Why UP,Bihar,Bengal fear the maths

If Mayawati,Nitish Kumar and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee are on the same side on the issue of implementation of the Right to Education Act,the answer lies in the numbers.

If Mayawati,Nitish Kumar and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee are on the same side on the issue of implementation of the Right to Education Act,the answer lies in the numbers. Uttar Pradesh,Bihar and West Bengal,as per the Union Human Resource Development Ministrys latest figures,lag way behind other states in terms of education indices and,hence,are the ones which will have to pitch in the most for implementing the RTE Act.

Countrywide estimates drawn up by the ministry show that of the 13.3 lakh new teachers who need to be inducted over the next three years to provide education to every child between the ages of six and 14,Uttar Pradesh has to take in at least 3.9 lakh,Bihar 2.2 lakh and West Bengal 1 lakh.

Of the 7.8 lakh additional classrooms required,again UP needs the most (2.5 lakh),Bihar (2.5 lakh) and Bengal (1.3 lakh). These three states will also have to construct the maximum number of toilets for girls in schools and to make provision for drinking water in schools.

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Shared by the HRD Ministry with all state governments at a meeting earlier this year,these figures indicate the kind of investment and work needed to meet the goal of free and compulsory education to children.

The government estimates that it will require Rs 1.71 lakh crore for implementation of the RTE Act over the next five years. The Finance Commission has released Rs 13,000 crore to the states to kickstart the implementation process,and the ministry is in the process of getting a 65:35/75:25 Centre-state fund-sharing arrangement through the Expenditure Finance Committee to open the purse strings for states.

The fact is that states like UP,Bihar,West Bengal or even Madhya Pradesh have not given due attention to education over the years. The negligence has led to a pile-up of teacher vacancies and worsened school infrastructure. In contrast,states like Tamil Nadu,Maharashtra,Andhra Pradesh are more educationally enlightened. That apart,several states that now need to invest in education have been lagging behind on requirements under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. All that now adds up… That explains why certain states are claiming a fund crunch and demanding a Centre-state fund sharing arrangement like 90:10 or so, said a source.

As per ministry estimates,UP will require nearly Rs 38,000 crore over the next five years for RTE implementation while Bihar will need some Rs 26,000 crore. Bengals fund requirement is estimated at Rs 14,000 crore,Andhras at Rs 10,000 crore,Maharashtra needs some Rs 9,800 crore and Madhya Pradesh nearly Rs 8,200 crore.

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With teacher requirements for RTE to be met over a period of three years,maximum funds are likely to go towards paying their salaries (28 per cent),followed by expenditure for civil works (24 per cent),for child entitlements (17 per cent) and for special training for out-of-school children (9 per cent). School facilities will require 8 per cent of the funds,inclusive education 6 per cent and teacher development needs 5 per cent of the entire projection.

Sources said that while a 75:25 fund-sharing formula between the Centre and states will mean an average cost of Rs 300 crore per state per annum,a 65:35 formula will translate into some Rs 500 crore per state per annum. It will still remain a tall order for UP and Bihar.