HYDERABAD: The State government, in the ensuing fiscal year, will spend more on the maintenance of residential schools, fee reimbursement, and scholarships, in a bid to improve Telangana’s education sector. The government has allocated a budget of Rs 10,421 crore for school education and Rs 1,723 crore for higher education.
Finance Minister Harish Rao, in his budget speech, said that the government would build 268 new Gurukul schools for students from SC communities and 169 new Gurukul schools for students from ST communities. “From the next academic year, 71 minority junior colleges will also start functioning,” he said.
“The government has begun establishing residential educational institutions on a massive scale. At present, the State runs 959 residential educational institutions for SC, ST, BC and minority students. We maintain high standards of education here, in addition to providing them nutritious meals and accommodation,” the Finance Minister said.
The budget allocation for SC, ST, BC and minority welfare residential schools has been increased from Rs 1,963 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 2,515 crore in 2020-21. The number of students at these schools has also increased from 3.88 lakh in 2018-19 to 4.41 lakh in 2019-20.
An amount of Rs 2,650 crore has been proposed in the budget for fee reimbursement, he said. Further, to eradicate illiteracy in the State, an amount of Rs 100 crore was also mentioned in the budget.
Overall education budget drops by Rs 76 crore
While the government has focussed on residential education in its budget, the overall budget for the Education Department has come down when compared to the previous year. In fact, it has consistently been falling since the formation of the State.
"In the fiscal year of 2014-15, the government had allocated 10 per cent of its overall budget to the Education Department. Gradually, it kept reducing the share. This year, it is just 6.7 per cent," said Chava Ravi, general secretary of Telangana State United Teachers Federation (TSUTF).
"The Sate has no interest in the education department. With this kind of allocation, how can we expect quality education?" he asked. The overall budget for education department has come down from Rs 12,220 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 12,144 crore in 2020-21.