Budget a Let Down on Education Front

Context: The Union Budget 2021-22 fell way short of allocating 6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education, as promised in the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.

Key Elements of Budgetary Apathy towards Education Sector

• Insufficient allocation: fell short of allocating 6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as envisaged under the New Education Policy 2020 a slight increase of 5% from last year
  • Allocation of Rs 93,224.31 crore, a mere Rs 8,000 crore more than 2020-21; increase of 5%.
  • Initial budgetary allocation was reduced to Rs 1 crore only (from was Rs 110 crore).
• Least inclusive: provides little relief to poor, caste and religious minorities.
  • No provision for digitally excluded children: Despite recognition of education as a fundamental right for every child (6 and 14 years) in Right to Education Act, 2009
  • Ignored Gender inclusion in budgetary allocation-
    • Allocates Rs 1 crore (down from Rs 110 crores) under National Scheme for Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education.
    • No mention of ‘gender-inclusive’ funds (as envisaged by NEP). (Despite the facts that Nearly 57% of girls are forced to leave school in class X or soon thereafter.

Gendered impact of Covid-19 on education:

• Economic crunch due to Covid-19 put the girls (26%) at a disadvantage position relative to boys (37%) in terms of accessing mobile phones and internet facilities for studies.
• ‘Gendered impact of Covid-19 on the education of school-aged children in India’, - a study conducted by Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, found that-
  • 71% of girls (38% of boys) were expected to do domestic chores even during their online studies.
  • During the pandemic, girls were made to drop out of school and marry early.

Way Forward: Need for Higher Budgetary Allocation for Education Sector

• To promote infrastructure and digitization of school: in the light of pandemic (increased-total dependence on digital education) and implementation of NEP (universalization of education).
• Gender-inclusive funds: There is a need for a separate and special provision for girl child in the budget.