NEW DELHI:
The Union Budget gains applause for the digitalization of education and making it accessible at the grassroots level. Still, many believe more could have been done to elevate the quality of education as well.
The leading names among the country’s higher education fraternity welcomed the Union Budget 2022, announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.
The sector appreciated the budget is in line with promoting human capital through digital tools such as the ‘one class one TV channel’ programme proposed under the PM e-Vidya scheme.
It laid out a progressive vision the Government holds for capitalizing on India’s demographic advantages by suggesting a digital university, creating a conducive environment for inter-university collaborations, and introducing a number of skill development programmes.
The Union budget 2022-2023 has allocated Rs 63,449.37 crore to the Department of School Education and Literacy, an increase of about 6.6 per cent (Rs 9,000 crore) over the current financial years.
It sets a straight road for the Government to achieve its long-term mission of increasing the employability of the country’s youth by promoting upskilling, reskilling and several learning measures equipping them with new-age skills.
Shishir Jaipuria, Chairman FICCI Arise and Chairman Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions, also commended the government’s efforts in aligning the budget provisions with the progressive elements of National Education Policy 2020.
Shishir Jaipuria said, “The Union Budget 2022 takes forward the vision of universalizing quality education as enshrined in the National Education Policy 2020. The decision to expand the PM e-VIDYA scheme to 200 TV channels and to also develop high-quality e-content in all spoken languages will benefit the students of grades 1 to 12, who suffered learning loss due to the closure of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Niranjan Hiranandani, Provost – HSNC University appreciated the government’s construct of a well-rounded budget, promoting equal accessibility of education and growth mindset among students, irrespective of their backgrounds.
Understanding the need for skill-based education, Bikram Agarwal, CFO, Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions, praised the budget offerings.
While many applauded these moves, some believed that the government could have done more.
The budget critics felt that this year saw lesser investments and initiatives relative to the last year’s budget for promoting quality education across all strata of society.
Even when students have Internet access, the quality of online education remains poor. We have to benchmark the budget commitments against the aspirations of the Indian people.
High-quality education is both a critical component of what young people hope for and also have some of the highest returns on investment in the economy. Thus, the Government should consider boosting investments in public education considerably.
Overall the Union Government received a favourable response for its budgetary recommendations to promote skill-based learning powered by digitalization.
From short-term skilling programmes to upskilling, reskilling, apprenticeships and lifelong learning, a wide range of training opportunities have been put across by setting up thousands of skill centres and special training centres.
The budget however ensured that the entire focus of the Government should be on skill training which would continue to make youth employable, further contributing to the country’s growth as well as economic health. (IANS)