Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part D (2025)

Gunotsav is a large-scale, state-led quality assessment initiative designed to enhance learning outcomes, school accountability, and infrastructural development in India’s public education system. First launched in Gujarat in 2009 and subsequently adopted by Assam in 2017, the programme combines self-evaluation, external evaluation, and community participation to assess scholastic, co-scholastic, and infrastructural parameters of schools. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of Gunotsav’s objectives, methodology, implementation, and impact in Gujarat and Assam. Drawing on data from multiple evaluation cycles, it highlights the programme’s role in improving foundational learning outcomes, strengthening school accountability, enabling data-driven decision-making, and fostering community ownership. The study also discusses challenges such as logistical constraints, variation in implementation quality, and data follow-up gaps. Finally, it presents policy recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and scalability of Gunotsav across states. By aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG-4) and National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Gunotsav demonstrates how participatory evaluation frameworks can drive systemic quality improvement in school education.