Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty said today, Wednesday, November 5, that the state government had received the first tranche of central funds for the Samagra Shiksha Kerala scheme (SSK scheme).
According to Sivankutty, the Union Government approved Rs 109 crore for educational purposes, with Rs 92.41 crore sanctioned just a day before. "This is the recurring fund entitled to children under the Right to Education Act," the minister explained.
He claimed that non-recurring funds of Rs 17 crore for construction purposes have yet to be received. The minister stated that after sanctioning Rs 109 crore, the Union Government still needs to clear Rs 1,158 crore in arrears from 2023-24.
Sivankutty further stated that the central government has informed the Supreme Court that SSK scheme funding for the recruitment of special educators for children with disabilities will be allocated to Kerala shortly.
He stated that, according to the recommendations of the Rehabilitation Council of India, there should be one special educator for every ten children with disabilities, in classes one through five, and one for every fifteen such students beginning in grade six.
Because there are so few students with disabilities in a single school in Kerala, it was suggested that a group of schools be treated as a single entity. The minister stated that in such a scenario, approximately 4,000 special educators would be necessary.
