Study slams Gujarat government schools for poor facilities

An NGO which has studied implementation of the RTE Act in eight districts of Gujarat has found that 57 per cent of government schools in this district have a poor Pupil-to-Room Ratio (PRR).
The report was released by Jan Vikas, which studied implementation of RTE Act from October to December last year, in eight districts of the state.
PRR is the ratio of students to classrooms and the mandatory ratio is 30:1.
A total of 506 government schools, spread across the eight districts of Ahmedabad, Anand, Kheda, Kutch, Mehsana, Panchmahal, Sabarkantha and Vadodara were surveyed for parameters like PRR, Pupil-to-Teacher Ratio, seating arrangements, cooking facilities for Mid-Day Meals, drinking water, sanitation facilities, library facilities, computer facilities, facilities for the differently abled, separate toilets for boys and girls, among other parameters.

Of the 506 schools surveyed, 168 had classes up to fifth standard and 338 had classes up to eighth standard.
PRR ranges from 57 per cent of schools in Ahmedabad district to 100 per cent of schools in Kutch and Kheda having classes up to fourth standard. While, in classes up to sixth standard, the PRR ranges from 17 per cent in Vadodara to 87 per cent in Sabarkantha, the study said.
The study observed that all districts faced inadequate number of classrooms, especially in classes up to fourth standard, where teachers handled two standards in one classroom. It also said that this deterred students from attending school besides making it difficult for teachers to give quality inputs.

The study observed that while the state is at the forefront of infrastructure and industrial development, school infrastructure development also needs to be given priority, which would help create a comfortable environment for both students and teachers.