The Planning Commission, which conducted a review of the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012), is likely to slash budgetary allocations for higher and technical education by nearly half the original amount.
This will have to be approved by the National Development Council. It is said according to a Planning Commission source that the decision to cut funds was taken because the money allotted for the first three years of the plan period has not been spent. Despite making ambitious announcements, most schemes have not taken off.
The fourth year of the 11th Plan has just begun. Of the Rs. 84,000 crore allotted for higher and technical education in the plan, the ministry has not even spent Rs. 30,000 crore. The infrastructural development of many of the new IITs and IIMs has not taken off, said an official in the Union human resource development ministry.
Centre was to spend Rs. 2.75 lakh crore on education during 11th Plan compared with Rs. 62,238cr in the previous Plan.
