AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government informed the Assembly on February 25, 2025, that 54 government primary schools across 33 districts had been shut down in the past two years due to plummeting student enrollment.
The disclosure, made by Primary, Secondary, and Adult Education Minister, came in response to a question by Congress MLA Kirit Patel (Patan), exposing a deepening education crisis in the state.
Schools Vanishing Across Districts
Devbhoomi Dwarka led the shutdowns with nine closures, followed by Aravalli (7), Amreli (6), and Porbandar (6)—each grappling with a sharp decline in student numbers.
Junagadh recorded four closures, while Chhota Udepur, Kutch, and Rajkot saw three schools shut down each, signaling the widespread impact.
Kheda, Jamnagar, and Navsari followed with two closures per district, further tightening the noose on struggling institutions. The crisis didn’t spare Bhavnagar, Dang, Gir Somnath, Mahesana, Panchmahal, Surat, and Surendranagar, each losing one primary school, underscoring a grim picture of shrinking educational access.
Single-Classroom Schools and Crumbling Infrastructure
Beyond school closures, infrastructure woes continue to haunt Gujarat’s education system. In February 2024, the government admitted in the Assembly that 341 primary schools were operating with just one room, responding to a query from Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar. Justifying the appalling conditions, officials blamed low student and teacher numbers, arguing that fewer classrooms were necessary. However, the situation is exacerbated by the demolition of dilapidated rooms, with authorities citing a lack of available land as the reason new classrooms cannot be built, leaving students crammed into single-room facilities with no solution in sight.
1,606 Schools Run with Just One Teacher
In another shocking disclosure on February 12, 2024, the Gujarat government admitted in the Assembly that 1,606 of the state's 32,000 government primary schools were running with only one teacher handling all students from Classes 1 to 8. The staggering figure highlights a severe staffing crisis in Gujarat’s education system, where thousands of students struggle for basic instruction in understaffed schools.
Playgrounds Vanishing, Holistic Development at Risk
The infrastructure crisis doesn’t stop at classrooms. The government further revealed that 5,012 government primary schools across Gujarat lack a playground, depriving students of crucial recreational space. The situation in secondary and higher secondary schools is equally alarming, with 78 government, 315 grant-in-aid, and 255 private institutions operating without playgrounds, despite Gujarat housing around 12,700 such schools.
Even private institutions are not spared, as 37 grant-in-aid and 509 private primary schools also lack on-campus playgrounds, highlighting a systemic neglect of student development. With shrinking school infrastructure, collapsing student enrollment, and teacher shortages, Gujarat’s education sector is facing one of its most severe crises in recent history.