Fourth revision in six years: Two panels formed to revise Gunotsav to improve performance of Gujarat schools in national surveys

The committees are expected to meet this month for the first time.

The new guidelines will be framed to align the criteria with the national assessment surveys such as PRAKHAR.

Since the changes have to be implemented from the current academic year, the government has directed the committee to complete the work on a priority basis.

“In the NEP 2020, the variables have changed. For instance, Balvatika has been introduced, and emphasis is on the foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) aiming at a student achieving basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills by Class III. These measurable variables should be included in the evaluation during Gunotsav. Also, the weightage should be changed as per the national school achievement survey and other surveys. We will study the variables they take into consideration and include those in Gunotsav so that the performance of Gujarat schools improves,” chairman of the expert committee Jayendrasinh Jadav, educationist and registrar of Gujarat Sahitya Academy, Gandhinagar, told The Indian Express.

For assessment of government schools and its students, Gunotsav was launched by the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2009. This was redesigned as Gunotsav 2.0 by the education department in 2019-20. Since then, it has undergone revision twice, changing the evaluation criteria.

In the recent change, during academic year 2023-24, the evaluation framework of accreditation was changed to include the schemes of the state government such as Chief Minister Gyan Setu and Chief Minister Gyan Sadhana Merit Scholarship Yojana.

While the weightage of scholarship schemes such as Gyan Setu and Gyan Sadhana was increased from 17 per cent to 30 per cent, the share of other parameters, including teaching and learning, co-curricular activities, school management, etc, has been reduced to less than half for the purpose of accreditation.

“Teachers, parents and students work based on the weightage given to them and they get inspiration to work in a specific direction. The weightage given to different areas plays an important role in determining the direction of the entire educational system. Its far-reaching effects are felt on social life,” the notification for the revision in Gunotsav process and weightage said.

It also stated that the Gujarat government implemented the Gunotsav in 2009 with the aim of gradually improving the quality of education.

“The Gunotsav has also been continuously changing and developing along with the new trends in education and changes in the world of education. For more effective implementation of the Gunotsav, school accreditation was started in the state in the form of Gunotsav 2.0 from the year 2019-20,” the notification said.

In the academic session 2023-24, four rounds of accreditation of government primary schools and two rounds of accreditation of government and aided secondary and higher secondary schools in the state have been completed. External evaluation of all schools was conducted through school inspectors in 2023-24. Further, as per the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020, arrangements were being made to ensure that the results can be viewed by any person online.

The issues to be brought to the notice of the Gunotsav Review Committee on state government’s direction:

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