Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government has allocated a total provision of ₹63,184 crore for the Education Department in the Budget, with a strong focus on strengthening school infrastructure, expanding student welfare schemes, and enhancing higher and technical education to make youth industry-ready.

Major Push for Primary and Secondary Education

A substantial share of the allocation has been directed toward improving foundational and school-level education across the state.

Under the Mission Schools of Excellence, ₹3,055 crore has been earmarked for infrastructure upgradation of classrooms in primary and secondary schools. The budget also provides ₹1,250 crore under Namo Lakshmi Yojana, while ₹827 crore has been allocated for students enrolled in private schools under the Right to Education Act.

To support nutrition and student well-being, ₹598 crore has been set aside for the Mukhyamantri Paushtik Alpahar Yojana, and ₹552 crore has been provided for the construction of modern centralized kitchens in 74 talukas under the PM Poshan Yojana, where work is already in progress.

Further, ₹342 crore has been allocated for construction, repair, renovation, and additional infrastructure in government secondary and higher secondary schools, including RMSA, Model, and Model Day schools. Academic encouragement schemes include ₹250 crore under Namo Saraswati Vignan Sadhana Yojana to benefit around 2.5 lakh students, and ₹100 crore for the Mukhyamantri Gyan Sadhana Merit Scholarship supporting nearly 1 lakh students.

Residential and transport support has also been prioritised. ₹223 crore each has been provided for Gyanshakti Residential School of Excellence and bus pass fee concessions for nearly 13 lakh students travelling by State Transport buses.

Sanitation, learning materials, and inclusive education measures include:

• ₹135 crore for double sanitation assistance in 31,790 schools

• ₹120 crore for new composite school campuses from nursery to Std. 10

• ₹119 crore for free textbooks to about 52 lakh primary students

• ₹114 crore for 926 PM Shri schools

• ₹112 crore under Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojana for free textbooks to 18 lakh students

• ₹91 crore for transport, accommodation, and sensory parks for Divyang students

• ₹47 crore for sanitary napkins to nearly 9.72 lakh girls in Classes 6–12

• ₹32 crore for kitchen utensils in schools not covered by centralized kitchens

• ₹18 crore to establish Raksha Shakti Schools benefiting about 1,328 students

Provision has also been made for the Sanskrit Navachar Yojana under the Gujarat State Sanskrit Board.

Strengthening Higher and Technical Education

The government has also announced significant investments to expand higher education access, research capacity, innovation, and employability.

A major allocation of ₹400 crore has been made under the Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojana (MYSY) to support more than 90,000 students. Infrastructure expansion includes ₹126 crore to start 16 new government colleges, support construction in 20 existing colleges, and introduce new academic streams in eight institutions.

To enhance student development and campus facilities:

• ₹96 crore for sports infrastructure in government colleges and state universities

• ₹80 crore for works at i-Hub Ahmedabad and its four regional centres

• ₹67 crore for IT infrastructure, physical resources, and educational software in government technical institutions

• ₹51 crore each for two new boys’ hostel blocks and a research park at L.D. College of Engineering, Ahmedabad

• ₹46 crore for repair, maintenance, and conservation works in 136 government colleges

Innovation, scholarships, and skill development initiatives include:

• ₹45 crore for Student Start-up and Innovation Policy 2.0

• ₹45 crore for scholarships under the Mukhyamantri Scholarship Yojana

• ₹43 crore for internship-based financial incentives to around 2.12 lakh students under Kaushalya Sahay Yojana

Academic and institutional development provisions feature:

• ₹35 crore for laboratory and infrastructure upgradation at L.E. College, Morbi, including new courses and autonomous status

• ₹31 crore for establishing an NCC Leadership Academy in Rajkot

• ₹28 crore to introduce specialised courses such as Wildlife Learning Extension, Advanced Material Centre, Semiconductor studies, Heritage, Archaeology, and Lifelong Learning in government universities

In addition, a Youth Mental Health Programme will create awareness among 19.84 lakh college students, while new initiatives aim to prepare technical education students to become industry-ready. Provision has also been made for constructing a Boat House at the Gujarat Naval Unit in Bhavnagar.

Focus on Holistic Educational Growth

Through large-scale investments spanning school education, higher learning, research, innovation, infrastructure, nutrition, sanitation, and student welfare, the Gujarat Budget positions education as a central pillar of long-term human capital development and economic growth in the state. DeshGujarat