NEW DELHI, Aug 16:
The Union Cabinet today approved creation of a non-lapsable pool in the Public Account for secondary and higher, education known as “Madhyamik and Uchchtar Shiksha Kosh” (MUSK) into which all proceeds of “Secondary and Higher Education Cess” will be credited.
”Funds arising from the MUSK would be utilised for schemes in the education sector which would be available for the benefit of students of secondary and higher education, all over the country,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said briefing the media about today’s Cabinet decisions.
While administration and maintenance of the pool will be held by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, accruals from the proceeds of cess for Secondary and Higher Education levied under Section 136 of Finance Act, 2007 would be utilised in the ongoing schemes of secondary and higher education.
However, the HRD Ministry can allocate funds for any future programme/scheme of secondary and higher education, based on the requirement, as per prescribed procedure.
The major benefit will be enhancing access to secondary and higher education through availability of adequate resources, while ensuring that the amount does not lapse at the end of financial year by making accruals into the proposed non-lapsable fund available for expansion of secondary and higher education.
The Ministry proposes that for secondary education, the accruals from the cess would be utilised in ongoing Rashtriya Madhyamik Shlksha Abhiyan Scheme and other approved programmes including National Means-Cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme and National Scheme for Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education.
For higher education, the accruals would be spent on ongoing Schemes of Interest Subsidy and contribution for guarantee funds, Scholarship for College & University Students; Rashtriya Uchchtar Shiksha Abhiyaan; Scholarship (from Block Grant to the institutions) and National Mission on Teachers and Training. (PTI)
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