Govt to Probe 1.73 Cr Special Assistance to 3 ‘Well-Off’ Private Schools

KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

Days after news report that Comptroller and Auditor General of India has revealed that previous Jammu and Kashmir government has diverted Rs 1.73 Crore special assistance to three private schools and has termed the diversion as mis-utilization of funds, the Government Friday said that it will probe what was the reason to divert the huge amount to well-off private schools.

“It was the previous government that diverted Rs 1.73 Crore special plan assistance from Centre to three private educational institutions in Kashmir and Ladakh regions. But it seems that the funds were not utilized for the purpose for which the funds were released by the central government. We will probe the matter and investigate what was the reason behind the diversion of funds,” Minister of State for Education, Culture and Information Priya Sethi told KNS over phone.

She said that thorough investigation will be carried out in the matter and who so ever will be found responsible for the mis-utilization of funds will be dealt severely. “When government’s own schools were in need of financial assistance, be it the salaries of teachers or the other things, what prompted the previous government to divert the funds to the well-off private schools,” she asked.

She said that instead of clearing the salaries of the teachers they have given undue benefit to the private schools. “What I observe that previous government have created mess in the education sector and was not able to produce single utilization certificate to the GOI,” she said and added that the government will also investigate where these Private schools have utilized this amount,” she added.

It is to mention here that as per the CAG March 31 2014 report, the then National Conference led government diverted Rs 1.73 Crore special plan assistance from Centre for state-run schools to three private educational institutions in Kashmir and Ladakh regions resulting in mis-utilisation of funds.

“The payment of unjustified cash assistance to (three) private schools from out of special plan assistance from Government of India for improvement and up gradation of infrastructure in government schools resulted in mis-utilisation of Rs 1.73 Crore,” Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India for the year ended March 31, 2014 revealed.

The report said that Rs one Crore was disbursed to Tyndale Biscoe School Tangmarg (Baramulla district), Rs ten Lakh to Good Shepherd School Pulwama and Rs 63 Lakh to Islamia Public School Leh.

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