Punjab: State ranks fourth behind Haryana in number of books in school libraries
Punjab: Punjab is ranked fourth in the country in terms of books per school library, according to the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report 2023-24 of the Union education ministry. According to officials, Rs 16.67 crore is spent by the Centre every year on buying books for school libraries across the state under its overall scheme. Currently, Punjab has 1,654 books per school. Goa ranks first with 3,364 books, followed by Kerala with 2,783 books. Neighbouring Haryana has 2,198 books per school, according to the report. The libraries of schools in Punjab, including aided and private schools, have a stock of 4.53 crore books, the report said. There are a total of 27,404 schools in Punjab, of which 19,242 are government.
Only 23 of the government schools do not have a library while 46 government-aided schools do not have this facility. Similarly, 346 private schools do not have libraries. Under the central government scheme, primary schools get Rs 5,000, middle schools Rs 10,000, high schools Rs 15,000 and senior secondary schools Rs 20,000 every year to buy books. According to officials of the Punjab Education Department, the books are purchased by the management committees of government schools. Every school can spend 10 per cent of the total fund to buy curriculum books or competitive exam books. The report revealed that 97.5 per cent of schools in Punjab have a library or library bank and there are 1,503 digital libraries. According to the report, 66.1 per cent of schools in Punjab are equipped with internet, while 92.8 per cent of private schools have this facility. A senior official of the Education Department said that not only books are being given to government schools, but complete records of students are also being maintained. Lack of librarians
Meanwhile, Gurwinder Singh Saskor, general secretary of the Government Teachers’ Union, said that more than 700 senior secondary schools in Punjab lack librarians or assistant librarians, due to which the blood banks are not being fully utilised. The post of librarian is sanctioned only in senior secondary schools.
