Srinagar, Jul 14: The Project Approval Board (PAB) under the Ministry of Education has recommended an outlay of Rs 919.35 crore for Jammu and Kashmir under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme for the financial year 2026-27, with the largest share earmarked for improving the quality of school education, followed by financial support for teachers, skill education and RTE entitlements.
According to the Minutes of the Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting for Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territory had sought an allocation of Rs 1,168.23 crore, including Rs 1,096.40 crore under recurring expenditure and Rs 71.83 crore under non-recurring expenditure. However, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) recommended Rs 919.35 crore, comprising Rs 874.33 crore recurring and Rs 45.03 crore non-recurring, reflecting a reduction of nearly Rs 249 crore from the UT’s proposal.
The largest recommended allocation of Rs 326.70 crore (35.54%) has been made under Quality Interventions, although the UT had proposed Rs 493.22 crore for the component. The quality interventions category includes teacher training, ICT initiatives, libraries, learning enhancement programmes and other academic improvement measures.
The second highest allocation has been made under Financial Support for Teachers, with Rs 194.09 crore (21.11%) recommended against the UT’s proposal of Rs 210 crore.
The Board has also recommended Rs 126.32 crore (13.74%) for Skill Education, slightly lower than the proposed Rs 143.32 crore, highlighting continued emphasis on vocational education in schools.
Under the Right to Education (RTE) Entitlements, the PAB approved Rs 84.55 crore, matching the amount proposed by the UT. The funds will support free textbooks, uniforms and other student entitlements.
For Gender and Equity, the Board recommended Rs 67.02 crore against the proposed Rs 89.29 crore, while Access and Retention received Rs 39.98 crore, lower than the proposed Rs 53.95 crore.
The recommendations also include Rs 43.73 crore for Programme Management, Rs 15.68 crore for Sports and Physical Education, Rs 11.85 crore for Teacher Education, Rs 8.02 crore for Inclusive Education, and Rs 1.50 crore for Monitoring of the Scheme.
The PAB minutes also reviewed the implementation of the 2025-26 programme. Against a budget approval of Rs 2,325.84 crore, Jammu and Kashmir had incurred an expenditure of Rs 1,102.64 crore, representing 47.4 per cent utilisation.
Of the total expenditure, Rs 488.31 crore was recurring while Rs 614.32 crore was non-recurring.
The highest expenditure during 2025-26 was recorded under Access and Retention at Rs 344.56 crore, accounting for 31.25 per cent of the total expenditure. This was followed by Quality Interventions at Rs 273.31 crore (24.79%), Skill Education at Rs 180.93 crore (16.41%), and Financial Support for Teachers at Rs 152.57 crore (13.84%).
The UT also spent Rs 72.80 crore on RTE Entitlements, Rs 33.63 crore on Teacher Education, Rs 15.68 crore on Sports and Physical Education, Rs 11.66 crore on Programme Management, Rs 8.80 crore on Gender and Equity, Rs 3.20 crore on Monitoring of the Scheme, and Rs 98.55 lakh on Inclusive Education.
The recommendations made by the Project Approval Board will now form the basis for financial assistance to Jammu and Kashmir under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme during the current financial year, subject to the release of funds as per Government of India norms.
