Gujarat model was what Narendra Modi had invoked extensively in order to win the historic mandate during 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Since then, a lot has emerged that, according to critics, has already punctured the much-publicised image of Gujarat as a truly developed state, particularly during Modi’s stint as chief minister for over 10 years.
A report in The Indian Express said that nearly six lakh Class VI students from government primary schools in Gujarat had failed to write words and simple sentences in their mother tongue, Gujarati.
The Gujarat government’s annual exercise to evaluate and grade the quality of primary schools in the state, Gunotsav, also revealed that five lakh Class VI students had failed to read simple words and sentences in Gujarati.
Over 5.6 lakh couldn’t solve simple mathematical problems, while around 5 to 6 lakh students from Class VI-VIII were rated with similar results in all these three parameters — reading, writing and solving mathematical problems.
It was Modi who had introduced Gunotsav in 2009 while he was the state’s chief minister.
The state’s education minister blamed the Right to Education for the prevailing malaise in government schools of Gujarat.
Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said, “It is only because of RTE’s no-detention policy that the students of Class VI or VII are not able to read and write simple words. Students, parents and teachers are not bothered about studies as they know they would not be detained till Class VIII.”
English reported the highest decline of 4.4 per cent — from 59.9 to 55.5 per cent. The results in social science declined by 1.8 per cent, in Gujarati by 1.7 per cent and in mathematics from 54.8 to 54.4 per cent.
