Raising funds for education in budget may solve employment issues

Mumbai: The government will need to inject more funds in the education sector to bring in more public-private partnerships, encourage apprenticeship programmes, establish centres which are focused on crucial skillsets like AI and rollout better infrastructure for a stronger impact of the National Education Policy.

“The current 3.5% of GDP spending will not be sufficient for National Education Policy implementation,” said Avantika Tomar, EY-Parthenon India Education partner. "Budget 2024-25 should drive more public-private partnerships, revamp teacher training, allocate funds for Centres of Excellence and incubation centres in universities dedicated to AI, and emphasise the need for more Early Childhood Education infrastructure and teachers." 

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In February's Interim Budget, the government had allocated ₹73,498 crore for FY24-25 for the department of school education and literacy. The allocation for higher education for FY24-25 was kept at ₹47,619.77 crore.

In India, where students depend on learning by rote and many thousands sit for the competitive exams for entry into engineering, medical, and civil services; the need of the hour is for a system where other subjects gain enough prominence to make the youth employable.

The National Education Policy (NEP) when launched in 2020 had aimed for an “education system rooted in Indian ethos that contributes directly to transforming India, that is Bharat, sustainably into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society, by providing high-quality education to all, and thereby making India a global knowledge superpower”. Sector watchers say that infrastructure investments should be on the priority list.

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"In the subsequent NEP adoption, we need investments in augmenting infrastructure, training of academic and support faculty, management, etc.—we need to identify and deploy financial resources to cater to these requirements," Narayanan Ramaswamy, National Leader, education and skill development, Government and Public Services, KPMG, said.

NEP stakeholders—ranging from the government, autonomous institutions, and states, because education is a subject on the Concurrent list—have taken the initial steps but much more needs to be done to overcome the setback from the pandemic.

Way Forward

But, there is another section that insists the NEP needs to be given more time to measure its impact. "We should review NEP 2020 after 10-12 years, only then will we know what has been its contribution," Anurag Behar, chief executive officer for Azim Premji Foundation and one of the members of the drafting committee for NEP 2020, said. “This time frame is necessary not only because a comprehensive policy like this has too many dimensions and parts being implemented by a very large range of actors, but also because in education any effect shows after a long cycle time.”

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There is a crucial need to invest in the education system including but not limited to vocational courses, training programmes, and infrastructure of institutes across all levels, for reducing drop-out rates, evaluating the impact from the policy to the ground level, and later add to employability.

"The budget is expected to prioritize skill development and expand apprenticeship programmes crucial for building a highly-skilled workforce capable of advanced manufacturing and tech adoptions," Ramesh Alluri Reddy, chief executive officer at TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, said.

There may be more of a focus on increasing the number of medical and engineering colleges at a time when the government is taking a closer look at the coaching industry businesses, and the pressure on students to bag the few available seats is increasing.