KGBV Scheme Faces Low Pay, Budget Cuts, Vacancies

Teachers at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) are facing low salaries and inadequate budgets, impacting the education of girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. The flagship government scheme, designed to educate girls from minority, disadvantaged, and below-poverty-line families, is struggling with teacher retention and student facilities.

Underpaid Staff Demand Better Conditions

Suchitra Sharma, a superintendent and warden at a KGBV in Assam’s Dhubri district, started in 2011 earning Rs 9,000 per month. After over a decade, her salary is Rs 22,000. Teachers and non-teaching staff across the country demand regularization and higher pay. Many work on contractual, part-time basis with even lower wages.

Shyam Krishna Dwivedi, president of the KGBV teaching and non-teaching staff association, stated that part-time staff earn between Rs 8,000 and Rs 11,000 monthly. He added that Manipur is the only state with permanent staff.

Budget Shortfalls Impact Student Welfare

The scheme allocates only Rs 60 per student per day for food and lodging. This limited budget reportedly compromises the quality of meals, leading to reports of students falling ill due to contaminated food. This situation contributes to vacant seats in KGBVs across various states.

Compared to other government residential schools, the per-student allocation for KGBVs is significantly lower. For instance, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) receive Rs 1,56,000 per child for nine months, and Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) get Rs 1,47,062 annually. KGBVs receive Rs 66 per day for food and lodging, Rs 100 per month for medical expenses, and Rs 120 per month for teaching materials.

Teacher Vacancies Plague Schools

Low salaries contribute to poor staff retention, resulting in teacher shortages. In Andhra Pradesh, 277 teaching and 1,095 non-teaching posts were vacant across 587 KGBVs, according to a union government statement to parliament.

Students in Arunachal Pradesh have protested against vacant subject teacher positions. Teachers also report a lack of basic facilities, with some sharing dormitory space with students in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Vacant Seats Indicate Systemic Issues

Despite efforts to improve dropout rates, vacant seats remain a concern. In Uttar Pradesh, 783 functional KGBVs have a capacity of 131,025 students, but only 85,861 are enrolled, showing a 34.58% vacancy rate.

Dwivedi attributes some vacancies to local traditions, such as early marriage of girls. He noted instances where the KGBV staff intervened to prevent child marriages.

Madhya Pradesh has 654 vacant seats across 417 KGBVs. Andhra Pradesh reports an 8.4% vacancy rate in its functional KGBVs. Rajasthan has 755 vacant seats among its 316 KGBVs. Assam has 1,262 vacant seats out of a total capacity of 17,245 in 151 KGBVs.

KGBV Scheme Background

KGBV was launched in 2004 under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). In 2018-19, it was merged with the Girls’ Hostel component of RMSA under the Samagra Shiksha initiative. Currently, 5,316 out of 5,639 sanctioned KGBVs are functional, enrolling 758,288 girls.

The budget allocation for KGBVs has fluctuated. In 2023-24, it was Rs 5,48,205.62 lakh, decreasing to Rs 4,55,138.02 lakh in 2024-25 and Rs 4,49,815.75 lakh in 2025-26.

KGBV Student Demographics