Centre's Nod to ₹1,277-Crore Budget for School Education

The Union ministry of education has approved a budget of ₹1,277 crore for school education in Punjab for the 2025-26 financial year under its flagship Samagra Shiksha Scheme while turning down some of the state government's proposals related to computer labs and smart classrooms.

- Navneet Sharma

CHANDIGARH:

The ministry has sanctioned approximately ₹850 crore for elementary schools and another ₹400 crore for secondary schools, with the remaining ₹27.46 crore going to teacher education.

The budget, which is marginally higher than the previous year's outlay, has been sanctioned for improvement in the government school infrastructure, quality of education, retention rate, and access to schooling, besides Right to Education (RTE) entitlements.

With the flagship school education scheme following a 60:40 Centre-state funding ratio, the Union education ministry will contribute ₹731 crore, while the Punjab government will provide ₹488 crore, according to the minutes of the meeting of the central ministry's project approval board (PAB) released on Tuesday. This year, the state government will have a fund availability of ₹1,492.89 crore under the scheme, including a spillover amount of ₹215.60 crore.