However, education is not directly a part of the main areas that the government is focusing on (the Saptarshis), which is very worrisome, says the sector. “Most often, budgets are an important signalling device about the government’s priorities. Unfortunately, using that yardstick leaves one with the feeling that the thrust needed towards education is singularly missing. Nobody seems to be saying that, ten years from now, a better educated India will be a more productive India. And hence, now is the time to invest in the education of this country,” says Manek Daruvala, Founder & Director, Triumphant Institute of Management Education (T.I.M.E).
He adds that this lack of focus on education is also seen through the lack of action on increasing allocation to education as recommended by the National Education Policy 2020. On the contrary, the allocation has dropped marginally in percentage terms when looked at as a share of the overall budget.
“Steps like Digital Library, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0, and Revamping teachers training, which have been taken up in keeping with the times, are certainly welcome. However, they will need to be accompanied with a high-level vision and execution plan to improve the standards of education in the country. We sincerely hope and wish that the government focuses on this vital aspect at the earliest,” says Daruvala.
Sachin Sandhir, Founder & CEO, GENLEAP says while announcements like the establishment of AI centers in top education institutions is an important step forward, digital divide reform was one urgent reform the education system needs. “The budget does not place a lot of emphasis on it. In addition to the reduction or removal of GST on education services, the budget speech ignored another recurrent demand from the education sector. Also, I would have liked to see more funds allocated to education by the government. The National Education Policy 2020 envisioned a 6% education budget, but we haven’t yet reached that goal,” says Sandhir.
Echoing similar views, Himani Narula, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician, Director & Co-founder of Continua Kids says the early child development programs still remain untouched. With the increasing neurodevelopment challenges in early childhood, the budget fails to address the emphasis on the execution of early child development programs.
“Research clearly states that approximately 45% of under five children in our country are at risk of poor development. Return to investment in early child development as per published research is up to 7 to 10 percent. We lose 154% of adult wages in children with some functional disability which can be reduced by promoting early child development. Early identification, early intervention can reduce the burden of disability and increase the percentage of functional adults,” says Narula.She adds that where developmental disorders like autism spectrum disorders having a prevalence of 1 in 100 in the Indian subcontinent the need to create separate policies towards structured support for the developmental needs of individuals with the disorder and modifying and updating the government insurance policies to reduce out-of-pocket health expenditure for the family were some of the areas untouched in the budget.
Daruvala points out the budget did not bring in anything significantly new for the education industry. “The big-bang items portrayed as highlights for the sector can only be looked at as merely maintaining the status quo and, by extension, can be seen as no major vision/effort being put in to improve the education sector. The few activities announced, in terms of Digital Library, Youth Skilling and revamped teacher training are ongoing activities and cannot be expected to revolutionize the field,” says Daruvala.
