SSA funds released to states declined 23%: Education ministry data

NEW DELHI: The amount released to the states and Union Territories (UTs) to implement initiatives under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has dropped from Rs 32,326.82 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 24,873.18 crore in 2021-22, shows the data shared by the education ministry with Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. This means that funds released to the states have seen a decrease of 23.05% in three years, when students’ enrollment in government schools is up by 7% in the same period.

The SSA is critical for school education. Accounting for 33% of the education ministry’s budget of Rs 1,12,899 crore for the next financial year, 2023-24, it is the largest scheme of the ministry with an allocation of Rs 37,453 crore. It is aimed at universalising primary and secondary education.

Education ministry data shows that there has been a consistent decline in the amount released to states under the SSA scheme. The union government released Rs 32,326.82 crore in 2019-20, Rs 27,758.52 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 24,873.18 crore in 2021-22, according to the data shared by minister of state (MoS) education Subhas Sarkar in response to questions asked by Muzibulla Khan, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP from Odisha in the ongoing budget session of Parliament.

SSA funds released to states from 2019 to 2022

Samagra Shiksha Budget 2023

For 2023-24, the central government has allocated Rs 37,453 crore for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. This is 16% higher than the revised estimate of Rs 32,151 crore for FY 2022-23, but only 0.2% higher than the BE of Rs 37,383 crore. The SSA budget had been revised down by 14% in 2022-23.

Also Read | Union Budget 2023: School education outlay rises by Rs 5,355 cr

The SSA is funded jointly by the union government and the states in a 60:40 ratio or 90:10 for hilly and northeastern states.

When compared with the allocated amount in the last three years, the release of funds by the central government to states was lowest at 83% in 2021-22. Between 2019 and 2022, the central government allocated Rs 94,231 crore and released Rs 84,957 crore, or 90%.

SSA Budget: Funds released to states

Releases are delayed as is spending. According to an analysis by the think-tank Centre for Policy Research’s Accountability Initiative, by November 30, 2022, the union government had released Rs 19,065.33 crore of the Rs 37,383 crore it had originally allocated in FY 2022-23 to SSA – just 51%. Also, by October, states had spent 22% of the total approved budget for the scheme.

Schools Enrollments and dropout rate

The decrease in SSA funds released has coincided with consistent rise in enrollment in government and government-aided schools from 2019-20 to 2021-22, much of it an outcome of the covid pandemic and its impact on the economy.

Also Read | UP has left its rural government schools unprepared for rise in enrolment

According to education ministry’s Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2021-22 on school education, enrolment in government and government-aided schools increased by over 87 lakh at elementary (Classes 1 to 8), and by 31 lakh at secondary levels (Classes 9 and 10) from the pre-covid-19 period, the academic years from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

While there has been a drop in dropout rate of students in all three levels of schooling from 2019-20 to 2020-21, there is an increase in dropout rate in primary (Classes 1 to 5) and upper primary (Classes 6 to 8) from 2020-21 to 2021-22. The dropout rate at secondary level (Classes 9 to 10) has been declining from 2019 to 2022.

Dropout rate is calculated by levels of education - primary (6-10 years), upper primary (11-13 years) and secondary (14-15 years).