A report tabled by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development has found that only 56.43 percent government schools in the country have access to electricity. The report, presented before Rajya Sabha on 5 March, further points out that more than 50 percent government schools in twelve out of 36 states and Union territories do not have an electricity connection.
The worst-performer in terms of access to electricity is the state of Meghalaya, where 81.31 percent government schools do not have electricity, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 80.39 percent.
While only 31.05 percent schools in Uttar Pradesh have electricity, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha and Bihar stand at 24.78, 28.29, 30.13 and 42.43 percent respectively.
1,383 Labs Sanctioned, Only 3 Built
The report states that the budget allocation department of school education was reduced by 22,725.04 crore from the 2020-21 Budget Estimate of Rs 82,570.04 crores.
“The Committee takes note of the fact that as compared to proposed BE 2020-21 of Rs 82,570.04 crores only Rs 59,845.00 crore has been allocated to the Department. This substantial reduction of Rs ie cut of 27.52% has been made in the proposals made by the Department.”Report
But it’s not just electricity, the report points out the slow pace of infrastructural work in government schools, like building of toilets for female students and Children With Special Needs (CWSN) and new classrooms.
Out of 1,869 CWSN toilets sanctioned under the integrated Samagra Shiksha Scheme, in secondary schools, only 99 have been built thus far, a completion rate of 4.55 percent. Similarly, out of 36,321 toilets to be constructed for girls at the secondary level, only 24, 540 have been built.
While both elementary and secondary schools have been hit by the slow pace of infrastructural work, it’s Higher Secondary (HS) schools which have witnessed little to no developmental work.
Under the integrated Samagra Shiksha Scheme, which combines centrally sponsored schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education, 56 schools were to be upgraded to HS schools, and 1,021 additional classrooms, 40 science labs and 135 libraries were sanctioned of which not even a single one was constructed.
Additionally, 451 Physics Labs, 434 Chemistry Labs and 458 Biology labs were sanctioned, but only one in each category have been built.
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