BENGALURU: After 18 years of its implementation, the state government is contemplating to shut down the Central government-sponsored Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) due to shortage of funds.
The scheme was implemented in the state in 2000-01, and under it, several initiatives, including Adarsha Vidyalaya, Kasturba Balika Girls Schools, training of teachers and survey of out-of-school children, were taken up.
But as the Centre has not released sufficient funds, the state government is thinking of shutting down the scheme while continue some of the projects implemented under it that can be managed through state funds.
According to sources in the Department of Primary and Secondary Education, the Central government had to allocate `1,679 crore (total project cost per year), but it has cleared only `1,007 crore. An official source from SSA said, “Out of `1,007 crore sanctioned for Karnataka, the Centre has been giving only `577 crore which comes up to 57 per cent of the amount. This sharing of the total budget is based on a 60:40 ratio (Central and state).”
This year, the Centre has released only `266 crore which is not sufficient for the activities to be carried out throughout the state, said an official. Due to the shortage of funds, several activities under SSA were being taken up at the end of the academic year, said officials.
More than 12,000 teachers recruited under SSA have not been paid salaries for six months for which the department is blaming the Centre of not releasing funds.Department officials said `1,000 crore is needed to pay the salaries of the teachers, but the Centre has released only `320 crore and asked Karnataka to manage the rest with the state funds.
Even Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy mentioned about this during a public event recently. He said, “Several people appointed under SSA at taluk and district levels have been asked to leave as no funds have been allocated and salaries not paid. If this is the situation, why do we have to partner with Central schemes.”
New integrated scheme
The Central government is also in the process of merging two of its projects — SSA and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan — with a new scheme — Samagra Shiksha. It didn’t even add Abhiyan to the new scheme, as if they include it, it will be difficult to withdraw the scheme whenever it wants. According to sources, now the plan is to shift the 25,000 teachers recruited under SSA to the state government, retain some of the popular and successful programmes and shut the rest which are in need of funds.