New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will Friday review the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) - the government's flagship programme for universalisation of elementary education - following reports of financial irregularities and under achievement of targets.

A recent report of the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) found key elements of the SSA - textbooks, classrooms, teachers and learning equipment - were either missing or seriously lacking.

"Four years after implementation of SSA and utilisation of almost 86 percent funds available with the implementing agencies, targets have not been met," the CAG report said.

"Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh is expected to make a detailed presentation of the scheme and also give clarifications in the light of the CAG report," said a ministry official.

Under the SSA, the government's brief is to open new schools, maintain the existing ones, add classrooms, recruit and train teachers and give free textbooks to girls and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students.

The CAG came down heavily on both the central and state governments, finding that a shocking 40 percent children between the age group of 6 and 14 years - 13.6 million out of 34 million - were out of school as on March last year despite spending Rs.111.33 billion in the last four years.

Some of the financial irregularities that came to light showed funds were diverted to activities and schemes beyond the scope of the SSA.

In Bihar, Rs.158 million were diverted to meet the expenditure on salary of teachers while in Himachal Pradesh, Rs.2.4 million was spent on LPG connections for running mid-day meal scheme kitchens.

In Gujarat, Rs.228 million were diverted to non-SSA programmes including Rs.400,000 spent on a consecration ceremony (bhoomi pujan) of the Gujarat Council of Education Research and Training Centre.

Singh will also review the mid-day meal scheme provided to students till the primary school level.