As Gujarat Finance Minister Kanu Desai announced his fourth budget on Thursday, the education department of the state was provided a hefty chunk of the ₹3.70 lakh crore budge.

Schools and nutrition

The department was allotted ₹59,999 crore from the budget, with the provision of ₹617 core for Mukhyamantri Paushtik Alpahar Yojna, will give benefit to 41 lakh Students of 32,277 schools.

Centralised kitchen with the help of non-governmental organisations will provide nutritious/healthy food to the students of the government primary school in 72 Talukas with a provision of ₹551 crore.

Technical education and AI

A provision of ₹175 crore was made for the establishment of a Demonstrative Artificial Intelligence Lab at LD Engineering College in Ahmedabad, with plans to establish other AI Labs at six government technical institutions.

Gujarat Institute of Technology (GIT) was provided with ₹100 crore, with ₹8 crore set aside for the smart classrooms in five government colleges to improve NAAC and NIRF ratings.

A provision of ₹25 crore was made for the establishment of four regional i-Hub centres in the state as Ahmedabad i-Hub.

Moreover, a provision of ₹1250 crore for the Namo Lakshmi Yojana, ₹782 crore for students getting admission in private schools under the Right to Education Act, and ₹250 crore for the Namo Saraswati Science Scheme to assist approximately 2.5 lakh students was announced.

Educators and scholarships

Desai also noted that the process of recruiting approximately 22,000 teachers for government primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools is underway in Gujarat.

A provision of ₹2914 crore for infrastructural strengthening of 25,000 classrooms in primary and secondary schools under the Mission Schools of Excellence.

For Gyanshakti Residential Schools of Excellence, Mukhyamantri Gyan Sadhan Merit Scholorship, and Mukhyamantri Gyan Setu Merit Scholorship, ₹200 cr, ₹100 cr, and ₹70 cr were allotted, respectively.

Other allotments

For the bus fee concessions for the students travelling by state transportation buses, ₹223 crore were allotted.

A provision of ₹30 crore under the Gujarat Gyan Guru Quiz (G3Q), ₹410 crore to assist approximately 78,000 students under the Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojana (MYSY), and ₹32 crore to assist 2,500 students under the Mukhyamantri Sishyavruti Yojana (MSS) was announced.

To develop the high-quality research work, an allotment of ₹20 crore was also announced in the Budget 2025-26 for Gujarat.