JOIN USEducation dept to seek additional funds from State
In order to ensure basic facilities in all government schools of the State, funds to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore is required, said Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Kimmane Rathnakar, here on Saturday.
Addressing the gathering at the golden jubilee celebrations of Venugopala Educational Institutions at Hirikyatanahalli in Hunsur taluk on Saturday, the minister said that the department would require similar amount of funds to ensure necessary infrastructure facilities at the PU colleges. He said that even though several colleges were sanctioned by the previous State governments, they had failed to provide the required infrastructure.
The minister said, over 3,000 school buildings in the State have crossed 100 years. Depending upon the requirement, measures were being taken either to maintain such buildings or construct new buildings with the help of funds from Zilla Panchayats or under Integrated Rural Development Programme.
Ratnakar also said that the government had sanctioned Rs 40 lakh towards the maintenance of the government school buildings at every Assembly constituency in the State. He said that the State government would sanction additional funds for the purpose. “The department has sought the State government, Rs 100 crore for the same,” he said.
Close to half the funds of the State exchequer is being used by the department. The department was incurring the expenses due to various welfare programmes aimed at children, he said.
The department, he said, was spending Rs 120 crore on Akshara Dasoha or midday meal scheme, Rs 400 crore on Ksheera Bhagya, Rs 120 crore on the purchase of stationary and uniforms for the students. The department also had to pay the salaries of 3.5 lakh teachers employed by the department. Apart from it one lakh workers were engaged in the implementation of midday meal scheme. Measures are being chalked out to increase the revenue of the department in coming days, he said.