Minister of State for Education Minister Anandiben Patel says the decision was taken in view of reports that the school, once a premier institution, lacks infrastructure and competent teachers, as a result of which not many students were joining it.

The Government is keen on ``all-round improvement of the school'' and plans to hand over the management to a private trust or a club on trial for a few years. ``If the experiment proves a success, it may be tried in other similar educational institutions,'' Anandiben says.

The school is in a deplorable condition. The building has developed cracks and the wooden ceiling hangs precariously, while the boundary wall is broken and the grounds used as an open-air latrine by people who live nearby.Part of the land is under encroachment.

Anandiben says three or four institutions, including the Sargam Club, have approached the Government. The club was recently in the news over the takeover of the Hemu Gadhvi auditorium the government had renovated at a huge cost.

Although the club does not have any record of managing educational institutions, president Gunwantbhai Delawala is confident of setting things right in the school. ``We have a large number of educationists, both retired and working, as members and can surely make use of their experience in managing the school'', he says.

Delawala claims all the projects taken over by the club have been a success. ``We did not have any experience in managing a cremation ground, yet we have given the country one of the best cremation grounds in Muktidham, which people visit just to see. After all, you only learn when you do something.'' Delawala says they had sent their proposal to take over the school management three months ago, and were awaiting theGovernment decision. ``We were asked to furnish various papers, including our audit reports and the annual balance-sheet for the last financial year, which we have done,'' he says.

Eminent Gandhian Jayaben Shah has no objection to the government move, but says the decision should be taken with the utmost care. ``It must be seen that the party entrusted with the responsibility should have a reputation for making a contribution in the field of education and have secular credentials,'' she says.