Kerala Budget proposes accident/life insurance scheme for school students

The Kerala government has increased general education expenditure in the State Budget for the financial year 2026-27 presented by Finance Minister KN Balagopal in the Parliament on Thursday, January 29, 2026.

The budget has allocated ₹ 1,128.71 crore for continuing activities related to improving standards and sustaining the achievements of the State in the school education sector. Last year, the allocation for school education was ₹ 1,083.82 crore.

A major announcement in the budget is an accident/life insurance scheme for students from Classes I to XII. Arrangements have been made for the scheme and an amount of 15 million rupees has been allocated for the same.

Monthly salaries of pre-school teachers have been increased by ₹1,000 and daily wages of school lunch workers have been increased by ₹25.

Activities to improve academic standards and quality in school education as part of the Comprehensive Quality Education Program received ₹ 56.25 crore. This is more than last year’s allocation.

An amount of ₹167 crore has been allocated for primary, secondary and vocational higher secondary education categories.

₹10 crore has been allocated for the teacher training and empowerment programme. ₹ 21.25 crore has been allocated for the activities of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), including preparation of digital textbooks. SCERT has also initiated the process of creating a special curriculum for sports schools.

An amount of ₹7.4 crore has been allocated for the construction of multi-storey buildings for government high schools; ₹42 crore has been allocated for modernization activities, including ₹10 crore for maintenance of school facilities and ₹1 crore for effective waste management in schools.

An amount of ₹150.34 crore has been allocated for free distribution of school uniforms.

Participation programs

A total of ₹102.64 crore has been allocated for ongoing engagement programs in the education sector. An amount of ₹11 crore has been allocated for the Barrier-Free Schools project. ₹62 crore has been allocated to provide financial assistance to institutions providing care to children facing intellectual difficulties and ₹10.15 crore has been set aside for the CH Mohammed Koya Memorial State Institute for the Mentally Retarded.

scholarship plan

An amount of ₹7.9 crore has been allocated for a scholarship scheme for higher secondary and vocational higher secondary students belonging to the below poverty line (BPL) category.

The budget has allocated ₹14.5 crore to ensure continuity of studies, quality of education and improvement in grades of students belonging to Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

₹ 55 crore has been allocated as State share for the centrally sponsored Samagra Shiksha scheme; This is a huge drop from last year’s ₹340 crore. In addition, an amount of ₹23 crore has been allocated for various activities implemented through Samagra Shiksha Kerala project directorate.

Kerala Infrastructure and Education Technology allocation remained unchanged at ₹38.5 crore.

for lunch

Besides the State share of ₹150 crore, an additional ₹260.66 crore has been earmarked for mid-day meal and supplementary nutrition programmes, taking the total to ₹410.66 crore.

A resource of ₹12 million has been allocated to the General Education Directorate to develop sports culture in order to raise healthy students. This amount is ₹7.4 crore more than the allocation last time.