New Delhi: In order to make education accessible to everyone in Uttar Pradesh, as well as to improve its quality and link it with employment, the Yogi Adityanath-led government will spend a budget of more than Rs 750 crores on basic, secondary and higher education in the next three months. The Government has also prepared an action plan in this regard.
This amount will be spent on both new and already existing programs in each of these three departments. Many of these programs are sponsored by the Center, and funds will be spent on them after the Central Government releases the budget installment and the State Government gives its consent.
As per the information received, the Basic Education Department has prepared an action plan for budget expenditure of Rs 121 crore on various schemes, while the Higher Education Department has presented an action plan for spending more than Rs 20 crore. On the other hand, the Secondary Education Department has estimated an expenditure of more than 600 crores on the basis of the budget.
It is notable that in his second term, CM Yogi has given priority to the process of setting targets and achieving them within a given timeframe. With the beginning of the new financial year, once again all the departments have been instructed to work on a three-month action plan.
According to this intention of CM Yogi, all the departments have presented an action plan for the expenditure, keeping in view the various new schemes in the next three months.
Upgradation of Basic schools
The Basic Education Department has provided a plan of action for the budgetary expenditure of more than Rs 121 crore. The Basic Education Department will receive a budget of Rs 510 crore from the Central and State Governments as part of the PM Shri Yojana, according to the information received.
Under this, the department has prepared an action plan to spend Rs 76.10 crore in the first three months. There is a plan to upgrade about 14,500 government schools across the country under the National Education Policy 2022 under PM SHRI. Additionally, the schools will be transformed into ‘green schools’ with solar panels and an efficient waste management system.
In addition, the department will receive 300 crores for building digital infrastructure and libraries for children and adolescents. The department also plans to spend Rs 45 crore on this scheme. According to the plan, the Central government will establish a national library and encourage the states to build the necessary infrastructure so that kids can access it at the ward and panchayat levels.
Government will cover the costs of the second daughter’s education
The Secondary Education Department will receive a budget of Rs 390 crores under the PM School for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme. This is a centrally sponsored scheme and the amount will be spent through the approved action plan and allocated budget by the Ministry of School Education and Literacy.
Apart from this, a budget of Rs 5 crore has been allocated to the department to reimburse the tuition fees of the second daughter of a parent studying in self-financed schools. The department will allocate Rs 1.39 crores for April on the basis of information provided by the districts after approval of the funds by the government.
There is a budget provision of Rs 237 crores on Children and Adolescents Libraries and Digital Infrastructure, on which the department has said that the first installment of the center is likely to be received in June 2023, after which the physical and financial targets of the scheme will be achieved with the approval of the government.
Establishment of Skill hub by Dept of Higher Education
Apart from Basic and Secondary, the Higher Education Department has also presented an action plan for budget expenditure for the next three months. Under this, there is a provision of a budget of Rs 2.10 crores for the establishment of ‘skill hub’. The department will make arrangements for the purchase of necessary equipment and basic facilities.
Through the skill hub, the government will provide vocational education to school drop-out students and conduct short-term certification courses for skill training after school and on weekly holidays. On the other hand, an amount of Rs 2 crore will be spent on quality promotion of higher education.
A total of Rs 10 crore will be spent on Chief Minister’s Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme, Rs 5 crore on the digital library at the ward level and Rs one crore will be spent on Skill Hub to provide employment-oriented education. Overall, the Higher Education Department will spend Rs 20.1 crore in the next three months.