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Budget 2017: Education may rank high on government spending

Total public spending on education in India has been around 4% of the gross domestic production (GDP) for over six decades as against the recommended 6%. Debt burdens do not allow governments from significantly increasing the allocation for the sector, even if they wish to.

However, reports of increased direct tax collections this fiscal on the back of demonetization and other special drives have given fresh hopes to the stakeholders.

“Education should receive at least 6% of the GDP now, especially since the government claims to be earning more from taxes. It should be raised to 8% in the next two years. This will ease out parental burden on education and increase government’s share just like developed countries do,” says G Viswanathan, chancellor of a private university.

India has close to 800 universities and 40,000 higher education institutions which together cater to 3.3 crore students, over 70% of whom are studying either in private universities or opting for unaided courses offered by state universities largely due to skewed seats in public institutions.

Educationists say government needs to invest more in state-funded institutions to make higher education affordable and accessible to middle and lower class population.

“Coupled with the cheaper education loans and more scholarships, we can increase our Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) which is merely 23% at present,” says Prof Ambadas Mohite, president of Maharashtra Social Work educators. The global average GER is 33%.

The sector experts also emphasise the objective of the higher education Budget should be developing global-quality human capital and universal workforce.

“India urgently needs a labour market information system by which educational institutions can predict the workforce demand for 3-4 years and align pedagogy and technology in the same direction. Our policies must be framed accordingly,” says Rishi Kapal, CEO & global strategist, Edugild.

According to skill education experts, modernisation of industrial training institutes (ITIs) as per the market demands is also expected from the upcoming Budget. “We need to design courses in emerging areas including agriculture and allied sector,” says an IAS officer.

The education technology start-ups expect incentives and subsidised loans. Their demand is driven by state governments’ push towards digitisation of schools and expansion of virtual classrooms in both public-private sectors to fill in teachers’ shortage.

“We hope some announcements are made in this regard this Budget,” says Lavin Mirchandani, founder of education start-up ConnectedEd Technologies.

Educationists also want the government to clear its stance on World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade Services (GATS) for which negotiations are on. The GATS considers education a tradable commodity, reducing it to the same level as services like banking.

“The GATS will allow foreign universities to come to India. This will affect the subsidies and inclusive policies. Gray area around this crucial policy is a cause of concern,” says Milind Wagh, an educationist.

There is a need for a big push on school teachers’ training and learning outcome of the children, says Farida Lambay, founder of NGO Pratham which works in the education sector. Lambay adds, “Now, government also has to ensure that every child, including the differently-abled ones, completes elementary education.”

The dropout rate in schools is about 4% and nearly 1% children are still out of ambit of primary education.

Source: dnaindia.com