Punjab gets ₹1,298 cr for school edu, Centre flags dropout spike
The approved budget is 10% more than the tentative allocation of ₹ 1,181 crore indicated by the central ministry to the Punjab govt in January this year
CHANDIGARH: The Union ministry of education has sanctioned a budget of ₹ 1,298.30 crore for school education in Punjab for the financial year 2023-24 under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme while flagging the increase in the school dropout rate and teacher vacancies at the secondary level in the state.
The approved budget is 10% more than the tentative allocation of ₹ 1,181 crore indicated by the central ministry to the Punjab government in January this year to meet the recurring and non-recurring expenditure on initiatives for improvement in infrastructure and quality of education as well as teacher training under the integrated scheme for school education.
Of the total sanctioned budget, ₹ 708.78 crore is the share of the central government, and the remaining amount of ₹ 589 crore is to be provided by the state government. The scheme is jointly funded by the Centre and the state on a 60:40 sharing basis.
68% outlay for elementary education
Under the flagship programme, ₹ 886.50 crore have been earmarked for elementary education (classes 1 to 8) and ₹ 397.72 crore for secondary education (classes 9 to 12) this year. Funds have been sanctioned for school upgradation, opening new government schools, strengthening of existing schools, solar panels, quality interventions, digital initiatives, and outdoor play material for pre-primary classes.
A sum of ₹ 14 crore has been allocated for teacher education and training institutes, including the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), according to the approval granted by the project approval board (PAB) of Samagra Shiksha in its meeting held on April 24.
However, the total fund availability to the state under the scheme will be higher due to the spillover amount of ₹ 280.64 crore from FY 2022-23 when the sanctioned budget was ₹ 1,127.37 crore.
Dropout rate doubles at secondary level
The central ministry, while appraising the state’s annual work plan and budget proposal, flagged the substantial increase in the school dropout rate at the secondary level. The dropout rate doubled from 9 in 2020-21 to 17.2 in 2021-22.
State told to conduct dist-level survey
The state has been asked to take measures to reduce the dropout rate and retention rate and carry out a district-level survey.
The dropout rate at the secondary level was 1.6 in 2019-20 and has been on an upward trajectory since.
The school education department had informed the project approval board that mega parent-teacher meetings were regularly to generate awareness among parents about the free educational facilities, scholarship schemes and other incentives being provided by the state government.
“Enrolment drive is being carried out to ensure that every child is enrolled in school,” it said.
Another issue pointed out by the education ministry is a decline in the net enrolment ratio at all levels with a sharp drop at the secondary (from 94.61 to 52.50) and senior secondary (from 59.43 to 44.88) levels from 2020-21 to 2021-22. NER is the enrolment of the official age group for a given class expressed as a percentage of the population in that age group.