The Rajasthan government has constituted a cabinet subcommittee to review the viability of setting up Mahatma Gandhi English Medium Government Schools under the previous Ashok Gehlot-led Congress regime.

The four-member committee, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Prem Chand Bairwa, comprises Medical and Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khinvsar, School Education Minister Madan Dilawar, and Food Minister Sumit Godhara. The School Education Secretary will be its ex-officio Member Secretary.

Advertisement

Based on the performance of teachers and students, the status of infrastructure facilities, student enrolment strength, resource requirements, and their utility, the ministerial panel will submit its recommendations on the future of these schools.

It may suggest reforms at the local level, the merger of more than one school, their upgradation and/or updation, and possibly the closure of some schools, officials said.

The Gehlot-led Congress government had opened 3,741 English Medium Government Schools in the state during its previous tenure in office between 2018 and 2023. The BJP as an Opposition party opposed the move from the very beginning.

The incumbent Bhajan Lal Sharma government’s move has now triggered another war of words between leaders of the ruling BJP and the rival Congress.

Former Chief Minister Gehlot has made a very strong and sarcastic comment, saying, “It seems that the BJP government is hell-bent on destroying the state-run school education set-up and seemingly working under pressure from private English medium schools.

The ground reality is that the enrolment rate among students up to eighth grade has significantly fallen, and a large number of poor students are still not getting uniforms, shoes, etc.

Students from rural areas and the poorer strata of society are receiving quality education either for free or at highly subsidised rates, and they will be ultimate sufferers if the Mahatma Gandhi English Medium Government Schools network is weakened.

Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasara has said, “In its first year in office, this government neither provided these schools with sufficient teachers nor resources. Despite this aloofness, these schools produced good results and commendable performance. There are around 7 lakh students enrolled in these schools, and they have no problems.”

Education Minister Dilawar also made a bitter rebuttal against the stance of the grand old party, saying, “This was a needless move made by the previous Congress government. The motive was to open the gate for loot (corruption).”