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AHMEDABAD: When it comes to education Gujarat has much to answer for. As if being plagued by a high dropout rate was not enough, even in the national education development index, Gujarat is ranked 15th in the country. The Education Development Index (EDI) of Gujarat is 0.657 on a scale of 1. What's more, Gujarat's EDI is lower than that of Kerala, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. The central government recently told Lok Sabha that the objective of computing EDI is to ascertain the position of a state in terms of achieving the goals of universal elementary education.
The EDI was calculated on the basis of various parameters including availability of schools per 1000 school-going children. The other parameters include drinking water facilities, common toilet and separate toilet for girls, teacher-student ratio, enrolment ratio, drop-out rate and also the pass percentage of students. A senior official of the state education department of Gujarat said that EDI is a useful and valuable tool for need-based planning, and helps the states identify areas that need greater focus and support.
The official said the government has now begun taking up initiatives to improve infrastructure in the rural areas. He said that there are several schools which have now after 50 years of Gujarat's formation got separate toilets for girls. However, there are several schools in the state which do not have drinking water facilities. The official added that schools in rural areas are plagued by lack of teachers.
"Even after being appointed these teachers hardly ever report for duty." Education minister Ramanlal Vora said that state has launched a programme titled Gunotsav to find out the needs of the schools in the rural areas. "Under this programme we go to various schools in the rural areas to find out what they lack in terms of education quality and infrastructure." "Of late, the government has taken several initiatives and not a single school in rural areas lack drinking water or sanitation facilities. All the schools have separate toilet for girls," Vora claimed. The government is also taking steps to cut drop out rate. It has started 250 schools in rural areas so that more and more students at least complete their secondary education.
The EDI was calculated on the basis of various parameters including availability of schools per 1000 school-going children. The other parameters include drinking water facilities, common toilet and separate toilet for girls, teacher-student ratio, enrolment ratio, drop-out rate and also the pass percentage of students. A senior official of the state education department of Gujarat said that EDI is a useful and valuable tool for need-based planning, and helps the states identify areas that need greater focus and support.
The official said the government has now begun taking up initiatives to improve infrastructure in the rural areas. He said that there are several schools which have now after 50 years of Gujarat's formation got separate toilets for girls. However, there are several schools in the state which do not have drinking water facilities. The official added that schools in rural areas are plagued by lack of teachers.
"Even after being appointed these teachers hardly ever report for duty." Education minister Ramanlal Vora said that state has launched a programme titled Gunotsav to find out the needs of the schools in the rural areas. "Under this programme we go to various schools in the rural areas to find out what they lack in terms of education quality and infrastructure." "Of late, the government has taken several initiatives and not a single school in rural areas lack drinking water or sanitation facilities. All the schools have separate toilet for girls," Vora claimed. The government is also taking steps to cut drop out rate. It has started 250 schools in rural areas so that more and more students at least complete their secondary education.
