Centre approves over Rs 2,700 crore for Samagra Shiksha in West Bengal after three-year gap

MP, July 18, 2026, Kolkata : After a three-year break in central funding, the Centre has approved more than Rs 2,700 crore under the Samagra Shiksha scheme for West Bengal for the 2026-27 financial year, reviving financial support for school education projects across the State.

The approval comes after the State agreed to implement centrally sponsored schemes, including PM SHRI.

According to a senior Samagra Shiksha Mission (SSM) official, the approval followed the presentation of the State's Annual Work Plan and Budget before the Project Approval Board in New Delhi last month.

Sources said the previous State government had declined to implement certain centrally sponsored education schemes after the "PM" prefix was introduced, leading to the suspension of Samagra Shiksha funding.

In 2023-24, Bengal was expected to receive between Rs 1,500 crore and Rs 1,700 crore under the scheme but received only Rs 311 crore in two instalments. No further funds were released thereafter.

The allocation will support free textbooks and uniforms, teacher salaries under the scheme, vocational education, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya hostels, assistance for Children With Special Needs (CWSN), teacher training, teaching-learning materials, quality improvement programmes, Composite Grants, smart classrooms, drinking water, electrification and other school infrastructure initiatives.

Restoring the Composite School Grant will be among the mission's immediate priorities, the official said.

During the funding gap, schools received only a part of the grant, affecting routine maintenance and day-to-day expenditure.

Primary schools, which depend almost entirely on the grant for operational expenses, were the worst affected.

The mission will also prioritise ensuring that every government school has at least one functional toilet each for boys and girls.

The official said nearly all schools already have toilet facilities, but around one to two per cent have become non-functional because of minor maintenance issues and will be repaired on priority.

Additional toilets in schools with high enrolment will be constructed in phases, depending on available space and infrastructure requirements.

Other priorities include electrifying the remaining 850 to 900 schools that still lack power, expanding piped drinking water facilities in collaboration with the Jal Jeevan Mission, installing fans in schools located in heat-prone districts, introducing sanitary vending machines for girls, and strengthening digital infrastructure through smart boards.

The official said the focus during the current financial year would be to ensure every school has essential infrastructure before taking up additional facilities.