Ministry moots ₹1,103-crore boost for Punjab
CHANDIGARH: : The Union ministry of education (MoE) has proposed an outlay of Rs 1,102.91 crore for Punjab for the financial year 2022-23 under the flagship Samagra Shiksha scheme for school education.
The fund allocation conveyed by the ministry under the Centrally sponsored integrated programme is a tentative estimate proposed in the current financial year for ensuring inclusive and quality education in the state. Of this, Rs 661.75 crore has been proposed as the Central funding and the remaining Rs 441.16 crore is to be provided by the state government for elementary education, secondary education and teacher education components on 60:40 sharing basis.
The ministry has earmarked Rs 707.73 crore for elementary education and Rs 378.62 crore for secondary education
whereas Rs 16.55 crore has been proposed for teacher education, besides the State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT) and the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs).
The final outlay will be decided in the meeting of the project-approval board (PAB) headed by the Union education
secretary on the basis of the annual work plan and budget submitted by the state government. “In its work plan, the department has projected requirement for additional funds for new initiatives and existing works, including infrastructure upgrade in rural schools, girl education, science labs, etc, with timelines. We are hopeful of getting a higher allocation than the fund releases proposed by the ministry,” a school education department official said, refusing to go into the specifics of the budget plan sent to the Central government. The PAB meeting for Punjab was scheduled for April 22 in the final phase of appraisals along with other states that went to polls in February and March but it got postponed. The fresh date is still to be finalised. In 2021-22, the MoE had approved a budget of Rs 1,126 crore, including an unspent balance of Rs 47.33 crore from the previous fiscal, for Punjab against the initial proposed outlay of Rs 906 crore indicated to the state government. The state had submitted an ambitious annual work plan for Rs 2,942 crore, citing a higher student enrollment. There is increased focus on school education in the state with AAP promising to “transform” the state schools on the pattern of their government in Delhi.