Promises and lies? 6 years on, 103 secondary schools still missing

It’s been at least half a decade since the government set aside ₹763.10 lakh for the setting up 103 state-run secondary schools across Gujarat.

In principle, the idea was solid.

However, six financial years after the plan was first proposed in the state budget for fiscal 2019, there has been no progress on the issue. 

According to the original plan, the state education department would set up 86 secondary schools in non-tribal areas and 17 in tribal areas. On the ground, however, authorities realized that this plan wasn’t as feasible as they’d originally thought, given the lack of space to establish whole new schools. So they decided to start the new secondary schools by utilizing the existing primary-school infrastructure. 

The state education department has realized that it needs to rethink its whole resolution, given that most primary schools are in a dilapidated condition. 

As a result, the education department has decided to amend its general resolution on the subject, to provide three options. These are based on the condition of primary schools in which secondary schools had also been planned. Primary schools where the infrastructure is adequate, will see secondary schools operate on the same premises in separate shifts. In case school timings overlap or if the school building does not have enough proper classrooms, the primary school may construct an additional room in which the secondary school will operate. The third option is that, where possible, the state will procure land to build a separate secondary school building. 

The government has directed the Commissioner of Schools' office to monitor and oversee the necessary construction or land acquisition process for the successful implementation of the amended plan. 

And there’s the rub: Authorities will only acquire fresh land if the primary school does not have a “large piece of land” (read: playground) on its premises. This begs the question, if secondary schools are built on primary school playgrounds, and primary schools are too dilapidated for kids to study in, where are the younger children meant to go?