A parliamentary committee flagged ₹1,182 crore unspent in NIPUN Bharat, the Centre's flagship literacy programme, as fund utilisation gaps persisted across school education schemes including KGBVs and PM SHRI.
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A parliamentary committee flagged large-scale under-utilisation of funds across several school education schemes, with the sharpest gap in the Centre's flagship literacy programme NIPUN Bharat. Against an approved ₹3,029.27 crore for 2024-25, expenditure stood at ₹1,847.08 crore, leaving ₹1,182 crore – roughly 39% – unspent, the Lok Sabha Committee on Estimates said in a report adopted August 10.
The panel, which examined the Department of School Education and Literacy along with bodies including CBSE, NCERT and NVS, said persistently low spending risked undermining programme delivery. It singled out particularly poor utilisation in Assam, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
Foundational literacy and numeracy is a "critical and urgent national priority" under the National Education Policy 2020, the committee noted. It asked the Ministry of Education to identify systemic bottlenecks at the State and Union Territory levels that were causing implementation and fund flow delays.
The gap extended to Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs), residential schools for girls from disadvantaged groups. In 2023-24, actual expenditure was ₹384.95 crore against an approved ₹5,482.06 crore. Spending improved to ₹2,386.68 crore in 2024-25 but remained far below the approved ₹4,551.38 crore. Through December 2025, ₹1,894.27 crore had been spent against an approved ₹4,479.66 crore. The committee said the persistent under-utilisation over three years may have affected the proper functioning of KGBVs.
A sharper gap appeared in inclusive education infrastructure for children with special needs (CwSN). Against ₹4.82 crore allocated for 186 disabled-friendly toilets in 2024-25, only ₹2.60 lakh was utilised, with no physical progress reported. Only ₹80.50 lakh was spent against ₹9.62 crore allocated for new special educators. According to UDISE+ 2024-25 data, only 5,23,143 of 14,71,437 schools nationally have CwSN toilets, and 8,08,466 have ramps with handrails – meaning more than half of schools lack basic accessibility infrastructure, the report said.
The PM SHRI scheme, under which selected government schools are developed as exemplar institutions, also showed wide gaps. Against revised allocations of ₹2,800 crore in 2023-24, ₹4,500 crore in 2024-25 and ₹5,800 crore in 2025-26, actual Central releases were ₹1,216.70 crore, ₹3,576.40 crore and ₹473.20 crore respectively. The committee said substantial commitments had yet to translate into infrastructure and development spending, and recommended an outcome-based monitoring framework covering learning outcomes, digital competencies and vocational skills.
Physical targets for Right to Education entitlements were not achieved in Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Odisha and Punjab in 2024-25, leaving many students without free uniforms and other amenities.
The committee attributed slow fund utilisation partly to State-level functioning and lack of continuity among officers handling centrally sponsored schemes. It recommended tighter financial monitoring, better Centre-State coordination, and identification of implementation bottlenecks so that approved funds reach their intended beneficiaries in time.
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