Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 25 (PTI) Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty has urged the Centre to immediately release the pending funds due to the state for the Samagra Shiksha Kerala programme under the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
A formal letter has already been sent to the Centre highlighting the delay, he said in a statement here on Tuesday.
Samagra Shiksha is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class 12.
According to Sivankutty, the union government has not released funds for Samagra Shiksha for nearly two and a half years. After a long gap, the state received the same early this month.
Out of Rs 456 crore allocated for 2025-26, the Centre has released the first instalment of Rs 92.41 crore, he pointed out.
The state has submitted a proposal seeking the urgent release of funds due under the RTE Act as well as funds meant for students with disabilities.
“Kerala is yet to receive Rs 440.87 crore under this category alone, pending since 2023-24. Including the third instalment of 2023–24 and allocations up to 2025–26, the total amount due from the Centre comes to Rs 1,158 crore,” he said.
The Minister noted that the funds received under the RTE Act cover essential needs such as free uniforms, textbooks, hostel expenses and travel allowances for children from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes categories.
Training for children of migrant labourers, hostel expenses for girl students, school maintenance, and other essential requirements are also being met with the same funds.
“The state is fully eligible for the Central share for all these components.” Additionally, as many as 169 Autism Centres are functioning in the State under Samagra Shiksha.
Each centre provides services to an average of 60 children, he said adding that facilities such as speech therapy and physiotherapy are also offered there free of cost.
Currently, 6,870 staff members, including teachers, are working under Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK).
Even during the past two and a half years, when Central funds were not received, the state government ensured uninterrupted functioning of the programme and timely payment of salaries to employees, Sivankutty added. PTI LGK ROH
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