State Education Minister Jitu Vaghani on Tuesday, June 27, announced that 72 lakh children were admitted in Class I during the three-day-long Shala Praveshotsav, an annual drive to enrol students in government-run schools in Gujarat.

It was on June 23 that Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel launched the 17th edition of 'Shala Praveshotsav' from a government-run primary school in Banaskantha's Vadgam taluka, as stated in a report by PTI.

Listing the number of admissions, the education minister said, "As many as 5.72 lakh children, including 2.80 lakh girls and 2.91 lakh boys, were enrolled in Class I in the presence of dignitaries across the state."

While addressing the media in Gandhinagar, the minister highlighted that "The enrolment drive covered 30,880 government-run primary schools in the state. During the drive, 2.30 lakh children, including 1.12 girls, were also admitted to anganwadis and kindergartens across the state." Additionally, he added that at least 1,775 physically-challenged children were also admitted to Class I during this drive, as stated in a report by PTI.

Sharing information on donations, the minister said, "Prominent citizens and donors had donated cash and articles worth Rs 28.53 crore as their contribution to encourage children to come to school." In Kashipura village of Banaskantha district, a local resident gifted a piece of land worth Rs 10 lakh for education purposes, he added.

Giving more details about the drive, he said, "As many as 494 classrooms, built at a cost of Rs 25.93 crore, were inaugurated during the drive. Transportation facility for students in 2,364 schools was also launched as part of the programme," he said.

Lastly, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the minister said, "Thanks to this drive, started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2003 when he was the state's CM, Gujarat's gross enrolment ratio has gone up to nearly 100 per cent."