The Indian education budget is an essential factor in shaping the country’s future, directly affecting quality and accessibility of learning. An insight into the government’s evolving priorities and commitment to education reforms is offered by comparing the education budget 2023 vs 2024.
2023 Education Budget Overview
As presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the main highlights of the Education Budget for 2023 are as follows:
- Increased budget for school education: More than 500 crore has been increased in this area.
- Higher Education Funding Reduction : Funding for higher education was reduced by over Rs 9600 crore compared to the previous fiscal year’s Revised Estimate (RE).
- National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents: An announcement of the National Digital Library initiative, following on from a similar announcement in 2018.
- Funding for UGC reduced: From the previous year’s RE of INR 6409 billion, the funding of the UGC has been significantly reduced to INR 2500 billion, a decrease of 60%.
- Overall budget allocation: In the last year, when compared to 2022-23, the Ministry of Education had a marginal 8 per cent increase in its allocations from 1.12 lakh crore to 1.04 Lakh Crore.
- Allocations for Departments: The Department of School Education was allocated Rs 68,804 crore, and the Department of Higher Education received Rs 44,094 crore.
These changes reflect the evolution of government priorities in education, with a significant increase in school funding but an important reduction in higher education and University Grants Committee financing.
2024 Education Budget Overview
The key highlights of the Education Budget 2024 are :
- Increase in Female Enrollment: Female enrollment in higher education has increased by 28%, with enrollment in STEM courses at 43%, one of the highest in the world.
- Expansion of medical colleges: A Committee will be set up to examine issues and make recommendations, with a view to establishing more medical colleges that use current hospital infrastructure.
- Quality Teaching and Skill Development: PM SHRI schools deliver quality teaching and nurture holistic individuals. Skill India trained 1.8 million young people, upskilled and retrained 54 million young people, and set up 3,000 new ITIs.
- Establishment of higher education institutions: Among other things, 7 IITs, 16 IIITs, 7 IMIs, 16 AIIMS and 390 universities were set up.
These initiatives are designed to improve the skills of today’s youth, boost learning opportunities in particular for students from Tier 2 and 3 cities as well as promote gender equality within science, technology, engineering and math fields.
Education Budget 2023 vs 2024 Comparative Analysis
- School and higher education budget allocation:
2023: More than 500 crores of additional funding for school education and more than 9600 crores in reductions to university funds.
2024: an effort to expand higher education institutions such as 7 IITs, 16 IIITs, 7 ISTs, 16 AIIMS and 390 universities in order to strengthen the infrastructure of higher education.
- Initiatives in the area of digital and skills development:
2023: National digital library for children and adolescents is introduced.
2024: Emphasis on quality education and skill development through PMSHRI schools, Skill India’s training of 1.8 billion young people as well as the establishment of 3,000 new ITIs.
- Funding for UGC:
2023: A significant reduction in the university grants commission’s budget to INR 2500 cr.
2024: There is no specific reference to the funding of the University Grants Commission, but a significant increase in the number of higher education institutions suggests a reallocation of resources.
- The focus is on gender equality and medical education:
2024: Specific reference to an increase of women’s participation in higher education by 28% and the establishment of more health colleges, which was not mentioned in the 2023 Budget.
Benefits of Education Budget 2023 and 2024
2023: Improved basic education infrastructure and accessibility was be achieved by increasing funding for schools. Learning resources for children and adolescents were enhanced by the National Digital Library initiative.
2024: More opportunities for training and addressing the shortage of health professionals are likely to arise as a result of expanding university and medical colleges. To prepare a skilled workforce that contributes to economic growth, the focus is on developing skills and quality teaching.
Flaws in Education Budget 2023 and 2024
2023: Research and Development, quality of higher education and funding support to students and institutions could be adversely affected by a reduction in Higher Education Funding as well as substantial cuts for the University Grants Committee.
2024: Although the budget is focused on higher education and skills development, it does not explicitly address last year’s funding cuts which could leave unresolved financing problems and support for existing institutions.
Overall, the shift towards higher education, skills development, and gender equality in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics shows a shift in priorities from the education budget of 2023 to 2024. However, challenges to achieving these objectives could arise from the reduction in higher education funding in 2023 and the lack of clarity on the funding of the University Grants Committee in 2024.
Conclusion
A strategic shift in education priorities has been shown by comparing the Indian Education Budget education budget 2023 vs 2024. The two budgets differ in their approach to the various aspects of the education ecosystem, although they contribute towards democratising learning.
These budgets play an important role in shaping the future of education in India, as the country continues to move towards excellence in education.