Schools, colleges shut, but govt largesse continues!

Facing Coronavirus blues, the beleaguered parents may have been struggling for 15 percent concession in the school fees, but the state has, on the other hand, opened its purse strings by allocating over 20,000 Cr during the same period to schools and colleges.

The amount has been doled out as government grants to schools and colleges run by private institutions across the state.

The government grants are given to institutions as per the state policy, mainly to promote education and bring a maximum number of children into the mainstream of education. It is also noteworthy that a maximum number of such institutions are run by people with a political background.

The schools and colleges have remained shut from the last academic year i e 2020-21 and there appears no sign of its reopening even during the current academic year of 2021-22.

 The state largesse is not limited to just schools and colleges but even to the libraries that have closed their doors for the visitors. The COVID19 may have taken a serious toll on the overall educational environment and disturbed the academic schedule, but it has not affected the institutions being run with the help of government grants. A closer look would reveal that the amount paid as the government grant was almost the same when the institutions were open with the regular schedules during the year 2019-20.

The government aid is disbursed through the state departments of finance, school education, higher and technical education. The departments of social justice, tribal development, and Vimukta jati and nomadic tribes (VJNT) have their budgets reserved for residential schools known as Ashram schools.

The details of the grants disbursed by departments of school education and higher and technical education would reveal that the government has generously distributed grants to the state-aided schools and colleges. The details are as follows-

(Following details exclude the provident fund contribution by the state, leave encashment, pensions, etc. and grants to non-agricultural universities)

Schools/Colleges remained shut since last year…

The pandemic might have forced schools and colleges to close their gates for the students and classrooms locked during the academic year 2020-21. But funds worth approximately Rs 5,000 Cr are distributed by the state finance department to primary and secondary schools and colleges of arts, commerce, science and education, polytechnics, engineering, and other technical institutes. The highest amount of Rs 4,000 Cr went in favor of secondary schools, followed by various colleges and primary schools. The state finance department pays the salaries and allowances of teachers, say sources.

In the same period, the school education department allocated around Rs 462 Cr to various institutions. Of this, Rs 90 Cr was given as grants to private-run primary schools, Rs 218 Cr was made available to private secondary schools. Rs 73 Cr was given for opening additional divisions in these schools. It may appear surprising since Rs 47 crore was sanctioned for the school inspection drive during the same period. The school education department paid the premium of Rs 3.58 crore for the student accident insurance scheme even though schools were shut.

During the same period, the department of higher and technical education disbursed Rs. 9,120 Cr. The highest amount of Rs 6,000 Cr was deposited in arts, commerce, science, law, and B.Ed. colleges. About Rs 3,100 Cr was given to junior colleges and Rs 17 Cr was allotted to the physical education colleges. Notably, a program for the training of teachers took away Rs 14 Cr.

Quite interesting as it may appear, grants worth Rs 86 Cr were doled out to the district and taluka libraries when their doors were shut during the pandemic.

Funds flow on in the current academic year

The possibility of reopening of schools and colleges during the ongoing academic year 2021-22 seems remote but the funds still are flowing. Approximately Rs 2,400 Cr has been disbursed by the state finance department to date so far. Out of this, Rs 2,000 Cr has been allotted to private secondary schools, Rs 84 Cr to primary schools, Rs 270 Cr to the colleges of arts, commerce, science, and education, and Rs 65 Cr towards polytechnics, engineering, and technical institutes.

About Rs 237 Cr was distributed by the school education department in the current year. Out of this, Rs 88 Cr has been allotted to secondary schools and Rs 49 Cr to primary schools. While the schools are locked, the state has sanctioned Rs 38 Cr for new divisions and Rs 16 Cr as grants to junior colleges and Rs 26 Cr against the cost of maintenance. Although the primary and secondary schools are closed, more than Rs 20 Cr has been disbursed for the inspection of schools. 

For the current year, the department of higher and technical education has allocated more than Rs. 3,400 Cr as grants to various junior and senior colleges. Of this, Rs. 5 Cr has been given for training of teachers and Rs. 37 Cr have been allotted to district and taluka libraries as grants.

Comparison with pre-COVID situation

If the figures are to be compared with the disbursals of 2019-20 when the scare of Coronavirus was unheard of, the finance department has allocated Rs. 4600 Cr. Of this, Rs 3,800 Cr was given to the secondary schools. The school education department distributed about Rs 296 Cr for the primary and the secondary schools, teacher training, etc. Out of this, Rs 169 Cr was allotted to the secondary schools, Rs 71 Cr was given to the primary schools, and Rs 51 Cr was allotted for additional divisions in secondary schools being run as private schools. More than Rs 3.5 Cr went to insurance companies for the student accident insurance scheme. And, Rs 52 Cr was spent on the teachers training.

The Department of Higher and Technical Education distributed about Rs. 8,000 Cr as grants to various colleges. The highest amount of Rs 4,800 Cr went in favor of private colleges of arts, commerce, science, law, and B.Ed. Junior colleges received more than Rs 3,000 Cr, while physical education colleges received Rs 15 Cr.

In short, in the year 2019-20, around Rs 13,000 Cr has been doled out to schools and colleges as the state grants when Coronavirus had affected the daily life of commoners. In the academic year 2020-21, while schools and colleges were closed, they received about Rs 14,500 Cr from the government and more than Rs 6,000 Cr has been disbursed so far during the ongoing academic year.

Finally, a question can haunt us- what is the focal point of our education system? Is it the student or the institution?