Other States - Rajasthan   

`Aided schools, colleges face closure'

Special Correspondent

Governor urged to intervene in the issue of recent cuts in Government grants

JAIPUR: Pradesh Congress Committee president B.D.Kalla has appealed to the Rajasthan Governor to intervene in the issue of recent cuts in the Government grants to the aided schools and colleges in the State. Mr.Kalla, who met Governor Pratibha Patil in this connection on Wednesday, said that with the reduced financial support from the Government most of the aided colleges and schools would be closed by the end of the current academic year.

Mr.Kalla, who submitted a memorandum to Ms.Patil pointed out that the new grant policy of the Government had made it difficult for most of the 71 colleges in the State, where about one lakh students are enrolled, to pay the salaries of their staff on time. Against the 90 per cent grant provided to women's colleges and 70-80 per cent to rest by the previous Congress Government, the present Government had reduced it to 50-60 per cent, he pointed out.

"This is a serious situation when Rajasthan is already considered an educationally backward State," Mr. Kalla told the Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the universities. The non-government colleges, which owed crores of rupees to the State Education Department would not be in a position to hold on for long, he warned. "The Bharatiya Janata Party Government is bent upon destroying these institutions which are among the top 50 schools and colleges in the State in results," he noted.

Mr.Kalla said the Government allocated Rs.1 crore each to 101 Government colleges though most of the time no teaching was carried out in these institutions. The budget of the non-government colleges was only Rs.26 crores out of the Government's total budget of Rs.5500 crores for education. "If the Government can make provision for another Rs.13 crores, the non-government colleges can survive," he told Ms.Patil.

The grant for the 20,000-odd primary and higher secondary schools had been seeing a steady decline over the past 3-4 years, Mr.Kalla pointed out.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Rajasthan to showcase economic progress at Trade Fair
Drive against drugs, liquor
`Aided schools, colleges face closure'
Patrolling intensified at Sariska

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu