CAG reports reveal Odisha’s Mass Education Department surrendered over ₹11,000 crore in five years, exposing gaps in planning, spending, and school infrastructure
OdishaPlus Bureau
Despite the National Education Policy (NEP) advocating for a minimum of six per cent of GDP to be allocated to education, the School and Mass Education (SME) department has consistently surrendered significant portions of its budget over the years. This trend reveals systemic deficiencies in the planning, utilization, and development of educational infrastructure in Odisha.
The most recent report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has highlighted that the SME department surrendered Rs 1,159.31 crore from 2019 to 2022, funds that were specifically designated for capital expenditure. The audit noted that this situation reflects the department’s failure to generate tangible assets, particularly in light of the extensive damage to infrastructure observed in schools across the sampled districts.
Between 2018-19 and 2022-23, the SME department had a total budget allocation of Rs 92,483.18 crore. Out of this amount, Rs 11,138.93 crore, which constitutes approximately 12 per cent, was surrendered, including the Rs 1,159.31 crore that was set aside for capital expenditure.
The CAG identified ongoing savings and the surrender of funds annually, with figures ranging from 5 percent in 2022-23 to 18 percent in 2021-22. Despite an increase in the department’s total budget from Rs 15,737 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 21,558 crore in 2022-23, its proportion of the overall state budget decreased from 11.61 percent to 9.64 percent during the same timeframe.
According to the audit results, Odisha’s public expenditure on education has consistently fallen short of the NEP benchmark, fluctuating between 3.5 percent of the GSDP in 2018-19 and 3.27 percent in 2022-23. The percentage of expenditure has gradually diminished over the last three years of the audit period. Significant inconsistencies were also noted in the execution of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, where the funding is shared between the Centre and the state in a 60:40 ratio.
The CAG observed that both the Union and Odisha governments disbursed considerable portions of their contributions towards the end of the financial year. “While the Centre allocated Rs 1,141.22 crore, the state provided its corresponding share of Rs 1,182.86 crore only in March each year during 2018-23. This delayed disbursement resulted in insufficient time for expenditure under the scheme, leading to substantial unspent balances and necessitating the Union government to adjust the amounts from its allocations in the following year,” the report indicated.
According to the Manual of Financial Management and Procurement (FMP) of Samagra Shiksha, the Union government is set to disburse up to 25 percent of the expenditures incurred under the scheme for recurring activities from the previous year as an ad-hoc grant during the months of April and May. Furthermore, the states and Union Territories (UTs) are permitted to utilize the unspent balance from the previous year for the recurring activities that have been approved for the current year.
The audit revealed that the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) maintained substantial unspent recurring balances at the end of each financial year, which varied between Rs 199.37 crore and Rs 694.30 crore from 2018 to 2023. As a result, the Centre reduced the committed central share by Rs 369.1 crore during the period from 2019 to 2022.
