MP Cabinet News: School Education Budget Is Up 574%, But Admissions Plunge; Govt Tells Assembly
Talking to the media, Grewal said, “If the number of schools, teachers, students and beneficiaries of free textbooks, uniforms, scholarships, midday meals and bicycles has decreased, then how did the budget increase by almost five times?” The MLA also hit out at the state government over the shortage of 70,000 teachers and questioned the delay in filling up the vacancies.
MP Cabinet News: School Education Budget Is Up 574%, But Admissions Plunge; Govt Tells Assembly | Representative Image
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The budget allocation for the state education department increased from Rs 6,374 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 36,581 crore in 2025-26, state school education minister Rao Uday Pratap Singh informed the Madhya Pradesh Assembly in a written reply on Thursday.
The minister said that the number of students in government schools of the state currently stood at 79.3 lakh against 133.6 lakh in 2010-11. He attributed the dip to the “merger of schools and retirement of teachers”.
Singh said the increased budget allocation was due to the hike in dearness allowance and implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations.
Rao was replying to a question raised by Congress MLA from Sardarpur, Pratap Grewal.
In his reply, Rao stated that in 2014-15, 82 lakh students received various types of scholarships in the state. In 2025-26 so far, 58 lakh students have received such scholarships, he added.
While 93.7 lakh children received free textbooks and uniforms in 2014-15, in 2025-26 so far, 56.82 lakh such beneficiaries have been recorded, Rao said.
The government stated that the number of mid-day meals provided to government school students in 2014-15 was 75.75 lakh. The number for 2025-26 so far is 37.23 lakh.
The number of free bicycles distributed among students in 2014-15 was 3.29 lakh. In 2025-26,1.63 lakh free bicycles have been distributed so far, the minister added.
Talking to the media, Grewal said, “If the number of schools, teachers, students and beneficiaries of free textbooks, uniforms, scholarships, mid-day meals and bicycles has decreased, then how did the budget increase by almost five times?”
The MLA also hit out at the state government over the shortage of 70,000 teachers and questioned the delay in filling up the vacancies.
* Budget up from ₹6,374.25 crore (2010-11) to 36,581.64 crore (2025-26).
* Govt school enrolment drops from ₹133.66 lakh to ₹79.39 lakh.
* 32,844 govt schools shut
* 61,175 teachers reduced
* 54 lakh children missing from school system
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