Naveen meets Sibal, seeks more funds under SSA

The Pioneer, 6th August, 2009

PNS Bhubaneswar

The State Government on Wednesday asked the Centre to increase its share under the Sarva Sikshya Abhijan (SSA) to 75 per cent. Welcoming the Right to Education Bill-2009, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik put this demand before Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal in Delhi. “The Central share under SSA should be increased,” Patnaik told reporters on his return to the State capital. SSA, a Central Government scheme launched in all the 30 districts of the State since 2003-04, operated in a funding pattern on the ratio of 60:40. Meanwhile, it is planning to make the funding pattern at 50:50.“I urged the Union HRD Minister for better education scenario in the State. I talked him about higher education, school and mass education and establishment of a Central university in Koraput,” Patnaik said after returning from Delhi in the afternoon. The State also demanded introduction of medical and engineering stream in the central University.The State wants to increase the Central funding to 75 per cent from the existing 60 per cent in order to make SSA more meaningful. “As many as 1,786 new primary and 4,472 upper primary schools were opened in the State by 2007-08 under the SSA scheme,” said State Higher Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra who was also present with Naveen in the meeting with Sibal. He said the State needed morefunds to implement all the guidelines under the Right to Education Bill.Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar also agreed to the Chief Minister’s request to include more districts under the national horticulture mission. While Patnaik urged Pawar to include six districts under the programme, the latter agreed to include only three districts. Patnaik also urged Pawar to give Rs 100 crore for purchase of agricultural equipment.