RESOURCES (CENTRALLY SPONSORED SCHEMES)
Dr. K. Bakta Vatsal Rao, 2-2-1144/1/B, PO Lane, new Nallankunta, Hyderabad (6.10.90)
- Allocation within the education sector should be as under:
(a) Primary Education 40% of the budget
(b) Secondary Education 20% of the budget
(c) Collegiate Education 5% of the budget
(d) University Education 4% of the budget
(e) Technical Education 6% of the budget
(f) Adult Education 25% of the budget
Shri Sita Ram Singh, Lecturer, H.N.K. +2 School, Arrah, Bhojpur, (Bihar).
- Budgetary provisions for various areas in education sector is imbalanced; University education is given preference over primary education.
- Six percent of GNP should exclusively be spent on education.
Shri Jaganath Verma, 869, Dariyapur, Sultanpur
- The talk of universalisation of education is meaningless in the absence of provision of adequate budget resources. It should be 10% and not 6% of the GNP.
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Shri T.B. Govinda Rao, General Secretary, Bharatiya Shikshana Mandala, Karnataka, 21, 6th Cross Road, Chamarajpet, Bangalore (9.10.1990)
- The political will for change must be clearly demonstrated by providing adequate resources for education. A minimum of 10% of the plan outlay must be allocated for education at the centre and 30% at the State level.
Shri Gujraj Singh Sikarwar, MLA, Madhya Pradesh Janta Dal, Lalitpur Colony, Gwalior (5.10.1990)
- The funding pattern of educational institutions should be need-oriented to enable them to meet minimum necessities.
Prof. Jacob Aikara, Professor and Head, Unit for Research in the sociology of Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Post Box No. 8313, Bombay 400088. (6th October, 1990)
- The suggestion to levy graduate taxes on the users of the services of graduates is a welcome one. The suggestion to raise the fee structure for higher education is likely to meet with opposition from the students and the public. It is necessary that the public are made aware of the merit of this suggestion and prepared to accept it.
Dr. R. Bandyopadhyay, Director, Centre for Applied Systems Analysis in Development, D-5/8, Salunke Vihar, Pune-411022 (19.10.90)
- Strengthening of educational infrastructure and resource base of schools of backward areas of the country are absolutely necessary and therefore more attention should be given to that. This will involve 'District by District' identification of substandard resource base and poorly endowed schools, and programmes for their strengthening should be drawn up and implemented on a priority
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basis. Resource allocation for such programmes should also receive priority.
- Most of the cost of higher education (professional, vocational, general) should be met by the user organisations. Further, to stop brain drain it should be made mandatory that all candidates going through vocational and professional courses (non-sponsored candidates) must serve the country for a period of 5 years after successful completion of the course.
- At rural/semi-urban/urban levels all households having income above a threshold value should pay educational cess at a certain increasing rate depending on the total estimated income.
- Students involved in productive activities should generate some funds.
- All higher/professional/vocational education should be largely funded through sponsorship. Part of the costs should be met by loan scholarship given by banks/financial institutions.
- Central/State level allocations should be increased as much as possible.
- All primary education should be fully state funded.
- At secondary education stage 40% of the cost should be realised through education cess and contribution of the community. The remaining sixty percent should be borne by the State.
- Non-formal education should be funded fully by the State.
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Shri K. Narahari, President, Karnataka State Secondary Teachers' Association., 1357, 7th Main Road, Sriramapura, Bangalore-560021 (4.10.1990)
- To meet the developmental activities in the field of education an additional grant of at least 6% of GNP should be earmarked apart from meeting the recurring expenses such as salary.
Prof. Sourindra Bhattacharyya, MP (Rajya Sabha) (22.10.1990)
- Enhancement of tuition fee would force a large number of students to leave the field of higher education or prevent them from entering its portal. This is wholly impermissible in a Welfare State in which education is the responsibility of the State and not a commodity to be sold and bought. The Committee shall have to shed this outlook.
- The progressive opinion in the country is strongly in favour of restoring 'Education' to the State List as is essential in a multilingual State like India with varied culture to avoid strain on country Is unity and integrity.
- The question of resources should be dealt with fully. The issue cannot and should not be so projected to make educational workers blameworthy for poor allotment for education which is barely sufficient to make payment to the staff after which hardly anything is left for providing minimum requirements for education. If the standard, of general run of educational institutions has to be raised, considerably increased amount has to be allotted for education.
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Shri B.L. Seth, President, Rajasthan Shikshak Sangh, 45, Ganesh Nagar, University Road, Udaipur (22.10.1990)
- At the moment higher and technical education is almost free. This is not desirable. Cost of higher education must be charged from the beneficiaries.
Shri Ramesh Chandra Srivastava, Senior Teacher, Sainik Schools Ghorakhal, Nainital (UP) (25th October, 1990)
- For proper development of education in India a national intensive plan be devised. Every child should be compulsorily Insured for education without payment of any premium.' The government should issue educational bonds of various denominations. These bonds should be purchased by parents on amounts decided by the district authorities keeping in view their economic status. The amount thus earned should meet the expenses on the education of the child. After the child completes his education the bond may be permitted to be encashed. Every child at the age of 5 or 6 years should compulsorily be admitted in residential educational institutions
Shri R. Slattery, Principal, Teacher's Training College, Sitagarha P.O., Hazaribag Distt., Bihar (22nd October, 1990)
- The government by putting more money into higher education at the expense of elementary education is subsidizing the richer classes. It is doubtful whether any government will have the political will to raise college fee. Even at the primary level it is psychologically unwise to have completely free education.
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Shri J. Sagar, Joint Secretary, Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi (19.10.90)
- The mechanism of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme, if properly used, is an appropriate mechanism for translating Central initiatives into local action in a participative manner involving both the Centre and the States. There is a case for reducing the number of Centrally Sponsored Schemes but a practical, realistic approach should be adopted to this question, rather than a doctrinire one.
Dr. S. Unnikrishna Pillai, Principal, Regionl Engineering College, Calicut, Kerala-673601 (18.10.90)
- If resource allocation is based on backwardness there will be tendency to remain backward to attract resources. It should be noted that those States which are educationally forward remain so because they do spent a large amount of resources on education and their effort must be supported.
Sh. Poromesh Acharya, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta Joka, Diamond Harbour Road, Calcutta-700027 (12.10.90)
- One way of dissuading people from going for expensive English schooling may be the withdrawal of all kinds of State subsidy for the higher education of those who had their schooling in fee paying schools. State should bear the cost of higher education of only those who would come from free vernacular schools. The cost of education at IIT, IIM, Engineering and Medical Colleges is so high that majority of parents will think twice before sending their children to expensive English schools if subsidy is withdrawn.
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Dr. L.K. Singhal, Vice-Principal, Govt. Boys Sr. Sec. School, Badarpur, New Delhi (23rd October, 1990)
- Resources at present available for education are sufficient. The assets of every school should be fully utilised. All college buildings, libraries, labs, vocational centres, auditoriums, etc. be utilised to their fullest extent.
Shri Rajesh Kumar Jain, 330 Income Tax Colony, Uttari Pitam Pura, Delhi (23rd October, 1990)
- The percentage of GNP spent on education should be increased by 20 percent. Resources be mobilised by deducting 5 to 10 percent of the basic salary of salaried persons in the government, public and private sector companies and other agencies for the promotion or universalisation of education in India.
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