'Just 0.1% Of Nashik Kumbh Mela Budget Could Save Over 100 Marathi Schools': Supreme Court Justice PB Varale Challenges State Priorities

Supreme Court Judge Justice Prasanna B Varale has raised stark concerns over Maharashtra's shrinking education budget, contrasting the shutdown of over a hundred state-run vernacular schools with the massive public money poured into mega-events like the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh Mela.

Speaking at the inauguration of smart classrooms at a high school in Maharashtra's Dhule district—an institution where he spent his own formative school years—Justice Varale pointed out the glaring disparity between state-funded grand spectacles and basic educational infrastructure.

Mega-Event Spending vs Local Classrooms

During his address, Justice Varale cited official announcements regarding public funds earmarked for major events and infrastructure projects, contrasting those figures with the modest sums required to keep regional-language schools afloat.

"The government claims to allocate vast funds for various initiatives. The Deputy Chief Minister mentioned ₹32,000 crore and the Chief Minister mentioned ₹34,000 crore for the Kumbh Mela. I read elsewhere about ₹11,000 crore being allocated for a corridor project," Justice Varale remarked.

Clarifying that he had no issue with developmental spending, the apex court judge noted that an insignificant fraction of these budgets could change the fate of primary education across Maharashtra. "If out of these thousands of crores of allocated funds, even just 0.1%—around ₹32 crore—were spent by the government, then 100 to 125 Marathi-medium schools that have closed down across the state would not have shut down," he asserted.

Shrinking Budgetary Allocation For Education

Tracing the broader national picture, Justice Varale expressed worry over the steadily declining share of public spending on education over the decades. He noted that despite a growing student population requiring expanded resources, budgetary support has regressed instead of stepping up.

"At the central level, the budgetary allocation for education used to range between 8%, 12%, and 11%. Naturally, this budget should have increased given the growing student population. Instead, the funding allocated in the budget has decreased, failing to even reach 13% over many years," he said.

To illustrate the human cost of poor institutional backing, Justice Varale highlighted a recent tragedy in a rural residential ashram school, where female students were forced to sleep on bare floors due to a lack of basic furniture, resulting in three girls dying from snakebites while another was hospitalised.

A Personal Defence Of Vernacular Learning

Reflecting on his own journey through municipal and Zilla Parishad Marathi-medium schools up to Class 10, Justice Varale dispelled the notion that vernacular instruction limits career prospects.

He shared how learning in his mother tongue broadened his outlook on life and instilled core human values, quoting 13th-century saint-philosopher Sant Dnyaneshwar and renowned 20th-century poet Suresh Bhat. Encouraging the gathering, he urged students to build a lifelong habit of reading beyond textbooks and called on teachers to foster genuine curiosity about world history and transformative ideas.