Union Budget 2022 is inclusive, forward-looking, aspirational: Dharmendra Pradhan

NEW DELHI: Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has praised the Union Budget 2022 as being inclusive, forward-looking and aspirational, laying the foundation for the Amrit Kaal of the next 25 years.

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The education minister hailed the allocation of Rs 1,04,277.72 crore to the Ministry of Education in the next financial year, 2022-23. The budgetary allocation witnessed a jump of 11.86% which is 11053.41 crore higher from the financial year 2021-22, he said.

Digital university, 200 TV channels

Announcement of the setting up of a Digital University, allowing foreign universities to run courses in GIFT City, launch of DESH-Stack e-portal and aligning Skill Qualification Framework with industry requirements will improve and strengthen the education and skilling ecosystems in the country, he said.

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Pradhan highlighted the efforts of the finance ministry to universalize quality education which will gain strength with the setting up of a Digital University and expansion of One Class-One TV Channel programme of PM e-VIDYA from 12 to 200 TV channels.

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He said that the digital university will be built on a networked hub-spoke model, with the collaboration of the best public universities and institutions and it will provide access to students to quality education at their doorsteps in different Indian languages.

Expansion of one class-one TV channel programme will enable all states to provide quality supplementary education in regional languages for classes 1-12, he added.

E-content in regional languages, improving digital infrastructure

Teachers will be encouraged to develop quality e-content in different spoken languages and different subjects so that any teacher or student can access the content from anywhere and receive benefits. A competitive mechanism to promote development of quality e-content by the teachers will be created to ensure empowered teachers and curious students, he said.

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The minister also welcomed the focus on improving digital infrastructure in rural areas and the announcement of the Vibrant Villages Programme under which DTH access will be given to Doordarshan and educational channels for villages in the northern border areas.

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Similarly, the decision to develop five existing academic institutions in different areas as centres of excellence in urban planning is a very forward looking step, he said. These centres will get endowment funds of Rs 250 crore each for developing India specific knowledge in urban planning and design. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will take the lead to improve syllabi, quality and access of urban planning courses in other institutions.

Skilling courses

The Union Budget 2022 has also announced that world-class foreign universities and institutions will be allowed in the GIFT City to offer courses in various subjects like Financial Management, FinTech, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

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The launch of Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood (DESH)-Stack e-portal will empower citizens to skill, reskill or upskill through on-line training. To prepare our youth for this, the required courses for skilling will be started in select Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), in all states.

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Pradhan also welcomed the emphasis on the PM Gati Shakti programme and PLI programmes in the Budget 2022 as these will create huge job opportunities for youth. 60 lakh new jobs are expected to be created under the productivity linked incentive scheme in 14 sectors. For this, the Skill Hub Initiative of the education ministry and MSDE will be launched in 5,000 skill centres during the next year.