Right to education: ‘Provision of facilities will help student retention’
Budgetary allocations will be released by March, the SED Deputy Secretary says.
Budgetary allocations will be released by March, the SED Deputy Secretary says. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
The School Education Department (SED) is set to initiate more than 8,600 schemes to provide missing facilities at schools across the province to improve student retention.
The missing facilities project, initiated in June 2013, is aimed at provision of facilities such as drinking water, electricity, boundary walls and toilets in all government girls’ schools in the Punjab. In addition, it will also address missing facilities at boys’ schools in 11 districts of south Punjab.
SED Deputy Secretary Qaiser Rasheed told The Express Tribune that “Over the past several years we have witnessed a low trend in timely release of budgetary allocations… this fiscal year is witnessing a better budget release and utilisation trend.”
According to Rasheed, Rs1.8 billion was released in January for missing facilities with schemes identified and utilisation under process.
He said the entire missing facilities budgetary allocations would be released by March 2014 summing up to an expected release of Rs7.7 billion, with an additional Rs3.85 billion from last year.
Rasheed said the SED was relating the “success” in retaining the recent enrollment under the enrollment drive, which ended in October last year, to “better school environment.”
“The retention is going to go up when children are exposed to better facilities at schools and quality teachers… this is what we are targeting at,” he said.
According to SED records, as of December 31, 2013, Rs3.8 billion had been released out of the Rs7.7 billion allocated for 4,700 schemes across the province.
The figures indicate that almost 29 per cent of the released amount [Rs1.12 billion] has been utilised. The unreleased and revalidated budget for provision of facilities of the fiscal year 2012-13 [amounting to Rs3.85] is also being utilised under the project, it says.
So far the SED has released a total of almost Rs5.6 billion of the Rs.7.7 billion. Another Rs2 billion is awaiting release.
An SED report released in November 2013 showed that 3.4 million students studying at government schools were without furniture. The cost of addressing missing facilities at these schools came to Rs6.8 billion.
The report said more than 5,000 schools were without boundary walls, 1,950 without toilets, 1,000 without drinking water and almost 10,700 without electricity.
It said Rs4.3 billion would be utilised to provide furniture to more than 2 million students under the 2013-14 development plan.
Under the same missing facilities project, 2,800 schools would be provided boundary walls at a cost of Rs1.84 billion.
More than 1,200 schools would be provided toilets at a cost of Rs250 million. Another 760 schools would be provided drinking water at a cost of Rs38 million. The SED would also provide electricity to 8,000 schools in the province for Rs1.2 billion.
The SED claims that it has achieved a retention rate of 80 per cent of the approximately 3.6 million children enrolled in the recent Emergency Enrollment Drive.
The SED data shows that under the missing facilities project, combining all allocations from 2012-13 and 2013-14, approximately Rs8.63 billion (Rs3.03 billion + Rs5.6 billion) has been released for 8,642 schemes.
The Institute of Social and Policy Sciences’ (ISAPS) figures regarding release of budgetary allocations under the missing facilities project are similar to those released by the SED.
According to ISAPS, the SED had released as much as Rs3.85 bullion out of the Rs7.7 billion till December 2013. It said 34 per cent had been utilised - higher than what the SED data claimed till December.
ISAPS said in Lahore alone, 2.2 per cent schools were without boundary walls and another 1.8 percent without electricity.
ISAPS also said that seven per cent of children enrolled in class 1 at government schools drop out before completing primary education.
Ahmed Ali, a research fellow at ISAPS, largely relates this student drop out to missing facilities in schools, which if addressed could facilitate retention.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 26th, 2014.
The School Education Department (SED) is set to initiate more than 8,600 schemes to provide missing facilities at schools across the province to improve student retention.
The missing facilities project, initiated in June 2013, is aimed at provision of facilities such as drinking water, electricity, boundary walls and toilets in all government girls’ schools in the Punjab. In addition, it will also address missing facilities at boys’ schools in 11 districts of south Punjab.
SED Deputy Secretary Qaiser Rasheed told The Express Tribune that “Over the past several years we have witnessed a low trend in timely release of budgetary allocations… this fiscal year is witnessing a better budget release and utilisation trend.”
According to Rasheed, Rs1.8 billion was released in January for missing facilities with schemes identified and utilisation under process.
He said the entire missing facilities budgetary allocations would be released by March 2014 summing up to an expected release of Rs7.7 billion, with an additional Rs3.85 billion from last year.
Rasheed said the SED was relating the “success” in retaining the recent enrollment under the enrollment drive, which ended in October last year, to “better school environment.”
“The retention is going to go up when children are exposed to better facilities at schools and quality teachers… this is what we are targeting at,” he said.
According to SED records, as of December 31, 2013, Rs3.8 billion had been released out of the Rs7.7 billion allocated for 4,700 schemes across the province.
The figures indicate that almost 29 per cent of the released amount [Rs1.12 billion] has been utilised. The unreleased and revalidated budget for provision of facilities of the fiscal year 2012-13 [amounting to Rs3.85] is also being utilised under the project, it says.
So far the SED has released a total of almost Rs5.6 billion of the Rs.7.7 billion. Another Rs2 billion is awaiting release.
An SED report released in November 2013 showed that 3.4 million students studying at government schools were without furniture. The cost of addressing missing facilities at these schools came to Rs6.8 billion.
The report said more than 5,000 schools were without boundary walls, 1,950 without toilets, 1,000 without drinking water and almost 10,700 without electricity.
It said Rs4.3 billion would be utilised to provide furniture to more than 2 million students under the 2013-14 development plan.
Under the same missing facilities project, 2,800 schools would be provided boundary walls at a cost of Rs1.84 billion.
More than 1,200 schools would be provided toilets at a cost of Rs250 million. Another 760 schools would be provided drinking water at a cost of Rs38 million. The SED would also provide electricity to 8,000 schools in the province for Rs1.2 billion.
The SED claims that it has achieved a retention rate of 80 per cent of the approximately 3.6 million children enrolled in the recent Emergency Enrollment Drive.
The SED data shows that under the missing facilities project, combining all allocations from 2012-13 and 2013-14, approximately Rs8.63 billion (Rs3.03 billion + Rs5.6 billion) has been released for 8,642 schemes.
The Institute of Social and Policy Sciences’ (ISAPS) figures regarding release of budgetary allocations under the missing facilities project are similar to those released by the SED.
According to ISAPS, the SED had released as much as Rs3.85 bullion out of the Rs7.7 billion till December 2013. It said 34 per cent had been utilised - higher than what the SED data claimed till December.
ISAPS said in Lahore alone, 2.2 per cent schools were without boundary walls and another 1.8 percent without electricity.
ISAPS also said that seven per cent of children enrolled in class 1 at government schools drop out before completing primary education.
Ahmed Ali, a research fellow at ISAPS, largely relates this student drop out to missing facilities in schools, which if addressed could facilitate retention.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 26th, 2014.