Children Education Allowance (CEA): Report of the Committee on Allowances
Children Education Allowance (CEA): Report of the Committee on Allowances
5.4.3 Children Education Allowance (CEA) (Para 8.17.17)
Existing Provisions: CEA is paid to government employees to take care of schooling and hostel requirements of their children upto class XII. The rates of CEA are double for a differently-abled child. Existing rates are:
CEA – ₹1500/- p.m.
Hostel Subsidy– ₹4500/- p.m;
(Whenever DA increases by 50%, CEA shall increase by 25%)
Recommendations of 7th CPC: The following rates have been recommended:
i.CEA – ₹2250/- p.m.
ii. Hostel Subsidy– ₹6750/- p.m.
Reimbursement should be made once a year, after completion of the financial year. A certificate from the Head of the Institution is sufficient for reimbursement. For Hostel Subsidy, similar certificate from the Head of the Institution mentioning the amount of expenditure incurred is sufficient.
Demands:
I. National Council (Staff Side), JCM: This allowance may be extended to the Graduate and Post Graduate levels at least to the extent of the fees and hostel fees charged by the Government Institutions as the maximum admissible amount. The rates of CEA and Hostel Subsidy may be revised to ₹3,000/- and ₹10,000/- respectively. It has also been requested that CEA should be exempted from Income Tax.
II. Ministry of Home Affairs: The rates of CEA may be increased by 2.57 and this allowance may be extended upto Graduate level. Advance payments may also be allowed w fees are to be paid in advance.
III. J&K IAS Officers Association: CEA along with Hostel Subsidy be allowed for affording good and reputed boarding schools.
Analysis and Recommendations of the Committee:
The Committee notes that the 7th CPC has recommended that the rates of CEA and Hostel Subsidy be increased by a factor of 1.5 in keeping with the principles for increase in rates enunciated by the 7th CPC at para 8.2.5 of its Report. The recommendations of the 7th CPC on CEA may be accepted without any change.
The demand for extending the benefit of CEA up to graduate and post graduate level does not emanate from any recommendations of the 7th CPC and has, therefore, not been considered by the Committee. For similar reasons, the Committee is not making any specific recommendation on the CEA being exempted from Income Tax though it recognizes that CEA is a reimbursement of expenditure. However, any proposal in this regard may be taken up separately with Department of Revenue.
Authority: www.doe.gov.in
