Parliament Question: Financial Allocation under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No - 3564 ANSWERED ON - 11/08/2025 Financial Allocation under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan †3564. Shri Dharmendra Yadav:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the financial allocation earmarked for the welfare and educational advancement of OBC, SC and ST students under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan in the country particularly in Uttar Pradesh during the last three years and current years;

(b) the details of the mechanism in place to prevent misuse of these funds;

(c) the percentage of the budget dedicated to schemes and initiatives under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan directly benefit OBC, SC and ST students;

(d) whether the allocated funds are adequate to address their specific educational challenges; and

(e) the status of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of various benefits such as uniforms, textbooks and stipends for girls with special needs to eligible OBC, SC and ST students and the measures taken to ensure timely disbursement? A N S W E R MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (e): Samagra Shiksha scheme is aligned with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. It aims to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment. The scheme has an universal approach and caters to all the sections of society including Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and OBC for full inclusion. Of the overall financial allocation under Samagra Shiksha, which includes the financial allocation for the State of Uttar Pradesh, funds are earmarked for SC and ST under DAPSC and DAPST. Details of Central Share allocation under Samagra Shiksha scheme, including for the State of

Uttar Pradesh during the last three financial years and current financial year is as under:- (Rs. in Crore) Financial 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 Year Category SC ST Overall SC ST Overall SC ST Overall SC ST Overall Financial 7534.96 4130.55 37383.36 7534.96 4130.55 37453.47 7534.96 4527.23 37500.00 8563.49 5900.00 41250.00 AllocationFor ascertaining and ensuring the judicious use of funds released under Samagra Shiksha there are inbuilt checks, counter-checks and internal control system as prescribed in the Manual on Financial Management and Procurement of Samagra Shiksha. Besides, there is an internal audit, statutory audit, concurrent audit and audit by State Accountant General. The department has PRABANDH (Project Appraisal, Budgeting Achievements and Data Handling) System to monitor the implementation of Samagra. One of the important features of the PRABANDH System is updation of Expenditure incurred under the different interventions of the Samagra Shiksha. In addition, a Midterm review is also undertaken with the States/UTs to monitor the progress of implementation of the scheme.

As per the guidelines issued by NITI Aayog in 2017, Department of School Education and Literacy is obligated to earmark 20% and 10.7 % of allocated funds for the welfare of SCs and STs respectively. The Samagra Shiksha work towards equitable access for children of all categories. Out of 24,80,45,828 children enrolled in schools in 2023-24, 44,74,09,69 children belong to SC, 2,46,06,084 children belong to ST and 11,20,28,198 children to OBC. Thus, funds allocated under Samagra Shiksha are used to reach out to girls, and children belonging to SEDGs such as SC, ST and OBC through its various provisions like free textbooks, uniform, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas for girls, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Awasiya Vidyalayas/Hostels which helps in addressing the specific educational challenges faced by them.

Under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, the Government of India is implementing Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to ensure the timely and transparent delivery of educational benefits directly into the bank accounts of beneficiaries through State/UTs Education Department. The status of DBT of various benefits such as uniforms, textbooks and stipends for girls with special needs to eligible students for the academic year 2025–2026 are as follows:

Key Component Approved (Rs in lakhs) Stipend for girls with special needs (CwSN) 11,120.52 Uniform 4,14,584.89 Textbook 2,83,715.78 To Ensure Timely Disbursement, measures such as capacity building workshops for field officials, regular review meetings with State and UT Governments are undertaken to address bottlenecks to expedite implementation.

******