Gujarat slips down in the rankings as students move from the primary (class 1 to 5) to the upper primary level (class 6 to 8) level. A Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) study, {lsquo}Elementary Education in India: Progress towards Universal Primary Education', suggests that there is a sharp decline of eight per cent between 2005 and 2008 in students moving from the lower primary level to the upper primary level in Gujarat. The study, prepared early this year, has ranked Gujarat No 9 in composite primary and upper primary education development index (EDI). However, when it comes to upper primary EDI, Gujarat's ranking slips to No 11 as against 8 at lower primary level.
While Gujarat's focus on school enrollment has been on girls, this fall comes mainly because of a high drop out among girls, in classes 6 to 8. In fact, as one moves higher, to secondary and higher secondary education, the enrollment of girls dips further. In urban as well as rural schools having classes from 1 to 12, the percentage of girl child enrollment is the worst in Gujarat compared to all Indian states. And this is not just a rural problem. In urban areas, in schools providing only primary education, 47.13 % students are girls
