Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved continuation of the Credit Guarantee Fund for Education Loans Scheme and continuation and modification of Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme with a financial outlay of 6,600 crore rupees from 2017-18 to 2019-20.
The scheme will cover loans for pursuing professional and technical courses to promote quality education. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Human Resource Development Minister, Prakash Javadekar said, it will provide education loans to ten lakh students during this period. He said, within the next three years, students who are unable to bear the education fee will be given loans and education subsidy under the initiative.
The Minister said the CCEA also approved a proposal to formulate a Integrated Scheme on school education by subsuming Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teacher Education from 1st April, 2018 to 31st March, 2020. An estimated allocation of 75,000 crore rupees has been approved for this which is a 20 percent increase over the current allocations.
The decision came in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Sabko Shiksha, Achhi Shiksha and aims at supporting the states in universalizing access to school education from classes pre-nursery to XII across the country. Mr. Javadekar said, the blackboards will now be replaced by digital boards in classrooms in the next five years for better access to education.
He also said a committee has been set up in this regard. The Minister also informed that the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya will now provide education to the girls of marginalized sections up to class 12th.