Education dept pins hopes on RDPR as Centre's grant dips

It may also tap into MLAs' local area development funds

With financial aid from the Centre dwindling each year, the Education department is drawing up a plan to tap into funds from the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) for the upkeep of government schools.

The share of the Central government in the annual outlays of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has been dipping the last three years, making it inevitable for authorities to explore other sources for funds, especially in the area of construction and maintenance of school infrastructure such as classrooms.

“We are putting together a framework where the education department will bear the cost of materials and the labour cost is taken care of under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,” Additional Chief Secretary (primary and secondary education) Ajay Seth said. “It has been tried at local levels, but not on a large scale.” The plan seems more feasible given that decision-making in government schools of rural areas lies with gram or zilla panchayats,” Seth pointed out.

As many as 78,932 classrooms in the state are in need of repair, according to the latest data of the District Information System for Education.

“Central funding has been drying up the last couple of years,” SSA state project director P C Jaffer said. For 2017-18, the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) has approved an outlay of about Rs 1,800 crore for Karnataka.

“Of this, the Centre will give around Rs 400 crore. For the rest, we have to look for other avenues,” he said, adding that preliminary meetings have been held with the RDPR department.

Till 2014, the Centre provided 65% of the total outlay. Karnataka, along with Bihar, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, raised concerns when the Centre’s share was reduced to 50%. Based on a Niti Aayog report, the Centre’s share was fixed at 60%.

The Centre’s share towards construction of school infrastructure has gone down by 30% since 2014, according to the data.

Earlier this year, the MHRD urged the state to explore mechanisms for convergence with other departments such as RDPR. Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner T M Vijay Bhaskar lauded the idea. “Community toilets are being built for schools under MGNREGA. Further convergence is possible,” he said.

The Education department is also pushing legislators to prioritise school buildings under their local area development funds. “We’re taking this up with the planning department,” Seth said.