"Hopefully, increased budgetary allocation will help bridge the digital divide", says expert

As Budget 2022 makes news across media platforms, educationists have been wondering what the budgetary allocation of Rs 1,04,278 crore will mean for the education sector? Rajesh Bhatia, education expert and founder of an online chain of preschools, TreeHouse, says, "I have also read with interest, the news that the government wants to launch a university and increase the 'One Class One TV Channel' from 12 to 200 TV channels. This along with the budgetary allocation should hopefully bridge the digital divide in a tangible way, help rural children come at par with urban kids, and make education accessible especially during the pandemic."

Rajesh also welcomes the advent of a Digital DESH e-portal as he believes skilling, upskilling, and reskilling of our youth, is critical to utilising our vast demographic dividend. He says, "An investment in online education and digital infrastructure is necessary in a world that is being radically reshaped by technology. On our part, we are not just helping children bridge learning gaps but also introducing vocational modules that will help them to be future-ready when school ends and real life begins."

He says digital infrastructure including the expansion of the optical fiber line network is critically important for providing education empowerment to disadvantaged students. He says, "As an educationist, this UNICEF analysis bothers me that during the pandemic, 170 million students in the world had no access to education for almost one year. A 2021 UNICEF report also said that just 8.5 percent of students in India have access to the internet. This needs to change because all our children deserve digital empowerment and educational transformation."