A parliamentary committee on Wednesday pointed out significant underutilization of funds allocated for Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) in school education for FY 2025-26 and raised concerns over the “minimal” capital expenditure allocated for FY 2026-27.
In its report on the Ministry of School Education and Literacy’s grant applications for 2026-27, the 31-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, chaired by Digvijaya Singh, noted that against the Budget Estimates (BE) of $62,660 crore for five CSS companies, including Samagra Shiksha, actual expenditure amounted to Rs. $32,296.54 crore as on February 13 — just 51.5% of BE and 60.1% of Revised Estimate (RE) of $Rs 53,730.02 crore.
The Committee urged the Ministry of Education to identify administrative, procedural and intergovernmental bottlenecks that lead to poor utilization of funds.
It also indicated a deficit in allocations of 15.02%, with the approval of the Ministry of Finance $83,562.26 crore against the department’s expectations $98,331.90 Crores – a gap of $14,769.64 crore – and a request to address the shortfall in the renewable energy phase if necessary.
The committee expressed its concern about capital expenditures, and said that the allocation of a fair amount $The Rs 0.85 lakh crore in BE 2026-27 is “miniscule” and has to be increased significantly, especially for infrastructure in aspirational areas, areas affected by left-wing extremism and tribal areas. While the BE for administration for 2026-27 has increased and represents 2.6% of the total budget, the Committee noted that allocations are often adjusted downwards. In the period 2025-2026, the budget was reduced by $8,004.96 Crores – from $78,572.10 crore in BE to $Rs 70,567.14 crore in RE.
Midday meals
The committee’s analysis of the PM POSHAN scheme shows large gaps between allocations and actual spending. In the period 2024-2025, spending amounted to $9,903 crore towards allotment $12,467.39 crore – around 20.6% less. In 2025-26, as of February 13, spending $6,639.22 Crores Vs $12,500 Crores – 46.9% deficit.
The report also noted a “continuous decline” in the number of beneficiaries, from Rs 12.16 lakh crore in 2022-23 to Rs 10.99 lakh crore in 2024-25. He also pointed out that West Bengal has not received central assistance under the scheme since 2022-23, and urged the Center and the state government to resolve the issues at the earliest.
The Committee noted a consistent mismatch between allocations and utilization, and recommended a consistent quarterly schedule for disbursing funds at the beginning of each fiscal year to improve monitoring and timely use of funds.
Vacancies in KVs, JNVs and NCERT
The committee noted the severe shortage of staff in key schools run by the central government.
It found that schools under the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) are facing 17% vacancy in teaching posts and 28% vacancy in non-teaching staff, which it said “significantly hampers” operations. Likewise, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) faces 29.5% vacancies in teaching and 26% in non-teaching posts. The committee called on the administration to fill all vacancies as soon as possible.
At the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), the committee noted that 130 academic posts remained vacant out of 528, besides 133 teaching posts vacant out of 271.
The NCERT committee recommended expediting the development and publication of new textbooks for classes 9-12 in line with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023 on a priority basis. The new textbooks for Class IX will be released for the 2026-27 academic session, followed by those for Class X and XI in the same year, NCERT said in a statement on March 17.
Learning programs
The committee pointed out the delay in the Pradhan Mantri Education Innovative Program (DHRUV), noting that the scheme, which was announced in 2019, is yet to be operationalized and has not seen any expenditure. He urged rapid approval, a clear timeline for the rollout, and effective use of… $Rs 50 crore has been allocated for 2026-27, along with a transparent and comprehensive method for identifying talented students.
The committee recommended extending NIPUN Bharat Mission – a flagship program for foundational literacy and numeracy in the early grades – by five years to 2032, expanding its coverage to include grades 3 to 5, and increasing its budget to include grades 3 to 5. $6000 Crores $2500 Crores. She also suggested conducting a census-based assessment for all fifth grade students and using technology-enabled personal learning tools.
In the ULLAS scheme – which aims to eradicate illiteracy among adults – the committee pointed out the stagnation $The allocation of Rs 160 crore over four years is insufficient, given the estimated over 25 crore adults who are functionally illiterate. She called for a significant increase in funding, biannual literacy and numeracy assessment tests, improved release of funds by states, and incentives for volunteer teachers.
