The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) has extended the date of filing applications, for new schools seeking permission to start session from June 2019 onwards, to March. Schools that wished to function from 2019-20 were asked to file applications from November 15 to December 31, 2018. However, the board has found that many schools were unable to file their applications.
Schools can now file their applications from February 28 to March 5 by paying Rs 20,000 as late fee. Once the school is given permission, they will have to pay Rs 25,000 to the board, a notification stated.
Until recently, nearly 95 per cent of the applications by the new schools, of those scrutinised, have been rejected by the GSHSEB. The ground breaking change in the state school policy has made ownership of a playground mandatory for affiliation to the state board.
The board has received around 350 applications, of which 49 have been scrutinised till round 2 of the process. The board had rejected 19 applications, including two from Ahmedabad in first round. Ninety per cent of those were rejected for not having a playground. In the second round, of the 49 scrutinised, only 2 have got permission as they matched the criteria whereas 47 have been rejected.