Rajasthan fails to spend a single penny from Centre’s education fund

JAIPUR: The state government has not spent a single penny from the Union government fund for Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA) in the financial year 2014-15 till September 30. The state’s performance is lowest in spending since its inception in 2009, says a report prepared by Accountability Initiative, an NGO working for education.
The fund is meant to be utilized for spread of information and communication technology (ICT), teachers training, inclusive education for disabled, improving learning levels and infrastructure facilities.RMSA is the second biggest fund component which every state receives annually after Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA).
This year, the Union government has allocated Rs 3,565 crore in the budget 2015-16 for RMSA. Experts said that states which have many backward areas, like Rajasthan, can draw allocations of above Rs 200 crore from the total budgetary outlay.
The RMSA fund is crucial for the state as the Union government has slashed allocations from its schemes like SSA (20.74%), mid-day meal programme (30.11%) in the Union budget 2015.
The state has allocated a budget of Rs 21,788 crore for education in 2015-16 which many experts say is not enough for improving learning outcomes. “This year, the state has to utilize RMSA fund for teachers training, libraries and ICT work which was given less weightage in the state budget-2015,” said KB Kothari, managing trustee of Pratham, an NGO.
The biggest indicator for judging the performance of RMSA fund is gross enrollment ratio in the secondary classes, transition rate from secondary to senior secondary and enrollment of children in the relevant age groups.
Rajasthan scored poorly in the country in terms of pass percentage of girls in Class X board in 2013-14. The pass percentage of girls and boys were 69.23% and 70.55% respectively. Kerala recorded the highest pass percentage of 96% for girls, Tamil Nadu 92%, Punjab 89%, Uttar Pradesh 88%, Maharashtra 85%, Gujarat 78% and Bihar 71% in Class X in the same year.
The ineffectiveness of state education department is such that they had completed only 6% of the total civil works sanctioned under RMSA this year. These projects were cleared in the previous financial years, says the report. Rajasthan along with Jharkhand and West Bengal have not filled any of the approved teachers post in the last two financial years.
RMSA allocations are based on an annual work plan and budget submitted to Union government by state governments. The final budget is based on negotiations with Union HRD ministry. Once it is approved, the fund is shared between Union government and states in a 75:25 ratio.