At least 5.72 lakh children were admitted in grade one during the three-day long Shala Praveshotsav, an annual drive to enroll students in government-run schools in Gujarat, state Education Minister Jitu Vaghani said on Tuesday.
The 17th edition of Shala Praveshotsav was launched by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on June 23 from a government-run primary school in Banaskantha’s Vadgam taluka.
As many as 5.72 lakh children, including 2.80 lakh girls and 2.91 lakh boys, were enrolled in grade one in the presence of dignitaries across the state, the minister said. “The enrolment drive covered 30,880 government-run primary schools in the state. During the drive, 2.30 lakh children, including 1.12 girls, were also admitted in anganwadis and kindergartens across the state,” Vaghani told reporters in Gandhinagar.
At least 1,775 physically-challenged children were also admitted in grade one during this drive, he said.
Prominent citizens and donors had donated cash and articles worth Rs 28.53 crore as their contribution to encourage children to come to school, he said. In Kashipura village of Banaskantha district, a local resident gifted a piece of land worth Rs 10 lakh for education purposes, the minister said.
“As many as 494 classrooms, built at a cost of Rs 25.93 crore, were inaugurated during the drive. Transportation facility for students in 2,364 schools was also launched as part of the programme,” he said.
With inputs from PTI.
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