Education in Gujarat

The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) was constituted in 1972, following the enactment of the Gujarat Secondary Education Act 1972. Its chairman and deputy chairman are appointed by the state government. It has 16 ex officio members, and 44 other members drawn from academic organizations, legislative bodies and civil society. Various Committees with specific responsibilities function under the board, such as the executive committee, examination committee, finance committee, education committee, and magazine advisory committee.

GSHSEB provides the State Government guidance about the policies governing secondary education, its development and qualitative enhancement. In an overview, its duties are:

• Preparing the curricula & syllabi
• Registering new Secondary schools and monitoring their performance on a continual basis
• Providing developmental guidance
• Organising training for teachers and principals-up measures (for instance, to integrate Gujarat's students with the Information Technology-enabled global village, the Board has introduced Computer Studies among regular curricula).

Both private and government schools operate here in Gujarat. One can also come across schools run by several municipal corporations and trusts in Ahmedabad.

Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board are in charge of the schools run by the state government. However, many of the private schools in Gujarat are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) board. Gujarati is the main medium of instruction in the state-run schools while the schools run by other boards use English as their medium of study. The government of Gujarat also gives special importance to education of women in India in the state. [3]

SCOPE (Society for Creation of Opportunities through Proficiency in English), established in 2007 by the Government of Gujarat to build English language proficiency in the youth of Gujarat and thereby create employment opportunities for them, has been the most successful PPP model in the state. It has an established network of 200+ centres through two Zonal Training Partners (ZTPs) for the purpose of providing English language training to the candidates. More than 800+ colleges and universities are also SCOPE centres. SCOPE programme is centred on three challenges of education - Access, Equity and Quality. Cambridge English Language Assessment, part of the University of Cambridge, UK is the Assessment and Certification partner of SCOPE. [4] Government of Gujarat has also set up Gujarat Knowledge Society to bridge the gap between requirements of educational system and industries. Here, specially customized short term courses are prepared that can be easily provided to the youth at a nominal rate. [5]

The clock tower in Gujarat University, Ahmedabad

There are several universities functioning in Gujarat which offers both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in various disciplines. Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, Institute of Rural Management Anand, CEPT University, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Ahmedabad, Physical Research Laboratory and Gujarat Ayurved University are some of the prestigious centers of higher learning in Gujarat. The state also has some of the best engineering institutes in India like Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Nirma University, Dharamsinh Desai University, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Lalbhai Dalpatbhai College of Engineering, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Vadodara and Indian Institute of Information Technology, Surat etc. Gujarat University is the largest and oldest university of the Gujarat state.[6] The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, established on 1949, is the first state University with English as its medium of instruction.[7] Apart from it, Gujarat Technological University, Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management, Sardar Patel University, Saurashtra University, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, Bhavnagar University, Gujarat Vidyapith, Central University of Gujarat and Kachchh University are the leading State Universities. [8] The four agricultural universities in Gujarat are especially devoted to the study of agriculture and other subjects related to it.[8] Raksha Shakti University, the first internal security institute of India, was set up by government of Gujarat, Ahmedabad in 2009. [9] In the emerging area of legal education, a premier institution Gujarat National Law University was founded in the capital city Gandhinagar which started imparting education from the year 2004 and is ranked in top institutions in the country. [10] Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute is another reputed institute operating in Gujarat and does various research works on inland lake salt, marine salt and sub-soil brine. [11] Gujarat Forensic Sciences University(GFSU) is the first university in the world solely dedicated to forensic and investigative science.[12]

• List of educational institutions in Gujarat