State gets ₹4,900 crore less than its due in central education scheme

MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s school education department has raised concerns about the allocation to the state under the central government’s Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, pointing out that while Maharashtra accounts for 8

MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s school education department has raised concerns about the allocation to the state under the central government’s Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, pointing out that while Maharashtra accounts for 8.61% of the country’s total student population, it receives only 3.06% of the scheme’s budget. According to officials, the allocation gap is over ₹4,900 crore.

The Samagra Shiksha budget for 2025-26 is ₹87,367 crore, of which Maharashtra has been allocated only ₹2,673 crore despite having over 100,000 schools, more than 75,00,000 teachers, and over 21 million students. “If allocations are made based on the size of the educational system, Maharashtra should get 8.61%, which works out to around ₹7,522 crore compared to the past allocation of ₹2,673 crore,” said an official from the school education department.

Education minister Dada Bhuse has urged the Centre to substantially increase the state’s allocation, said the official. “While demanding the hike, it was pointed out that over 90% of the state education budget was spent on salaries and pensions, leaving very little money to develop education infrastructure. If the central government gave more financial support, it would help improve education facilities.”

In a letter sent to the central government, Maharashtra has also demanded an increase in the Centre’s contribution towards the honorarium of cooks and helpers under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme. Around 1,64,558 cooks and helpers work under the scheme for a monthly honorarium of ₹2,500. Of this, the Centre contributes ₹600 while the state pays ₹1,900. The state has now demanded that the Centre pick up the lion’s share and pay ₹2,000.