EDUCATION CESS

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

After a 2% education cess was imposed in  2004 on all Central Taxes, it was expected to collect 4-5000 Cr annually and the total amount will be used for mid day meal and education.

Considering the above estimates a massive sum of over Rs 50,000 Cr plus would have been collected by now.

Where is the money? What happened with the money?

This is what Ministry for HRD has to say... In Nov2007, MOS for human resource development, Fatmi informed Parliament on the basis of information provided by the department of revenue that Rs 4,159.39 cr, Rs 7,117.07 cr and Rs 9,037.23 cr had been collected as education cess for 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07, respectively. These figures are substantially different from the ones provided by the government’s official accountant, the Controller General of Accounts.

This is what CAG has to say. The 2% education cess, according to figures from the Controller General of Accounts, is Rs 5,557.58 cr in 2004-05, Rs 7,322.82 cr in 2005-06, and Rs 9,466.5 cr in 2006-07. To make matters a little more ambiguous, figures available with the HRD ministry show cess amount to be Rs 4,318.51 cr in 2004-05, and Rs 7,637.75 cr in 2005-06. For the year 2006-07, the HRD ministry only had figures till February - Rs 6,833 cr.

Education cess continues to be imposed but its utilization is unclear. There is no accountability about how the education cess has been used. The irony is that none of the ministry either Ministry of Finance or HRD is coming out with one clear figure. The total amount of cess collected seems to vary, depending on where the information is being given. 

The number of out-of-school children in India has fallen to 70 lakh in March 2006 from about 1.34 cr in July 2005, according to numbers compiled by states. The starting figure was compiled in a joint study by the government of India and independent market research agency Indian Market Research Bureau.(Apeejay Satya Education Research Foundation.)

This is what BBC has to say....read here (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26333713 )

Since the RTE deadline passed on 31 March 2013, several states have been ordering non-complying private schools to close, shifting most of the children to government schools.

Officials in Punjab said they closed 1,170 schools, Haryana shut 713, while Tamil Nadu closed "a little more than 400" and Andhra Pradesh "not more than 400".

Baladevan Rangaraju, director of think tank India Institute, who has been monitoring media reports, has counted 2,692 schools shut and 17,871 at risk.He said states where schools were threatened with closure included Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi. "It's our duty to close those schools that are not providing the best facilities, some don't have toilets or water," Punjab's additional state project director Parampal Kaur said.

 The Annual Survey of Education (ASER) also highlighted the shift to private education, with enrolment increasing from 19% in 2006 to 29% in 2013.

The state of affairs of the mid day meal is well known. Number of students died/fell ill after eating mid day meal in a number of states, says a lot. Don’t be surprised if contracts have been given to the loved ones, preferred class.

Those who contribute to the cess don’t care.

Those who it is meant for are not cared for.

So much for Right To education,

So much for Education Cess.

Let us CHANGE INDIA for INDIA OF TOMORROW