The Gujarat government is drawing criticism for the negligible funds it has allocated for implementing the concept of schools having 10 ‘bagless days’ as part of the New Education Policy (NEP). The central government had proposed inclusion of 'bagfree days' in the academic calendar to engage students of classes 6-8 in various activities. The Bhupendra Patel government, which approved the concept in a Cabinet meeting, is now facing flak since only Rs 4.44 has been earmarked per student for each bagless day.
Talking about the initiative, Minister for Primary, Secondary and Adult Education of Gujarat, Dr. Kuber Dindor, posted on social media that during the ‘bagfree days’, students have to participate in activities like gardening, carpentry, pottery, metal fabrication, etc. The policy also suggests that students be taken on tours of museums and heritage sites on such days.
According to Technical Education Minister Rushikesh Patel, schools can also organise sports events, celebrations of national festivals, or meetings with local artisans.
The implementation of bagless days will be piloted in the first week of January in491 upper primary schools of the state in the first phase, and 1,009 upper primary schools in the second phase in January-end, Patel said. A financial provision of Rs 2 crore has been made for this purpose, and Rs 15,000 will be
given per school, he added.
However, the amount is being called far less than adequate. Gujarat Prathimik Sikshak Sangh Prachar Mantri Narendra Gohil, who is also a teacher in Ahmedabad’s Barajea Government School, said, “If we consider two sections per class, each with an average of 50 students, that totals to 300 beneficiary
students. The number of schools to be covered in both phases come to 1,500. So in total, 4,50,000 students have been included in the scheme. A fund allocation of Rs 2 crore leaves only Rs 4.44 per student per bagless day.”
Former district education officer Kusumanssu Pota said, “If we assume that fewer children study in villages, and take an average figure of 60 children per school, even then the budget is too low. What kind of training will they get with this kind of money?”
Govind Modhera, former principal of Surat district Panchayat Primary School, called the whole announcement a joke. “If schools call an expert to the school, it usually costs Rs 3,000-4,000. Trips to museums and other sites involve expenses for travel, tickets, and some refreshments. This is not the first time the government has made a joke about the education system in Gujarat. It had earlier allocated Rs 150 for government schoolchildren's uniforms and Rs 500 for ‘Shala Pravesh Utsav’ (school entrance festivals),” he said.