Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 23:
Further fund to be released for implementing the Centrally sponsored Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme in the State has been stalled following a court case filed by an autonomous body called 'the State Council for Educational Research and Training on the contention that all the related fund should be released through the Council claiming itself as the sole authority for implementing the scheme, a source from the Education Department said.
The source informed that SCERT had filed a case in the High Court complaining that the fund released had been diverted by the State Government and demanded that all the related fund for the implementation of SSA scheme in the State should be henceforth released directly through SCERT.
Claiming itself as the sole authority for implementation' of the scheme in the State, the Council also pressed for cancellation of the registration of the State Level SSA Mission Authority, the source added.
Following the complaint petition, the High Court in its interim order on September 17 last upheld that the State Government should hand over all the fund released so far to the autonomous body if the claim for sole authority of implementing the scheme is right, the source said, further disclosing that the State Government from its side is also bracing up for filing a counter case.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Elementary Education and Literacy, Government of India lias held up an amount of Rs 3 crores as the result of the court intervention, thereby delaying the process for implementing the scheme.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan scheme envisage to provide elementary education to all the children between the age group of 6 to 14 within 2010.The source further informed that 90 pc of the survey work being conducted by the State Education Department for successful implementation of the scheme in Manipur have been completed.
Only places located in interior parts of Tamenglong and Chandel districts are to yet to be finalized, it said.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the State Level SSA Mission Authority has been convened on February 3 to discuss the progress of the survey work and to analyze the reports.
The meeting to be presided over by the Chief Minister who is also the chairman of the Mission Authority will also work out strategy for implementation of the scheme.
It may be noted here that for the State of Manipur, the implementation of the scheme is already late by two years.
The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development had released an amount of Rs 1,09,93,000 as first installment towards meeting the cost of survey work.