Amravati headmasters struggle with SNA Sparsh grant system, seek simpler spending process

Headmasters of Zilla Parishad primary schools in Amravati are facing technical and administrative difficulties with the SNA Sparsh system introduced for spending grants. The server is slow, the online process is convoluted and the OTP is valid for only one minute. Headmasters are losing time that should go into teaching and the other work of the school. The Maharashtra State Primary Teachers' Committee has demanded that these hurdles in the system be removed and the process of spending grants be made simpler.

Zilla Parishad primary schools receive several grants every year, including school grants, construction grants, school uniform grants and grants for buying shoes and socks. Earlier, the spending of these grants was completed at the panchayat samiti level. This year, headmasters themselves have to do the work through the SNA Sparsh system.

The process requires headmasters to collect bills from shopkeepers, obtain an order from the chairperson of the school management committee and upload the necessary documents online. An OTP then goes to the Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers of the chairperson, the shopkeeper and the headmaster. The bill is approved with that OTP, after which the amount is credited to the account of the shopkeeper concerned.

Poor internet connectivity in rural areas, the slow speed of the server and the difficulty of reaching the chairperson of the school management committee in time make the process hard to complete. Since the OTP gives only one minute, the entire transaction has to be redone if the chairperson is not available in time. As a result, headmasters are spending both time and effort.

Headmasters are also worried because the funds are likely to be returned if the spending process is not completed within the stipulated period. Directions are being given to fix responsibility and take action, which has created anxiety among headmasters.

Headmasters had sought help from the office-bearers of the teachers' organisation over these problems. Office-bearers of the Maharashtra State Primary Teachers' Committee then met the accounts officers of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. They discussed the technical hurdles of the system and the problems in actual working. They also demanded that a video conference be arranged with the secretary of the education department so that these problems can be placed before the higher level.

The committee's office-bearers said it is necessary to make SNA Sparsh simpler, increase the server speed, extend the OTP validity and lengthen the period given for spending the grants. The committee has also demanded that, if possible, the responsibility for spending grants be handed back to the block resource centres, as before, instead of SNA Sparsh. The committee hopes the technical problems will be resolved immediately and headmasters given relief, so that they get more time for teaching and academic work.