Elementary education takes centre-stage

Rs125 billion set side, including Rs99 billion for district governments

PESHAWAR: Although the last three fiscal years have seen a decrease in the allocations for elementary and secondary education, this time an increased amount has been given to the sector. A major chunk of the total has been set aside for districts.

The elementary education department got around Rs125 billion out of which Rs19.07 billion will be spent by the provincial government, while Rs9.8 billion will be given to the district government. Around Rs6 billion have been allocated to create 16,960 posts to ease access to education.



Out of the budget estimates for the sector — Rs0.6 billion are for salaries, Rs 1.48 billion for non-salary expenditures, while Rs16.9 billion have been set aside for development expenses.

Big sum 

In the fiscal year 2013-14, the elementary education sector got 26% of the total budget, while the following year the proportion fell to 23%. In 2015-16, the percentage dwindled to 21%. However, this time the sector has 24.7% of the total budget.

The increase in amount has come as good news for district governments which will now have money for schools in their areas. The amount set aside for districts includes Rs8 billion for missing facilities at government schools.

“The incumbent government is committed to providing all the basic facilities for schools and colleges and provide scholarships for deserving students,” Minister for Finance Muzaffar Said stated during the budget speech on Tuesday. He added construction of additional rooms in colleges, training for teachers, availability of computers, books for libraries, installation of solar energy system, transport facilities at colleges and construction of boundary walls for both schools and colleges are included in the current budget.

More than before

For higher education, Rs9.4 billion have been allocated.

The government aims to establish 10 new colleges on a need basis. Besides, Jehanzeb Medical College Swat will be upgraded and earthquake effected colleges and libraries will be upgraded.



Since law and order have been concerns for some time, a criminology and science department would be set up with the new budget’s money at the University of Peshawar.

A sub-campus of the Bannu University also be set up in Lakki Marwat and the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Science and Technology will have an academic block in Swabi. Also, an academic block and a subcampus of the University of Engineering and Technology will be built in Upper Dir.

Filling the gaps

The minister said this time the budget allocations are made to fulfill requirements in existing institutes, including furniture and repair work and training of teachers.



Moreover, he added the government also plans to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030 and provide education equality to girls and boys.

About the government’s target, the minister said 100 new primary and secondary schools for girls and boys will be constructed across the province during the new fiscal year. He added 100 seminaries would be converted to primary schools.

Besides construction, he said, 100 primary schools would be upgraded to middle schools and the same number of middle schools. Finally 100 high schools would be turned into higher secondary schools.

However, he stated it was necessary for the government to control the dropout rate for this to transpire.

Apart from the basic needs of a school, 500 computer labs would be set up in government higher secondary schools across the province.

The photos of those killed in the Army Public School carnage would be put in the Archives and Library, said the minister. He also said flood and earthquake-hit schools would be repaired.

The scholarship programme, Stoori de Pakhtunkhwa, would continue with a monthly stipend of Rs200 for 0.4 million students.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2016.