Education takes a back seat

Smita Sharma 
Tribune News Service 
New Delhi, February 1 

The Prime Minister may be reaching out to students nationwide through his examination mantras but education — never a hot electoral issue — was hardly a key focus in the Budget. The allocation of Rs 93,848 core to the education sector and HRD (Human Resource Development) Ministry is only 3.3% of the total expenditure for 2019-2020. The current allocation (Rs 56,386.63 crore for school education and Rs 37,461.01 crore for higher education) is a Rs 10,000-crore hike from the revised estimate of Rs 83,626 crore for 2018-2019.

However, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar claimed that the Budget allocation in this sector is ‘phenomenal’ and the government is ‘spending more in innovation, research and school education’. 

There is no fund this time for Digital India-E learning in school education, but the same for the higher education sector has been increased from the revised expenditure of Rs 511 crore to Rs 579 crore for 2019-2020. But Rs 50 crore has been earmarked for appointment of language teachers. There is a nearly Rs 500 crore increase in support for midday meal schemes while the allocation for madrasas and minorities remains unchanged at Rs 120 crore. 

The government’s ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ slogan aside, the budget for National Scheme for Incentive to Girl Child for Secondary Education has been slashed from Rs 255 crore to Rs 100 crore.

While for the PM Girls’ hostels scheme the budget stands at Rs 13 crore against Rs 30 crore allocated in the previous fiscal. Funds for Higher education financing agency (HEFA) has been reduced from Rs 2,750 to Rs 2,100 crore. A non-profit organisation, HEFA uses funds leveraged from markets to finance improvement in top Indian institutions. The actual spend last year by HEFA was only Rs 250 crore. 

Also, there is no allocation for the national initiative on inclusion of persons with disabilities in higher education compared to Rs 2 crore chalked out in 2018-2019. 

Of the Rs 35 crore chalked for M Tech Programme Teaching Assistantship, nothing was spent and no fund allocated this year. 

Allocation slashed

• Rs 103crore less outlay to IITs with allocation of Rs 6,223 crore as against Rs 6,326 crore in 2018-19. It was Rs 8,337 crore in 2017-18
• Rs 122crore cut in last year’s outlay of Rs 4,722.75 crore to UGC in 2018-19. Rs 4,600 crore allocated in the next fiscal
• Rs 155 crore is the cut in the budget for National Scheme for Incentive to Girl Child for Secondary Education 
• O funds for Digital India-E learning in schools and initiative on inclusion of persons with disabilities in higher education