Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday presented the Union Budget for 2023-24 (Apr-Mar) in the Lok Sabha. Team FPJ spoke to industry experts from various fields. To gauge the reaction in the field of Education, we spoke with Professor of Economics and Management MICA, Ahmedabad Rasananda Panda. Here's what he had to say.
The focus given in the Budget 2023-24 to the education sector is very encouraging. There are allocations across all the verticals of education – i.e., primary, secondary, and higher education. In addition, the linking of skill development to education through apprenticeship is the need of the hour. Moreover, the emphasis on teachers’ training is very timely and will address the quality of the education provided.
The provision towards putting up a centre for artificial intelligence at the top ranking higher educational institutes will address the issue of technology and innovations in the education sector, especially in the era of ChatGPT which has taken the education sector by storm. Setting up the National Digital Library, encouraging states to put up physical libraries, integrating age-specific financial literacy, and developing of learning materials to compensate for learning loss during the pandemic period are some of the praise-worthy steps announced in the Budget. Needless to mention, the aggressive move to make Eklavya Schools more effective is the right way to promote education among the tribals.
Rasananda Panda |
In a way, the provisions announced in the budget 2023-24 are very much in line with the aims and objectives of the National Education Policy to provide inclusive and quality education. Further, the emphasis on ‘Amrit Peedhi’ to realize their dreams as envisaged in NEP focused on skilling, adopting economic policies shall facilitate job creation at scale, and support business opportunities. A scheme like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 with targeted training requirements is the need of the hour.
The results are also in front of us in the form of the Economic Survey 2022-23 and the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-21 report, which highlighted the achievements of the sector in the form of an increase in enrolment across all the education verticals.
