GRANTED SECONDARY & HIGHER SECONDARY
In the wake of lowest Class X Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board results of 54.42 per cent in 2015, nearly 4.8 lakh students – over 45 per cent out of a total of 10.5 lakh students – failed to clear Class X. With nearly 10 per cent decline in 2015 results, this is an addition of over 1 lakh students than the year 2014. This implied a shortfall of nearly an equal number of students in Class XI.
The reduction in the number of students ranging between 16 to 33% will be applicable to schools in both rural and urban areas for both class and subsequent additional sections in Classes IX till XII. For instance, in Class XI in urban area grant-in-aid schools, the minimum number of students has been reduced from 60 to 40 and for an additional section this number has been reduced from 36 to 30. Similarly, in rural areas, from 60 to 40 students and for an additional section, from 24 to 20 students.
“During the current academic session, a large number of classes has been closed down because of low results in schools. Due to this, a large number of teachers was in surplus. To avoid this scenario where teachers could be adjusted as well as to avoid classes from being closed down, a meeting was conducted which was chaired by the chief minister. The decision to make amendments in the minimum number of student intake norm in granted secondary and higher secondary schools was taken during this meet chaired by the CM,” the GR states.
The report, sought by chief minister Anandiben Patel on schools and teachers getting affected by lowest results, has mentioned that nearly 700 Class XI sections were closed and about 1,500 teachers were declared as surplus. As per government records, a decline of 10% per cent in Class X results meant that over 80,000 regular students had to be retained in the same class that concerned the schools on how to fill Class XI sections. “There was a shortfall of students in Class XI due to poor Class X results. This was also coupled due to a shift of students from granted to private schools in Class XI. Thus, the number of teachers getting surplus and closing down of classes was massive. To avoid this, a change in the number of student intake has been notified by the government,” confirmed a education department official.
Protecting teachers of granted secondary and higher secondary schools against getting surplus and thus relieved from their service, the Gujarat government has made major changes in the minimum number of students per class norm for grant-in-aid secondary and higher secondary schools. This change, made in the middle of the academic session, has directly benefitted some 700 schools and over 1,500 teachers, who were identified as surplus.
