India's Education Budget Falls Short Of Expectations, Raises Concerns For Future

The Education system in India has been passing through major reforms in the last couple of years; thanks to the New Education Policy (NEP). Newly introduced skill-based courses such as Skill Enhancement Course, Vocational Skill Enhancement, and Indian Knowledge System along with mandatory credits on job Training (OJT) and Field Projects (FP) need humongous investment in educational infrastructure and immediate recruitment of skilled and trained faculty. 

However, there is a sense of complete apathy in the Interim Budget 2024 to invest in educational infrastructure especially new technologies such as AI and digital platforms as well as immediate recruitment of skilled and trained faculty.   

The government was supposed to spend Rs 1,16,417 crore on education but ended up spending Rs 1,08,878. The highlights of the Interim Budget 2024 on education would be the announcement of more medical colleges to be set up soon. A new corpus of 100,000 Crore with 50-year interest free which might promote private investment in the field of education. 

The budgetary outlay for educational expenditure is merely 2.9 percent of the total GDP in India. The Education Sector is not a standalone sector but it is the most fundamental sector in human resource building of the nation. Unfortunately, it is the most neglected and taken for granted for years. 

The author is the Head Department of Economics at St. Xavier’s College Mumbai