that the government prefers to privatize education and benefit businessmen over students."
Earlier, on February 12, 2024, the Gujarat government informed the legislative assembly that 1,606 of the state's 32,000 government primary schools operated with only one teacher for all students of classes 1 to 8.