Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday, 29 May 2026 chaired a detailed review meeting on fund release and utilisation under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, signalling a push to make the next iteration of the flagship school education scheme more efficient, transparent and outcome-oriented.

Context

The minister announced that an integrated approach through the convergence of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), PM-POSHAN, ULLAS, PM-SHRI and other flagship schemes will be undertaken from this year itself. The stated aim is to ensure greater coordination and measurable impact across the school education ecosystem, reducing the fragmentation that has historically limited the reach of individually administered programmes.

Pradhan also said the meeting discussed strengthening future Centre-State engagement 'while upholding the spirit of cooperative federalism' — an acknowledgement that school education, listed in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, requires active partnership between New Delhi and state governments for effective delivery.

Policy Backdrop

Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan was launched in 2018-19 as a single integrated scheme, replacing the earlier Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan. The merger was designed to provide a continuum of quality education from pre-primary to Class XII under one administrative umbrella.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2020, was the first overhaul of national education policy in 34 years. It mandated structural reforms spanning early childhood care, foundational literacy, multidisciplinary learning and vocational education. The PM-SHRI scheme, approved in September 2022 with an outlay of Rs 27,360 crore, was specifically designed to upgrade 14,500 model schools as exemplars of NEP 2020 implementation. PM-POSHAN, the revamped mid-day meal programme notified in 2021, and ULLAS, the adult literacy initiative launched in 2022, round out the cluster of schemes now being brought under a unified operational framework.

Friday's review meeting represents a continuation of the post-2020 pattern of consolidating fragmented school schemes into unified delivery structures, with renewed emphasis on outcome-based funding rather than input-based disbursement.

Stakeholders and Impact

The convergence architecture, if implemented as described, would directly affect state education departments across the country, which are the primary implementing agencies for centrally sponsored schemes. States have historically faced challenges in coordinating fund flows and reporting requirements across multiple scheme verticals.

For school students — particularly those in government schools who are the primary beneficiaries of mid-day meals under PM-POSHAN, model school upgrades under PM-SHRI, and foundational learning initiatives — the integrated approach is intended to deliver nutrition, infrastructure, skill development, sports and arts programming in a more coherent manner. The minister specifically highlighted 'innovation, nutrition, skill development, sports and arts among students' as areas of renewed focus under NEP 2020.

What's Next

State-level implementation reports on Samagra Shiksha fund utilisation and NEP 2020 progress are expected to feed into 2026-27 budget discussions and the next education ministers' conference. The ministry's stated goal of making the scheme 'transparent and outcome-oriented' suggests that performance metrics and fund-release conditionalities may be revised as part of the updated framework.

Pradhan framed these efforts as foundational to the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision — the government's broader agenda of making India a developed nation by the centenary of independence — positioning school education reform as central to building the country's future human capital.