On Wednesday, the Madhya Pradesh budget was increased in the education sector by 4%, which is now 11.26% of the total budget. At first glance, this can be considered as progress, but in practice, there are more and more empty classrooms and fewer and fewer students. This makes for a peculiar situation: more funds, less population. Under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, which aims at the integration of vocational education with general academics, an annual action plan of Rs 7,134.7 crore was sanctioned for the state. However, by November 30, 2024, while Rs 5,341.8 crore was allotted for elementary education, Rs 2,457 crore was released and only Rs 2,262.32 crore was spent. For secondary education, Rs 1,679.8 crore was sanctioned but only Rs 749 crore was provided and Rs 641.49 crore was spent. In teacher education, only a small portion of the Rs 113.1 crore that was allocated was used. Despite the fact that Rs 7,134.7 crore was sanctioned, the amount that was received was Rs 3,247.2 crore and only Rs 2,921.93 crore was spent, as per the economic survey report. The real problem, however, is the continuing decline in student population in all government schools. In the primary section, from Classes 1 to 5, the enrolment was 73.21 lakh in 2021-22 and it came down to 66 lakh in 2023-24. In the same way, counting for middle school, high school and higher secondary, there was a decline in the number of students. Moreover, the gender gap between boys and girls has increased in all levels. Congress MLA Jaivardhan Singh highlighted that 70,000 teaching posts are still vacant and asked how it is possible to provide quality education when teachers are lacking. Minister Vishwas Sarang, however, dismissed the opposition’s claims and the debate was continued in the Assembly.
Madhya Pradesh's More Money, Fewer Students
