In a relief to unemployed youth in Gujarat waiting for recruitment as teachers in state-run schools for over one year, the Gujarat government, on January 1, finally said that it will start the process for recruitment of nearly 3,300 teachers. An announcement in this regard was also made in March last year by the state BJP government when Bhupendrasinh Chudasama was the Education Minister. 

The state's current Education Minister Jitu Vaghani said that things did not move ahead back then as the Centre had asked state governments to increase the reservation quota for persons with disabilities from 3 per cent to 4 per cent. 

"This matter got delayed because of some administrative processes. After the Centre's directive to increase the quota, the Social Justice and Empowerment Department and my department only recently finished all formalities, and now we will soon start the process to recruit nearly 3,300 primary school teachers," Vaghani told reporters in Gandhinagar.

While 1,300 teachers will be recruited for Classes I to V, nearly 2,000 teachers will be taken in for Classes VI to VIII, he said, adding that those who have cleared the eligibility test in the past will also be considered for recruitment. Many youth-led organisations in the state had made representations to the government regarding primary teachers recruitment last year.