Parliamentary panel ‘Demands for Grants 2020-21 Analysis for Education’

On March 8,2020 “Demands for Grants 2020-21 Analysis”, conducted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development (HRD)

presented the report pointing that:

• Only 56 % of government schools in the country have electricity with lowest rates in the states of Manipur and Madhya Pradesh, where less than 20 % of the schools have electricity.
• Similarly, less than 57 % of public schools have a playground. And only 30 % of schools in Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) have a playground.

Key Points:

i.No electricity, no grounds: Referring the recent Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2017-18 survey data, the panel expressed concern over the critical infrastructure gaps in government schools.

ii.Finance:

• The report also underscored the shortfalls in both budgetary allocation and utilization, which in turn results in critical infrastructure gaps in Higher secondary schools much more than primary and secondary schools.
• The report expressed concern that the school budget has been cut by 27%. The allocation for Central and Centrally Sponsored Schemes have been reduced by 27 %.

iii.Deficit Infrastructure:

• 40 % of schools are uninhabitable, the safety of students and property of schools is under threat.
• Facilities such as ramps and special toilets for differently-abled studentshave been completed in the government schools of which are less than 5% of proposed infrastructure.
• No additional classrooms have been built in government secondary schools although 1,021 had been sanctioned for the financial year 2019-20.
• The Committee has expressed lack of efficient progress over the building of classrooms, laboratories and libraries in secondary schools. The committee is aware of the fact that delay in completion of infrastructure, to look into the factors impeding the infrastructure development and resolve them at the earliest.

iv.Dropouts:

• The dropout rate hikes have been observed at the secondary level (class 9-10) at 17% as compared to 4% in elementary school (class 1-8) and 2% in upper secondary school (class 11-12).

v.Recommendations:

• If the Human Resources Department (HRD) collaborates with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), for construction of boundary walls and other facilities for student safety.
• Schools will get solar power and other sources for renewable energy if collaboration with the Renewable Energy Department is made.
• Implementing additional funds for core schemes like  Samagra Shiksha Scheme, of which only 71% is spent, revised and estimated; as on December 31, 2019 the department had spent.

About Human Resource Development(HRD)ministry:
Headquarters- New Delhi
Union Minister- Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank