This story is from February 2, 2023

Education budget allocation should be above 5%, feel academicians in Nagpur

Budget announcements related to education were described as a ‘mixed bag’ by academics, as many felt that more could have been done by the central government.
Education budget allocation should be above 5%, feel academicians in Nagpur
NAGPUR: Budget announcements related to education were described as a ‘mixed bag’ by academics, as many felt that more could have been done by the central government.
Ashok Gavhankar, general secretary of Vidarbha Junior College Teachers Association (VJCTA), said, “In the current budget, allocation of education is only 2.9%. However, this is not enough because for quality education we need to have at least 7% allocation in the budget.
It seems the government slowly wants education to slip into private hands and that’s why they are not investing in this field at all.”
While percentage-wise, education budget remains more or less the same, in terms of actual money there has been an increase.
For school education, the budget allocation is almost Rs69,000 crore, while for higher education it is just over Rs44,000 crore. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan highlighted that the total allocation this year is the highest ever his department has received. “The budgetary allocation witnessed a jump of 13% (over revised estimates), which is Rs13,018.34 cr from FY 2022-23,” said Pradhan.
Former MLC Nago Ganar, who has contested again from the teachers’ constituency, counting for which is scheduled for Thursday, said the amount allocated is very less. Ganar said “At least 10% allocation is needed if we want to achieve high quality level of education. They can announce hundreds of things, but if the funds are not there then nothing can be implemented. Every year I see some or the other scheme being announced but there are never any funds available to take it to the next level.”

Ganar, who represented the teachers’ constituency from Nagpur in state council for two consecutive terms, said that the government needs to refocus on education. “In Hindi, we say ‘raksha aur shiksha’, which means defence and education. These two sectors need the maximum attention if you want a country to progress and be safe. But the way education is being treated, it’s not looking good,” said Ganar.
Hemant Sonare, director of Wanjari Group of Institutions, said, “I think allocation is not enough. Education ministry’s marginal budget increase will affect implementation of infrastructure requirements for sustainable age educational courses. Focusing investment on AI is critical for creating and keeping jobs, but we have to create excellent infrastructure to make the new institutes competent enough to meet global standards.”
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