The Ministry of Education has flagged Telangana’s “sluggish” disbursal of funds allotted by the Centre under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.
The Ministry sources said that while ₹225 crore had been sanctioned under the scheme by the Centre in FY2023-24, only ₹98 crore had been transferred by the State to the single nodal agency (SNA) account for the scheme.
The scheme ensures infrastructural development, payment of salaries, provision of mid-day meals, uniforms, textbooks, smart classrooms and library facilities for schools.
Also, Telangana’s involvement in the PM SHRI [PM Schools for Rising India] initiative for the year 2023-24 is marred by financial setbacks, the Ministry sources said.
Under PM SHRI, Telangana has been allocated ₹400 crore, comprising a Central share of ₹240 crore (60%) and a State share of ₹160 crore (40%) for upgrading schools. However, the disbursement of funds, which occurs in instalments, is slow.
Telangana has disbursed ₹60 crore – approximately ₹40 crore for non-recurring expenses and ₹20 crore for recurring expenses – as first instalment of the Central share to 543 PM SHRI schools, sources said. “However, the State has faltered in transferring the remaining ₹60 crore of Central share and the corresponding ₹40 crore of State’s share to the designated single nodal account,” the Ministry observed.
It has asked Telangana to expedite the utilisation of the funds received for approved activities, as outlined in the Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting for the PM SHRI Scheme.
Sluggish trends in allocation and expenditure of funds have direct impact on critical educational activities such as infrastructure development, salary provision, mid-day meals, and other Right to Education (RTE) entitlements. “Additionally, supply of routine essentials like uniforms, textbooks, teaching-learning materials, and initiatives aimed at enhancing educational quality, such as ICT (information and communication technology), smart classrooms, and library facilities, face severe constraints,” the Ministry sources said.
