Beyond shala praveshotsav: Gujarat’s lag in enrolling children remains high

By Jag Jivan
Another three-day Gujarat government-sponsored Shala Praveshotsav, a “festival” involving the entire state officialdom, starting with the Gujarat chief minister, meant to enroll children at the primary level, has come to an end. An official release at the end of the festival claimed, “The state-wide enrollment drive gained great momentum under the leadership of chief minister Narendra Modi, who himself graced the mahotsav in Mendarada block of Chiroda, Samadhiyala and Rajesar primary school at Junagadh district.”
The official release claimed, on the third day, a total of 1,56,884 children in the age group 5+ years were enrolled, comprising 76,802 girls and 80,082 boys. It added, “Thus, in the three days of the enrollment drive, a total of 4,80,556 children consisting of 2,35,263 girls and 2,45,293 boys have been enrolled. Saying that ministers, “IAS, IPS and IFS officers of the state attended programmes at various backward blocks of Gujarat” for the festival, the release sought to celebrate “the festive spirit” amidst “joyous atmosphere in every village and town.”
Asserting that the total enrollment would near cent per cent, the release sought to describe the “festive atmosphere” in the following words: “Eligible children, dressed for the occasion, were taken to schools, where they were greeted with warm welcome by teachers, members school management committee (SMC) and other villagers. Welcomed with tilak on the forehead, the children were given sweets. Efforts were made to make them feel that a school is a place for fun and enjoyment. Enthusiastic participation was being reported from everywhere.”
This is not for the first time that such official releases are issued at the end of the Shala Praveshotsav, which suggest gross enrollment ratio. However, beyond the din of the festival, no efforts have been made to analyze what has been the net enrollment ratio, which would suggest the actual number of children who finally continue attending school. Nor are there any efforts suggesting the reason for those who fail to attend school. Without scrutinizing this, any effort to project enrollment as a festive occasion which could achieve wonders in three days has little meaning.
The latest National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) report, “Status of Education and Vocational Training in India”, brought out by the Union ministry of statistics and programme implementation in March 2013, suggests that these festivals have had little impact on the net enrollment of children. The sample survey suggests that Gujarat has far to go to ensure that those who enroll themselves at the primary level continue attending school, thus belying huge claims about successes in primary education. The situation is found to be bad both for boys and girls.
Gujarat’s net attendance ratio in rural areas at the primary level for the age-group 6-10 was found to be 73 per cent – 75 per cent for females and 72 per cent for males. One of the worst in India, whose average is 78 per cent, all states except Bihar (63 per cent) and Jharkhand (63 per cent), show a better performance than Gujarat. At the middle level, in the age-group 11-13, Gujarat’s net attendance ratio comes down to 51 per cent; in the age group 14-15 (secondary level), it is 40 per cent, and in the age-group 16-17 (higher secondary) it is a pathetic 21 per cent.
The situation is not rosy for the state’s urban areas as well. At 76 per cent (78 per cent for males and 72 per cent for females), the net enrolment ratio in the age-group 6-10 (primary) was lower than the all-India average of 78 per cent, with all except Bihar and Jharkhand showing a better performance. As one moves up, the percentage of attendance goes down – it 61 per cent in the age-group 11-13 (middle), 45 per cent in the age group 14-15 (secondary), and 42 per cent in the age-group 16-17 (higher secondary).
The NSS goes beyond this, and tries to find out reasons as to why children refuse to attend an educational institution. Taking an opinion from the age-group 5-29, as many as 45.8 per cent of the females (both rural and urban) said that they could not attend school because they had to attend to domestic chores, while another 18.2 per cent said they did not consider education as “necessary”. Further, a whopping 56.6 per cent of the males (both rural and urban) said they could not attend an educational institute because they should “supplement” household income.

Comments

Covishield controversy: How India ignored a warning voice during the pandemic

Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD * It is a matter of pride for us that a person of Indian origin, presently Director of National Institute of Health, USA, is poised to take over one of the most powerful roles in public health. Professor Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian origin physician and a health economist, from Stanford University, USA, will be assuming the appointment of acting head of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA. Bhattacharya would be leading two apex institutions in the field of public health which not only shape American health policies but act as bellwether globally.

Growth without justice: The politics of wealth and the economics of hunger

By Vikas Meshram* In modern history, few periods have displayed such a grotesque and contradictory picture of wealth as the present. On one side, a handful of individuals accumulate in a single year more wealth than the annual income of entire nations. On the other, nearly every fourth person in the world goes to bed hungry or half-fed.

'Serious violation of international law': US pressure on Mexico to stop oil shipments to Cuba

By Vijay Prashad In January 2026, US President Donald Trump declared Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security—a designation that allows the United States government to use sweeping economic restrictions traditionally reserved for national security adversaries. The US blockade against Cuba began in the 1960s, right after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but has tightened over the years. Without any mandate from the United Nations Security Council—which permits sanctions under strict conditions—the United States has operated an illegal, unilateral blockade that tries to force countries from around the world to stop doing basic commerce with Cuba. The new restrictions focus on oil. The United States government has threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sells or transports oil to Cuba.

Thali, COVID and academic credibility: All about the 2020 'pseudoscientific' Galgotias paper

By Jag Jivan The first page image of the paper "Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis" published in the Journal of Molecular Pharmaceuticals and Regulatory Affairs , Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2020), has gone viral on social media in the wake of the controversy surrounding a Chinese robot presented by the Galgotias University as its original product at the just-concluded AI summit in Delhi . The resurfacing of the 2020 publication, authored by Dharmendra Kumar , Galgotias University, has reignited debate over academic standards and scientific credibility.

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

The Galgotia model: How India is losing the war on knowledge

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Galgotia is the face of 'quality education' as envisioned by those who never considered education a tool for social change or national uplift — and yet this is precisely the model Narendra Modi pursued in Gujarat as Chief Minister. In the mid-eighties, when many of us were growing up, 'Nirma' became one of the most popular advertisements on Doordarshan. Whether the product was any good hardly seemed to matter.

Bangladesh goes to polls as press freedom concerns surface

By Nava Thakuria* As Bangladesh heads for its 13th Parliamentary election and a referendum on the July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus has urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests and prioritize the greater interests of the Muslim-majority nation, regardless of the poll outcomes.

Beyond the conflict: Experts outline roadmap for humane street dog solutions

By A Representative In a direct response to the rising polarization surrounding India’s street dog population, a high-level coalition of parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society leaders gathered in the capital to propose a unified national framework for humane animal management. The emergency deliberations were sparked by a recent Suo Moto judgment that has significantly deepened the divide between animal welfare advocates and those calling for the removal of community dogs, a tension that has recently escalated into reported violence against both animals and their caretakers in states like Telangana.

Search This Blog