Industry Odisha Bureau, Aug 14: In sequel to the reported shutdown of nearly 84,000 government and government-aided schools, and also enrolment of the students having declined by nearly 15 million since 2018-19 in India, educational analysts and academicians have reportedly rued that the budget allocation of the Indian state governments is also falling short of the 15-20% range prescribed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
It has reportedly been alleged that, “the lackadaisical and myopic attitude of the policy makers are depriving the public school students of their access to basic amenities like potable drinking water, functional and hygienic toilets, electricity, fans, internet and computer facilities in comparison with the private schools that are in sync with catering to the needs of the students belonging to the present generation as well as this current era of information and technology, besides the penchant for high scientific temperament.”
Educational analysts and academicians, citing data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), have reportedly claimed that, “Most of the State Governments in India are spending 13-14% of their annual budgets on education on an aggregate basis in the last few years, while the UNESCO has prescribed a range of 15-20%. However, states like Bihar, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have spent more on an average since 2018-19. While Bihar has spent 18.7%, Uttarakhand has spent 17.4%, Rajasthan 16.9% and Chhattisgarh has spent 16.2% of their respective annual state budgets.”
Expressing grave concerns, educational analysts and academicians have also reportedly rued that, “Besides the below-the-mark aggregate spending on school education, direct cash transfers to the bank accounts of students as election doles has also been a cause of big worry. At least 12-14 Indian States and Union Territories (UTs) have announced that cash transfer doles to the school students over the last few election years.”
Citing data from the 16th Finance Commission Report in this context, the educational analysts and academicians have reportedly tried to evince that, “Data on sectoral shares of the subsidies and transfers in the states’ total revenue expenditure in the 16th Finance Commission report shows that the share of cash transfers has jumped from just 3% in 2018-19 to 20% in 2025-26.”
