Budget 2022: Improve digital infrastructure, skill-training for youth, advises private sector

NEW DELHI: The private education sector in India hopes for a budget that can improve technology infrastructure, provide skill training to youth, tighten control on edu-tech, and introduce skill-oriented courses such as animation and design courses at the school level.

Dishan Kamdar, vice-chancellor of FLAME University hopes for an increase in the budgetary allocation for the education sector. “A fund allocation for the advancement in technology infrastructure to help enable institutes to invest in the latest technology tools, software, and high-speed connectivity will surely deliver a seamless high-quality learning experience to their students. The Government could also develop an education loan scheme for the ease in accessibility, disbursement and repayment terms which will support students from the lesser privileged strata and the deeper pockets of the country to benefit from,” he said.

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Prateek Shukla, co-founder and CEO of Masai School expects at least 8-9 percent of GDP to be allocated for the education sector. According to him, the funding should be extended to schemes for skilling the youth in the country outside of the education system to make them eligible for employment opportunities. He also recommended tighter control on edu-tech. “Right now we are seeing predatory practices in the education tech space in India. The insight they are exploiting is simple; Indians spend unconditionally on healthcare and education. More and more customers are going in with big bucks to take certifications which have little or no value in the marketplace. We are seeing courses being turned into trends, with people buying courses out of FOMO. This needs to be flagged and addressed,” he added.

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Budget: Design schools, research, education loans

Sanjay Gupta, vice-chancellor of the World University of Design hopes that the budget will address the issue of financial stress on higher education institutions and students on account of shifting to online mode. “Any move to stimulate overall economic activity and create employment will have to involve design. The Government’s ‘Make-in-India’ initiative needs to be coupled with a ‘Design-in-India’ push so people can create new products, devise business processes, and think about new ways of service delivery for society,” he added.

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Manoj Singh, CEO of RUBIKA India, a French institution for higher education specializing in the field of video games, 3D animation, and industrial design, says that the budget should prioritize research and development. “The budget is projected to provide some form of financial assistance to the private sector, such as low-interest loans. The budget should also consider establishing a National Education Bank like the National Housing Bank, to give education loans at the lowest possible interest rate. The budget should also have more initiatives like the National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) so that skill-oriented courses like animation and design can be introduced at all school levels,” said Singh.

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Md Sajid Khan, head of International Development at ACCA says, “In the coming budget, we look forward to announcements that can help in the creation of digital infrastructure that supports institutes with new age methods and digital tools to help deepen the learning outcomes. Initiatives in which institutions can collectively action the agenda for education for all in India, especially in the rural areas which lack access to technology, connectivity and basic education resources, can help in creating a better future.”