Is India's Education Budget Falling Short? 📉🎓
- MediaFx
- Feb 4
- 2 min read
TL;DR: The recent Union Budget 2025 gave a slight boost to education funding, but experts reckon it's not enough to meet the big dreams of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The NEP aims to revamp our education system, but with current spending levels, achieving its goals seems tough. Key programs like mid-day meals and vocational training aren't getting the funds they need, which could leave many students, especially in rural areas, at a disadvantage.
Hey folks! Let's chat about something super important—our education system. 📚✨ The Union Budget 2025 just rolled out, and while there's a teeny increase in education funding, it's like adding a drop to the ocean. The government's put aside ₹1.28 lakh crore for education, which is just 2.54% of the total budget. To put it in perspective, that's only 0.4% of our country's GDP! Experts have been saying for ages that we should be spending at least 6% of our GDP on education to make a real difference.
The NEP 2020 is all about shaking things up—making education more inclusive, promoting critical thinking, and integrating vocational training. But with the current funding, turning these ideas into reality seems like a distant dream. For instance, the Samagra Shiksha scheme, which supports school education, got a slight bump from ₹37,010 crore to ₹41,250 crore. But when you break it down, ₹35,000 crore is for primary education, leaving only ₹6,250 crore for secondary education. That's less than half of what central schools like Kendriya Vidyalayas receive!
The mid-day meal program, now called PM-POSHAN, is super crucial for keeping kids in school and ensuring they get at least one nutritious meal a day. But guess what? Its budget barely increased—from ₹12,467 crore to ₹12,500 crore. With rising food prices, this tiny increase doesn't cut it. Some states, like Tamil Nadu, are stepping up by offering breakfast schemes to boost attendance and nutrition. But a nationwide push is missing.
The NEP also talks about making vocational education a big part of the curriculum. But there's no clear budget for building the infrastructure or training teachers for this. Without proper funding, integrating vocational courses remains a challenge.
In higher education, there's a bit of good news. The budget for higher education went up from ₹47,620 crore to ₹50,078 crore. A big chunk of this is going to central universities and institutes like IITs and NITs. But state universities, which cater to a massive number of students, aren't getting much love. This could widen the gap between central and state institutions, leaving many students in the lurch.
All in all, while the budget shows a slight commitment to education, it's not enough to bring the NEP's ambitious goals to life. Without significant investment, especially in areas like secondary education, vocational training, and nutrition programs, many students, particularly from underprivileged backgrounds, might miss out on quality education.
What do you think about this? Drop your thoughts in the comments below! Let's get the conversation going. 🗣️👇
