Budget allocation for children's education, health inadequate: stu

New Delhi, Mar 4 (UNI) Eventhough the government has increased allocation for children to 5.08 per cemt of the total budget outlay, it was totally inadequate to provide growth and development to children who constitute over 40 per cent of population and face serious deprivations, according to experts.

Decrease in the allocation for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) programme, and inadequate outlays for child protection schemes were the major problem areas as far as budget was concerned, according to a UNICEF sponsored study 'Resources for Children in the Union Budget 2007-08.

The study conducted by the Centre for Budget Governance and Accountability has shown that the total allocation for children in the budget has gone up from 4.86 per cent of the total budgetary provisions in 2006-07 to 5.08 per cent in 2007-8. Moreover, four new schemes have been introduced for children in the Rs 6.4 lakh crore budget.

Of the 5.08 per cent allocation on children in the union budget about 72 per cent is spent on their education, 17 per cent on development, 10 per cent on children's health and only one percent on child protection, Mr Subrat Das of CBGA told UNI.

Though the allocation for education has increased by 34% in the budget for 2007-08 as compared to previous year, the increase was more for secondary and technical education to implement the reservation quota for 0BCs. The increase for elementary education was not much from Rs 16,895 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 18629 crore in 2007-08, he pointed out.

''However, the decline in the allocation for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the major programme for universal elementary education, is a major cause for concern. In the budget for 2007-08, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya meant for girls belonging to underprivlileged sections of the society have been merged and the combined outlay for them together was Rs 440 crore less than the previous year,'' he pointed out.

Moroever, the change in the policy guidelines which now require states to contribute 50 per cent of the funds for SSA would also emerge as a major hinderance in achieving the millennium development goal of universal elementary education, he said. The states initially had to contribute just 15 per cent of the expenditure on SSA with the centre providing 85 per cent funds during the ninth plan period, which was increased to 25 per cent during the tenth plan and now they are being asked to share half the burden in the eleventh plan.

''This would be unjust for poorer states like Bihar which have higher level of illiteracy as they will now have to contribute a much larger fund for implementing SSA than developed states like Gujarat,'' he pointed out.

Similarly, the allocation for RCH II has been decreased from Rs 1766 crore to Rs 1672 crore this year, he pointed out. The centre's plea could be that the money given last year was not fully utilised as just Rs 1338 crore was spent as per the Revised Estate of 2006-07, he said.

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