National

Ministry's projection on education questioned

Special Correspondent

"Projected requirements of funds got jacked up"

NEW DELHI: The Planning Commission has questioned the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry's projections on the financial requirements for operationalising the Fundamental Right to Education enlisted in the draft `Right to Education Bill 2005'. In its note prepared for Wednesday's meeting of the expert group on the draft legislation, the Commission noted that the "financial projection'' — billed at an additional Rs. 53,000 crore annually — "appears to be on the higher side by 25 to 30 per cent due to unrealistic assumptions''.

Some of the "highly questionable'' assumptions, according to the Commission, include the growth rate of children in the 6-11 age group. The Ministry has arrived at the figure on the basis that the child population in this group would grow during 2001-2011 at the same rate as it did between 1991 and 2001.

"Actually, the child population has been declining. This has inflated the Gross Enrolment projection to 28.32 for elementary classes (I-VIII) from the existing level of 16.92 crore children (2002-03). The demand for teachers has been derived using Gross Enrolment and Pupil-Teacher Norm of 40:1. Hence, the projected requirements of funds got jacked up. The child population is likely to be around 20 crore by 2011-12. The gross enrolment could be higher by 10 to 15 per cent of the child population on account of enrolment of under-age/over-age children. But it cannot be 42 per cent higher than the child population,'' the Commission noted stating that the financial projections were on the higher side because of such "unrealistic assumptions''.

Also, the Commission has described as irrational the assumption that the non-formal system of education should be brought within the formal school system.

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