The Hindu : 'Honour commitment to provide free education for all'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 16, 2003

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National

'Honour commitment to provide free education for all'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI FEB. 15. Apprehensive of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) programme falling prey to resource crunch, the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Murli Manohar Joshi, has cautioned the Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, of great embarrassment to the Government if it went back on its "commitment" to provide free education to all.

Reacting to indications that the annual Plan outlay for the Department of Elementary Education and Literacy in the coming fiscal would remain static at the current level of Rs. 4,900 crore as against the recommended Rs. 7,096 crore, Dr. Joshi wrote to Mr. Singh earlier this week requesting him to restore the outlay proposed for the Department during a meeting with the Planning Commission. In his letter, Dr. Joshi drew the Finance Minister's attention to the fact that the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act had made it the Constitutional obligation of the State to provide elementary education to children in the 6-14 age group. According to him, serious shortfall in allocation for SSA "will result in great embarrassment to the Government".

Also, Dr. Joshi reminded Mr. Singh that "the political opponents of the Constitutional Amendment Bill have been making it an issue that the Government was not serious about its priority to elementary education and would go back on its commitment". Such being the case, his contention is that any reduction in allocation would serve as political manna for the Government's opponents.

With 90 per cent of the Department's outlay being spent on SSA and MDM, stagnation in funding would also affect the scheme to provide nutritional support to primary school children. In fact, Dr. Joshi has categorically stated in his letter that there was no scope for any reduction in outlay for MDM.

Given that arrears to the Food Corporation of India for foodgrains supplied by it towards the MDM scheme today stands at Rs. 500 crore, a reduction in outlay, according to Dr. Joshi, would affect the programme. "Since the programme is being monitored by the Supreme Court and is being covered extensively by the media, our inability to make payments resulting in discontinuation of supplies will be a serious blow to the reputation and credibility of the Government."

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