Reduced Central funds could derail state’s Sarva Siksha Abhiyan

The state’s Sarva Shikha Abhiyan is under severe duress as the Centre has steadily reduced its contribution to the scheme. Recently, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the Centre’s decision to reduce the allocation, saying despite the paucity of funds, the state was doing well in Sarva Shikha Mission.

Sources in the education department revealed that the state was allotted Rs 4,294 crore in the current financial year (2016-17) to carry out development work under Sarva Shikha Abhiyan, but there was no guarantee if the money would be credited on time. 

“The money is allocated in a piece-meal manner. There is no certainty when would the full amount reach us,” an official said.

However, the allocation of money is slightly more than the last financial year. “The Centre had allocated Rs 4,294 crore in the financial year, 2015-16. But in the financial year 2016-17, they have slightly increased the allocation to Rs 4,688 crore,” the source added.

Introduced in 2001-02, the Centre has maintained its culture of reduced allocation to states. The Centre’s contribution to the scheme was meant to be 85 percent, but now it contributes around 60 percent.

“The Centre has reduced its share time and again. Even last year, the Centre’s allocation stood at 65 percent. But this year they have reduced it to 60 percent. It is getting difficult for us to continue to do good work if the allocation is reduced. There is no guarantee of getting the full fund, we are getting it in a piece-meal manner and there are instances where it is suddenly stopped,” the source added.

Sarva Shikha Abhiyan in West Bengal is the largest contributor of students in percentage terms. In West Bengal, 87 percent of the children come within its ambit.  Bengal has the highest percentage of student enrollment under this scheme. There are over 82,000 schools which come under SSA.