Rajasthan govt highlights school reforms amid Congress’ Assembly offensive

Jaipur: Amid Congress’s aggressive attack on the Rajasthan government over the condition of government schools in the Assembly, the education department on August 21 released a detailed account of infrastructure spending, new appointments, enrolment and academic performance, highlighting what it described as broad-based improvements in the school system.

The timing of the data release is significant as Congress has made education a central issue in the ongoing Assembly session, questioning the condition of school buildings and falling enrolment. The issue has gained further political traction following the alleged assault on Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activists during their attempt to inspect a government school in Jaipur district on Friday.

The government said more than Rs 2,723 crore had been spent on school buildings and classrooms over the past two-and-a-half years, with 179 new school buildings constructed and 7,945 additional classrooms built to replace dilapidated ones. It has set a target of spending Rs 12,500 crore on school infrastructure over the next five years.

The department also highlighted 48,465 new appointments and 66,047 promotions, claiming these had improved the availability of teachers and other staff. Government-school enrolment, it said, has risen to 73.13 lakh.

The figures also cover smart classrooms, digital libraries, science and mathematics kits, textbooks, student welfare schemes and board examination results.

The government’s presentation comes days after it restricted entry of outsiders into government schools without prior permission from principals, a move that followed the CJP’s announcement of its statewide ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign.

The controversy intensified after a CJP team faced resistance during a school visit in Rampura-Kanwarpura village in Jaipur district, with the organisation alleging an attack and local residents disputing the account.

For the Bhajan Lal Sharma government, the latest figures provide a counter-narrative to the Opposition’s charge that Rajasthan’s school infrastructure is in poor shape. For Congress and other critics, the key question remains whether the reported spending and interventions are translating into safer buildings and better facilities on the ground.