Education Budget 2024: Total outlay rises by 6.84%, school, higher education get Rs 1.20 lakh crore

NEW DELHI: In the interim budget 2024 announced by the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a total outlay of school and higher education for the financial year 2024-24 is Rs 1,20,627.87 crore, a 6.84% increase compared to current year’s education budget.

The budget allocation for the financial year 2024-25 of Rs 73,498 crore is the highest ever for the Department of School Education and Literacy. On the other hand, the budget outlay allocation for higher education is at Rs 47,619.77 crore, which is an increase of Rs 3,525.15 crore or 7.4% in comparison to the budget estimate for 2023-24.

The highest ever budget outlay may be seen in the autonomous bodies of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) at Rs 9,302.67 crore and Rs 5,800 crore respectively. “Allocation in KVS has increased by Rs 802 crore while allocation in NVS has increased by Rs 330 crore with respect to the revised estimates (RE) 2023-24,” the department said.

In the last year's budget announcement, the education budget saw the allocation rise by 8.27% to Rs 1,12,899.47 crore for the current fiscal year.

Also read Education Budget 2024: Schooling sees outlay increase by 6.1%; PM SHRI gets Rs 6,000 crore

Budget 2024: School education schemes

The biggest school education schemes such as Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and PM Poshan (mid-day meal) scheme saw nominal increase in the budget. Rs 47 crore more was allocated to the SSA scheme compared to the current year’s Rs 37,453.47 crore.

The finance minister said that the PM Poshan 2.0 will be expedited. In this regard, the mid-day meal scheme funds have been increased from Rs 11,600 crore in the current year to Rs 12,467.39 crore for the upcoming financial year.

Notably, PM SHRI has been allocated Rs 6,050 crore, an increase of over Rs 2,000 crore. Earlier this month, the Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that renovation in more than 1,000 schools has been completed. The government had said last year that it will develop and upgrade nearly 15,000 schools.

Also read Education Budget 2024: Higher ed sees Rs 9,600 crore cut from RE; UGC funds halved

Higher education budget 2024

If compared to the current year's revised allocation for the higher education department, the 2024-25 budget allocation represents a Rs 9,600 crore cut. Indian Institute of Management (IIM) which saw a steep cut in funds last year, will receive Rs 212.12 crore, lowest compared to all other universities and higher education regulators.

The funds University Grants Commission (UGC) have also been halved for the upcoming financial year.

Budget for research, which was reduced for the current year, has been increased to Rs 355 crore for the next financial year. Major schemes such as Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) and Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), which saw a cut in funds in the current year, will receive double the funds in next financial year.

In her interim budget speech, Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that 43% enrolment of women and girls in the STEM courses is one of the highest in the world. She also said that the enrolment of female students in higher education has gone up by 28% in 10 years.