Guwahati, Aug 19: Assam education minister Ranoj Pegu on Friday sought to clarify the contents of a letter to MLAs in the state about a week back whereby an appeal was made to motivate donors and patrons in their respective constituencies for voluntary support to “some schools lacking basic infrastructure” .
The letter was written in the backdrop of the Centre’s special education scheme, “Vidyanjali 2.0”, under which any donor, including retired government officials, businessmen, youths, social organisations and the private sector, can voluntarily support a school with an aim to uplift basic infrastructure.
Addressing mediapersons here, amid Opposition parties and unions questioning the education department’s financial status to improve school infrastructure, Pegu said a composite grant (the amount depending on the number of students in a particular school) is provided to schools under the scheme for infrastructure maintenance/repair in schools.
“As it is, the government provides this composite grant to the school management committees. However, the appeal made to the MLAs is basically to seek civil society and community’s involvement in supporting schools with proper infrastructure, over and above the assistance provided by the government,” Pegu said.
“The contributions to the schools can be made by the individuals and donor organisations through registration on the http://vidyanjali.education.gov.in/en portal,” the minister had mentioned in the letter (dated August 11, 2022) to the MLAs.
It may be noted that the Vidyanjali 2.0 portal has been initiated recently by the central government, through which schools are to be strengthened with the help of community and service sector participation.
“As you may be aware, some schools in your constituency are running without adequate facilities such as electric fans, chairs and tables, drinking water filters, etc. Such facilities are very important for schools to provide proper education. Even as the government has been making arrangements to provide these facilities, currently there is a shortage of funds to meet these needs. It will take a long time to fill these deficiencies,” the letter from the minister read.
Reportedly, in the wake of criticism from parties and unions such as AASU, the minister said that the contents of the letter have been misconstrued, even as he requested the MLAs to hold back the appeal and wait for a “modified letter.”