Union govt approves ₹1,277 crore for Punjab school education under Samagra Shiksha

The Union government has cleared a ₹1,277 crore allocation for school education in Punjab for the 2025–26 financial year under its flagship Samagra Shiksha Scheme while rejecting several state proposals related to digital infrastructure, including smart classrooms and computer labs.

According to the Union Ministry of Education, approximately ₹850 crore will be allocated to elementary education, ₹400 crore to secondary education, and ₹27.46 crore to teacher training initiatives.

The sanctioned amount is slightly higher than last year’s budget and is aimed at improving infrastructure in government schools, enhancing learning outcomes, increasing student retention, and ensuring access to schooling.

The funds will also cover entitlements under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, such as free uniforms and textbooks.

The Union government will contribute ₹731 crore, while the Punjab government will provide ₹488 crore under the 60:40 funding formula of the Samagra Shiksha Scheme.

Including a spillover amount of ₹215.60 crore, Punjab will have ₹1,492.89 crore at its disposal this year.

The Project Approval Board (PAB) of the education ministry, which reviewed Punjab’s annual work plan on March 6, rejected proposals seeking ₹23 crore for computers and software for elementary schools and ₹37 lakh in recurring expenditure for smart classrooms in secondary schools.

However, funds amounting to ₹7.58 crore have been sanctioned for ICT and digital initiatives at the secondary and senior secondary levels.

The state has been asked to reassess the availability of computer labs and smart classrooms and submit a revised proposal later this month.

Additionally, it was suggested that Punjab examine its science lab infrastructure and propose subject-specific laboratories in senior secondary schools.

The PAB, chaired by Union School Education and Literacy Secretary Sanjay Kumar, also flagged several systemic issues in Punjab’s education sector, including teacher shortages, pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) imbalances, and infrastructure deficiencies.

There are currently 6,423 teaching vacancies across government schools—1,546 at the elementary level, 961 at the secondary level, and 3,916 at the senior secondary level.

The state has been directed to fill these vacancies by December 2025. Staff shortages at the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and 22 District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) were also noted, with seven and 143 vacancies, respectively.

“There are seven vacancies at the SCERT and 143 at 22 DIETs,” the ministry said. The state has been asked to fill all vacant positions within three months to enable quality interventions.

While there has been a reduction in single-teacher schools, the state still has 1,884 such schools at the primary level and 137 at the upper primary level.

The ministry stressed the need for Punjab to ensure compliance with RTE norms and reduce adverse PTRs, which persist in 18.6% of primary and 23.7% of upper primary schools.

“The state is required to analyze school-wise data in this regard and take appropriate remedial measures,” it said.

The ministry acknowledged Punjab’s high net enrollment ratio (NER) at the primary level but raised concerns over the NER at higher levels of schooling.

It also praised the state's performance in terms of gross enrolment ratio (GER) at the elementary level while pointing to the need for improvement at the higher secondary stage.

A particular area of concern highlighted by the ministry was the low enrolment and inadequate support for children with special needs (CWSN).

The ministry noted that CWSN make up just 1% of the student population, with numbers declining steadily from Class 1 to Class 12.

“The state government has been asked to ensure that students enrolled in Grade 1 are supported to continue their education through to Grade 12,” according to the minutes.

With only 9% of teachers trained in inclusive education, the state has been urged to provide proper training and conduct identification camps for CWSN to improve their participation in mainstream education.