Delhi govt to spend 25 per cent of budget on education: Manish Sisodia

Delhi government will spend 25 per cent of its annual budget on education sector, taking up majors steps towards quality education by focusing on training programmes and physical infrastructure.

"We will spend 25 per cent of our annual budget (2016-17) on education. Perhaps in the country, this is the highest percentage of the total budget to be spent on education sector," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told PTI.

Sisodia, who also holds finance and education portfolios, will present the 2016-17 Budget in the Delhi Assembly in March.In the 2015-16 Budget, the AAP government had allocated Rs 9,836 crore for the education sector out of which Rs 4,570 crore was given under the plan outlay, an increase of around 106 per cent.

"In other states, only 10 per cent to 12 per cent is spent on this sector," Sisodia said, adding the Centre too was lagging behind in this regard.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that in the upcoming budget, government will focus on training programmes, infrastructure and international collaborations to improve the quality of education being imparted in its schools.

"A significant share of the budget is being given to boost education sector now. In view of this, our educational schemes will focus on quality education, training, infrastructure and international collaboration," Sisodia said.

Earlier this month, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced a loan of Rs 551 crore to North and East municipal corporations for paying salaries to their staff. The loan amount was diverted from the education department of the government.

Sisodia said that government has also planned to develop a model school village in North-East Delhi. As per the plan, about 10 schools of different streams will be built there.