Punjab Budget: Punjab allocates Rs442 bn for education sector

LAHORE: The Punjab government has allocated almost Rs442 billion for education sector of the province for new fiscal year of which over Rs 54 billion will be spent under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) 2021-2022.

According to the budget, present allocation is over Rs50 billion more than the outgoing fiscal year. Of over Rs441 billion education budget, major chunk, Rs387 billion will go for salaries and other related expenditures while the remaining Rs54 billion will be utilised on the development side such as establishment of new schools, colleges and universities etc.

For School Education, the government has allocated a total of Rs385 billion of which Rs349 billion has been earmarked for non-development while remaining almost Rs36 billion has been earmarked under the Annual Development Programme 2021-2022.

An amount of almost Rs52 billion has been earmarked for higher education of which Rs37.4 billion under the non-development head while the remaining over Rs15 billion has been earmarked on the development side.

For special education, an amount of over Rs200 million has been earmarked under non-development expenditure while for the development purposes an amount of Rs700 million has been earmarked.

Almost Rs3 billion has been earmarked for Literacy and Non-Formal Education under the Development Programme 2021-2022 while Rs400 million for non-development making a total budget of Rs3.3 billion.

Under the Annual Development Programme 2021-2022, development budget of almost Rs36 billion for School Education will be spent on 228 new schemes (this also includes 212 new schemes under District Development Package) and four ongoing schemes. An amount of Rs6.5 billion has been earmarked for Insaf Afternoon Schools programme and over Rs6 billion for upgradation of schools across the province. This development budget also includes Rs4 billion for new initiatives for imparting education through outsourcing of public schools under Punjab Education Initiative Management Authority (PEIMA) and Rs19 billion for the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF).

The development budget of over Rs15 billion for higher education will be spent on 41 ongoing schemes and 156 new schemes including 127 schemes under the District Development Package. Some of these new schemes are establishment of new colleges and universities and provision of missing facilities. Under three other development programmes, an amount of Rs500 million has been earmarked for Punjab Education Endowment Fund (PEEF), Rs50 million for Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) and Rs100 million for Lahore Knowledge Park Company.

Special Education’s development budget of Rs755 million will be spent on five ongoing schemes and 20 new schemes which also include three schemes under the District Development Package. The development budget of Rs2.9 billion for Literacy & Non Formal Basic Education will be spent on five ongoing schemes and just one new scheme.