In Budget 2022, Finance Minister increases allocation for education sector, stresses on digital learning
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Tuesday increased the total funding allocation for the education sector for 2022-23 to Rs 1.04 lakh crore from Rs 93,224 crore (budget estimate) in 2021-22, while emphasizing digital learning methods to reduce learning losses reversing caused by the coronavirus pandemic
The revised estimate for 2021-22 is Rs 88,001 crore. A closer look reveals that the increase in allotment for the education sector is mainly due to the jump in the amount set aside for samagra shiksha (school education sector) – from Rs 31,050 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 37,383 crore in 2022-23.
The midday meal program, which was renamed PM-Poshan last year, has led to a drop in the central allocation from Rs 11,500 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 10,233 crore in 2022-23. The revised allotment for 2021-22 was also Rs 10,233 crore, indicating that the total fund earmarked for the scheme could not be spent during the current financial year amid lengthy school closures.
In her speech on the 2022 budget, Sitharaman also underlined that children, especially those from the weaker sections, have lost nearly two years of formal education as a result of the disruptions. Sitharaman’s announcements to further develop the digital learning mode include the expansion of the PM e-VIDYA initiative, the proposal to launch a “digital university”, and the development of e-content in all Indian languages.
“As a result of the pandemic-induced school closures, our children, particularly in rural areas and those of SC and ST communities and other weaker areas, have lost nearly two years of formal education. Usually these are children in government schools. We recognize the need to provide additional training and build resilient mechanisms for its delivery,” said Sitharaman.
To achieve this, she said, the “one class-one channel” initiative under PM e-VIDYA will be scaled up from 12 channels to 200 channels to enable all states to provide additional education in regional languages to children for classrooms. I o XII. The initiative was launched in May 2020 to provide quality educational materials to students who do not have access to the internet.
The finance minister said a digital university will be established to give students across the country access to “universal education with personal experience”. Its content will be available in all Indian languages, she said, adding that the university will come under a “hub and spoke model”.
It essentially refers to a network design in which a centrally located network hub will branch out to connect to remote network pockets, also known as hubs.
Incidentally, the government said in its Economic Inquiry submitted Monday that extended periods of school closures due to the pandemic and a stark digital divide have had a “significant impact” on the education sector, impacting lakhs of schools and colleges across the country. country.
However, the observations were based entirely on findings from the Pratham Foundation-led Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), with the government acknowledging that no official data was available to shed light on the impact of the disruptions.
