BENGALURU: Education experts were divided on the Union education budget for 2020-21. While some said it encouraged commercialisation and others welcomed the decision to collaborate with private institutions.
Niranjanaradhya VP, senior fellow and programme head, Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India University, said, "The budget accelerates privatisation and commercialisation. What is more suicidal is the proposal to obtain foreign loans for education and invite Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The funniest proposal is online higher education for deprived sections. The budget thoroughly failed to take cognisance of burning issues in school education. As per the recent 2019-2020 statistics, the compliance rate for implementing the Right to Education Act is just 12 per cent."
According to the Economic Survey, the average annual expenditure of the government for primary education is Rs 1,253 per child, whereas private institutions spend Rs 12,889 per child. “It indicates why government schools perform poorly and gradually close down. In this context, the current budget is grossly inadequate,” he added.
Ashim Sachdeva, regional vice-president – South Asia of Turnitin said, "The proposed allocation of Rs 99,300 crore for education does seem a tad disappointing. It is virtually flat in real terms if one factors in the expected inflationary impact of 4.5 per cent."
According to the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights figures, Niranjanaradhya said there are 9 lakh vacancies at the elementary level and 1.5 lakh at the secondary level. Around 35-50 million children are out of school and 40 per cent of adolescent girls are not attending school.