A parliamentary panel on Wednesday flagged significant underutilisation of funds for centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) in school education for financial year (FY) 2025–26 and raised concerns over the “negligible” capital expenditure allocated for FY 2026–27. Parliamentary panel raises concerns over poor fund use in school schemes, low capex and staff shortages across central schools.

In its report on demands for grants of the department of school education and literacy for 2026–27, the 31-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, chaired by Digvijaya Singh, noted that against a budget estimate (BE) of ₹62,660 crore for five CSS, including Samagra Shiksha, actual expenditure stood at ₹32,296.54 crore as of February 13 — just 51.5% of the BE and 60.1% of the revised estimate (RE) of ₹53,730.02 crore.

The panel urged the education ministry to identify administrative, procedural and intergovernmental bottlenecks leading to poor fund utilisation.

It also flagged a 15.02% shortfall in allocations, with the finance ministry approving ₹83,562.26 crore against the department’s projected ₹98,331.90 crore — a gap of ₹14,769.64 crore — and asked that the shortfall be addressed at the RE stage if needed.

Expressing concern over capital expenditure, the committee said the allocation of just ₹0.85 crore in BE 2026–27 is “negligible” and should be significantly increased, especially for infrastructure in aspirational districts, Left Wing extremism-affected regions, and tribal areas. While the department’s BE for 2026–27 has increased and accounts for 2.6% of the total budget, the panel noted that allocations are often revised downward. In 2025–26, the budget was cut by ₹8,004.96 crore — from ₹78,572.10 crore at BE to ₹70,567.14 crore at RE.

Mid-day meals

The panel’s analysis of the PM POSHAN scheme shows significant gaps between allocations and actual spending. In 2024–25, expenditure stood at ₹9,903 crore against an allocation of ₹12,467.39 crore — about 20.6% lower. In 2025–26, as of February 13, spending was ₹6,639.22 crore against ₹12,500 crore — a 46.9% shortfall.

The report also flagged a “persistent decline” in beneficiaries, from 12.16 crore in 2022–23 to 10.99 crore in 2024–25. It also pointed out that West Bengal has not received central assistance under the scheme since 2022–23, and urged both the Centre and the state government to resolve the issues at the earliest.

Noting a consistent mismatch between allocations and utilisation, the committee recommended a fixed quarterly fund release schedule at the start of each financial year to improve monitoring and timely use of funds.

Vacancies in KVs, JNVs and NCERT

The panel flagged acute staff shortages across key central government-run schools.

It found that schools under the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) face a 17% vacancy in teaching posts and 28% in non-teaching staff, which it said is “significantly hampering” operations. Similarly, the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) is grappling with 29.5% vacancies in teaching and 26% in non-teaching positions. The committee urged the department to fill all vacancies at the earliest.

At the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the panel noted that 130 academic posts remain vacant out of a sanctioned strength of 528, along with 133 vacant teaching posts out of 271.

The committee recommended that NCERT expedite the development and publication of new textbooks for Classes 9–12 in line with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023 on a priority basis. NCERT, in a statement on March 17, said new Class 9 textbooks will be released for the 2026–27 academic session, followed by Class 10 and 11 books within the same year.

Learning programmes

The panel flagged delays in the Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme DHRUV, noting that the scheme, announced in 2019, is yet to be operationalised and has seen no spending. It urged swift approval, a clear rollout timeline, and effective use of the ₹50 crore allocated for 2026–27, along with a transparent, inclusive method to identify gifted students.

The panel recommended extending the NIPUN Bharat Mission — a flagship programme for foundational literacy and numeracy in early grades — by five years till 2032, expanding its coverage to Classes 3–5, and increasing its budget to ₹6,000 crore from ₹2,500 crore. It also suggested a census-based assessment of all Class 5 students and the use of tech-enabled personalised learning tools.

On the ULLAS scheme — aimed at adult literacy — the panel flagged the stagnant ₹160 crore allocation over four years as inadequate, given an estimated over 25 crore functionally illiterate adults. It called for a substantial hike in funding, biannual Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Tests, improved fund release by states, and incentives for volunteer teachers.