Educational Finances in India ∗
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Abstract
~DucATIONAL SYSTEMS, like all modern organisations, run on money. We need more resources for education--both for schools and colleges. The additional resources are required for the following reasons: rise in enrolments, backlog of needed construction, need to expand the system (particularly for universalisation of elementary education and adult literacy), for divers{ficatio~ of the system (e.g., voca-· tionalisation), for maintenance, if not inprovement, of the quality of education, and to combat the rise in prices. Without adequate resource, the education edifice collapses. Educational system in India suffers from gross inadequacy of resources to such an extent tbat a large number of schools are run in open space, the children suffering from heat, cold and rain. EVen most basic requirements like black boards, chalks, etc., are highly inadequate. A large proportion of primary schools are single-teacher schools. This pitiable situation is not confined to school system only. several colleges and even some universities suffer from similar problems of under/inadequate provision of resources. When planning was launched in India, as high as 7.9 per cent of the pl~n outlay was spent on education in the first five-year plan. Ever since, the proportion has been consistently declining. Had atleast the same proportion continued to be allocated in the following five year plans, the education situation today would have been much.different from what it is. The backlog accumulated over the years with respect to several aspects of the infrastructure, viz., school buildings, furniture, equipment, etc., and teachers in almost every level of education is so high that perhaps the problem cannot altogether be solved within a few years. Essentially constrained by the resources, many educational plans