No provision made for students’ security

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) education budget for 2016-17 announced on Wednesday has seen a drop in expenses by nearly Rs 107 crore as compared to last year.

The budget was presented by chairperson of BMC Education Committee, Ritu Tawde, even as very few committee members made it at the appointed time.

While there are no major changes, the civic body has attempted to digitise schools by providing nearly Rs 15.5 crore for Internet connections, computers and tablets for both primary and secondary sections.

There are provisions for Science Centres and inclusion of health education that will teach students about HIV AIDS and other diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and dengue.

Critics, however, have stated that the budget does not give any consideration to security of students and is similar to last year’s.

On the issue of dilapidated school buildings, Ms Tawde said that an overall provision of Rs 227.42 crore has been made, under which 37 schools will undergo repairs.

The budget makes a provision of Rs 68 lakh for connecting schools through the Internet and computers. The civic body will also continue giving tabs to its students, for which a provision of `10.06 crore has been made for the primary section and a provision of Rs 4.31 crore for the secondary section.

Furthermore, the civic body has provided Rs 3.05 crore for the primary section and Rs 1.40 crore for the secondary section towards establishing 150 mini Science Centres.

The budget also provides for medical check-ups of students, an initiative that was started last year with 10,694 students undergoing free medical check-ups.

Additionally, the civic body has introduced a new subject on life skills that will teach primary students about diseases like diabetes, tuberculosis, dengue and malaria and secondary students about changes in their physical, medical and social surroundings.

The adolescents will also learn about the reproductive system and HIV AIDS under this initiative across 49 municipal schools.