VELLORE: Highlighting the long-standing demand to allocate 6% of the country’s GDP to education, the founder and chancellor of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) Dr G Viswanathan, said that the central government should spend more on education, noting that only 3% is currently spent. He was speaking at the 40th convocation of the institute on Saturday.
“In the 2025-26 budget, the central government allocated only 2.5% of its Rs 55 lakh crore budget for education. With 4.3 crore students currently enrolled in higher education in India, the new education policy aims to achieve a 50 % gross enrolment ratio, requiring the student count to rise to 8 crore. This requires more classrooms, infrastructure and funding,” he said.
He also pointed out that all over India, TN at 21% leads in budget allocation to education. Emphasising that education is the key to making India a developed nation by 2047, Dr Viswanathan said, “India’s per capita income is $2,900, while Japan’s is $35,000. Enhancing higher education can bridge this gap. Both central and state governments must increase funding for education.”
A total of 11,563 students received their degrees, which included 2,802 students getting post graduate degrees and 451 students receiving their doctoral degrees. Around 68 outstanding students received gold medals. TN Police Academy Director DGP Sandeep Rai Rathore was conferred a PhD in disaster management. SC Justice R Mahadevan, who was the chief guest, handed over the degrees to the graduating students.