New Delhi: Given that India’s education expenses are lower than other SAARC countries such as Bhutan and Maldives, a parliamentary panel has urged the Union Ministry of Education to try to spend up to 6 percent of GDP, as is recommended in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, women, children, youth and sports underlined the demands of 2025-26 for the grant of Higher Education Department, while NEP 2020 called for a significant increase in public education investment by both central and state governments for 6 percent of GDPs, only 4.12 percent for the total education expenditure (Center, State, States and UTS).
The committee also noted that SAARC countries like Bhutan and Maldives are spending 7.47 percent and 4.67 percent of their GDP respectively in 2022, as against India’s spending 4.12 percent on education, “
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Emphasizing that the Ministry of Education should make honest efforts to increase spending on education, the committee said: “The Ministry of Education should sincerely seek additional funds from the Ministry of Finance to spend on education at 6 percent of GDP, which can strengthen and increase the public education system for higher education from school education.
The committee further saw that spending on education as a percentage of GDP has shown inconsistency over the years.
In the years of 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, states were recorded at 4.07 percent, 4.2 percent and 4.24 percent respectively as joint expenditure on education on education and GDP. However, this trend moved over the years, with the figure to 3.87 percent, 3.9 percent and 4.04 percent of GDP in 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively.
It said that by 2020-21, education expenditure gained noticeable, which had reached 4.36 percent of GDP, but after this declined by 4.12 percent in 2021-22.
The committee said in its report, “The committee recommends that GDP should be shared as a percentage of spending on education and the central government should be maintained continuously on spending on education to set the target in NEP 2020.”
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Concern over central universities working without full -time VC
In its report, the committee also expressed concern over the fact that by December 2024, regularly being managed without Vice Chancellor (VCS) up to 10 central universities.
“The position of the director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies has been vacant from August 2021. Similarly, the Executive Council of Banaras Hindu University, the highest executive body responsible for the management and administration of the institution, is convicted as the visiting of the university due to the failure of the members nominated by the Honorable President from June 2021 to appoint members nominated by the Honorable President nominated in their capacity.”
“In the absence of these members, the Executive Council has not convened for three years, except for major functions – including selection of faculty members – certainly for VC, who are relying on their emergency powers,” said this.
Highlighting the importance of a regular, full-time VC for proper functioning of a university, the committee emphasized that VCS plays an important role in appointing both the faculty and non-comprehensive members, as well as the implementation of development plans.
“NEP 2020 promises that the leadership status in HEI (higher education institutions) will not remain vacant for the expanded period (as often the case) and that outgoing and the upcoming Vice Chancellor will overlap for a period,” said this.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)