Govt school kids missing out due to lack of funding

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 31

Even though the Punjab government has increased the sports budget to Rs 200 crore per year, there is no budgetary provision for improving the sports infrastructure in schools. As the Punjab Education Department has also not allocated any separate budget for the same, the sports infrastructure in the government schools across the state is in a shambles. So much so that many schools don’t even have a proper playground.

The situation is so bad that the Education Department has begun to conduct various district-level tournaments at private schools in cities and in stadiums owned by the panchayats in villages.

The department generates Rs 4 to 5 crore annually as sports fund from students of class IX onwards but officials said that money is spent in organising tournaments. “Also, a part of the fund is being used to provide diet money to around 300 players enrolled in our sports wings. We have to provide them sports kits and have to bear all their expenses while they are travelling to participate in national events,” said an Education Department official.

A school collects Rs 10 per month from each student of class IX and X and Rs 12 from the students of class XI and XII as sports fund. After keeping 20 percent of the amount for the upgradation of its sports infrastructure (Rs 1000 to Rs 3000), the school gives the rest to the district Education Department. Out of this, 55 percent goes to the state Education Department.

There are around 13000 primary schools from where the department cannot charge the sports fund as they come under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA). These schools are the worst off.

Punjab Education Minister Daljeet Singh Cheema said that the department has taken up the matter with the Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia.

“Our top priority is to build sports infrastructure in the schools that are running under SSA and cannot collect sports fund. Though we can barely manage with the sports fund, we allocated around Rs 1.5 crore recently to provide equipment to these schools. However, there is a dire need to have a dedicated budget allocation for the upgradation and maintenance of sports infrastructure in schools,” said Cheema.

Sports fund  

Collection from school: 

Rs 10 from class IX and X students 

Rs 12 from class XI and XII students

School’s share: 20%

Education Department’s share: 80%

(25% for the district branches and 55% for the state body)