- By James Kuanal
- Fri, 17 Jan 2020 04:26 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: Education is one of the most important indicators of any nation's development. Thus the sector must be highlighted in budgetary allocation. The higher the allocation of budget, the more there is room for improvement. So the thoughts of students-- major part of the population-- on the upcoming budget play a significant role in the preparation of the National Budget.
Though the India 's education budget has improved over the years, it is not enough to match its needs. As per a government think tank Niti Aayog, the country should raise education expenditure to nearly 6 per cent over the next three years, reported Business Insider. Poor quality of education of the risks faced by India that is adding to its unemployment crisis.
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India ranks third in terms of education score of BRICS. Among south Asian countries, it has the second-lowest score in education quality, only above Afghanistan, the report added.
Highest education budget for prominent institutions including the IITs and IIMs has dropped in last few years. The advent of digital technologies calls for government aid as they add more skills to match the digital world requirements.
The employment in the country has declined by 9 million in last seven years, since 2017.
The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana is one such scheme that aims to impart employability skills. It targets to train 10 million people by 2020. The scheme has already placed merely 1.2 million candidates so far.
The country is short of teachers and skilled teachers are unlikely to come by. As of now, India has roughly 8.5 million teachers and 19,000 teacher training institutions. As of 2018, government schools in India's national capital Delhi were recorded with 35,034 regular teachers. While the sanctioned strength was 64,096-- shortage of nearly 45 per cent teachers.
In August last year, the MHRD had announced an initiative NISTHA to train over 4.2 million teachers across the country.
There is a need to allocate more funds with some key measures ahead of the budget, they are:
Improving the facility in institutions by setting smart classrooms, research facilities, modern laboratories, libraries, among others.
Providing options for pursuing vocational training post middle class (class 8) with definite course curriculum and apprenticeship arrangements.
Introducing mandatory student counselling with trained counsellors to advise the students and their parents on best possible career options based on their interests.
Course curriculum should be restructured.
Internship should be made compulsory for every graduation program
In the union budget 2019, the finance ministry had allocated Rs 94,800 towards the education fund- focusing on improving schools and higher education.
Budget 2020-21 will be first one incorporating recommendations of 15th Finance Commission. The first full-time budget will be unveiled by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2020.