GUWAHATI, May 17 ? Education Ministers of North Eastern States today resolved to submit a joint memorandum to the Union Human Resources Development Ministry next week demanding adequate and extended financial assistance for education sector in the region. Following hours-long discussion here today, the Education Ministers of the region were in agreement that the Central government should continue to sponsor Operation Black Board (OBB), Hindi teachers and Sarba Siksha Abhiyan in the region besides modifying the Mid-day Meal schemes suiting the conditions of the region. The Education Ministers pointed out during the discussion that after Centre decided to discontinue financial support to Operation Black Board at the end of the 9th Plan, hundreds of teachers appointed under the scheme in primary schools of the region were left in the lurch as respective State Governments were not in a position to pay these teachers.
However, NE Ministers were of the view since OBB was started in 1987 in pursuance of National Policy on Education, 1986, the Government of India should continue with its financial support to the scheme for the sake of primary education. The NE States would request the Centre to make the funding pattern for Sarba Siksha Abhiyan 90:10 for the cash-strapped region as in the case of projects funded the non-lapsable pool of resources. The Centre introduced a massive Sarba Siksha Abhiyan towards the end of the 9th Plan period with funding pattern of 85:15 i.e. 85 per cent by the Centre and 15 per cent by the State. During the 10th Plan period, the funding pattern will be 75:25 which be changed to 50:50 during the Eleventh Plan period. The NE States are not sure of their capability to mobilise resources to bear their share regarding funding of the schemes and have, therefore, decided to knock at the doors of the Centre with request for a special funding pattern for the region.
Regarding the Mid-day Meal scheme, the NE States have found the scheme not suitable for the region as due to resource crunch it is not possible for the NE States to provide cooked meals to school students under the scheme for a period of 200 days per year as per the Supreme Court directive. The NE States will now request the Centre to provide the cost of cooking also so that the court directives could be complied with. The Mid-day Meal scheme was introduced in 1995 and extended to all States. Under the scheme rice allotted to States has been supplied to the students of Government and Government assisted primary schools as dry ration. However, the Supreme Court in November last year directed Governments to provide only cooked meals under the scheme. Arunachal Pradesh Education Minister Takan Sanjoy during the discussion informed that due to communication problem in his State it costs the Government average Rs 850 to carry a quintol of Mid-day Meal rice for distribution among students.
As in the case of OBB teachers, the Centre has also discontinued financial support for engagement of Hindi teachers in leaving hundreds of them at lurch in the State. Education Ministers of several NE States were of the opinion that without continued financial support from the Centre it would be not possible to make Hindi as compulsory subject in Class-VII standard. Regarding implementation of World Bank sponsored technical education scheme in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura with a funding pattern on 90:10. These States? would now request the Centre to bear the State?s share for the scheme (Tech Ed III) from the Non-lapsable Pool of Fund.