According to sources in the DoE, the expenses of the exams will be reviewed and if needed, a “supplementary grant” would be provided for “exam-related expenses” during the second term of the current academic session. “All heads of government schools of Directorate of Education are hereby informed that necessary budget allocation — Rs 90 per student from Class 1 to Class 11 — has been made to the schools for the conduct of exams for the year 2022-23,” the circular dated September 16 said.

It further said due to a “shortage of budget”, the expenditure is restricted up to Rs 90 per student instead of Rs 125. “Demand for the additional budget will not be entertained,” it added.

“Since the day-to-day cost of everything has been increasing, further budget cuts by the government in education will be yet another problem for the schools,” Sant Ram, district secretary (West-A) of the Government School Teachers’ Association, said. Talking about the city government cutting budgets in education, he said the findings have been reduced in several other areas as well.

“The government has been reducing funds ever since the (COVID-19) pandemic struck. It has also stopped the local tours that we used to hold every year,” Ram said. He added that the local tours were first halted after the Covid outbreak in 2020 and then resumed for only Classes 8 and 9.