NEW DELHI, Aug 24: The Supreme Court judge Justice Prasanna B Varale has flagged the shrinking education budget and the dismal situation of education system in Maharashtra where Marathi schools that are closing down, could have been saved with a fraction of the money spent on the Nashik Kumbh.
“Even 0.1 per cent of the Nashik Kumbh expenditure could have saved 100-125 Marathi schools from closing down,” Justice Varale said at the inauguration ceremony of ‘smart classes’ at a high school in Maharashtra’s Dhule district.
The government, he pointed out, allocates between Rs 32,000 crore and Rs 34,000 crore for the Kumbh Mela and Rs 11,000 crore for corridors. Had merely 0.1 per cent of this amount -approximately Rs 32 crore – been spent, 100 to 125 Marathi-medium schools across the state that have shut down could have been saved, he said.
In this context, he remarket hat he completed his schooling up to the 10th grade in municipal and Zilla Parishad Marathi-medium schools. Studying in the regional language has never hindered his career and rather it had broadened his perspective, he said.
Later he told a section of the media, “I have expressed what I truly feel in my heart.” “Children are the future of the country… Essential facilities must be provided for children in schools. Primary education and healthcare are fundamental rights of every citizen,” he said.
Earlier, Justice Varale expressed concern that despite the growing student population, the education budget has consistently shrunk rather than increased, failing to even reach the 13 per cent mark for several years.
Highlighting the dismal state of rural schools, he cited a tragic incident at a school connected with a religious institution where three female students, forced to sleep on the floor due to lack of proper facilities, died from snakebites. But the government, he noted, allocates huge sums for events like the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh Mela and releases substantial funds for corridor projects.
(Manas Dasgupta)