The Chhattisgarh Assembly on Monday approved Rs21,101.70-crore budget proposal of School Education, Tribal, Scheduled Caste, Other Backward Classes and Minorities Development departments.
In the budget passed for the next financial year 2014-15, grant demands of the School Education Department for Rs3,136.17 crore and Tribal, Scheduled Caste, Other Backward Classes and Minorities Development Department’s Rs17,965.5 crore are included.
School Education Minister Kedar Kashyap, while discussing on the departmental grant demands, said that during the next financial year 2014-15, Prayas residential schools under the Mukhyamantri Baal Bhavishya Yojana would be opened in Durg and Bilaspur district headquarters.
He said four new 50-seater hostels for Other Backward Class girls would be opened in Baloda Bazar, Sukma, Dantewada and Surajpur. A total of 3,000 seats would be increased in the Ashram hostels being operated in the state for providing residential facility to the students of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, of which 2,600 seats would be for SCs and 400 for STs.
The minister said that 15 high schools operated in the scheduled areas would be upgraded to higher secondary schools and 15 Pre-middle schools would be upgraded to high schools. The responsibility of midday meal arrangement in the schools of rural areas has been given to women self-help groups.
Now the state government has taken a significant decision to give the work of stitching and supply of school uniform to women self-help groups. To ensure quality of education in schools and participation of local community in education, the teachers of schools operated in rural areas should have to present their progress report to Gramsabha.
Kashyap said, in order to develop writing and reading skill among the children of primary schools, Reading Olympiads and Writing Olympiad competitions would be organised in the schools and the winners would be awarded.
For fulfilling basic needs of primary and pre-middle schools a provision of Rs125 crore has been made in the budget for next, whereas, Rs15 crore provision has been made for repair of higher schools. Rs51.64 crore provision has been made for model schools. Rs12.20 crore provision has been made for nine new higher secondary school buildings and 10 development block education office buildings.
For State’s share of National Secondary Education Campaign a provision for Rs499.21 crore has been made and that for Sarvashiksha Abhiyan Rs1413 crore and for Sakshar Bharat Abhiyan Rs19.92 crore has been made. Provision for library buildings in districts Rs1.62 crore, Rs5.31 crore for sports head, Rs147 crore for uniform for students studying in government primary and pre-middle schools, Rs303.71 crore for midday meal arrangement, Rs60.66 crore for free textbooks have been made.
Kashyap said that e-scholarship scheme has been started for SC, ST and OBC students’ post metric scholarships. For the various schemes run by the Tribal and SC development department Rs2901 crore provision has been made in plan head
and Rs1384 crore for
non-plan head.
In the Tribal Sub Plan head Rs12,485 crore and for SC Sub Plan head Rs4,037 crore provision has been made.