Chennai, Oct 28 (BPNS)
The delay in releasing funds from the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has led to the schools in Tamil Nadu not properly carrying out maintenance work in the schools of the state before the onset of the monsoon. The northeast monsoon is slated to touch Tamil Nadu on October 29, Saturday.
The SSA scheme provides Rs 10,000 for schools having sanctioned strength of 1 to 30 students, while schools have 31 to 100 students will be granted Rs 25000. The schools with students between 101 to 250 will get Rs 50000 and those schools with 251 to 500 students will get an amount of Rs 75,000. Schools with more than 1000 students will get Rs 1 lakh.
The schools are being given grants from the SSA based on the strength of the students and the money is used for maintenance works of the schools including minor repairs in the buildings, installing drinking water facilities, electricity maintenance works, and purchasing teaching-learning materials.
The money sanctioned by the SSA will have to be spent within the academic year and in most of the times, the funds are released during the fag end of the financial year. This leads to funds being spent for unnecessary requirements.
A headmaster of a primary school in Tiruchirapally while speaking to BPNS said, “ Most of the schools require this money so that basic minimum repair works ahead of the monsoon is completed. This includes minor school building maintenance work, repairs for electricity connection, water connectivity, and lights and switches in classrooms.”
However, sources in the education department told BPNS that in the previous academic year money was sanctioned in August and March and it was spent properly on the maintenance of the school building as well as electric connections. The delay, according to the school education department is due to certain issues with the newly opened single nodal accounts.
Most of the headmasters and chairmen of the schools in reconstituted government schools are to be trained properly in operating the nodal accounts.
