Attention Deficit
REDUCED ALLOCATIONS OFFER LITTLE INCENTIVE FOR THE EDUCATION SECTOR
THE NEW EDUCATION POLICY (NEP) DRAFT, RELEASED IN 2019, estimated that for proper implementation of policy proposals, the budgetary allocation to education would need to go up by 10 per cent every year over the next 10 years. Budget 2020-21, however, makes no such provision and has allocated Rs 99,300 crore for the sector—up from Rs 94,854 crore in July, 2019. Another Rs 3,000 crore was allocated for skill development. Together, these amount to an increase of less than 5 percentage points over last year.
Budget 2020 also saw significant cuts in some of the Modi government’s signature schemes, like a reduction of nearly 50 per cent in the funds for research and innovation in the higher education sector—from Rs 609 crore last year to Rs 307 crore, and of 85 per cent in the allocation to the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), from Rs 2,100 crore to Rs 300 crore.
The poor utilisation of funds and allegations of corruption have played their part: only 25 per cent of last year’s allocation has been spent by the higher education department till December 2019. An audit by implementing agency Tata Institute of Social Sciences found misappropriation of over Rs 2 crore in the RUSA expenditure. Also, the Accountability Initiative of the Centre for Policy Research found the Central government had released only 57 per cent of approved funds for the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan as of December 15, 2019.
Although the NEP is not yet public, the government has announced proposals that look inspired by the draft. Degree-level online education programmes will be offered by the top 100 institutes in the National Institutional Ranking Framework.
About 150 higher educational institutions will start apprenticeship-embedded degree/ diploma courses by March 2021.
Recognising the shortage of qualified doctors, the government has proposed to attach a medical college to a district hospital in public-private partnership (PPP) mode. To cater to the demand for teachers, paramedics and caregivers abroad, the skill development ministry will formulate a bridge course, including language skills. An IND-SAT examination will be held in African and Asian countries to grade foreign students and grant scholarships for higher education centres in India.
Experts, however, feel these moves are unlikely to yield the desired results. “The idea of apprenticeships is an old one with not much benefit. The accent could have been on incentivising curricular changes in universities that encourage start-ups, industry interaction and tackle local needs,” says Dinesh Singh, former vice-chancellor of Delhi University.
The announcement to allow FDI in education, too, has evoked criticism, with RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch saying the scheme will end up transferring domestic resources abroad. ■
25% SPENT BYTHE HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TILL DEC. 2019 OF LAST YEAR’S ALLOCATION