Patna, (BiharTimes): The School Education & Literacy
Department of Union Minister of Human Resources
Development has accorded approval to a Rs 3,623 crores
annual plan and budget for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan,
Bihar. This approval was given in a meeting chaired by
Secretary, Ministry of HRD, (School Education &
Literacy Dept). Seventy five per cent of the budget
will be financed by the Union Government and 25 per
cent by the state government. This meeting was also
attended by Director, NCERT and other senior officials
of the ministry. The government of Bihar was
represented by Anjani Kumar Singh, Principal
Secretary, HRD Department and Rajesh Bhushan, State
Project Director, Bihar Education Project, Bihar.
In the said meeting, Anjani Singh pointed out to the
various achievements of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in
Bihar. In particular he underlined the high
utilization of available financial resources by Bihar
Education Project (97% of available funds were
utilized in 2007-08). He also emphasized the
substantial decrease in the number of out of school
children from 45,00,000 in 2001 to 10,00,000 in 2008.
State Project Director, Rajesh Bhushan, pointed out
that the approved plan and budget for 2008-09 (Rs
3,623 crores) shows an increase of Rs 400 crores over
2007-08. He informed that in 2008-09, the Bihar
Education Project would undertake construction of
9,400 additional classrooms in primary schools and
construction of 2,057 new school buildings. Under
Kasturba Gandhi residential scheme for education of
girl child 390 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas would
be run in the state. Each of these schools would offer
residential facilities for a maximum of 100 girls in
each school.
