COMMENTARY
Allocations for Education during the Eleventh Plan
Satadru Sikdar, Anit N Mukherjee
a two-way analysis of the share of resources going to each sub-sector and size category. This provides insight into the basic policy question of disaggregation or consolidation of central government education schemes over the Eleventh Plan period. It also helps us draw lessons for the
With the exception of the secondary education sector which was emphasised during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, an analysis of budgetary allocations through centrally-sponsored schemes over 2006-07 to 2011-12 shows a move towards consolidation into larger schemes. Smaller schemes are difficult to administer at the national level and suffer from low uptake by the states. This positive development should therefore continue in the Twelfth Plan.
Satadru Sikdar (satadru@nipfp.org.in) and Anit N Mukherjee (anit@nipfp.org.in) are at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi.
A
The budget for 2011-12 is also the last budget of the Eleventh Plan. This provides an opportunity to review the objectives of the plan and how those objectives have been translated into budgetary allocation by the Government of India over the last five years. The education budget of the government can be disaggregated into five broad components: (1) elementary, (2) secondary, (3) university, higher and distance learning, (4) technical education, and
(5) others, which includes adult education. We have looked only at the expenditure in the department of school education and literacy and the department of higher education, both under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The objective of this article is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the budgetary provisions made by the central government for the education sector over the Eleventh Plan period. We compare the initial year of the plan, 2006-07, with the latest year, 201112, for which only budget estimates are available. We categorise the schemes according to their size (above Rs 500 crore to less than Rs 50 crore) and track the distribution of schemes both within the education sub-sector (such as elementary education) and across the five size sub-sectors explained above. Moreover, classifying schemes in this manner, we undertake
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next plan, which is now under discussion.
Objectives and Allocations
Among the 27 targets set by the Eleventh Five-Year Plan at the national level, the following were set for education (Planning Commission 2008: 23):
A comprehensive evaluation of these broad targets is not within the scope of this article; the latest census currently underway will provide data to assess literacy rate and gender gap targets. However, the latest National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data indicates that dropout rates are higher than 20% in most states, and the percentage from each cohort going into higher education is also much less than the Eleventh Plan targets envisaged.
The major developments during the Eleventh Plan period have been: (1) establishment of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) as the vehicle for universal elementary education; (2) extension of the Midday Meal scheme (MDM) in all elementary schools; (3) enactment of the Right to Education Act 2009; (4) a major thrust to secondary education through the establishment of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA); and (5) reforms in higher education through the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) Bill currently being deliberated by Parliament.
Corresponding to these developments, budgetary allocation and expenditure by the central government has increased
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significantly between 2006-07 and 2011
12. Budgetary allocation has doubled in the case of elementary education, and has risen by more than three times for secondary education and higher education (Figure 1).
Distribution of Schemes by Expenditure Groups
We have grouped together schemes according to their allocation size, for different sectors of education, with four groups for every sector. Group I includes schemes with allocations of Rs 500 crore or more, group II includes schemes with allocations of Rs 100 crore or less than Rs 500 crore, group III includes schemes with allocations of Rs 50 crore or less than Rs 100 share of the centre in some major schemes has also increased.
The policy objective of universal elementary education is primarily reflectedin the consolidation of the large centrallysponsored schemes (CSS). In 2011-12, apart from the SSA and MDM, one new scheme on “strengthening of teachers training institutions” has been added to group I. A scheme for providing quality education in madrasas (SPQEM) is the only scheme in group II in 2011-12 with an increased allocation. SPQEM was launched in 200910, the same year that the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was stopped. Allocation for the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya was stopped in 2006-07
Figure 1: Central Expenditure on Education during 11th Plan (Rs Crore)
Elementary Secondary University and Higher Education Technical Others Education Education and Distance Learning Education 32150.45 16895.44 1986.04 8691.80 3066.62 12722.21 1809.41 7812.22 460.14 1889.98 2011-12(BE) 2006-07(RE) Source: Government of India (2007, 2011), “Detailed Demands for Grants”.
crore; schemes below Rs 50 crore come under group IV. It is clearly seen from Table 1 that for all education sectors between 2006-07 and 2011-12, the number of schemes has increased in group I and decreased in group IV.
Apart from the policy changes outlined in the Tenth Plan document, there are two reasons for the differences in the distribution of schemes by expenditure categories. First, allocation amounts in nominal terms have increased and second, the
Table 1: Number of Schemes by Size
and merged with the SSA. The Mahila Samakhya and the scheme for Infrastructure Development in Minority Institutions (IDMI), with Rs 50 crore allocation for each in the Union Budget 2011-12 fall under group III. National Bal Bhawan, New Delhi, is the only scheme in elementary education with an allocation of less than Rs 50 crore.
For secondary education, five schemes fell under group I in 2011-12, compared to three in 2006-07. RMSA and “model schools” are two new schemes in the Eleventh Plan with large allocations. Apart from these two, the allocation for Information and Communication Technology in Schools (ICT) has been increased significantly from 2006-07 to 2011-12; it fell under group II. The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti are two other schemes with more than Rs 500 crore allocations in both the 2006-07 and 2011-12 Union Budgets. The scheme for “construction and running of girls hostels for students of secondary and higher secondary schools”, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary School (IEDSS) are three schemes that fell under group II in the 2011-12 budget. IEDSS is a new scheme introduced in 2009-10, in place of the earlier Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IED), which came under group III in 2006-07.
National Means-cum-Merit Scholarships (NMMS) and National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education are the two new schemes of Eleventh Plan which are come under group III in 2011-12. Among the group IV where schemes below Rs 50 crore, only a new scheme “appointment of language teachers” was introduced in 2009-10 and the allocation is only Rs 5 crore in 2011-12. The scheme with the lowest allocation is “access and equity” with only Rs 10 lakh allocation in 2011-12.
For university and higher education and distance learning, four schemes come under group I. These are accounted for partly by the high allocation for University Grants Commission (UGC), and “improvements in salary scales of university and college teachers”. The educational loan interest subsidy introduced in 2008-09 come under group I in 2011-12. A scholarship for college and university students, introduced in 2007-08, fell under group II due to an increased allocation. Apart from the Indira Gandhi National Open
| Size of Scheme | Elementary Education | Secondary Education | University, Higher Education | Technical Education | Others | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| and Distance Learning | ||||||||||
| 2006-07 (RE) | 2011-12 (BE) | 2006-07 (RE) | 2011-12 (BE) | 2006-07 (RE) | 2011-12 (BE) | 2006-07 (RE) | 2011-12 (BE) | 2006-07 (RE) | 2011-12 (BE) | |
| Group I (above Rs 500 crore) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Group II (between Rs 100 and 500 crore) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| Group III (between Rs 50 and 100 crore) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Group IV (below Rs 50 crore) | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 23 | 17 | 26 | 16 |
| Total | 8 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 29 | 36 | 27 | 21 |
| RE: Revised estimates; BE: budget estimates. | ||||||||||
| Source: Calculated from Government of India (2007, 2011). | ||||||||||
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University (IGNOU) and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) the “establishment of Tribunals, Accreditation Autho rity, NCHER and National Finance Corporation” all come under group III in 2011-12. The group IV schemes in university and higher education and distance learning are more or less the same in 2006-07 and 2011-12, except that the “area intensive and Madrasa modernisation programme” was closed after 2008-09, and the “assistance to state governments for degree colleges” scheme introduced in Union Budget 2011-12 with an allocation of Rs 10 crore.
In technical education, the same trend continues. The number of schemes has increased in the first three groups, but the number in the last group has decreased, reflecting upgrading of large schemes and consolidation of small ones. The National Institute of Technology (NIT) was included with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in 2006-07, but in the 2011-12 budget, NIT fell under group I with a separate allocation. Assistance to states for upgradation of existing/setting up of new polytechnics and the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research became major schemes with high allocations in 2011-12. The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the AICTE fell under group II in both the 2006-07 and 2011-12 budgets. The women’s hostels in polytechnics scheme was introduced in 2008-09, and with an increase in allocation it fell under group II. The remaining five schemes of group II in Union Budget 200607 were retained in 2011-12, albeit with lower allocation amounts.
Among the six schemes in group III, only setting up Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) was a new scheme introduced in 2008-09. The remaining five schemes received lower allocations in 2006-07 and fell under group IV. Only four new schemes were added to group IV in 2011-12 for technical education. Of these, the setting up of new NITs and Training and Research in Frontier Areas were introduced in 2008-09; expansion and upgradation of state engineering institutions and setting up of Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology (IIEST) were introduced in 2010-11. The remaining schemes of group IV in 2006-07 were upgraded to other groups.
Proportion of Expenditure
Analysis of group-wise expenditure in Table 2 (p 25) indicates that there are increments in expenditure in the first three groups for every level of education, except group II allocation in elementary education and group III allocation in secondary education level, and a decrease in expenditure in group IV schemes, except secondary and technical education level.
The decrease in group II elementary education expenditure is due to two reasons. First, the scheme for “strengthening of teachers training institutions” has been upgraded from group II to group I, due to the increase in allocation of above Rs 500 crore in the Union Budget 2011-12. Second, the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, which was started as a separate scheme during the Tenth Plan was merged with the
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Table 2: Total Expenditure by Group (Rs Crore)
Size of Schemes Elementary Education Secondary Education University, Higher Education Technical Education Others and Distance Learning
2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE)
Group I 16452.00 31880.00 1624.11 7967.70 2700.17 12259.08 674.50 5286.26 0.00 848.70
Group II 408.00 150.00 106.70 520.00 137.65 162.00 593.25 1754.50 135.60 588.50
Group III 0.00 100.00 204.73 110.00 85.05 209.49 245.07 397.71 0.00 183.86
Group IV 35.44 20.45 50.50 94.10 143.75 91.64 296.59 373.75 324.54 268.92
RE: Revised estimates; BE: budget estimates. Source: Calculated from Government of India (2007, 2011).
Table 3: Percentage of Expenditure within Education Group
Size of Schemes Elementary Education Secondary Education University, Higher Education Technical Education Others and Distance Learning
2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE)
Group I 97.38 99.16 81.78 91.67 88.05 96.36 37.28 67.67 0.00 44.91
Group II 2.41 0.47 5.37 5.98 4.49 1.27 32.79 22.46 29.47 31.14
Group III 0.00 0.31 10.31 1.27 2.77 1.65 13.54 5.09 0.00 9.73
Group IV 0.21 0.06 2.54 1.08 4.69 0.72 16.39 4.78 70.53 14.23
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
RE: Revised estimates; BE: budget estimates. Source: Calculated from Government of India (2007, 2011).
Table 4: Percentage of Expenditure by Total Expenditure on Education
Size of Schemes Elementary Education Secondary Education University, Higher Education Technical Education Others Total and Distance Learning
2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE) 2006-07 (RE) 2011-12 (BE)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12)=(2)+(4)+(6)+(8)+(10) (13)=(3)+(5)+(7)+(9)+(11)
Group I 67.93 50.39 6.71 12.59 11.15 19.38 2.79 8.36 0.00 1.34 88.57 92.06
Group II 1.68 0.24 0.44 0.82 0.57 0.26 2.45 2.77 0.56 0.93 5.70
Group III 0.00 0.16 0.85 0.17 0.35 0.33 1.01 0.63 0.00 0.29 2.21
Group IV 0.15 0.03 0.21 0.15 0.59 0.14 1.22 0.59 1.34 0.43 3.51
Total 69.76 50.82 8.20 13.74 12.66 20.11 7.47 12.35 1.90 2.99 100.00 100.00
RE: Revised estimates; BE: budget estimates. Source: Calculated from Government of India (2007, 2011).
SSA in 2007-08. SPQEM is the only scheme in group II of elementary education with an allocation of Rs 50 crore in the Union Budget 2011-12. Similarly, NCERT and ICT in schools were in group III of secondary education in 2006-07, but these two schemes received higher allocations in the Eleventh Plan and were upgraded to group I.
Looking at the percentage distribution of expenditure within each sub-sector in Table 3, we find that the proportion has increased in for group I and decreased for other groups, except for a slight increment in group II for secondary education level and others. For elementary education and the other sub-sectors, no schemes fell under group III in 2006-07, but two schemes were introduced in 2011-12, leading to a slight increment in proportion of expenditure.
From the analysis in Tables 1, 2 and 3, it is clear that the government has tended to focus on group 1 schemes. This is further illustrated in Table 4, where we have calculated the percentage of allocation for each size group out of total education expenditure by the Department of School Education and Literacy and the Department of Higher Education. Adding up all sectors in columns 12 and 13, it is seen that the central government has increased expenditure through group I schemes and reduced expenditure through smaller schemes. During this Eleventh Plan period, the government has given special emphasis to secondary education. The proportion of expenditure on secondary education was 8.2% of total expenditure in 2006-07 (RE), and 13.7% in 2011-12 (RE).
Conclusions
India has made significant progress on elementary education and in moving towards universal enrolment during the Eleventh Plan period. The major challenge during the next plan would be to reduce the dropout rate in elementary education, emphasise secondary education to cope with the demands of rapidly changing techno logy and the growth of knowledge economy, consolidate the gains of SSA and move forward to increase enrolment in higher education. To establish a knowledge society, education has to be prioritised along with increases in public spending. In absolute terms, expenditure on education has increased almost 161% from 2006-07 (RE) to 2011-12 (BE).
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The pattern of allocation can be discerned from the first and last budget of Eleventh Plan. An analysis of budgetary allocations through central or centrallysponsored schemes over the period 200607 to 2011-12 shows that 92% of the total expenditure through the Departments of School Education and Literacy and Higher Education goes to schemes that have budgetary allocations above Rs 500 crore. There has also been a move towards consolidation of schemes with larger budgetary allocations. With the exception of secondary education, the number of schemes below Rs 50 crore decreased significantly. Since smaller schemes are difficult to administer at the national level and generally suffer from low uptake from the states, this is a positive development which needs to continue in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan.
References
Government of India (2007): Union Budget 2007-08, Expenditure Budget, Volume 2 (New Delhi: Ministry of Finance).
– (2011): Union Budget 2011-12, Expenditure Budget, Volume 2 (New Delhi: Ministry of Finance).
Mukherjee, Anit N (2007): “Budget 2007: Implications for Education”, Economic Political Weekly, 42(14):1273-76.
Planning Commission (2008): Eleventh Five Year Plan 2007-12, Volume I (New Delhi: Government of India).
