With improved quality of education and a truckload of facilities being now available, government schools are giving tough competition to private schools, as many students are seen shifting from private-run schools to government ones.
The number of students shifting from private to government schools across the state is increasing. According to the Primary Education Department, the figure stood at 33,822 in 2018-19 and 31,382 in 2019-20 respectively.
Sanjay Parmar, Banaskantha district primary education officer, shared that they had received 3,300 admissions of students who were earlier in private schools and then wanted to shift to government-run ones. He also shared that due to the increased facilities, the number is expected to reach 4,000. He further added that, due to this change, six private schools had to be shut down.
He then went ahead to say that, as of now, there are 2,352 government schools in the Banaskantha district and about three and a half lakh students are studying there. Thanks to Mission School of Excellence, the facilities and quality of education have both improved, which has led to more students wanting to attend government-run schools.
Locals also agreed that the quality of government schools has noticeably improved in the past few years.
Head teacher at Uttampura Green Primary School, Dantiwada in Banaskantha, Kamlesh Thakkar said that besides quality education, government schools are now also supplying various scholarships, mid-day meals, education through digital classrooms, libraries, science laboratory, RO plant installed water without charging the students a single penny. The aforesaid facilities have lured parents to shift their children to government schools, he said proudly. He also remarked that they had 9 such shifting cases the previous year, and this year there were seven such students who earlier studied in well known private schools but now are enrolled in their schools. He concluded by saying that, besides all the above facilities, the school also has excellent teachers, some of them who have even completed their doctorate degrees and Mphil, ensuring that the students get the optimum education.
One of the students who had shifted from a private-run school to a government school happily shared that she likes the way of teaching at the government schools, especially the classes set in digital classrooms.
In another feedback, Shantibhai Parmar, grandfather of a student studying in Uttampura school, said the campus had a lot of space, and great educational dissemination. He was glad that the future generation was in such good hands, and that too, without any financial strain!
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