Bengal: Education Min slams Centre for withholding ‘Samagra Shiksha Mission’ funds

Kolkata: State Education minister Bratya Basu has criticised the Central government for “deliberately withholding” funds approved for the state’s Samagra Shiksha Mission (SSM).

Basu said: “The Central government has been discriminating against Bengal for several years now.

This is undemocratic and autocratic behaviour. They are withholding funds for school education development projects because they cannot win elections in Bengal. Winning and losing elections is part of democracy, but the students of Bengal are also students of India. The Central government has no right to deprive them in this manner. The funds should be released immediately.”

According to sources, officials from the state School Education department recently travelled to Delhi and raised the issue but returned “empty-handed”.

Previously, multiple letters from the Chief Secretary, the Education minister, and the Education department Secretary were sent. 

However, the Centre has not released the pending funds.

Reports suggest that the Centre’s “refusal to release funds is linked to the state government’s decision not to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the PM SHRI project”.

In the fiscal year 2023-24, the state was approved for Rs 1,500-1,700 crore under the SSM but received only Rs 311 crore in  two instalments. An additional Rs 485 crore, approved by the Internal Finance Division (IFD), was never disbursed. As a result, the state was unable to apply for the next instalment, leading to a potential loss of around Rs 1,200 crore. For 2024-25, the Centre approved Rs 2,000 crore, but the first instalment was never disbursed to the state.