Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gestures as she presents the Union Budget 2022-23 in the Lok Sabha, at Parliament, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022
Union Budget 2022: Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget 2022-23 on Tuesday, February 1, and this year, the budget focused on digital education and skilling programmes. At her budget speech, the minister announced setting up of digital university for world class education and expansion of 'one class one TV channel' programme under the PM e-Vidya scheme, among major announcements.
Sitharaman said, "A digital university will be established to provide access to students across the country for world class quality universal education with personalised learning experience at their doorstep. This will be made available in different Indian languages and ICT formats. The university will be built on a network hub and spoke model."
Union Budget 2022: Reactions From Education Sector
Rajesh Bhatia, Founder and CEO of Treehouse Education- "Given how online education has been mainstreamed during the pandemic, the idea of a digital university and over 200 channels covering multiple regional languages under the 'One class One TV Channel' scheme, seems timely."
Osborne Dsouza, Director & CEO ,Edufiq, EdTech- "The Union Budget 2022 for Education is a continuum for potential GDP growth over the next 25 years and it's a sign of relief that reflects good governance. Digital DESH, Digital University initiative, One-Class-One channel through PM eVidya for supplementary education in regional languages for rural development and finally with fibre optic connectivity for last mile digital reach in villages are indeed progressive initiatives."
Dr Mona Lisa Bal, Chairperson, KIIT International School- "Increase of 'One Class One TV Channel' from 12 to 200 TV Channels to provide supplementary education in regional languages for class 1-12 is a welcome move but it will not be enough. It is important that we adapt our education system, pedagogies, and assessments according to the changing times. Upskilling is the need of the hour. Thus, the launch of Digital DESH e-portal for skilling, upskilling and reskilling will be key to adapting to the shifting dynamics of our present. Setting up of virtual labs and skilling e-labs will be valuable in developing critical thinking amongst students. Access to high quality e-content can help enhance the quality of education received by students."
Ms. Shweta Sastri, Managing Director, Canadian International School, Bangalore- "The budget 2022 for the education sector rightly focuses on upskilling and digital learning. The announcement of one class one channel and expansion to 200 channels under e-vidya will enable the reach of online education to a vast body of students where online education is still not widespread. The push to regional education is welcome as this will once again enable people in the rural areas to access quality education in their languages."
Ms. Niru Agarwal, Trustee, Greenwood High International School, Bangalore- "With the challenges of the online learning arrangements, the government's decision to enhance digital learning with E VIDYA will be a boost to the education sector. There was a necessity to train and build skills among children as this would make them employable and this has been addressed by focus on ITI's which will undertake this task."
Mihir Gupta, CEO & Co-Founder, Teachmint- "Given the level of disruption the education ecosystem has seen over the past couple of years, it is safe to say that the Education Budget 2022 was one of the most eagerly awaited. And it is heartening to see that there is a significant provision for education in the budget and a strong focus on empowering teachers through digitization. From the expansion of PM E-Vidya to 200 channels to the setting up a digital university, the initiatives indicate that the government has put the spotlight on digitization to boost the penetration and access to education across Bharat."
Professor Tarun Jain, Associate Professor in Economics, IIM Ahmedabad- "The Finance Minister has mentioned supplementary teaching through additional TV channels (PM eVidya) to make up the education loss of the last two years. This is minuscule given the tremendous learning loss that our children have experienced. Significant investments in improving school quality are critical for ensuring that our demographic dividends are actually realised."
Prashant Jain, CEO, Oswaal Books- "One Class One TV Channel will expand the reach of education to the leisure of homes across the economical divide and centers of excellence will help focus on quality education than mere figures of literacy. These are all novel initiatives. But most of them will not see the light of the day for years to come. Presently the government needs to ensure that the existing budget allocated to the School and higher education is done efficiently to overcome the crucial learning loss."
Dr Atul Nischal, Founder - Director, International Council for School Leadership (ICSL)- "There are close to 1 crore school teachers in India who need to be supported with a minimum of 50 hours of quality professional development every year. Without the support of e-Learning it is impossible to achieve this scale. As a next step, the government should create provisions for not-for-profits, such as International Council for School Leadership, to play an active role in empowering and enabling teachers in India.”
Ratan Deep Singh, India CEO, SkillUp Online- "The Budget 2022-23 has an inclusive approach. We are pleased that the Government has recognized the importance of digital learning provided by the EdTech companies in India. The extension of the PM eVIDYA initiative 12 to 200 TV channels will give the segment the requisite boost. Further, the availability of regional language educational modules from Class 1 to 12 will enhance the literacy rates in India's hinterlands, over and above the metro cities."
Jyoti Arora, Principal, Mount Abu Public School - "As an educator, this budget is a sweet-sour budget. Hon'ble Finance Minister's mention about the shared concern of extended closure of physical learning spaces and learning gaps in the budget speech comforted the entire fraternity. Still, no mention of reopening schools left us disappointed. With the recognition of bringing back kids to the classroom and acknowledging the private education fraternity, the budget would have been a great motivation for the entire education industry."