After lying unspent for three years, the money collected from the proceeds of higher education cess would now be utilised for several schemes, including setting up of a finance corporation and for strengthening IITs and IIMs.
Government has collected Rs 8,334 crore so far as secondary and higher education cess from April 1, 2007. However, this money has remained unspent and is lying with the Finance Ministry, official sources said.
The HRD Ministry has drawn up a plan to utilise the money by creating a single and non-lapsable corpus fund for secondary and higher education.
Part of the money will be utilised for the proposed National Higher Education Finance Corporation (NHEFC) which will be mandated to provide concessional loans to higher educational institutions.
There are also plans to provide funds from this cess amount towards new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, IITs and IIMs. Besides, a part of the money will be spent on the newly-launched Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyan scheme in secondary education.
A proposal to this effect will be moved before the Cabinet soon, sources said.
As per the HRD Ministry's plan, the proposed NHEFC will be an institutional mechanism to address the investment needs in higher education sector.
The proposed corporation will nurture philanthropic tradition in education by providing loans at concessional rates on interest to such agencies for establishment of higher and vocational institutions in educationally backward areas.
It will be a NABARD-like institution in higher education. It will raise debt by issue or sale of bonds for augmenting resource from the market. It will finance creation of universities.
The government is collecting another two per cent cess of the total tax payable for primary education. Government has collected Rs 23,509 crore as primary education cess in the last four years.
The primary education cess is credited into a non-lapsable fund 'Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh' and is utilised for schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Mid-Day-Meal.