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Budget slammed for neglecting universal education >From Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Mar 15 (IANS) Congress MP Eduardo Faleiro Saturday flayed the central government for reducing the allocation on education in the budget for 2003-04 and neglecting elementary education and literacy. "The budget and the overall education policy of this government will exacerbate the deep divide between the rich and the poor and deny the vast masses any opportunity for a reasonably good education," Faleiro told reporters here. The Rajya Sabha member said the already inadequate allocation to education had been reduced by an amount of Rs 2.2 million, despite the fact that India's expenditure on education as a percentage of the gross national product (GNP) was decreasing. Accusing the government of cancelling important education projects, Faleiro also regretted that the promise to provide universal education had remained unfulfilled. "The government hurriedly passed a constitution amendment stipulating free and compulsory education to children above 14 years, but now they say the amendment can be implemented only with central legislation." The MP from Goa said a committee appointed by the government in 1999 had assessed the additional requirement of Rs.137 billion per year to provide universal elementary education. "Now the budget allocates for this purpose only a paltry amount of Rs.19.5 billion." Faleiro charged that while largely neglecting the education sector, the budget gave sops to affluent sections of society by providing income tax exemption of up to Rs.12,000 for the education of each child. "How many parents in India can afford to spend Rs.12,000 for their child's education? This bias towards the elite is ingrained in our public education system." --Indo-Asian News Service _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.goanet.org/mailman/listinfo/goanet
