New Delhi: Government If the money released to the sector in 2022-23 is anything to go by, spending on school education is returning to pre-Covid levels. Ministry of Education released 56 percent (Rs 58,928.02 crore) of its total budget of Rs 1,04,277.22 crore for school education, the highest ThePrint has found so far.
The government’s Demands for Grants report shows that till the first week of February, the education ministry had utilized Rs 38,627.18 crore of the budget.
Sources in the ministry told ThePrint that the school education department had utilized additional funds of around Rs 19,000 crore in March alone. Sources said this is the figure of use for the ministry, but collating the state-wise data will take more time and is still not available.
Funds was released keeping in mind the post-covid learning intervention as well as Sources said there is a need to upgrade the school infrastructure and promote digital learning.
“Information and communication technology (ICT) interventions that were necessary post-Covid have also been strengthened, including installation of smartboards in classrooms, internet facilities and providing computers in schools,” said a ministry source. “Financial assistance to teachers, training of teachers and betterment of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) etc. will also come under this.”
KGBVs are upper primary residential schools meant for girls belonging to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
According to sources in the ministry, the biggest chunk of the fund – Rs 32,514.69 crore (over 55 per cent of the total funds released) – was released for the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the Modi government’s flagship education scheme. this was it Sources said the revised estimate for FY23 is slightly higher at Rs 32,151.66 crore and has come because of demands from states.
The original budget allocation for the scheme for the financial year was Rs 37,383 crore.
Earlier in 2019-20, the allocation for school education was the highest (Rs 52,592.48 crore). Even then, the biggest chunk – Rs 32,376.53 crore, or 61.56 per cent of the total funds released – went to the SSAs, sources said.
‘back to normal’
SSA is a comprehensive program for school education from pre-school to class 12. it is It is primarily aimed at providing quality education and enhancing learning outcomes, bridging social and gender gaps in school education and ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education. It also supports states in the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
The scheme, which in 2019 subsumed three existing programs – Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teacher Education – School education has always received the largest share of the budget.
Apart from SSA, the Department of School Education sponsors schemes such as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (now renamed Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman), teacher training schemes, as well as provides assistance to autonomous bodies such as the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). ) and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), among others.
In 2021-22, the ministry had to return Rs 5,146 crore of the total school education budget against the revised estimate of Rs 51,969.95 crore. Sources attributed this to pandemic-induced restrictions, adding that states did not seek more funds due to school closures.
It is in this light that the higher release of funds this year is significant – sources in the ministry said it is being looked at as the situation is “back to normal”.
Besides this, the ministry is also hopeful that the higher budget will help in scaling up post-Covid interventions.
Ministry had in February 2022 Sent A Covid recovery plan for all states, asking them to conduct bridge courses for students to make up for the loss of learning induced by the pandemic.
this was it A ministry official told ThePrint that funds have also been earmarked for post-Covid recovery activities.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)