Gujarat CM Patel urges 100pc school enrolment, says no child should be left out of education

Gandhinagar, June 17 (IANS) Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday called for achieving 100 per cent school enrolment across Gujarat, urging officials to ensure that no child is left out of the education system as the state prepares for 'Shala Praveshotsav and Kanya Kelavani Mahotsav 2026'. 

Addressing a guidance meeting in Gandhinagar ahead of the annual enrolment drive, Patel said Gujarat should retain its leading position in education by ensuring that every eligible child is enrolled in school.

He asked officials participating in the campaign to engage directly with parents and explain the importance of education and its role in the holistic development of children.

"We will move ahead with clear goals and a vision regarding what needs to be done and how it should be done to achieve 100 per cent school enrolment of children. If we explain this to parents, not a single child will remain deprived of school admission," Patel said.

The Chief Minister said the education outreach initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2003, when he was the state's Chief Minister, had now entered its 24th year.

He said the programme had evolved through continuous efforts to improve educational outcomes and access.

Patel noted that Gujarat's school dropout rate had declined to around one per cent and said the achievement reflected sustained efforts to increase enrolment.

"Alongside enrolling children in schools, equal attention should be paid to improving reading, writing and numeracy skills through 'Gunotsav' so that all students successfully complete their studies," he said.

During the event, Patel launched the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020-based State Curriculum Framework (SCF), the School Quality Assessment and Assurance Framework (SQAAF), and the Nipun Gujarat Programme, a three-year initiative running from 2026-27 to 2028-29 aimed at strengthening foundational learning in primary education.

Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said schools should focus not only on academic learning but also on developing habits, values and life skills among children.

"If habits of cleanliness, health and good values are nurtured in children from an early age, they will become responsible and good citizens in the future," he said.

Sanghavi urged officials to treat the three-day enrolment campaign as a social responsibility rather than a routine administrative exercise.

"Teachers and parents should work together to encourage children to maintain cleanliness, wash their hands before meals and develop healthy daily habits," he said.

He also commended the Education Department and the administrative machinery for tracing and re-enrolling around 6.5 lakh children who had dropped out of school during the previous academic session.

He expressed confidence that continued efforts by society and the government could reduce the dropout ratio to zero.

State Education Minister Dr Pradyuman Vaja said Gujarat had secured first place nationally in the Swachh and Harit Vidyalaya Rating, while 15 schools from the state had earned recognition in the ranking.

He added that "Rajkot district had been ranked seventh among the country's top 10 districts".

Describing the launch of the SCF, SQAAF and the Nipun Gujarat campaign as the beginning of a new phase in education, Vaja said: "Gujarat had already achieved the goals of universal enrolment and improved school infrastructure through initiatives such as Shala Praveshotsav and Gunotsav. The state's focus was now shifting towards improving educational quality."

He said the State School Standards Authority had established uniform quality benchmarks for government and private schools and that schools would undergo scientific assessments based on standards prepared by the Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training (GCERT), with the results to be made public.

"NEP 2020 and the Nipun Gujarat campaign would encourage creativity, innovation, research aptitude and experiential learning among students," he said.

Chief Secretary M.K. Das said Shala Praveshotsav was launched in 2003 to ensure that every child entered school and received an education.

He said the initiative had contributed significantly to improvements in educational quality and access across Gujarat.

Referring to a recent NITI Aayog meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Das said: "Nutrition, education and health had been identified as key priorities."

He stressed that enrolment and regular attendance were essential to further improve educational outcomes and reduce the dropout rate.

"Only when every child enters school and attends regularly will educational indicators improve further. Children who have left school must also return if the dropout ratio is to reach zero," he said.

Principal Secretary of the Education Department Milind Torawane noted that Shala Praveshotsav 2026 was not merely an admission drive but a broader movement aimed at connecting every child with mainstream education.

He said data-based mapping of students from Balvatika to Class 12 had been carried out to ensure that no child remained outside the education system, while a statewide campaign had also been launched to reconnect children at risk of dropping out.

"The Education Department had integrated data from multiple departments, including health services, to identify and reach children requiring support," he said.

Commissioner of Schools and GCERT Director Anand Patel emphasised that Gujarat had taken another significant step towards strengthening its education system in line with the objectives of NEP 2020.

Short films explaining the features of the SCF, SQAAF and the Nipun Gujarat campaign were screened during the event.

The programme was attended by state ministers, senior government officials, Education Department officers, representatives of educational organisations and teachers.

Collectors, district development officers and education officials from across Gujarat participated virtually.

During the event, authorisation letters were handed over to District Education Officers for five of the 298 secondary schools approved in the 2026-27 state budget.

--IANS

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