The Cost of Education...

80 pc literacy comes for Rs 85,000 crore!

Centre targets 80% literacy by 2012 in the 11th Five Year Plan

NEW DELHI:The Centre is targeting 80 per cent literacy by 2012, against the present 65.38 per cent, with a whopping Rs 85,000 crore earmarked for education during the 11th Five-Year Plan. “We are committed to ensuring complete literacy by 2015,” said A K Rath, the secretary, secondary education and literacy, in the HRD ministry.
Officials said the money earmarked towards education during the 11th Plan was five times the budgeted allocation from the previous Five-Year Plan budget. The bulk of the amount is for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the ministry’s flagship programme. The ministry said it was committed to promoting elementary education across the country and there was no need for any external support. However, the government is open to publicprivate-partnership in secondary schools, officials said.
“We are short of teachers for the programme. We are stressing on quality in the ongoing 11th Plan. We are looking at improving basic learning for students, infrastructure in schools and teaching standards,” Rath said. IANS