New Delhi, February 29
With the 11th Five Year plan giving special focus on education, the government today earmarked a whopping over Rs 38,702 crore to the sector in the Union Budget 2008-09, showing a massive increase of over Rs 9,000 crore. A sum of Rs 27,850 crore has been provided for school education as compared to last year’s revised estimate of Rs 23,191.35 crore.

Elementary education has been given Rs 19,777.50 crore this year as against Rs 18,439.61 crore the previous year. Of this, Rs 13,100 crore will be provided to the flagship programme Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to universalise education in the country. The Mid-day Meal Scheme, which will receive Rs 8,000 crore, will be extended to all children up to upper primary level (from Class I to VIII) in all areas across the country.

The allocation for secondary education has been doubled at Rs 5,139.70 crore in 2008-09 as against Rs 2,465.18 crore last year.

With the government proposing to set up high quality model schools, Rs 582.80 crore has been earmarked for this purpose during the year. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his Independence Day address last year had announced setting up of 6,000 new high quality schools, one in every block of the country.

Higher education has received a special attention in the budget with an allocation of Rs 10,852.87 crore as against Rs 6,397.36 crore in the revised estimate last year. Of this, the university and higher education sector has received Rs 5,234.76 crore this year as against Rs 3,699.43 crore last year. A major chunk of Rs 5,104.90 crore will go to the University Grants Commission (UGC) this year which includes a provision of Rs 875 crore towards the implementation of the Oversight Commission recommendations for meeting the requirement for enhanced number of students in Central universities. A sum of Rs 45.45 crore has been allocated for the Area Intensive and Madrasa Modernisation Programme this year as compared to Rs 44.50 crore last year. — PTI

New Delhi, February 29
The government will establish 16 central universities in each of the hitherto uncovered states. This was stated by the finance minister while presenting the General Budget today.

Chidambaram said the government also proposed to set up three IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan; two IISERs at Bhopal and Tiruvananthapuram; and two schools of planning and architecture at Bhopal and Vijaywada.

More institutes of higher education, as promised by the Prime Minister, would be established during the Eleventh Plan period, he added.

A grant of Rs 5 crore has been proposed for the Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute, Pune, which is one of the oldest institutions of modern learning in India. — UNI