To provide boost to primary education in the state, the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) has given an in-principle nod for 248 new self-financed schools.
The decision was taken after various proposals were discussed before the executive committee of the board. The approvals were considered over a series of meetings and decision finalized last week. The board has rejected as many as 345 proposals for new schools at the meeting.
Last year, the board’s decision to introduce stricter norms for new school projects resulted in a sharp decline in new schools coming up in the state.
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Of the 443 applications it received, the board gave its nod only for 10.6% or 47 new schools for 2019-20. Compared to the previous year this is a decline of 80% for as many as 226 new schools had been approved in 2017-18. The board had received 535 applications then.
One of the major reasons cited for the decline was that applicants could not meet the new criteria of school trusts owning a sizeable chunk of land, moving away from earlier norms that allowed leases.
