A parliamentary panel has flagged poor fund utilisation under key central school education schemes, with the Education Ministry spending only 54.9 per cent of the budgeted amount for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the flagship programme supporting public schools, and just 51.5 per cent across major schemes up to mid-February in the 2025-26 financial year.
The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, chaired by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, presented these findings while reviewing demands for grants for 2026-27. The panel expressed concern over slow spending, delays in fund releases to certain states, declining coverage under the mid-day meal scheme, and implementation gaps that could undermine learning outcomes and nutritional support for millions of students.
Low Spending On Core Schemes
Against a combined budget estimate of Rs 62,660 crore for five centrally sponsored schemes under the Department of School Education and Literacy, actual expenditure was Rs 32,296.54 crore as of February 13, 2026, equivalent to 51.5 per cent of the budget estimate and 60.1 per cent of the revised estimate of Rs 53,730.02 crore.
For Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan alone, utilisation stood at 54.9 per cent of its Rs 41,250 crore budget estimate. The scheme provides financial assistance to states and Union Territories to improve infrastructure, reduce dropouts, and enhance learning outcomes from pre-primary to senior secondary levels. Its allocation for 2026-27 has been set at Rs 42,100 crore, though the government is reportedly reviewing an outcome-based funding model.
Other Schemes Also Saw Significant Shortfalls:
- PM-POSHAN (mid-day meal scheme): Revised estimates cut from Rs 12,500 crore to Rs 10,600 crore.
- PM-SHRI Schools: Allocation reduced sharply from Rs 7,500 crore to Rs 4,500 crore.
- Strengthening teaching-learning and results for states (STARS): Reduced from Rs 1,250 crore to Rs 500 crore.
The ministry attributed the overall Rs 8,004.96 crore cut in the 2025-26 revised estimate (a 10.19 per cent reduction from the original Rs 78,572.10 crore budget estimate) to slower utilisation by states, delayed proposals, and the inability to release funds to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal in the previous year.
The committee urged the government to resolve issues with Tamil Nadu and West Bengal amicably and expedite the rollout of the SNA-SPARSH platform across all states for real-time, just-in-time fund transfers and improved transparency.
PM-POSHAN Concerns: No Funds for West Bengal, Falling Coverage
The panel highlighted persistent under-spending and operational challenges under PM-POSHAN, one of the world's largest school nutrition programmes, covering children in Classes 1-8 and Balvatika.
In 2025-26, expenditure reached only Rs 6,639.22 crore against the Rs 12,500 crore allocation as of February 13. West Bengal has received no central funds under the scheme since 2023-24, even as Kerala and Tamil Nadu continued to receive allocations.
Beneficiary coverage declined from 12.16 crore students in 2022-23 to 10.99 crore in 2024-25, along with a corresponding drop in the number of participating schools.
The committee recommended a fixed quarterly fund release schedule at the start of each financial year, priority extension of SNA-SPARSH to the scheme, and measures to reverse the decline in meal coverage.
Other Key Observations And Recommendations
- DHRUV scheme: The national initiative, announced in 2019 for identifying and nurturing gifted students, is yet to be launched.
- NCERT textbooks and vacancies: The panel urged the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to expedite publication of new textbooks for Classes 9-12 under the National Curriculum Framework, ensure availability in all Eighth Schedule and major regional languages in line with NEP 2020, and address over 60% staff vacancies. It also recommended collaboration on content creation labs and a common assessment blueprint across boards.
- Dropout rates: Persistently high secondary-level dropout rates in some states, along with gender gaps in enrolment, particularly in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh, were flagged. The panel called for district-specific intervention plans and targeted incentives for girls.
- NIPUN Bharat Mission: While noting progress, the panel recommended extending the programme till 2032, expanding it to Grades 3-5 with a focus on oral reading fluency, and increasing its budget from Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 6,000 crore. It also suggested a census-based assessment for all Grade 5 students and the use of adaptive learning tools.
- ULLAS (adult literacy): The flat Rs 160 crore annual allocation was termed inadequate for an estimated 25 crore functionally illiterate adults. The panel recommended a significant increase, biannual FLNAT assessments, and incentives for volunteer teachers. Low or zero fund releases in states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, and Jharkhand were also flagged.
The committee's report underscores the need for faster fund utilisation, stronger Centre-state coordination, and outcome-based monitoring to ensure that increased allocations in 2026-27, where school education accounts for about 2.6 per cent of the Union Budget, translate into measurable improvements on the ground.
With the financial year nearing its end, the findings highlight persistent implementation gaps in schemes that directly affect access, equity, and quality in India's public school system.
