Singh has spent all the money allotted to him under MPLAD scheme on the infrastructure development of schools, colleges and medical education institutes.
NEW DELHI: Assam may not be the ideal state when it comes to Education Development Index - its ranked 30th among 35 states/union territories - but Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and girl child education remains firm on the mind of its MP in the Rajya Sabha - Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
Hence, when the PM said that education and health were the prime focus of the Union Budget this year, he was not merely doing lip talk. Pushing all other projects aside, Dr Singh has spent all of the Rs 2 crore allotted to him under MPLAD scheme this year on the infrastructure development of schools, colleges and medical education institutes.
Out of the total such 21 schemes in 2006-07, 14 schemes worth Rs 117 lakh are in Kamrup Metropolitan District. Besides giving money for providing infrastructure like labs, auditoriums, hostels, libraries, school buildings, the PM has specifically kept in mind the needs of the girl child. “This year the PM’s MPLAD fund is more girl child specific,” says Avinash Joshi, Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup Metropolitan.
The PM has also given Rs 15 lakh for construction of girls’ toilets in six high schools in various districts. Residential schools and hostels have been instructed to accommodate girls from remote and tribal areas.
Various studies have indicated that lack of separate toilets for girls has been one of the prime reasons for high drop-out rates at upper primary and higher secondary levels. According to a study by National University for Education Planning and Administration, only 42 per cent schools across 539 districts in India in 2004-05 had common toilets out of which mere 28.24 per cent schools had separate toilet for girls. In terms of school infrastructure, Assam ranks 34th, only a notch above Bihar, according to a ranking released by the union Ministry for Human Resource Developmen.
Since the money comes from the PM’s fund, its implementation is strictly monitored. Unlike other projects in the country which run years behind schedule, projects under the PM’s MPLAD funds have been completed in time. “The PM goes through the details of the scheme, seeks justifications, talks about benefits and cost effectiveness,” says Joshi. Rs 642 crore has been spent on education this year by the MPs on about 36,000 projects in the country. Of these, 1272 projects worth Rs 13 crores have been sanctioned for Assam.
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