Kerala to spend Rs 1,032 crore for Samagra Shiksha, STARS programmes

NEW DELHI: The union education ministry has allocated Rs 1,031.92 crore for programmes under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) programme in Kerala for the year 2023-24. The central government will be bearing 60 percent of this amount while the rest of it has to be borne by the state.

Out of this, Rs 605.69 crore will be used for SSA and Rs 426.23 crore will be used for STARS programme.

Rs 467.23 crore of the SSA funds will be used for elementary education, Rs 120.34 crore will be used for secondary education and Rs 18.12 crore will be spent on teachers training, the Kerala General Education Department said, in a statement .

Kerala Education: STARS projects

The STARS programme funds will be distributed under five categories:

The Kerala education minister has already announced plans to establish 210 skill development centres under the STARS programme.

The STARS programme was launched in January 2021 with a USD 500 million loan from the World Bank.

It is a central government programme that “will focus on enhancing state capability” in six states -- Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha.

Participating states can access funds based on their performance on the five parameters mentioned above, which are subject to routine verification. Educationists had earlier questioned both this system of “result-based financing” and the choice of components or “outcomes” the scheme will reward.