With 11th Five Year plan giving special focus on education, government on Friday earmarked a whopping over Rs 38,702 crore (Rs 387.02 billion) to the sector in the Union Budget 2008-09, showing a massive increase of over Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion) .

A sum of Rs 27,850 crore (Rs 278.50 billion) has been provided for school education as compared to last year's revised estimate of Rs 23,191.35 crore (Rs 231.91 billion).

Of this, elementary education has been given Rs 19,777.50 crore (Rs 197.77 billion) this year as against Rs 18,439.61 crore (Rs 184.39 billion) the previous year. Of this, a bulk of Rs 13,100 crore (Rs 131 billion) would be provided to flagship programme Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to universalise education in the country.

The Mid-day Meal Scheme which would receive Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion) would be extended to all children upto upper primary level (from class I to VIII) in all areas across the country.

Allocation for the secondary education has been doubled with Rs 5,139.70 crore (Rs 51.39 billion) in 2008-09 as against Rs 2,465.18 crore (Rs 24.65 billion) last year.

With government proposing to set up high quality model schools, a sum of Rs 582.80 crore (Rs 5.82 billion) has been earmarked for this purpose during the year. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his Independence Day address last year had announced setting up of 6,000 new High Quality schools - one in every block of the country.

Higher education has received a special attention in the budget with an allocation of Rs 10,852.87 crore (Rs 108.52 billion) as against Rs 6,397.36 crore (Rs 63.97 billion) in the revised estimate last year.

Of this, the University and Higher Education sector has received Rs 5,234.76 crore (Rs 52.34 billion) this year as against Rs 3,699.43 crore (Rs 36.99 billion) last year.

A major chunk of Rs 5,104.90 crore (Rs 51.04 billion) would go to University Grants Commission (UGC) this year which included a provision of Rs 875 crore (Rs 8.75 billion) towards implementation of the Oversight Commission recommendations for meeting the requirement for enhanced number of students in Central Universities.

A sum of Rs 45.45 crore (Rs 454.5 million) has been allocated for Area Intensive and Madrasa Modernisation Programme this year as compared to Rs 44.50 crore (Rs 445 million) last year.