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) entitlements. With the flagship school education scheme following a 60:40 Centre-state funding ratio, the Union education ministry will contribute Rs.731 crore, while the Punjab government will provide Rs.488 crore, according to the minutes of the meeting of the central ministry's project approval board (PAB) released on Tuesday. This year, the state government will have a fund availability of Rs.1,492.89 crore under the scheme, including a spillover amount of Rs.215.60 crore. The PAB, headed by Union school education and literacy secretary Sanjay Kumar, which considered the state government's annual work plan and budget proposal on March 6, refused the proposals of the state government related to digital initiatives such as smart classrooms and computer labs. The school education department had asked for Rs.23 crore for computers and software for elementary classes but did not get approval. Similarly, the ministry also did not sanction recurring expenditure of Rs.37 lakh for smart classrooms at the secondary level. However, the central ministry sanctioned funds totalling Rs.7.58 crore for information and communication technology (ICT) and digital initiatives for secondary and senior secondary classes. The state has been asked to analyse the availability of computer labs and smart classrooms as per the norms and submit a fresh proposal this month. The PAB has also suggested to the state government to examine the availability of integrated science laboratories in secondary schools and subject-specific (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology) in senior secondary schools as per the norms and submit a supplementary proposal. The education ministry, in the PAB meeting, also flagged teacher vacancies, adverse pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) and infrastructure gaps in the government schools. It pointed out that there are 6,423 vacant teaching posts in the state, including l,546 at the elementary level, 961 at the secondary level, and 3,916 at the senior secondary level. The Punjab government has been asked to take steps to fill these vacancies by December 2025. The staff shortage at the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) and District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) was also pointed out. "There are seven vacancies at the SCERT and 143 at 22 DIETs," the ministry said. The state has been asked to fill all vacant positions within three months. Despite a reduction in the number of single-teacher schools, Punjab still has 1,884 single-teacher schools at the primary level and 137 at the upper primary level, according to official data. The central ministry has asked the school education department to ensure compliance with the Right to Education (RTE) norms and guidelines. The education ministry, while appreciating the PTR of 21 in primary schools and 15 in upper primary schools, pointed out that 18.6% of primary schools and 23.7% of upper primary schools still have an adverse PTR. "The state is required to analyse school-wise data in this regard and take appropriate remedial measures," it said. The Union ministry of education also took cognisance of the good net enrolment ratio (in simple terms, age-appropriate enrolment) at primary, while stressing the need to improve the NER at all other levels, dubbing the ratio at the higher secondary level as "particularly worrisome." It further stated that the state deserved to be appreciated for its achievement in the gross enrolment ratio (GER) at the elementary level; however, there is a need to improve it at the higher secondary level. The ministry also pointed out the poor coverage of children with special needs (CWSN) and lack of adequate infrastructure, stating that the state has only a 1% share of such children out of the total student enrolment and their number from Class 1 (21,795) to Class 12 (2,420) shows a continuous decline. "The state government has been asked to ensure that students enrolled in Grade 1 are supported to continue their education through to Grade 12," according to the minutes. As only 9% of teachers have been trained in inclusive education, the state was urged to provide appropriate training to teachers and conduct camps for the identification of CWSNchildren....