India's National Education Budget for 2023-24 focuses on enhancing accessibility, quality, and innovation in the education sector. It allocates funds for infrastructure, digital literacy, research, teacher training, and skill development. The budget aims to bridge the gender gap and empower the youth for inclusive growth.
The Indian central government has unveiled its national budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2023-24, which is the final budget presented by the current government before the next general elections in 2024. The budget includes a provision of approximately INR 1.13 trillion (£11.3 billion) for education expenditure at the national level, encompassing both primary and higher education. Additionally, the technical and vocational education sector has been allocated a budget of approximately £352 million.
Overview of the Education Budget 2023-24
The budget’s main objective is to develop an economy based on technology and knowledge, supported by sound public finances and a strong financial sector. The government intends to accomplish this by creating opportunities and meeting the aspirations of the population, particularly the youth. The budget aims to stimulate economic growth, generate employment, promote sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, and enhance overall macroeconomic stability.
Total Budget Allocation for Education Sector
As part of the budget’s broader vision, there has been a 13 percent increase in the allocation for national education compared to the previous year. School education has seen a significant boost of 16.5 percent, while higher education has witnessed an 8 percent increase.
The national education budget alone does not reflect the entirety of India’s planned education spending. State-level allocations also need to be taken into account in order to obtain a comprehensive overview. As per the latest Economic Survey 2022-23, the total education expenditure, combining both national and state levels, accounted for 2.9% of India’s GDP in 2022. This percentage has remained consistent for the past four years. However, it falls significantly short of the National Education Policy 2020’s target of allocating 6% of GDP to education.
Historically, education spending has comprised approximately 10% of the total government expenditure across all sectors, but it has declined below 10% since the 2020-21 fiscal year.
Primary Education Budget / Secondary Education Budget
Like we have already mentioned before te budget includes a provision of approximately INR 1.13 trillion (£11.3 billion) for education expenditure at the national level, encompassing both primary and higher education
Higher Education Budget
The University Grants Commission (UGC), which oversees non-technical higher education, has been allocated a larger amount of GBP 536 million. This funding has been consistently increasing in recent years. On the other hand, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the regulatory body for technical education, has maintained its funding at GBP 42 million for the past three years.
Technical and Vocational Education Budget / Skill Development Budget
The technical and vocational education sector has been allocated a budget of around £352 million.
In the vocational education and skills sector, the Ministry of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship has been given an allocation of INR 35.2 billion (£352 million), which is an increase of 85 per cent over last year’s revised estimate.
Teacher Training and Development Budget
The education system plans to improve teacher training by transforming District Institutes of Education and Training into excellent institutions. This will involve the use of innovative teaching methods, curriculum implementation, continuous professional development, surveys, and the integration of information and communication technology.
To support tribal students, 38,800 teachers and support staff will be hired over the next three years for the 740 model tribal residential schools that were announced in 2020. These schools cater to approximately 350,000 tribal students.
Research and Development in Education Budget
The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) will allow public and private medical college faculty, as well as private sector research and development (R&D) teams, to access facilities in select ICMR labs. This initiative aims to promote collaborative research and innovation.
A new program focused on pharmaceuticals will be launched through Centers of Excellence to encourage research and innovation in the field. The involvement of the industry will be sought to invest in R&D in specific priority areas.
To support the development of skilled manpower in futuristic medical technologies, high-end manufacturing, and research, dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices will be provided in existing institutions.
100 labs will be established in engineering institutions to explore the potential of 5G services, including applications such as smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems, and healthcare applications. This initiative aims to create new opportunities, business models, and employment prospects.
A National Data Governance policy will be formulated to promote innovation and research by start-ups and academia. It will provide access to anonymized data for research purposes, particularly benefiting higher education institutions (HEIs).
An IIT will receive a research and development grant for the indigenous production of lab-grown diamond seeds and machines. This initiative aims to expand India’s exports in this sector and generate employment opportunities through industry-led research and innovation.
To enhance the ease of doing business, specific measures will be implemented in the GIFT City, a financial services and technology hub. These measures include the establishment of a single window IT system for registration and approval from key banking and tax regulators, recognition of offshore derivative instruments, and policies allowing overseas HEIs to set up branch campuses and offshore education centers in the city.
Infrastructure Development Budget for Schools and Colleges
The funding for the national mission on teachers and teaching, which aims to enhance teacher training and improve institutional infrastructure, has received a significant increase of 80 percent, totaling GBP 4.5 million. This additional allocation will contribute to the integration of various initiatives, enhance individual capacity, and support both pre-service and in-service teacher training.
Digital Education Initiatives Budget
To establish a robust artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, three Centers of Excellence for AI will be set up in top educational institutions in collaboration with the industry. These centers will focus on interdisciplinary research, cutting-edge applications, and scalable problem solutions in areas such as agriculture, health, and sustainable cities.
Additionally, a National Digital Library will be established for children and adolescents. States will be encouraged to establish physical libraries at the village level and provide the necessary infrastructure to access the resources of the National Digital Library. These initiatives aim to promote a reading culture and address the learning setbacks caused by the pandemic.
Conclusion
The budget reflects the government’s commitment to building on the reforms initiated in line with the National Education Policy 2020. It aims to enhance the synergy and efficiency of interventions to improve learning outcomes. By March 2022, student enrollment in higher education has increased, and the number of higher education institutions, including universities, medical colleges, and Indian Institutes of Technology, has also grown.
Although the government has presented the 2023 national education budget as the highest ever, the percentage of government spending on education as a proportion of GDP has remained the same for the past three years. While there has been a slight increase in the total education expenditure as a percentage of overall government expenditure, it is still lower than the share in 2019-20. This can be attributed to the lower contributions from states towards the education sector due to weak fiscal health and lower tax revenues from the central government.
The budget emphasizes the government’s intention to continue reforming the education sector, with a particular focus on enhancing students’ reading skills, teacher development, and research in specialized areas. It also provides additional support for skill development to advance the goals of the Skill India initiative, which was launched by the government in 2015.
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