Foreign funds makes up for six per cent of total allocation for the ambitious Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal informed the Rajya Sabha.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, he said fund utilisation under the SSA has been satisfactory.
In 2009-10, Rs 12,781.07 crore were released by the Centre to states, up from Rs 12,604.81 crore in 2008-09 and Rs 11,426.26 crore in 2007-08, he said.
The allocation as percentage of GDP has, however, declined from 0.25 per cent in 2007-08 to 0.24 per cent in 2008-09 and 0.22 per cent in 2009-10.
The fund sharing pattern for SSA programme was in 65:35 ratio between Centre and States in 2007-08 and 2008-09, 60:40 ratio in 2009-10, 55:45 ratio in 2010-11 and 50:50 ratio in 2011-12 and thereafter, he said.
Sibal said actual budgetary allocation for Central education programmes was less than the provision made by the Planning Commission in the XIth Five Year programme due to the slow progress of new schemes.
Citing examples, he said 14 innovation universities were to be set up but the plan has not taken off as the concept is not yet clear. In the absence of a roadmap, no funds have been provided.
Similarly, construction of 16 Central universities too has been slow, he said adding the fund utilisation in ongoing schemes for elementary education and SSA has been good.
