Parliament Question: CAG Reports on Punjab Schools

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 5967 ANSWERED ON- 30.03.2026 CAG REPORTS ON PUNJAB SCHOOLS 5967. Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware of the fact that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has flagged Punjab's School Education Board for failing to account for 673 crore of Central funds and that utilisation of Samagra Shiksha funds in the State has remained as low as 44–50 per cent, if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Government is aware of the fact that the 55-crore Scheduled Castes (SC) Post-Matric Scholarship scam in which 39 crore was paid to ghost institutions with missing files has been investigated by the Vigilance Bureau and six officials dismissed and if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Central Government is aware of the deplorable State of Government schools in Punjab, schools running with a single teacher and without headmaster, toilets and basic infrastructure, if so, the details thereof; and (d) the details of the steps taken by Central Government to ensure that Central education funds released to Punjab are not diverted or left unutilised including any conditionality or monitoring mechanism put in place in this regard? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a): As informed by the State of Punjab, no CAG report has been received pertaining to Punjab School Education Board regarding this matter.The central share approved and the central share released in respect of Punjab for the years 2024-25 and 2025-26 is as follows: Year Central share approved Central share released 2024-25 ₹ 708.78 crore ₹ 678.13 crore 2025-26 ₹ 947.56 crore ₹ 586.20 crore (till 27.03.2026) (b): As informed by the State of Punjab, the matter regarding alleged misappropriation of funds under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled Caste students is under investigation by the Vigilance Bureau, Punjab and the investigation is ongoing. Further, Punjab Government has also taken action against some State Government employees. (c): The Punjab Government has informed that the number of single teacher schools and schools with no headmaster are 1441 and 563, respectively. All the schools have toilets and basic infrastructure. Advisories have been issued on a regular basis to strengthen Human Resources in schools and to maintain normative PTR. (d): This Department uses a comprehensive online monitoring system called PRABANDH (Project Appraisal, Budgeting Achievements and Data Handling) to monitor the releases and expenditure, besides viewing approved outlays and other scheme related information. Further, the Central Government, through the various forums, including Project Approval Board meetings, review meetings, Zonal Council Meetings and NITI Aayog Governing Council Meetings, reviews and assesses the implementation of different schemes by the States and UTs and advise the States and UTs to implement the various interventions under the Scheme for providing holistic and qualitative education. ***