Laying the Foundation for NEP

 

The present Government announced the National Education Policy (NEP) in July 2020 because Education comes in the Concurrent List, therefore along with the Central Government; the State Governments are also the stakeholders. Therefore, education is one such area which cannot be understood solely in the Central Government’s budget allocation. After applying the Finance Commission’s recommendations, the Central Government has made substantial changes in Central Programmes’ budget allocation. Therefore, the responsibility has come upon the State Governments for the implementation of many events.

 

The Prime Minister’s thought and imagination have impacted every Budget. Before this Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid out the design for Aatmanirbhar Bharat before the nation. For making India self-reliant, what we need is a skilful human resource. Financial allocation for education in Budget 2021-22 has to be analysed against this backdrop.

 

A look through at the Union Budget 2021-2022 tells us that it is rightly identified as the “never before budget”. Its major area of recovery after COVID-19 pandemic may be identified as public health and wellbeing, financial and human capital, infrastructure and investments, and inclusive development. Apart from this, the Education Budget’s reduced allocation has many eyes hooked on to the Central Government’s plans for this sector. Government has announced that it will spend Rs 3000 crore on National Apprentice Scheme and collaborate with UAE and Japan Government for the skill training. Going in for international collaboration can be a major boost in employability, provided it is implemented in the right spirit.

 

 

Apparently, there is an overall reduction in the allocation of Budget to the education sector but if we go into the fine print we get a different picture. The Ministry of Education was allocated Rs 93,224.31 crore, which is around Rs 6,087 crore less than the previous year’s allocation, which was around Rs 99,300 crore which is a 6.1 per cent lower allocation (than Budget 2020). However, when compared to the Revised Estimate 2020-21, there was a 9.5 per cent increase in the allocation for the country’s education sector. After a washed out year due to the Pandemic, it is prudent to compare with the revised numbers rather than the previous allocation. Here, there was a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 16.5 per cent (compared to revised estimate 2020-21) for higher education while there was a 5.1 percent YoY increase from RE 2020-21 for the school education segment. Among the various schemes, the Rashtriya Uchtar Shiksha Abhiyaan (RUSA) got a Rs 3,000 crore allocation in BE 2021-22 as against Rs 166 crore in the revised estimate 2020-21.

 

RUSA is a centrally-sponsored scheme that aims to improve the quality of institutes, promotes self autonomy and aims to ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher educational institutions. This scheme also promotes diversity including inclusion of SC/ST, minorities and women in the higher education system.

 

Besides this, nine cities will have a “higher education cluster” each for better coordination among institutions and aiding collective growth without infringing their individual autonomy.

 

Budget allocation in the Flagship scheme of Samagra Shikhsa has been increased to Rs 31,050.16 crore in BE 2021-22 from Rs. 27957.32 crore in RE 2020-21 by Rs. 3092.84 crore i.e. increased by 11.06% in comparison to RE 2020-21). The budget allocation in Padhna Likhna Abhiyan (PLA) is also increased from Rs. 95.25 crore (RE 2020-21) to Rs. 250 crore in BE 2021-22 (an increase of Rs. 154.75 crore) i.e. by 162.47%. Rs. 485 crore is also provisioned in the new created Centrally Sponsored Scheme of STARS. Still, by going through overall planning, Centre expects the states’ to apply their mind while implementing schemes in the education sector.

 

 

The Government raised the allocation to Navodaya Vidyalayas, Kendriya Vidyalayas, and the mid-day meal schemes. Along with this, it has been decided that 15,000 schools will implement the NEP model, which will act as an exemplar for others. Here, the Government could have opened new schools which could have worked as a model school for the other schools; State would have followed the same path. Opening 100 new Sainiks Schools and 750 Eklavya schools will provide more opportunities in school education, especially students coming from rural and tribal areas. Eklavya schools will provide quality education in those areas where education infrastructure is not in good condition. A new central university in Leh is a welcome step that boosts the Ladakh region’s educational opportunities. The enhancement in Post-Matric scholarship will encourage SEDG to pursue Education and right in tune with the inclusive education.

 

Finance Minister’s announcement for a ‘National Research Foundation (NRF)’, a body that will promote research culture and fund research across science and humanities discipline, is certainly a positive indicator as research constitutes an important dimension in developing human resource. But it needs a more clarity on how and when the earmarked Rs 50,000 crore will be used for five years.

 

Introducing the unique indigenous toy- based learning – pedagogy for all levels of school education is an innovative initiative which can make teaching-learning process interesting while promoting the idea of ‘vocal for local’. The idea to set up a National Digital Educational Architecture (NDEAR) within the context of a Digital First Mindset is also an important concept. Taking the Digital Architecture also to educational planning, governance and administrative activities will be possible through this initiative. Besides, the budget also proposes to train 56 lakh school teachers through the National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers for Holistic Advancement (NISTHA) which can be a game-changer for the future education. Whether our states and schools will respond to these initiative by investing in digital infrastructure is a million dollar question.

 

The Budget also announced a National Language Translation Mission (NTLM), enabling the wealth of governance – and- policy-related knowledge on the Internet being made available in major Indian languages. A Deep Ocean Mission with a budget outlay of more than Rs 4,000 crores has also been announced over five years. This Mission will cover in-depth ocean survey exploration and projects for the conservation of deep-sea biodiversity. The National Language Translation Mission and Deep Ocean Mission are the national missions, and the City Research and Innovation Clusters Project have been initiated from the Prime Minister’s Science Technology Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC). However, these initiatives will be implanted under PMO, but it will add value in educational research. The Budget also includes provisions to strengthen the country’s Education and skill to develop ‘ R&D’ ecosystem with a regular supply of highly skilled workforce.

 

 

What will be the nature of Higher Education Commission, where does the NRF fit in it and how Government is going to implement that needs further clarity as multiple bodies are functioning at present. Undoubtedly, the promotion of research and innovation is an essential component of overall inclusive development. A close-knit network of cooperation between the Centre and the State Governments is the key to bringing the much-needed reforms in our country’s education and research environment. The Centre has been initiated in this direction; now, we have to see how the State will respond to Education’s significant stakeholders. One can say, due to the COVID stress on economy, Government could not fully operationalise the plan for the NEP in this budget but it implemented with right spirit, it can certainly lay the foundation for the New Education for New India.