17% fall in India's allocation for universal education, Central share down by 47%: RTE Forum to Union finance ministry

By A Representative
In a submission to Union finance minster Arun Jaitley, India's well-known advocacy group, Right to Education (RTE) Forum, has has raised the alarm that the budgetary allocation for universal education, sought to be achieved through the Government of India's flagship programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is down by 17%.
Pointing out that overtime the Union government is reducing its budgetary allocation for school education, it says, the SSA budget in 2014-15 was Rs 28,258 crore, which dropped down to Rs 23,500 crore in 2017-18, a 17% decrease, adding, not only there is a trend in lesser budget allocation, even Central share to states for SSA "is continuously failing to keep its promise."
"Of the total approved outlay, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) committed to share 65 percent, i.e, Rs 5,214 crore of the total fund. However, the audited expenditure shows, that in 2015-16, MHRD had released only Rs 2,437 crore, which is only 47 percent of the approved outlay committed", added.
Prepared by Ambarish Rai, convener, RTE Forum at the Pre-Budget Consultation, the submission says, India is "long committed to spending 6% GDP on education. This was a recommendation of the Kothari Commission. However, India's spending continues to fall short. Indeed, India continues to spend below the global average on education (3.7% GDP, 2017)."
The RTE Forum regrets, on its enactment, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009, no financial memorandum was attached to implement the its various provisions, adding, "On multiple occasions, calculations have been made to determine the amount of money that needs to be allocated to attain the goal of universal education for all. However, the funds actually allocated have always fallen short of the necessary amount."
Thus, it says, "Compared to the requirement of public expenditure per student, actual expenditure in Bihar is only about 31 percent. Similarly, in Jharkhand and Orissa the actual spending is 44 percent of their requirements. In Madhya Pradesh it is a little more than half (52 percent)."
The submission further says, "After seven years of commencement of the RTE Act, there is a teacher vacancy of 17.51% (more than 9 lakhs) in government schools at the elementary and at secondary level it is 14.78%. Around 10 % percent primary schools are only single teachers. Their service conditions, qualifications and salaries vary widely."
It adds, "Among the existing teachers in government schools, about 20 percent are untrained and the proportion of trained qualified teachers has been almost stagnant since 2010. As per official data, the share of professionally trained teacher varies from 52.2 percent in Bihar to 99 percent in Maharashtra."
The submission says, "The District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), conceived as teacher training and curriculum development institutions, have failed to live up to their roles. Studies have shown that 17% of the DIETs do not have their own building, 40% do not have their own hostel facility while 70% have no librarian. There is also about 80% vacancy in faculty positions in some states."
It underlines, "The share of schools complying with the entire set of RTE norms has never crossed 10% of schools; indeed, latest estimates by the RTE Forum suggest that the share has declined. Over all infrastructural availability rate is 76.33%. This has impacted drop out of children especially girls belonging to marginalised sections of the society."
On girls' education, the submission says, "They are still out of school because they do not feel safe and secure in schools. Even separate toilet for girls is not available after seven years of RTE. In 2016-17 revised estimate had been just Rs 43 crore, which even doubled in 2017-2018 is not adequate."

Comments

Grueling summer ahead: Cuttack’s alarming health trends and what they mean for Odisha

By Sudhansu R Das The preparation to face the summer should begin early in Odisha. People in the state endure long, grueling summer months starting from mid-February and extending until the end of October. This prolonged heat adversely affects productivity, causes deaths and diseases, and impacts agriculture, tourism and the unorganized sector. The social, economic and cultural life of the state remains severely disrupted during the peak heat months.

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

Why India must urgently strengthen its policies for an ageing population

By Bharat Dogra A quiet but far-reaching demographic transformation is reshaping much of the world. As life expectancy rises and birth rates fall, societies are witnessing a rapid increase in the proportion of older people. This shift has profound implications for public policy, and the need to strengthen frameworks for healthy and secure ageing has never been more urgent. India is among the countries where these pressures will intensify most sharply in the coming decades.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Search This Blog