Key trends and inferences from Gunotsav data

Abstract

The Education Department, Government of Gujarat began Gunotsav in November 2009, as a framework for accountability in Primary Education. It was aimed at evaluating the state’s primary education scenario, specifically in state-run schools. Under the programme, an evaluation of schools on Academic and non-academic criteria is carried out over three days every year, resulting in a letter grade for each school. About a third of all schools are evaluated externally, whereas the rest of the schools are self-evaluated. Academic criteria include student-level reading, writing and numeracy skills, along with their score on a 7-subject multiple-choice examination (for students in classes 6 to 8). These elements form 60% of a school’s overall grade. Non-academic criteria include co-curricular activities and infrastructure, which form 40% of the overall school’s grade.