Pathbreaking budget, say education experts

Bengaluru: Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement in her 2022-23 budget of a digital university aimed at providing world-class education and expansion of 'One Class, One TV Channel' programme under the PM e-Vidya scheme, from 12 to 200 channels, came in for praise from experts.

"The state of education is often a healthy indicator of the country's overall development and well-being. Quality education holds the key to inclusive growth and education in India needs to be recognized as an equalizer especially in the context of the pandemic. This year's budget will bring a revolutionary change to the education sector as it can support the capacity building of teachers and school leaders across the country. Investing in teacher education through the training of teacher educators and implementation of robust institutions for teacher training and education will create a high-quality education system in the country. Education is also a crucial instrument that can bridge the socio-economic divide in our country," said the Founder and Managing Director, Ekya Schools, and Provost, CMR University, Dr Tristha Ramamurthy.

She said, "The establishment of a digital university and over 200 channels covering multiple regional languages under the 'One Class, One TV Channel' program are two very innovative and path-breaking initiatives that will enable students across the nation to access quality education through the hub. The development of quality e-content to empower and equip teachers with digital tools for teaching and facilitating in order to achieve better learning outcomes is a welcome measure. Taking into account the challenges of the online learning arrangements, the government's decision to enhance digital learning with e-Vidya will be a boost to the education sector."

Managing Director, Canadian International School, Bangalore, Shweta Sastri said, "The Union budget has ushered in positive measures in the field of education which will give a boost to the sector especially in context of the pandemic. A robust education system is a necessity for any growing nation and this is all the more important when the country is aiming to normalize education. The focus on digitization, bridging the rural-urban gap, making online education available to all children are all measures that are welcome. Two years of education regression for school-going children meant that we needed to double-up efforts to bridge education gaps."

The budget for the education sector rightly focuses on upskilling and digital learning. The announcement of 'One Class, One Channel' and expansion to 200 channels under e-Vidya will enable the reach of online education to a vast body of students where online education is still not widespread. The push to regional education is welcome as this will once again enable people in the rural areas to access quality education in their languages. Another welcome decision on digital university is that it will expand the reach of education to the masses as it will follow a hub and spoke model and emphasize the role of ICT in digital education, Shwetha Shastri said.

She added, the focus on skill training by ITIs will also enable students to be employable in the future. The budget has addressed structural issues in the education landscape and has ensured that all children get access to education. The budget has also well-coincided with the opening of schools as it is important to reverse the learning loss among students. Education clearly is one of the most important investments a country can make in its people and their future. The government must act to meet the needs of an aspiring generation which is looking to the future with great hope. Overall, it has given a boost to the education sector that will result in the nation's progress.

Trustee, Greenwood High International School, Niru Agarwal said, "Education is a unique sector where investment has multiple effects. The state of education is often a healthy predictor of the country's overall development and well-being. While quality education holds the key to inclusive growth, education in India needs to be recognised as an equaliser especially in the context of the pandemic. It is also a crucial instrument that can bridge the socio-economic divide in our country."

Establishing a digital university and over 200 channels covering multiple regional languages under the One class, one TV channel' program are two very innovative and path breaking initiatives which will enable students across the country to access quality education far and wide through the hub and spoke model, says Niru Agarwal. "The development of quality e-content to empower and equip teachers with digital tools of teaching and facilitating better learning outcomes is a welcome measure to help children. With the challenges of the online learning arrangements, the government's decision to enhance digital learning with E VIDYA will be a boost to the education sector. There was a necessity to train and build skills among children as this would make them employable and this has been addressed by focus on ITI's which will undertake this task," she said.

The digital gap has also proven to be a bane for the education sector in the context of the pandemic. Education plays an important role in bringing a change in society across generations and more so now in this technological age. Now proper implementation is needed to take conducive steps to bridge the digital divide gap so that learning solutions can be easily accessed by everyone as it's a critical need at the ground level. The overall focus of the budget has been to make education robust and responsive to students' needs in terms of quality education in rural areas, skill development, research and development and employability. Going forward, more rigorous platforms should be developed and curated for students to learn with ease and discipline, said Niru Agarwal.

Founder of Deeksha, Dr Sridhar G said, "Increased focus on delivering education in regional languages will help improve learning outcomes by overcoming the language barrier. The pandemic has brought out the need of using technology to curate content to individually fit student's learning needs and the government's focus on delivering personalized learning at the doorstep is a step towards that. Increased focus on technical skills in ITIs will help promote employability of students and further put India on the world map as the hub of engineering excellence. In addition to this, the opening of a digital university will not only improve access towards higher education learning in India, it will also improve access of international students to Indian education."

Co-founder, Supertails, Aman Tekriwal said, "There has been a great focus on growth and sustainability in this year's budget, which is going to drive India's overall development. Notably, the tax exemption for startups extended to March-2023 and the reduction in surcharge on capital gain tax from 37% to 15% is positive and welcome news for startups. Steps such as the highway network to grow by 25,000 km with an ambitious goal of 280 GW solar capacity by 2030 are going to be big drivers of growth. Further, allocating INR 1500 crore for development in northeast India is a huge step in fast tracking inclusive economic development for the nation."

Rishabh Khanna, cognitive scientist, Co-founder, Suraasa said, "Accessibility to quality learning is a huge challenge for the country, especially in the digital mode of delivery. I think that the Digital University and 'One Class One TV Channel' are very thought through ideas to ensure that no children are left behind due to language, resource, or digital barriers. Skilling and Upskilling have been the talk of the EdTech town for the longest time (for all the right reasons) and it's great to see the government working towards that too. The FM also talked about teachers being trained to be able to deliver quality learning outcomes to students. I think that is one of the most important components of the education system since a trained teacher has the potential to transform lives of many children and create impact at scale. I am excited to witness the implementation of proposed initiatives and how they impact education across the country"

Co-founder, 21K School, India's only digital school, Yeshwanth Raj Parasmal said, "The Finance Minister has unveiled a Budget that aims to bridge the economic gap between India and Bharat. The proposed policies are an inspiring start in what will hopefully provide stimuli for continued growth, leading us closer towards our goal of achieving sustained acceleration."

Raj said, "I welcome the focus on digital aspects of education and creating greater access for students with structured, high-quality content. The announcement of Digital University is most welcome and in line with the trend of online schools across the country. But, it misses the opportunity to leapfrog with more significant innovation and investment for improved access, equity and affordability. The structural flaws of the education sector and problems on the ground could have been addressed. Exciting times are ahead for digital education."