The Ministry of Education (MoE) has asked the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to provide an additional sum of Rs 5 billion for this fiscal year, stating that the government-allocated education budget is not enough.

The MoE said since it has introduced new programmes this year, the budget allocated for the continuity of last year’s programmes and for teachers’ salaries is not sufficient.

For this fiscal, the government has allocated Rs 80.95 billion, 15.65 per cent of the national budget, for the education sector. Mahashram Sharma, joint-secretary and spokesman for the MoE, said that after the budget speech, they met MoF secretary to urge him to provide additional budget. He stated that the additional budget was for the volunteers working in Early Childhood Development Centres (ECDCs) across the country, to provide salary to school employees and to provide grants to universities.

Currently, 29,000 volunteers are working in the ECDCs that the government has established for physical and mental development of children before their enrolment at the primary level. Volunteers at ECDCs get a monthly salary of Rs 2,400 from the government but as per the labour act, anyone working eight hours should be paid a minimum of Rs 8,000. Therefore, the ministry should raise the salary of these volunteers, said Sharma.

He said, “As per the law, the government must provide a salary of Rs 8,000 to the employees who work eight hours. Currently, the volunteers have been working for four hours only, so the government must pay them Rs 4,000.” “This is one of the sectors that needs extra budget.”

The government has been providing Rs 6,200 per month to every non-teaching school employee as per an agreement reached last year. “With the increment of other employees, the ministry should increase the salary of the volunteers as well as the salary of professors and other staff of various universities,” he said.

Sharma said the MoF is positive about providing additional budget to the education ministry. “MoF officials have asked us to provide database of areas and budget needed so that they can allocate funds,” Sharma said.

source: the himalayan times,21 July 2013