The Meghalaya government has prepared an annual plan and budget proposal for seeking a fund of over Rs 800 crore from the union ministry of human resources development under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan for the year 2019-2020.
During a state executive committee meeting on Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan held on Tuesday, officials of the state education department discussed about an annual work plan and budget for the year 2019-2020.
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The annual plan and budget will be presented in the meeting of the Project Approval Board (PAB) of the MHRD for its approval to be held in Delhi on May 7.
“The annual work plan and budget of the state under Samagra Shiksha will presented at Rs 806 crore for the year 2019-2020 for approval by the PAB,” an official in the Education Department said.
Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan is a scheme that subsumed three Centrally-sponsored schemes – Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and teacher education.
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During 2018-2019, Meghalaya had sought an approval from the HRD ministry for Rs 623 crore under Samagra Shiksha, out of which, Rs 523 crore was agreed for sanction.
However, the HRD ministry had given only Rs 237 crore to the state, and the remaining amount has to be borne out by the state government.
“The state has been able to shell out only Rs 94 crore,” sources said.
The Meghalaya government has been facing problem to implement the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan scheme in the state especially to pay regular salary to teachers teaching in schools which were opened under the erstwhile Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
A total of 2,907 lower primary schools and 2,232 upper primary schools have been opened up under the erstwhile Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in Meghalaya.
There are 12,541 teachers of schools under Sarva Shiksha Abhyan in Meghalaya which include 5,814 lower primary teachers, and 6,727 upper primary teachers.
The Meghalaya government had to also manage from its own resources to pay the paying of teachers’ since the PAB of the union ministry of human resources development had sanctioned only Rs 15,000 per month for each teacher of SSA lower primary schools, and Rs 20,000 per month for each teacher of upper primary schools in the state.
But the monthly salary of each teacher of lower primary schools is Rs 19,044 per month, and Rs 20,493 per month for each teacher of upper primary schools.