Chandigarh, May 15 -- The Union ministry of education has approved a budget of Rs.1,277 crore for school education in Punjab for the 2025-26 financial year under its flagship Samagra Shiksha Scheme while turning down some of the state government's proposals related to computer labs and smart classrooms.

The ministry has sanctioned approximately Rs.850 crore for elementary schools and another Rs.400 crore for secondary schools, with the remaining Rs.27.46 crore going to teacher education.

The budget, which is marginally higher than the previous year's outlay, has been sanctioned for improvement in the government school infrastructure, quality of education, retention rate, and access to schooling, besides Right to Education (RTE) entitlem...