Policy Briefs & Reports

With the launch of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE), the total SSA budget (including GOI and state shares) increased over 2-fold from `27,552 crore in FY 2009-10 to 69,982 crore in FY 2012-13. Since FY 2013-14, however, the total approved budget has been reducing. In FY 2014-15, 54,925 crore were approved under SSA, a drop of 22% from FY 2012-13.
There are differences between allocations proposed by states and those approved by GOI. In FY 2013- 14, only 51% of the proposed budget was approved. This improved marginally to 58% in FY 2014-15.
Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat (PBBB) is a new initiative introduced by GOI in 2014 to improve comprehension and learning ability of children in Classes 1 and 2. With the launch of PBBB, investments in learning increased in Gujarat from 12% in FY 2012-13 to 21% in FY 2014-15.
Despite 5 years of RTE, compliance with infrastructure norms has been slow, particularly for provisions such as girls’ toilets, playground and construction of boundary walls. However, the number of classrooms in relation to students enrolled has increased from 32 in FY 2009-10 to 28 in FY 2013–14.
Compliance with RTE related norms doesn’t always lead to better learning outcomes. For instance, Kerala, which is ranked 1 in learning as per the National Achievement Survey for Class 8, is ranked 14 on the Educational Development Index (EDI).