With 2018 Budget just about to knock our doors, the educators expect the government to bring in educational reforms harmonised by the likes of Digital India. Rohit Manglik, CEO, EduGorilla, explores some of the aspects in education sector which need government’s attention for the fund allocation.
The outlay for education in last year’s budget was Rs 79,686 crores, with an increase of about 10% when compared to the last year’s outlay. It is most likely that one of the key priorities for Government’s budget will be an increase in the fund allocation to education this year.
Skill Development
Earlier, the Government was focussing on graduate and post-graduate students for skill development. Now is the time, Government should formulate policies and allocate sufficient budget to develop life-skills among children. By teaching computing, communication, and numerical skills, they would be more prepared to adjust to the rapidly changing world.
Teachers’ Training and Incentives
We lack quality teachers in primary as well as higher education. Now is the time when the government should allocate separate funds for teachers’ incentives. These incentives, like perks will act as a motivating force for them to perform their duties well. Plus, it should be made mandatory to keep them abreast of the latest developments in the education sector. Lastly, emphasis should also be laid to upgrade their technological skills, by training them and conducting assessmentsessions to measure their skills.
Standardization of Curriculum for all Boards
The Government should allocate more funds and resources to standardise all the competitive examinations. To fulfill this task, there should be a standard curriculum for all boards to avoid situations like NEET-scenario (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) where the students were confused about the syllabus to be referred, the CBSE or the respective States.
Improvement in Technology
It has been a dire need to improve our education ecosystem through the latest technological means. What India needs with the upcoming budget is the allocation of adequate funds for implementation of technological infrastructure.
Nurturing Job-Creators
The government should make things easy for new entrepreneurs. Educational startups should be given more encouragement in terms of investments and ease of doing business. These startups are job-creators, especially for women. There are also thousands of women holding various technical degrees who may help in setting up small startups.
Special Funds for Improvement in Research
According to a joint study of industry body ASSOCHAM and Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences, any of the country’s most famous and prestigious engineering schools (including IITs) has failed to produce a single Nobel Laureate despite the huge Government funding. It was also a major concern for the Government as none of the IITs could figure in the top 200-list of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2016-17. Hence, improving the quality of research in these institutions should be a key focus area with the increase of funds allocated to the improvement in research.
Fostering Teaching Innovation by Sponsoring Independent Researchers
The Union Budget should allocate funds to set up research centres that can encourage research on teaching or pedagogical innovations. It would help entrepreneurs or edupreneurs in learning from their researches or investigations. The government bodies should also impart suggestions that can help the educators in designing educational solutions. There should also be sponsorships for independent researchers to improve teaching methodologies tailored to meet the needs or requirements of students.
