03-01-2007, 07:33 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Fresh cess gets cursed </b>
Durgesh Nandan Jha | New Delhi
Even as the Government has failed to curb the high dropout rate in the primary segment, it has gone ahead and levied an additional education cess of one per cent apparently to concentrate on secondary and higher education.
Experts have dismissed this as mere populism and said that unless it is supplemented with pragmatic execution, mere imposition of cess would not serve any purpose.
Announcing the cess in the 2007-08 Budget, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that the increased cess would also be utilised for expansion of the capacity by 54 per cent for reservation for socially and educationally backward classes.
Educationists and economists have termed this as an eyewash. According to experts, just adding cess will not serve the purpose and this requires the Government to be more accountable. It should first clear up the areas where money is being spent and gauge their effects.
<b>"According to a recent economic survey, there has been a decline in the investment in higher education since the NDA regime. This is despite the two per cent additional cess levied in the 2004-05 Budget," </b>said Professor Anand Kumar who teaches sociology at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
"Rajiv Gandhi had once said that if Rs 100 is allocated only Rs 70 is properly utilised. At first, this difference of Rs 30 should be decreased," said DPS Verma, former Professor of the Delhi School of Economics.
"The Government had started mid-day meal scheme few years back to promote education in rural areas but the result is opposite. Children are of course enjoying the khichdi and khir but educational level is still more or less the same," said Verma.
Presenting the Union Budget 2007-08 in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Chidambaram himself observed that while the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan improved the enrolment ratio in schools to 96 per cent, the dropout ratio continues to be high. This year, Rs 23,142 crore has been allocated for education as against Rs 17, 133 crore in 2006-07. Out of this, Rs10,671 crore will be provided to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
<b>"I have no faith in the Government and its Budget. All these funds are spent in the security arrangements and different perks of politicians. The status of education is dismal. Moreover, the Government is sucking the common man to oblige its political partners by bringing OBC reservation and other minority appeasement policies," </b>said Ghanshyam Bihari, a doctor at Safdarjung Hospital.
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Durgesh Nandan Jha | New Delhi
Even as the Government has failed to curb the high dropout rate in the primary segment, it has gone ahead and levied an additional education cess of one per cent apparently to concentrate on secondary and higher education.
Experts have dismissed this as mere populism and said that unless it is supplemented with pragmatic execution, mere imposition of cess would not serve any purpose.
Announcing the cess in the 2007-08 Budget, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that the increased cess would also be utilised for expansion of the capacity by 54 per cent for reservation for socially and educationally backward classes.
Educationists and economists have termed this as an eyewash. According to experts, just adding cess will not serve the purpose and this requires the Government to be more accountable. It should first clear up the areas where money is being spent and gauge their effects.
<b>"According to a recent economic survey, there has been a decline in the investment in higher education since the NDA regime. This is despite the two per cent additional cess levied in the 2004-05 Budget," </b>said Professor Anand Kumar who teaches sociology at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
"Rajiv Gandhi had once said that if Rs 100 is allocated only Rs 70 is properly utilised. At first, this difference of Rs 30 should be decreased," said DPS Verma, former Professor of the Delhi School of Economics.
"The Government had started mid-day meal scheme few years back to promote education in rural areas but the result is opposite. Children are of course enjoying the khichdi and khir but educational level is still more or less the same," said Verma.
Presenting the Union Budget 2007-08 in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Chidambaram himself observed that while the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan improved the enrolment ratio in schools to 96 per cent, the dropout ratio continues to be high. This year, Rs 23,142 crore has been allocated for education as against Rs 17, 133 crore in 2006-07. Out of this, Rs10,671 crore will be provided to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
<b>"I have no faith in the Government and its Budget. All these funds are spent in the security arrangements and different perks of politicians. The status of education is dismal. Moreover, the Government is sucking the common man to oblige its political partners by bringing OBC reservation and other minority appeasement policies," </b>said Ghanshyam Bihari, a doctor at Safdarjung Hospital.
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