Gandhinagar, Sep 1 (IANS): Gujarat Congress on Sunday attacked the BJP government over the vacant teaching post in the state.

“They are misleading the public with false claims of teacher recruitment. The Education Minister recently said that they recruited 4,000 teachers which is not true. Over 32,000 teaching positions have remained vacant in Gujarat for an extended period, leaving around 50,000 TET-TAT qualified candidates waiting for permanent appointments,” Congress leader Manish Doshi said.

He alleged that in reality, the process merely involves transferring existing teachers under the guise of new recruitment, betraying the hopes of thousands of educated young men and women in the state.

TET is a mandatory qualification for teaching in Classes 1 to 8, while those teaching in Classes 9 to 12 must have cleared the TAT.

Doshi said that the BJP government is presenting a rosy picture through advertisements worth crores, but the reality is far from it, adding that the education sector in Gujarat is in a deplorable state.

He also criticised the government for planning to merge or close down grant-aided schools under the pretext of low enrollment, a move he described as a conspiracy which would harm students from tribal communities.

“We have reached an alarming situation. Many schools operate with only a single classroom, forcing students from multiple grades to share the same space,” he said.

Congress also criticised the BJP’s ‘Gyan Sahayak Yojana,’ calling it an unconstitutional and illegal scheme which exploits the state’s youth economically.

He emphasised that the government’s failure to appoint permanent teachers and provide adequate infrastructure has left students in over 31per cent of Gujarat's government schools without basic amenities like drinking water.