Revised Infrastructure Loan cum Grant Scheme for Educational Institutions (Goa)

What is the Revised Infrastructure Loan cum Grant Scheme?

Revised Infrastructure Loan cum Grant Scheme is the Government of Goa's soft-loan route for government-aided educational institutions that need to build, repair or upgrade their premises. It was notified by the Directorate of Education, Porvorim on 31 July 2013 under reference No. DE/GIA-II/RILCGS/2013-14, and its formal title is "Revised Scheme to finance in the form of loan, to the Government Aided Educational Institutions for the purpose of their upkeep and maintenance and upgrade the existing facilities."

The stated objective is "to initiate comprehensive measures for equipping every Government Aided school in the state with basic minimum infrastructural facilities." The Directorate's GIA-II section describes it in one line as providing "interest free loan cum grant to the Govt. aided Institutions to upgrade the existing infrastructure or construction of new building, playground etc."

The scheme is a loan cum grant, not a pure grant: half the sanctioned amount is written off as a grant and the balance is repaid over 15 years, interest free if paid on schedule.

What can the money be used for?

The notification lists the admissible purposes precisely:

• Construction or renovation of the school building
• Toilets and bathrooms
• Hostel facilities
• Construction of a playground
• Equipment for the security of the school, including CCTV
• Cost of land, but only for construction of a school building and playground, not exceeding 50 per cent of the total loan amount, and only with prior permission of the Department

What the money cannot be spent on is stated just as clearly: salary, consumables like chalks and dusters, laboratory material like glass, plastic and chemicals, and any item admissible under the non-salary grant. The notification also records that "The Government does not undertake to acquire land."

How much can a school get?

Loan ceilings are set by school type, and every sanction is need-based on the actual ground situation:

Fifty per cent of the amount is a grant. No interest is payable if all dues are paid on schedule. The rest is repaid over 15 years in equal monthly instalments of Rs 278 per lakh calculated on the total sanctioned amount, not on the amount actually released.

Which institutions can and cannot get this soft loan?

An institution can apply if:

• It is a Government Aided Educational Institution. An institution running classes I to XII, registered with the Government, recognised and registered with GBSHSSE, Porvorim, following the Goa School Education Act and Rules, and availing salary and non-salary grant from the Goa government.
• It is run by a registered society under the Societies Act, a trust or another recognised or registered body permitted to run an educational institution.
• It is at least 5 years old from the date of recognition.
• It meets the minimum enrolment norm: 160 students in developed talukas and 100 in less developed talukas for primary schools; 300 and 200 for secondary schools; 120 and 80 for higher secondary schools. Developed talukas are Mormugao, Salcete, Ponda, Tiswadi and Bardez; less developed talukas are Satari, Pernem, Bicholim, Sanguem, Quepem and Canacona.
• Its SSCE passing percentage in the last examination was 70 per cent or above in developed talukas and 60 per cent or above in less developed talukas.
• It agrees to enter into an agreement with the Government and to have its accounts audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India at his discretion, as well as by the internal audit of the Directorate of Education.

Institutions that have already started construction can also be covered subject to the conditions, and institutions that used the scheme in the past can draw the additional portion of the grant or loan.

You are not eligible if:

• You are a parent, student or teacher applying in a personal capacity. This is an institutional infrastructure scheme; individuals cannot apply for a personal benefit.
• The institution is less than 5 years old from the date of recognition, or falls short on enrolment or SSCE results.
• The institution is a school that has been regularly disobeying the directions or orders issued by the Director of Education and is found not complying with any or all directions under the Goa School Education Act and Rules. The notification says such schools "will not be considered".
• The institution is a defaulter on an earlier loan and has not cleared its outstanding balance with 10 per cent interest from the date of default before applying.
• The proposal is for salary, consumables, laboratory materials or anything admissible under the non-salary grant.

How to apply for the Infrastructure Loan cum Grant

1. Check the four gates first — aided status, five years since recognition, minimum enrolment for your taluka category, and the SSCE passing percentage. A proposal failing any of these will not clear scrutiny.
2. Clear any outstanding default. A defaulted school becomes eligible only after clearing the outstanding balance with 10 per cent interest from the date of default, before applying.
3. Prepare the proposal. Assemble the concept paper, enrolment and growth projections, land available or acquired, engineering specifications and final estimates. The scrutinising committee examines exactly these.
4. Submit the proposal to the Directorate of Education, Porvorim, through the school managing committee.
5. Face the scrutinising committee. All proposals are scrutinised by a committee of the Director of Education, the Additional Director of Education, a representative of GEDC, a representative of the Secretary (Finance) and the Joint Director of Accounts of the Directorate of Education. The committee may take the help of GSIDC for technical assessment, and the Government considers only cases the committee recommends.
6. Sign the agreement with the Government once the case is recommended and sanctioned.
7. Draw the first instalment of 30 per cent and start the work within 180 days of its issue. The order to the contractor must be at the estimated cost as approved, or at a lesser value.
8. Claim the second instalment of 50 per cent on producing a physical inspection and progress report countersigned by a Registered Engineer and a utilisation certificate countersigned by a Chartered Accountant, and after GSIDC's evaluation confirms the value and quality of work executed.
9. Claim the balance 20 per cent on a similar certificate showing the second instalment was fully utilised and the building is complete and occupied, based on GSIDC's evaluation.

How is the money released and repaid?

Disbursement runs through the Goa Education Development Corporation (GEDC) to the school managing committee, in three tranches of 30 per cent, 50 per cent and 20 per cent. GSIDC inspects the site and evaluates the value and quality of the work, and must submit its report within one month of receiving the Directorate's reports.

The utilisation period depends on the sanctioned amount, counted from the date of issue of the first instalment:

If the sanctioned amount is not utilised within these limits, the Directorate of Education reserves the right to curtail the sanctioned amount.

Repayment starts 9 months after disbursement, whether or not the project is complete, and is paid to GEDC on or before the 5th of every month. If more than three instalments fall due, the balance outstanding is automatically converted into a loan at 10 per cent interest and payment is adjusted from the non-salary grant.

What are the consequences of default?

The notification is unusually blunt about recovery, and school managements should read this before applying:

• Work not started within 180 days of the first disbursement: the entire amount disbursed must be deposited with GEDC along with 10 per cent interest charged from one month after disbursement, in one instalment within 15 days of notice from the Director of Education.
• Amount not utilised in the prescribed time frame: the entire or balance unutilised amount must be deposited with 10 per cent interest on the same basis.
• Repayment not started within 9 months, or instalments missed, or the deposit not made: recovery is made from the non-salary grant. If the amount exceeds the non-salary grant, recovery is made by invoking section 3 of the Goa Public Money Recovery Act and Rules.
• Misappropriation or misapplication of the school fund credited with the loan: action is taken against the school under section 20 of the Goa School Education Act and Rules, and the institution bears the cost of recovery.

Two further conditions apply. An outstanding balance of an earlier Building Loan from the department is adjusted against the fresh loan. And assets acquired with these finances carry no rental value for reimbursement at any time in future until the loan is fully paid.

Where do I contact the department?

The Directorate of Education, Government of Goa is at Porvorim, Goa 403521, on 0832-2416023, email dir-educ.goa@nic.in. The scheme sits with the GIA-II section, and the notification and the section's scheme note are both published on the Directorate's Schemes and Scholarships page.

Related schemes in the same section include a one-time grant to aided educational institutions completing 100 years of existence, worth Rs 50 lakh, and Rs 25 lakh for those completing 75 years, with the balance Rs 25 lakh payable on reaching 100 years.

Key facts to remember

• Revised Infrastructure Loan cum Grant Scheme is run by the GIA-II section of the Directorate of Education, Government of Goa, notified 31 July 2013.
• Ceilings: Rs 50 lakh primary, Rs 100 lakh secondary, Rs 200 lakh higher secondary, up to Rs 350 lakh for a full composite school.
• Fifty per cent is a grant; the rest is interest free if repaid on schedule.
• Repayment: Rs 278 per lakh per month for 15 years, starting 9 months after disbursement, paid to GEDC.
• Eligible institutions must be aided, at least 5 years old, and meet enrolment and SSCE pass-percentage norms that differ between developed and less developed talukas.
• Released in three tranches of 30, 50 and 20 per cent against CA and Registered Engineer certificates and GSIDC evaluation.
• Work must start within 180 days of the first instalment.
• Individuals cannot apply: only aided educational institutions can.

How to check your application status

This scheme has no online tracking portal or application ID system. A school managing committee has to follow up offline, and the trail runs through the same officials who scrutinise and sanction the proposal.

• Contact the GIA-II section directly. The scheme is handled by the GIA-II section of the Directorate of Education, Porvorim. A written follow-up letter or a visit by the school's authorised representative, quoting the date and reference number under which the original proposal was submitted, is the standard way to ask where a file stands.
• Call the Directorate helpline. Ring 0832-2416023 and ask specifically whether the proposal has reached the scrutinising committee, whether it has been referred to GSIDC for technical assessment, or whether it is still awaiting documents from the school's side.
• Write to the official email if a visit isn't practical. dir-educ.goa@nic.in is the Directorate's listed address; keep a copy of the original submission and any acknowledgement receipt so the reply can be matched to the correct file.
• Track it through the scrutinising committee's schedule. Because every proposal is examined by a committee of the Director of Education, the Additional Director, a GEDC representative, a Finance Secretary representative and the Joint Director of Accounts, a proposal's status effectively moves in three stages: received and awaiting committee listing, listed and under committee review (possibly with a GSIDC site reference), or recommended and sent for Government sanction. Ask which of these three stages applies when you call.
• Once sanctioned, track disbursement instead of the application. After the agreement is signed, status tracking shifts to a different set of milestones: whether the first 30 per cent instalment has been released, whether the Registered Engineer's progress report and Chartered Accountant's utilisation certificate for the second instalment have been submitted, and whether GSIDC has completed its site evaluation. These are documents the school itself generates and submits, so the school managing committee is usually the party best placed to know exactly where the file is stuck.
• Check the Directorate's Schemes and Scholarships page periodically. education.goa.gov.in/schemes-scholarships/ is where the Directorate publishes scheme notifications and updates; it is not a status-lookup tool, but any revision to the scheme's terms or a fresh circular affecting pending proposals would appear there first.

Common reasons for rejection

The notification is unusually explicit about who gets screened out and why, so most rejections trace back to one of these documented grounds rather than a paperwork slip.

• Institution is less than 5 years old from the date of recognition. The scheme applies only to schools that have completed 5 years since recognition. A newly recognised school, however well-run, does not clear this gate and should wait until the anniversary before applying.
• Enrolment falls short of the taluka-specific minimum. A primary school needs 160 students in a developed taluka (Mormugao, Salcete, Ponda, Tiswadi, Bardez) or 100 in a less developed taluka (Satari, Pernem, Bicholim, Sanguem, Quepem, Canacona); secondary schools need 300 or 200, and higher secondary schools need 120 or 80. A proposal from a school below its applicable threshold is screened out at scrutiny. The fix is to reapply once enrolment data for the latest academic year crosses the line, backed by attendance or admission records.
• SSCE passing percentage below the norm. The last examination result must show 70 per cent or above in a developed taluka, or 60 per cent or above in a less developed taluka. A school with a weaker result in its most recent SSCE batch is rejected on this ground alone; reapplying after a subsequent batch clears the threshold is the only remedy.
• The school has a history of disobeying the Director of Education's directions. The notification states plainly that a school found not complying with directions or orders under the Goa School Education Act and Rules will not be considered. Any pending compliance issue with the Directorate should be resolved and documented before a proposal is filed.
• Unresolved default on an earlier loan from the same scheme. A school that defaulted on a previous loan is not eligible until it clears the outstanding balance along with 10 per cent interest calculated from the date of default. Proposals from a defaulting school are rejected until the department's ledger shows the dues cleared.
• The proposal covers a non-admissible cost. Salary, consumables such as chalk and dusters, laboratory items like glass, plastic and chemicals, or anything already covered under the non-salary grant are explicitly excluded. A proposal that mixes these items into the cost estimate gets sent back for revision rather than approved as submitted.
• Land cost exceeds the permitted share, or lacks prior permission. Cost of land is admissible only for building or playground construction, capped at 50 per cent of the total loan amount, and only with the Department's prior permission. A proposal that includes land cost above this cap, or without having sought permission first, is likely to be cut down or returned.
• Incomplete or weak technical documentation. The scrutinising committee examines the concept paper, enrolment and growth projections, land position, engineering specifications and final cost estimates as a package. A proposal missing engineering specifications, a firm cost estimate, or clear enrolment projections is a common reason files get held back or returned for resubmission rather than placed before the committee for a decision.
• Unfavourable GSIDC technical assessment. Where the committee refers a proposal to the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation for technical assessment, an adverse or qualified opinion on the site, design or cost estimate can stall or sink an otherwise eligible proposal. Addressing GSIDC's specific technical objections before resubmission is more effective than simply reapplying unchanged.