The government has allocated Rs 84,952 crore for the education sector including basic, secondary and higher education. This is around Rs 20,675 crore more than in 2021-22 when Rs 64,277 was allocated. However, the Revised Budget Estimates for the last fiscal came down significantly to Rs 54,770 crore.
The budget for basic education lays emphasis on modern and ICT-driven education to children by setting up computer control rooms in government schools under the UP Knowledge-Based Response to Schooling and Teaching project proposed by the World Bank. 10 crore has been allocated for this. Teaching-learning will be monitored in schools through computer control room. The control room will also ensure the functioning of computer labs in schools. Under the NEP, the government also plans to convert primary schools into composite schools for classes 1 to 12. In each block, a composite school will be upgraded as a model ‘Abhyudaya’ school.
The main benefit from the budget in the field of higher education was the establishment of an Advanced Study Center at Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi, for which Rs 116.5 lakh has been allocated. The government has also proposed to open state universities in unserved districts.
Moving towards digital learning, Rs 10 crore has been earmarked for equipping government colleges with smart classrooms. In addition, there is a provision of Rs 1 crore for setting up e-content recording studio in the Directorate of Higher Education. Rs 1.7 crore has been allocated for sports infrastructure in government colleges.
Although the budget for secondary education has been increased by 7.8%, there are no major plans to highlight. A provision of Rs 98.4 crore has been made for Sainik Schools.
The government’s focus on technical and vocational education is on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. 49 under construction polytechnics and 31 newly established Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) proposed in the budget will be run on PPP mode. Students will be trained in four new-age trades: Data Science and Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Cyber Security and Drone Technology.
In addition, Rs 5 crore has been allocated for the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology in Ayodhya. Rs 5 lakh has been earmarked for setting up Institute of Hotel Management in Gorakhpur and Rs 5 lakh for upgrading Food Craft Institute at Aligarh as State Institute of Hotel Management.