DELHI: The government allocated Rs one lakh four thousand two hundred seventy eight crores (1,04,278) for the education sector this financial year. This is 11.86% higher than the money that was allocated last year for the same. So it’s Rs 11,054 crore higher than in 2021-22.

An amount of Rs 63,449.37 crore has been allocated to the Department of School Education and Literacy. For the department of higher education an amount of Rs 40810.34 crore (revenue) has been allocated. Before this year the budget allocation for education year 2021 was 93,223 crores which was further reduced to 88,002 crores.

Although the National Education Policy and other national policies therefore suggest that our investment on education should at least be 6% of our GDP. But as per an economic survey presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmal Sitharaman on January 31st, the expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 2.8% in 2019-20, 3.1% in 2020-21 (as per the revised estimate) and 3.1% in 2021-22 (as per the budget estimate). This shows that as a country we need to spend more on our learning and education system. Also Read: Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Education.

In the Talks: Key HIGHLIGHTS for EDUCATION BUDGET 2022 

• Proposal to setup Digital University- the major highlight of the entire budget session this year was the proposal to setup a Digital University, as with the changing times we need to call for what’s the best development we can make. And certainly the government too has been awakened by the need for it. As it introduces a Digital University for all. “A Digital University will be established to provide access to students across the country for world-class quality universal education with personalized learning experience at their doorsteps … The best public universities and institutions in the country will collaborate as a network of hub-spokes,” Nirmala Sitharaman said in her speech. The digital university will therefore have different languages set up for a diverse country like India. 
• One-Class-One TV channel will be implemented- “Due to the pandemic-induced closure of schools, our children, particularly in the rural areas, and those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections, have lost almost two years of formal education,” the Finance Minister said. The one-class-one-tv will provide education to classes 1 to 12th std and will try to make up for the loss of proper education system during the pandemic era. As one-class-one-tv comes under the PM eVIDYA scheme, the program channels will be expanded from 12 channels to 200 for all the regional languages in our country. 
• Focus on skill development & vocational learning- “In vocational courses, to promote crucial critical thinking skills, to give space for creativity, 750 virtual labs in science and mathematics, and 75 skilling e-labs for simulated learning environments, will be set-up in 2022-23,” the Finance Minister said. Training and skill development programmes will be given to the teachers by setting up vocational training(a structural program that trains you with skills you require for an occupation.)
• High level of E-Content via Digital Teachers- “A competitive mechanism for development of quality e-content by the teachers will be set-up to empower and equip them with digital tools of teaching and facilitate better learning outcomes,” Nirmala Sitharaman said.
• DESH-Stack to be launched- This will be launched soon to empower citizens to skill, reskill and upskill through online training or classes. This is an e-portal basically more commonly like a digital ecosystem for upskilling your skills. Nirmala Sithrama also spoke about creatingvirtual labs for critical thinking and education.
• National Tele Mental Health programme to be launched- Finally our country has recognised the need of mental health care. Due to the pandemic we not only suffered physically but mental stress increased heavily. “The E-Health Research Center at IIITB has been working with NIMHANS, National Health Mission, Govt of Karnataka, on e-Manas, a first of its kind, software platform for mental health management,” explains Prof TK Srikanth, Head of E-Health Research Center, IIIT Bangalore. “This has been deployed by the Govt of Karnataka and is being extended to the monitoring of the DMHP programme as well as psychiatric rehabilitative services. Now, IIITB will help integrate eManas with tele-health services, thus providing a comprehensive platform for mental health care that can scale up nationally,” he adds.

Budget Allocation for Major Schemes under Education 2022

Learn how budget is allocated

Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan: This is the biggest school education scheme in India and is also known as National Education Mission. So a loan has been taken from Asian Development Bank for funding this abhiyan and help create ‘exemplar schools’ (Exemplar schools are basically schools that provide quality education and can be put as an example of quality education.)

Budget allocation for 2020-21: Rs 38,750.50 crores

Padhna Likhna Abhiyaan: Is a scheme which focuses on providing basic literacy to teachers training, and provides every adult or senior citizen education. Last year this scheme was funded with Rs 250 crores but there is no allocation for this year.

Budget allocation for 2022-23: Nil

Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS): This scheme strangely but includes only six states and aims at enhancing their capabilities. The states included in the scheme are Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. The government aims at improving the facility of the schools, strengthening classroom instruction and facilitating school-to-work transition.

Budget allocation for 2022-23: Rs 550 crores

Former Mid Day Meal Scheme to PM Poshan: The scheme name changes to PM Poshan this year with a lower budget allocation than the previous year.

Budget allocation for 2022-23: Rs 10,233.75 crores

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan: Kendriya Vidyalaya budget allocation has increased, showing the government is focusing on the regular front too.

Budget allocation for 2022-23: Rs 7,650 crores

Conclusion

The entire education budget session showed that we are moving towards a digital India completely as its time we need to make our adversities turn into opportunity! The Covid times might have slowed down our education system but there is always room for a change. The growth of virtual classrooms, e-learning, online universities, online courses have increased, offering the same kind of in depth learning experience and education today in India. So let’s welcome the change and move towards a better learning and literacy journey, with empowering one and all.