Shiksha Opinion: Some hits, many misses for education sector in Union Budget 2015

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley finally presented the Budget 2015 on Saturday. There were quite a few announcements in education sector -- five new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), two Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and one Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

And that’s not all. He also proposed to set up five more medical institutes, three pharmaceutical institutes, upgraded ISM Dhanbad to IIT and allocated Rs 1000 crore for entrepreneurs. He also proposed few other institutes, details of which you can check out here.

So, will Budget 2015 actually prove beneficial for the education sector?

To know this, let’s go back to Union Budget 2014.

Out of the five IITs proposed in 2014, one IIT is in the process of being set up. And of the five IIMs proposed (which later became six), only IIM Nagpur will see the light of the day in 2016. Land is still being finalised for the other institutes.

The centre also announced the launch of Start Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme in 2014, setting aside Rs 10,000 crore for it. Several more institutes were promised, about which we have no clue at all. (Check out Budget 2014 to know more)

Promises made in 2014 are yet to be fulfilled! Looking at the state of affairs, it may take more than a year or two to fulfil them.

Our chief concern: Will the government be able to deliver on the promises made in 2014 and 2015? And if yes, then when? In 2020?

 

What were they thinking?

Five AIIMS has been promised in the states of J&K, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Assam.  “Keeping in view the need to augment Medical Sciences in Bihar, I propose to set up another AIIMS like institution in these States,” said Jaitley during his Budget 2015 speech.

So a total of 10 medical institutes to improve medical services in the country (instead of facilitating the dilapidating government hospitals).

And then he announced two IIMs in J&K and Andhra Pradesh. One IIT in Karnataka.

Great moves. Laudable moves.

Once we get past getting land for these colleges, establishing fully-functional campuses, attracting quality faculty (and retaining them) and top recruiters on campus for placements, it’s going to be great! It's merely about clearly the basic hurdles!

 

Entrepreneurship

Ok, no jokes here. The steps taken towards empowering the youth through entrepreneurship and start-ups are truly commendable. The FM allocated Rs 150 crore for Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) – an Innovation Promotion Platform – to foster the culture of innovation, R&D and scientific research in India.

The government also allocated Rs 1000 crore for establishing Self-Employment and Talent Utilisation (SETU) – a Techno-Financial, Incubation and Facilitation Programme – which will support all aspects of start-up businesses, and other self-employment activities, particularly in technology-driven areas.

The current government acknowledges the entrepreneurial zeal of the youth. Obtaining seed funds will be much easier for start-ups now.

We loved it when Jaitley said, “We also have to encourage and grow the spirit of entrepreneurship in India and support new start-ups.  Thus can our youth turn from being job-seekers, to job-creators.”

However, we really want to know, what happened to the Start Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme and Rs 10,000 crore promised for entrepreneurs in 2014? Who received these funds? Did any start-up benefit from it?

Where’s the accountability?

No answers there (Not on Google, at least).

 

Misses

No thought has been spared for the university system of education this year too. While the government did not go after ushering populist ideas, it has done nothing to improve the current crop of established educational system, including the IITs, IIMs and AIIMs.

The existing institutes have been crying foul over the lack of quality professors, proper campus and infrastructure. But all views are falling on deaf years.

 

Overall, the budget did not spring any bad surprises. Move to empower young entrepreneurs are appreciated. But someone from the ministry really needs to sit back and take account of all that’s missing from the current education system.

And yes, we want accountability.  Citizens need to be updated on previously announced scehemes.