budget allocated to education 2023

How Schools Fare in Biden’s Proposed Budget

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President Joe Biden hopes to expand funding for high-need schools, early childhood education, and students with disabilities in the next fiscal year.

The president released his 2024 budget proposal Thursday, requesting $90 billion to fund education, a $10.8 billion increase from the Education Department’s budget for fiscal 2023, which started last fall. In a March 9 speech about his spending priorities, Biden focused on preschool, including a proposed program that aims to provide all 4-year-olds with access to publicly funded pre-K.

“We all know 12 years is not enough to succeed in the second quarter of the 21st century,” Biden said. “If we want America to have the best-educated workforce, we need to invest in preschool. I’m not talking about daycare. I’m talking about school.”

The budget follows trends of previous years, with the president requesting increases in funding for high-needs schools, students with disabilities, and community schools that provide after-school and adult education programming, as well as health and nutrition services. But it is not as far-reaching as some of his past proposals and falls short of Biden’s previous promises to triple funding for high-poverty schools and fully fund special education.

It’s also unlikely to become reality, given that Republicans recently reclaimed the House of Representatives and will have major say on an ultimate spending plan. But the budget does signal the president’s policy priorities.

Budget asks for smaller increase to Title I than past proposals

The president hopes to increase funding for the Title I program, which aims to direct more funds to districts and schools with large shares of low-income families, to $20.5 billion. That would be a $2.2 billion increase over the $18.4 billion allocated in the 2023 federal budget .

T he president last year requested an additional $20 billion for the program , but Congress ultimately approved $1.4 billion in additional funding for the program, which has been criticized by education advocates for failing to prioritize funding for the highest-need schools.

It’s not surprising that the president didn’t request more, said Nora Gordon, an economist and professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. The government used Title I formulas when allocating COVID-19 relief funds, so high-poverty schools are still working their way through that money.

“Politically, I think it’s a hard argument to point to districts that are sitting on all this money that they have not been able to spend and say they really need more money,” Gordon said.

Education Department officials still view the increases to Title I funding as a step toward more funding.

“We are fully committed to pressing Congress and to working in partnership with other allies in Congress to grow the Title I program,” Roberto Rodriguez, the assistant secretary in the office of planning, evaluation, and policy development at the department, said during a call with reporters. “It is a critical foundation for success and for support for students. By any means, we’re not backing away from the President’s commitment to continue to grow that.”

More money for students with disabilities and English learners

The president also proposed an additional $2.1 billion under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, which would bring funding for special education programs to $16.8 billion. The program saw a similar increase of $2.5 billion in the 2023 budget.

IDEA Part C grants, which fund early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, would also get an additional $392 million, bringing total funding for the grants to $932 million.

But the IDEA funding still falls far short of Congress’s promise to cover 40 percent of the excess cost of educating a child in special education when it passed IDEA in the 1970s.

Biden’s budget would bring that number to around 13 percent, Rodriguez said. Falling short of the 40 percent threshold is nothing new, as the federal government hasn’t met that bar in decades.

The proposed budget would allocate $304 million to train and retain special education teachers, service providers, and early intervention personnel, doubling previous investments in those areas, Rodriguez said.

“Those are folks that are really on the front line of supporting the academic success, the wellbeing, and the full inclusion of our students with disabilities into the regular classroom,” he said.

English learners also got special attention in the proposal, with a request to increase the English Language Acquisition program to $1.2 billion, a $305 million boost over 2023 levels. It also proposes $100 million to support English learner staffing challenges.

Budget shoots for universal pre-kindergarten

Biden’s proposal also includes a new program that would require states to make high-quality preschool available to all 4-year-olds through a mandatory federal-state partnership.

The program would allow parents to choose a preschool setting, such as public schools, private child care providers, or Head Start. It would also give states the ability to expand preschool to include 3-year-olds once all 4-year-olds have access.

More states have been jumping on board with universal preschool in recent years . The Biden administration hopes the budget would bolster that trend by dramatically expanding preschool access over the next 10 years.

“We know that kindergarten is the sturdy bridge to elementary school success,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a call with reporters. “The problem is too many students are not prepared to cross it.”

In addition to the new program, the proposed budget would allocate $500 million for grants that would create or expand free, high-quality preschool for children eligible to attend Title I schools. The grants would apply to both in-school and community-based preschool options.

The budget also proposes increasing funding for Head Start to $13.1 billion, a $1.1 billion hike over the 2023 budget.

Boosts to school-based mental health and community supports

Biden’s budget expands on his call for more mental health professionals in schools during his State of the Union speech last month .

The proposed budget would provide $578 million to increase the number of school-based counselors, psychologists, social workers, and other health professionals in schools. Some of that funding would also go to colleges and universities to support student mental health and hire more providers on campuses.

That funding is in addition to the $1 billion the federal government gave to schools to address mental health staffing shortages through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

“We must build student mental health and wellbeing into the infrastructure of schools and colleges,” Cardona said.

The full-service community schools grant program, which supports schools with wrap-around services for students and families, would get $368 million under the proposed budget, raising funding for that program by $218 million.

The budget would also provide $100 million for a new grant program that would support voluntary community efforts to develop strategies that promote racial and socioeconomic diversity in schools.

Democrats applauded the budget while Republicans in Congress criticized it for its tax provisions and spending levels. It also received pushback from advocates of afterschool programming, who were disappointed to see the proposal didn’t increase funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which provides grants to support afterschool programs.

“Because it does not increase funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, it fails millions of students who need afterschool programs now more than ever to succeed in school and to recover from the isolation, trauma, and learning loss the pandemic caused,” Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, said in a statement.

Education organizations, including the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, expressed their support for the budget, saying it would help address educator shortages, improve mental health services, and set students up for success. The budget includes nearly $500 million in funding for programs to recruit, train, and retain quality educators.

“President Biden gets that these much-needed investments are real solutions that parents and students want and need—as opposed to some politicians who only seek to ban books and defund public schools,” National Education Association President Becky Pringle said in a statement.

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Education Budget 2023 Updates: Rs 1.12 lakh crore allocated for education, 8% increase from 2022

Union budget 2023 updates: ministry’s biggest school education scheme, sarva shiksha abhiyan, has been allocated almost the same amount as last year — rs 37,453 crore compared to rs 37,383 crore (budget estimate) in 2022-23..

Education Budget of India 2023 Updates, FM Nirmala Sitharaman Speech: The Education Ministry’s budget allocation this year increased by a marginal 8 per cent from Rs 1.12 lakh crore as opposed to 1.04 lakh crore in 2022-23. Of this, the Department of School Education is expected to get Rs 68,804 crore and Department of Higher Education Rs 44,094 crore.

Interestingly, the Ministry’s biggest school education scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, has been allocated almost the same amount as last year — Rs 37,453 crore compared to Rs 37,383 crore (budget estimate) in 2022-23. This is when students and teachers are still trying to recover the learning losses incurred during the pandemic.

During her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a national digital library for children and adolescents. A similar initiative was also announced in 2018 by the then Education Minister Prakash Javadekar. Since then, a national digital library is being run by IIT Kharagpur. It’s not clear how the finance minister’s announcement is different from what’s already in place.

Sitharaman also announced that teachers’ training will be re-envisioned through innovative pedagogy, curriculum transaction, continuous professional development dipstick survey and ICT implementation. To boost medical education, 157 new nursing colleges will be established and new programmes will be introduced for training in medical equipment.

In the next three years, Centre will recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 model Eklavya Model Residential Schools, which are serving 3.5 lakh tribal students. That apart, three Centres of Excellence for artificial intelligence will be set up in top educational institutions. “Leading industry players will partner in conducting interdisciplinary research, develop cutting edge applications and scalable problem solutions in the areas of agriculture, health, sustainable cities,” she said.

Budget allocation for financial year 2023-24 for the World Bank aided Scheme of STARS has increased by Rs. 250.00 crore (45.45 per cent) from Rs. 550.00 cr in budget estimate 2022-23 to Rs. 800.00 crore in budget estimate 2023-24.

Allocation in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan has increased by Rs. 713.98 crore (9.33 per cent) (from Rs.7650.00 crore in budget estimate 2022-23 to Rs. 8363.98 crore in budget estimate 2023-24) and in Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti by 1371.50 cr (33.32 per cent) (from Rs.4115.00cr in budget estimate 2022-23 to Rs. 5486.50 cr in budget estimat 2023-24).

IIT Madras to receive a grant of Rs 242 crore to undertake research on Lab Grown Diamonds (LGD). The institute will receive this grant over a period of five years to undertake research on lab grown diamonds (LGD). This research will be focused on driving indigenisation of the LGD manufacturing process. Read full report on indianexpress.com

Dr Mousumi Bhattacharya, Associate Professor of IIM Shillong said, "it is the last full Union Budget of the government before the next Lok Sabha election in 2024 where an attempt was made to address the concerns of the majority of the sectors with a special focus on green growth as India is shifting toward net zero carbon emissions by 2070. The budget will not only ensure self-reliance but also lay the path for sustainable growth of the Indian economy."

The education budget 2023-24 will help realise the objectives defined in the National Education Policy 2020. The new education policy lays a greater focus on skilling the youth of the country and linking education with industry and professional spheres, so as to enable students to be ready for future challenges and opportunities. The budget announcements have come as a boost to materialise these ideas.

— BHU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sudhir Kumar Jain

"Giving a boost to education, skill development, entrepreneurship, R&D, digital infrastructure, green growth and job creation, the Budget draws a meticulous blueprint for India at 100 and lays a solid foundation for transforming India into a technology-driven knowledge-based economy," said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The emphasis on education and employment is progressive. To ensure that India's workforce is future-ready, new age courses such as coding, artificial intelligence, robotics, mechatronics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing drones etc. coupled with soft skills will help improve the overall employability of students.Since the pandemic, the education ecosystem has seen major transformation, and now with the introduction of 30 Skill India international centers, education will further witness the much needed skilling integration that was required. The government's focus on skill development and preparing students for the future is also evident through the initiative to open 100 labs in engineering institutes for building 5G service capabilities and augmenting the digital infrastructure for medical sciences, among other similar initiatives.The budget also addresses education from a more holistic perspective, by introducing innovative pedagogies and advanced training and research measures for teachers.

— Lt. Gen. (Dr.) M. D. Venkatesh, Vice Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal.

With India becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, it lays a robust foundation for future growth, allowing bright and deserving students to dream big and pursue international education. However, it would have been ideal if the government could reduce the interest rates on education loans as Indians are the largest population who study abroad.  — Piyush Kumar, Regional Director- South Asia and Mauritius of IDP Education

Union Minister for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan said that this has been the highest-ever allocation of ?1,12,899 crore for the education sector. Total allocation of ?1,16,417crore for the education and skill development sector in Union Budget 2023-24. The budgetary allocation witnessed the jump of 13% (over revised estimates) which is 13,018.34 cr from financial year 2022-23. The Department of School Education has been allocated Rs 68,804 crore and Department of Higher Education gets Rs 44,094 crore.

“Union Budget 2023 is a holistic foundation for India of the future with an overall boost to education, skilling, job creation and entrepreneurship. The thrust on building digital and public infrastructure with a keen focus on sustainability, is a shot in the arm for education and entrepreneurship. The vision of creating Centres of Excellences in AI, national skill set centers and the boost to learn and adopt new age educational courses will definitely go a long way in filling skill and employability gaps. New initiatives like the National Digital Library for children and adolescents will herald a new era in community participation ably supported and guided by Higher Education Institutes like IIMs. This indeed is a solid blueprint laid out for India@2047, when independent India turns 100,” said Professor Debashis Chatterjee, Director IIM Kozhikode

"The revamped Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana is a step in the right direction as it aims to impart new-age skills such as AI, robotics and 3D printing, offering young Indians a wide range of career opportunities globally," said Raghav Gupta, Managing Director, India and APAC, Coursera.

"Overall, this budget is progressive as it accelerates the government's efforts for inclusive and sustainable development, and we are pleased that the Government has recognized the importance of a Technology-driven and skill-enhanced economy. It provides a strong impetus for growth and job creation. The National Digital Library for children, initiated by the honourable Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, is a testament to the government's commitment to modernizing and advancing the economy. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into our lives, the skill enhancement initiative recognizes its significance as a necessary tool for future growth and success," said Physicswallah

"Giving a boost to education, skill development, entrepreneurship, R&D, digital infrastructure, green growth and job creation, the Budget draws a meticulous blueprint for India at100 and lays a solid foundation for transforming India into a technology-driven knowledge-based economy," said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

"While focusing on the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors, the Government has emphasized fostering ease of doing business, inclusive growth, research & innovation, and AI-based Solutions. The tax proposals and fiscal management approach laid out in the Union Budget 2023 will help attain the twin goals of reducing compliance and enhancing investor protection for a socially inclusive and economically sound nation," CS Manish Gupta, President, the ICSI said.

Allocation for higher education increased by 7.9% from Rs 40,828 crore (Budget Estimate) in 2022-23 to Rs 44,094 crore in 2023-24

— 157 new nursing colleges to be established 

— 38,800 teachers, support staff recruitment for 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools.

— Three new centres of excellence for AI in top educational institutions.

— Ministry of Education allocated Rs 1.12 lakh crore budget

While no new major sector-specific scheme was announced, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a National Digital Library will be set up for “children and adolescents.” However, no funds have been allocated for the library project in the 2023-24 budget and the National Digital University project, which was announced in 2022, also saw no separate allocation. Incidentally, the Centre had in 2016 launched the National Digital Library (NDL) pilot project under which IIT Kharagpur runs an online repository of texts and video lectures on various subjects ranging from humanities to sciences. 

Read Sourav Roy Barman's report on the education budget. 

The government today announced that the Children’s Book Trust and other sources will be encouraged to provide books and other material in regional languages. However, when it comes to the engineering sector, I am not in favour of this as this will create complete chaos in the system and negatively affect our USP in engineering education. In hard times like these, we need more unifying factors, rather than those that divide us. — Former IIT Director

The outlay for PM Poshan has been increased by 13.3%, taking the allocation to Rs 11,600 crore from Rs 10,233 crore. While no new major sector-specific scheme was announced, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a National Digital Library will be set up for “children and adolescents” to provide a supply of good quality books at a time when students are trying to cope with the learning losses suffered during the pandemic.

This budget brings cheer to the teaching community as they will undergo training through innovative teaching methods, curriculum transformation, continuous professional development, and the implementation of ICT. The establishment of an additional 30 Skill India International Centers, offering cutting-edge programs in fields such as coding, AI, IOT, mechatronics, drones, and the enhancement of various soft skills, as announced in this budget, is a phenomenal initiative. The budget as a whole is a positive step towards the growth and advancement of vocational education within the education sector.

The plan of increasing medical colleges number and nursing colleges number is not really required at present. There are lot of medical and nursing colleges at the moment and instead of spending money there, we should enrich and empower the existing medical colleges. There should be major vacancy in government sectors for doctors and nurses. We require good teachers in already established medical colleges to get better doctors. Just spending money on buildings of medical colleges and not hiring professional is a wasteful activity," says Rohan Krishan, President, FAIMA.

University Grants Commission gets allocation of Rs 5,350 crore versus budget allocation of Rs 4,900 crore.

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today announced that in the next three years, the Centre will recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 model Eklavya Model Residential Schools which are serving 3.5 lakh tribal students.

PM Shri Schools which were announced in last year’s budget speech, but were not allocated any money, have been given Rs 4,000 crore this year. 

Under PM Schools for Rising India or PM Shri, 14500 schools are expected to be upgraded to showcase components of the new National Education Policy 2020.

PM Poshan Shakti Nirma (earlier known as the Midday Meal Scheme ) gets budget allocation of Rs 11,600 crore. Last year’s budget allocation of Rs 10,233 crore was increased (in the revised estimate) to RS 12,800 crore.

Granted that Artificial Intelligence is going to be one of the biggest things in the future, and focused investments in AI are critical for keeping and creating jobs. However, launching new three centres of excellence for artificial intelligence is not the only reform needed to ensure that India moves up the ladder in IT sector. Opening institutes is easy, but sustaining them towards excellency is difficult. 

Experts should learn from the IIIT experience as they have not been able to achieve the same level of excellency as IITs. It is important to study why did the IIT model work and then implement that in IIITs or the new institutions. Even the infrastructure required to make the new institutes competent enough to meet global standards is also not an easy task.

— Former IIT Director

(Image source: IIT Delhi)

Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, which is the union government’s largest education scheme and the flagship programme for funding school education from pre-primary to higher secondary level, has been allocated the almost the same amount as last year - Rs 37,453 crore compared to Rs 37,383 crore (budget estimate) in 2022-23.

In the budget 2023, IITs allocated Rs 8791 crore this year, as opposed to Rs 7545 crore.

Allocation for school education has increased by 8% from Rs 63,449 crore (Budget Estimate) in 2022-23 to Rs 68,804 crore in 2023-24

In the budget announcement today, Ministry of Education allocated Rs 1.12 lakh crore as opposed to 1.04 lakh crore last year. Department of School Education to get Rs 68,804 crore and Department of Higher Education allocated Ra 44,094 crore

157 new nursing colleges will be established in co-locations with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014: FM @NSitharaman Ji #AmritKaalBudget pic.twitter.com/i1JjElbvtU — Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) February 1, 2023

-- 30 skill India centres to be set up across states

-- 100 labs for developing applications using 5g services will be set up in engineering institution

-- Centres of Excellence for artificial intelligence to be set up in top educational institutions

-- Centre will recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 model Eklavya Model Residential Schools which are serving  3.5 lakh tribal students

-- Teachers training will be reenvisioned through innovative pedagogy, curriculum transaction

-- 157 new nursing colleges will be established in co-location with existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014. 

-- Select facilities at ICMR labs will be made available for research to outsiders

-- A new programme to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals will be introduced

-- Dedicated multidisciplinary course for medical devices will be supported in existing institution 

Indian education system has always complained of non-availability of quality teachers. The current impetus on recruiting large number of teachers and creating a sustainable teachers' training programme equipping them with multilateral skills will go a long way in improving the quality of education in Indian schools. The government must also create a performance management system where there is a hope of rising and a fear of falling for all teachers.

Recruiting teachers and providing them with relevant skills such that they can impart the right knowledge and skills will help in building employable youth in India. (Inputs from Shantanu Rooj, Founder and CEO, TeamLease Edtech)

Sitharaman had allocated Rs 99,300 crore for education in 2020 — a hike of 4.6 per cent over Rs 94,855 crore in 2019. Then, in 2021, the Ministry of education got an allocation of Rs 93,224 crores, and Rs 1.04 lakh crore in 2022.

To realise the vision of 'Make AI in India' and 'Make AI Work for India' three centres of excellence for artificial intelligence will be set up in top educational institutions. 

To skill youth for international opportunities, 30 Skill Indian International Centres will be set up across different states. 

The digital ecosystem for skilling will be further expanded with the launch of a unified 'Skill India Digital Platform' for enabling demand based formal skilling, linking with employers including MSMEs and facilitating access to entrepreneurship scheme. 

To provide stipend support to 47 lakh youths in 3 years, a direct benefit transfer under a pan-India national apprenticeship promotion scheme will be rolled out.

'It is probably the first time when the union budget witnessed mention of teacher training, capacity-building programs and a culture of reading. As an educationist, it is highly encouraging to see the budget's focus. The establishment of District Training Centres for educators will revolutionise both public and private school education across India. Setting up National Digital Library and Physical Libraries at ward and panchayat levels is like a dream come true. National Book Trust has been entrusted with developing a reading culture by publishing content in several regional languages,' said Jyoti Arora, Principal of Mount Abu Public School, Rohini, Delhi.

'The plan of increasing medical colleges number and nursing colleges number is not really required at present,' says FAIMA President, Rohan Krishnan. 'There are lot of medical and nursing colleges at the moment and instead of spending money there, we should enrich and empower the existing medical colleges. There should be major vacancy in government sectors for doctors and nurses.'

'We require good teachers in already established medical colleges to get better doctors. Just spending money on buildings of medical colleges and not hiring professional is a wasteful activity,' he added.

To build capacity of functionaries and professionals in the securities market, SEBI will be empowered to develop, regulate, maintain and enforce norms and standards for education in the National Institute of Securities Markets and to recognise a word of degrees, diplomas and certificates.

Lab grown diamonds is a technology and innovation driven energy driven sector with high employment potential. To encourage indigenous production of such diamonds, a research grant will be provided to one of the IITs for five years.

The digital ecosystem for skilling will be further expanded with the launch of a unified skill India digital platform for enabling demand based formal skilling, linking with employers including MSMEs and facilitating access to entrepreneurship schemes to provide stipend support to 47 lakh youths in three years. Direct benefit transfer under pan India National Apprenticeship promotion scheme will be rolled out.

To empower our youth, we have formulated the National Education Policy which is wide in scope, but one of our focuses is job training. In the PM Kaushal Vikaas Yoajna 4.0, industry partnership, an alignment of courses with needs of industry will be emphasised. The scheme will also cover new age courses for industry 4.0 like coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics IoT, 3D printing drones and other soft skills to skill youth for international opportunities, 30 skill India international centres will be set up across different states.

PM Kaushal Vikaas Yoajna 4.0 to be launched to skill the Indian youth in new age courses for indsutry 4.0 in several skills such as robotics, coding, drones and other soft skills. 

The Indian Medical Association is expecting a 5 per cent allocation in the Union Budget. And, it should not be just for running expenses such as salaries but for infrastructure, research and better equipment.

The Covid crisis has amply demonstrated the importance of universal primary care in the public sector. Health Policy 2017 firmly focuses on primary care: If possible the Centre should upgrade and enhance these figures and appoint MBBS doctors in the 1.50 lakh wellness centres. The policy recommends that health centres be established on geographical norms apart from population norms. This would also necessitate upgradation of the existing sub-centres and reorienting PHCs.

A total of 100 labs will be set up in engineering institution with various authorities, regulators, banks and other business for developing applications using 5G services. To realise the new range of opportunities, business models and employment potential, the labs will cover, among others, applications such as smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems and healthcare applications

This budget proposes a series of measures to unleash the potential of our economy, Centres of Excellence for artificial intelligence for realising the vision of 'Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India'. Three Centres of Excellence for artificial intelligence will be set up in top educational institutions. Leading industry players will partner in conducting interdisciplinary research, develop cutting edge applications and scalable problem solutions in the areas of agriculture, health, sustainable cities.

Under mission Karma Yogi, centres, states and the union territories are implementing capacity-building plans for civil servants. The government has also launched an integrated online training platform to provide continuous learning opportunities for lakhs of government employees to upgrade their skills and facilitate people centric approach.

Teachers training will be reenvisioned through innovative pedagogy, curriculum transaction, continuous professional development dipstick survey and iCT implementation. The district institute of education and training will be developed as vibrant institutes of excellence for this purpose. 

Select facilities at ICMR labs will be made available for research to outsiders. A new programme to promote research and innovation in pharmaceuticals will be introduced. 157 new nursing colleges will be established in co-location with existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014. 

Dedicated multidisciplinary course for medical devices will be supported in existing institution to ensure availability of skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies and high-end manufacturing and research

In the next 3 years, Centre will recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 model Eklavya Model Residential Schools which are serving  3.5 lakh tribal students.

To build a culture of reading and to make up for pandemic time learning loss, the National Book Trust, the Children's Book Trust, and other sources will be encouraged to provide and books and other material in regional languages, and in English to these physical libraries

National digital library for children and adolescents will be set up for facilitating availability of quality books across geographies, languages genres and levels and device agnostic, accessibility. States will be urged to setup physical libraries for them at Panchayat and all level to provide infrastructure for accessing the National Digital Library resources.

157 new nursing colleges will be established in core location, says Nirmala Sitharaman

This is Sitharaman’s fifth Budget presentation, and the last one for Modi government before the Lok Sabha polls next year.

Agriculture accelerator fund to be set up to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs, especially in rural areas, says Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Fresh flows of funding and incentives must be made into programmes like Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan and FutureSkills Prime. Implementation and audit taskforces must be built to accelerate and catalyze various ongoing broadband expansion and quality improvement projects. Investing in the advancement and enrichment of various technology and skilling platforms for students and educators like DIKSHA, NISHTHA, SWAYAM, etc. A detailed roadmap and resource allocation for escalating the implementation of the National Educational Technology Forum.

The ‘Manodarpan’ scheme by the Ministry of Education could be enriched with expert resources to better guide students with issues like addiction, self-healing, adjustment training, and short online courses, one-to-one online sessions with subsidized fees, etc.

Schools could be provided tax benefits or incentives for expanding their counselling services through counseling cells, career guidance services, or student awareness and sensitisation clubs.

Last year, Finance Minister announced that “For developing India specific knowledge in urban planning and design, and to deliver certified training in these areas, up to five existing academic institutions in different regions will be designated as centres of excellence. These centres will be provided endowment funds of Rs 250 crore each”. 

In this regard, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) initiated the exercise to identify five academic institutions in different regions imparting knowledge in urban planning and design for their designation as Centres of Excellence (CoEs). Invitations were accepted from institutions in September 2022 along with a notification on the parameters set for the selection of the institution. 

While talking to indianexpress.com , Anup Burman, a senior official at Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) said, “We have received the nominations and are accessing the applications on set parameters. The implementation is underway.”  (Reported by Sakshi Saroha)

Vocational Education requires decisive effort from the government. The whole concept of vocational education will be relevant only when secondary-level education in the vocational space is linked to higher education. We would like the government to recognise and encourage a continuum of vocational education from the school level to Higher Education Institute through the 3 Year B.Voc (undergraduate programme) and postgraduate programme relating to the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) skill- level 4.5, 5.5,6.7 and 7. This will enhance employability.

With Edtech emerging as an important player in the education sector, companies are expecting a reduction in GST on education services, focus on the upskilling sector.

The stakeholders in the education sector are expecting an increase in funds for research and development, alongwith more budgetary allocation for modern and state-of-the-art tools and equipment.

• The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.

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Budget 2023: education gets 'highest ever' allocation; share in gdp remains stagnant at 2.9%.

Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted that the "highest ever allocation" to the education sector would pave the way to transform India into a "knowledge-based economy".

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Budget 2023: Rs 1.12 lakh crore allocated to education sector, highest ever — here are the highlights

As per the national education policy, 2020 (nep) public investment on education should be 6 percent of india’s gdp. india’s education budget has never touched this number..

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Education Budget 2023 Highlights: PDF Download with Key Summary and Takeaways

Education budget 2023-24: finance minister nirmala sitharaman presented the union education budget 2023-24 in parliament on february 1. here are the key highlights from education budget 2023, summary, explanations, and complete analysis. .

Education Budget 2023 Live Updates by FM Nirmala Sitharaman Speech: The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2023 in Parliament on February 1. This is the fifth budget presented by the Finance Minister since she took over the Ministry of Finance of the country. Union Budget 2023 is the last full-fledged budget before the Lok Sabha polls next year. 

Education Budget 2023 Allocation 

Education budget 2023 highlights, 100 labs to be set up in engineering colleges to develop apps using 5g.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that 100 labs will be set up in engineering institutions that will work on developing applications using 5G services in collaboration with various authorities, banks, regulators and other businesses. The applications will include smart classrooms, intelligent transport system, precision farming, and healthcare applications to utilise the new technological opportunities coming in with the prospect of fresh business models and potential jobs.  

National Digital Library To Be Set Up 

Multidisciplinary courses for medical devices and research .

Finance Minister also announced multidisciplinary courses for medical devices will be supported in existing institutions to ensure the availability of skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies, high-end manufacturing and research.

Recruitment of Teachers for Tribal Schools

To boost education for tribal students, the government will recruit 38,800 teachers within the next three years to the 748 modern residential schools, serving 3.5 lakh tribal students. As many as 38,000 teachers and support staff are to be recruited in the next 3 years, for 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools serving 3.5 lakh tribal students.

Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India

Pm kausal vikas yojana 4.0 for skill development .

The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, which is a skill development initiative scheme for the recognition and standardisation of skills, is being levelled up. Indian youth will get access to courses that can skill them in coding, robotics, drones, mechatronics, IoT, 3D printing, and essential soft skills so that they are ready for the global job industry.  

Devyani Jaipuria, Chairperson of Dharav High School, Pro- Vice Chairperson- DPS International Gurugram, DPS 45 & DPS Jaipur, stated - "To start with, the clear commitment to setting up 30 India International Skill centers across states under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 will not only train and build skills among children but also help in channelising the efforts to make India the source of skilled manpower for the world. "

The finance minister proposed the launch of a unified Skill India digital platform that will facilitate formal skilling as per demands, provide access to entrepreneurship schemes, and also link job-seekers with employers including MSMEs. Devyani Jaipuria further stated - " Additionally, the focus on traditional artisans and micro-entrepreneurs and linking them to the MSME chain and providing them a forward linkage to their products and craft will further have a positive impact on both the skill and entrepreneurship development in the rural areas."

Education Budget 2023 Live Updates What’s New: Funds, Schemes, Interventions  

• The government will launch Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
• Phase 3 of E-courts projects to be launched with outlay of Rs 7,000 crore: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
• Leading industry players will partner to developing, providing scalable options for health, agri and other sectors: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
• 100 labs will be set up for developing apps using 5G services in engineering institutions: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
• Teacher training will be envisioned through innovative pedagogy, continuous professional development, curriculum transaction and ICT implementation. The district institutes of education and training will be developed into vibrant institutes of excellence for this purpose: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
• National Child Trust, Children's Book Trust and other sources to be encouraged to provide and replenish non-curricular titles in regional languages and English, to these libraries; collaboration with NGOs working in literacy also to be done: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
• PM VIKAS (Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman), which was announced in Budget 2023, will include skilled people who are engaged in various traditional and skilled professions.
• To skill the youth for international opportunities, 30 Skill India International Centres will be set up across different States: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
• To provide support to 47 lakh youths in 3 years, a Direct Benefit Transfer under a pan India national apprenticeship scheme will be rolled out: FM Sitharaman

• States will be encouraged to set up physical libraries for them at panchayat and ward levels and provide infrastructure for accessing the National Digital Library resources: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

• Indian Institute of Millet Research will be supported as a centre of excellence: FM Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament 

• Leading industry players will partner in conducting inter-disciplinary research, develop cutting-edge applications & scalable problem solutions in the areas of agriculture, health and sustainable cities: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Updated as on February 1, 2023 at 1:11 PM

In last year’s Education budget, the financial allocation was Rs. 1.04 lakh crore which was more than the funds allocated in 2021-22. A total of Rs 93,224 crore (Budget estimate) was allocated to the education sector in 2021-22. 

Education Budget Highlights: Important Facts & Figures of Indian Education Budget 2022-23

• World-class universities will be allowed to offer courses in financial services and technology free of Indian regulations
• AICTE will take lead in improving urban planning courses
• One class, one TV channel' program of PM eVIDYA will be expanded from 12 to 200 TV channels. This will enable all states to provide supplementary education in regional languages for classes 1 to 12
• 5 academic institutions on urban planning to be made centers of excellence. The institutions will get an endowment of Rs 250 crore each
• A digital university will be established to provide access to students across the country for world-class quality universal education with a personalized learning experience at their doorstep. This will be made available in different Indian languages and ICT formats. The university will be built on a network hub and spoke model
• High-quality e-content in all spoken languages will be developed for delivery via the internet, mobile phones, tv, and through radio and digital teachers. The competitive mechanism for the development of quality e-content by the teachers will be set up to empower and equip them with digital tools of teaching and facilitate better learning outcomes
• Agricultural universities will revise syllabi to meet the needs of modern-day farming
• Skilling programs will be reoriented, and ITIs will start courses on skilling. The Digital DESH e-portal will be launched for skilling, upskilling & reskilling of the youth 
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Budget 2023: Education gets highest ever allocation to overcome learning losses

The union budget 2023 presented by finance minister nirmala sitharaman on wednesday set aside ₹1.12 lakh crore for education – the highest ever and an increase of around 8.2% than what was pegged in 2022-23..

The Union government will re-envision teachers’ training and develop institutes of excellence at district levels, and set up a national digital library to make available quality books across subjects to children and youngsters to help them overcome the learning losses suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Union Budget presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday set aside ₹ 1.12 lakh crore for education — the highest ever and an increase of around 8.2% than what was pegged in 2022-23.

While the 2022-23 Budget estimate allocated ₹ 1,04,277.72 crore for the sector, the revised estimate curtailed it to ₹ 99,881.13 crore. This year’s allocation is a 13% increase from the revised estimate.

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan lauded the Budget as inclusive, people-centric and growth-stimulating, and said the ministry was given the highest-ever allocation.

“By giving a boost to education, skill development, entrepreneurship, research and development, digital infrastructure, green growth and job creation, the Budget draws a meticulous blueprint for India at 100 and lays a solid foundation for transforming India into a technology-driven knowledge-based economy,” he said.

In her Budget speech, Sitharaman said: “The national digital library for children and adolescents will be set up for facilitating (the) availability of quality books across geographies, languages, genres, and levels.” The library, she added, will be device agnostic and accessible.

The Covid-19 pandemic, which hit the country in 2020, wreaked havoc on basic education due to closure of schools. According to the Annual Status of Education Report released on Wednesday, the basic reading ability of children dropped to pre-2012 levels. This was visible in most states and across genders.

The government had announced the setting up of a national digital university in its last Budget. The university is likely to start operations in June-July this year.

Sitharaman said states will also be urged to set up physical libraries at panchayat levels to provide infrastructure for accessing the national digital library resources.

She said the National Book Trust, the Children’s Book Trust, and other sources will be encouraged to provide books and other study materials in English and regional languages to these physical libraries to build a culture of reading.

The physical libraries will make up for the learning loss due to the pandemic, Sitharaman said. “Collaborations with NGOs that work in the field of literacy will be encouraged to inculcate financial literacy. Financial sector regulators and organisations will be encouraged to provide age-appropriate reading material to these libraries,” she said.

The finance minister said the teachers’ training will be re-envisioned through innovative pedagogy, curriculum transaction, continuous professional development, etc. “The district institutes of education and training will be developed as vibrant institutes of excellence for this purpose,” she said.

Sitharaman also announced the setting up of 100 laboratories in engineering institutes for developing applications using 5G services. “To realise the new range of opportunities, business models and employment potential, the labs will cover, among others, applications such as smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems and healthcare application,” she said.

Of the total outlay, ₹ 68,804.85 crore has been allocated for schools and ₹ 44,094.62 crore for higher education.

While the school Budget has witnessed an increase of 8%, from ₹ 63,449 crore (Budget estimate) in 2022-23, the allocation for higher education increased by 7.9%, from ₹ 40,828 crore (Budget estimate) in 2022-23.

The revised allocation for the school and higher education departments was kept at ₹ 59,052.78 crore and ₹ 40,828.35, respectively, in 2022-23.

The outlay for Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, the central government’s flagship programme for universal education, remained almost the same as last year ( ₹ 37,453.46 crore). The midday meal scheme, renamed as PM Poshan, saw an increase in allocation — from ₹ 10,233 crore in 2022-23 to ₹ 11,600 crore in 2023-24. However, the allocation for the scheme was increased to ₹ 12,800 in the revised Budget.

The Budget has also set aside ₹ 4,000 crore for the government’s Pradhan Mantri Schools For Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme, under which over 14,500 schools across the country will be upgraded as exemplary schools.

In higher education, the allocation of grants to central universities has risen to ₹ 11,528.90 crore from the revised estimate of ₹ 11,034.32 crore last year. While the monetary support to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has increased by ₹ 316.5 crore, it has decreased in case of Indian Institutes of Managements (IIMs) by around ₹ 300 crore in comparison to last year.

The outlay for research and innovation has been pegged at ₹ 210.61 in 2023-24 in comparison to ₹ 218.66 crore in 2022-23. The revised allocation decreased to ₹ 185.24 crore in 2021-22.

The Budget document does not mention the allocation for Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA). HEFA offers 10-year loans to higher education institutions for infrastructure development. The Budget for the agency was drastically trimmed to ₹ 1 lakh in 2022-23 from ₹ 1 crore in 2021-22.

University Grants Commission chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said the increase in higher education budget will help in overcoming the learning losses during the Covid-19 pandemic and inject more digital technology for more access and equity.

“Increased fund allocation will accelerate the implementation of NEP 2020, bringing further dividends to the students to make them employable and strengthen our efforts in making India a knowledge-based economy,” he said.

Educationists welcomed the initiatives announced in the Budget.

Jyoti Arora, principal of Delh’s Mount Abu Public School, said the Budget perhaps mentioned teachers’ training, capacity-building programmes and a culture of reading for the first time.

“As an educationist, it is highly encouraging to see the Budget’s focus. The establishment of district training centres for educators will revolutionise both public and private school education across India,” Arora said.

Arora also said that the setting up of the national digital library and physical libraries at the ward and panchayat levels is like a dream come true. “The National Book Trust has been entrusted with developing a reading culture by publishing content in several regional languages. This Budget will ensure the implementation of the National Education Policy, 2020, at the micro level. At the same time, we expected some measures to support nation-building private school education.”

Dhuwarakha Sriram, chief of YuWaah (Unicef), said: “The government’s recognition of the post-pandemic learning loss is a welcome move. The digital and physical infrastructure, particularly for the most marginalised young people in the hinterland, will help build higher student engagement and interest and make learning an easy process.”

Fareeha Iftikhar is a Special Correspondent with the national political bureau of the Hindustan Times. She tracks the education ministry, and covers the beat at the national level for the newspaper. She also writes on issues related to gender, human rights and different policy matters. ...view detail

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