Govt push to digital education through new university, 200 TV channels for Classes 1-12

A digital university to be built on the 'hub-and-spoke' model and expansion of 'one class-one TV channel' programme through 200 channels for providing supplementary education in regional languages in schools are among the major initiatives in the education sector proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech on Tuesday.

The overall financial allocation for the education sector for 2022-23 has increased to Rs 1.04 lakh crore from Rs 93,224 crore (Budget estimate) in 2021-22 as the minister laid emphasis on digital modes of education to reverse learning losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The revised estimate for 2021-22 is Rs 88,001 crore. The minister said that five institutions will be recognised as Centres of Excellence on urban planning and the AICTE will take the lead on developing curriculum for them, while world-class foreign universities will be allowed in Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT), City to offer programmes in financial management, science, tech, etc free from domestic regulations.

Presenting the budget for 2022-23, the finance minister said that due to the pandemic-induced closure of schools, children, particularly in the rural areas and those from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribe, and other weaker sections, have lost almost two years of formal education.

''Mostly, these are children in government schools. We recognise the need to impart supplementary teaching and to build a resilient mechanism for education delivery. ''For this purpose, 'one class-one TV channel' programme of PM eVIDYA will be expanded from 12 to 200 TV channels. This will enable all states to provide supplementary education in regional languages for classes 1-12,'' she said.

The 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 doorsteps. This will be made available in different Indian languages and ICT formats, she said. ''The university will be built on a networked hub-spoke model, with the hub building cutting-edge ICT expertise. The best public universities and institutions in the country will collaborate as a network of hub-spokes,'' added Sitharaman.

The finance minister proposed that in vocational courses, to promote crucial critical thinking skills and give space for creativity, 750 virtual labs in science and mathematics, and 75 skilling e-labs for a simulated learning environment, will be set up in 2022-23.

''High-quality e-content in all spoken languages will be developed for delivery via internet, mobile phones, TV and radio through Digital Teachers. A competitive mechanism for the development of quality e-content by the teachers will be set up to empower and equip them with digital tools of teaching and facilitate better learning outcomes,'' she said.

Sitharaman announced that for developing India-specific knowledge in urban planning and design, and to deliver certified training in these areas, up to five existing academic institutions in different regions will be designated as centres of excellence. ''These centres will be provided endowment funds of Rs 250 crore each. In addition, AICTE will take the lead to improve syllabi, quality and access of urban planning courses in other institutions.

''World-class foreign universities and institutions will be allowed in the Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT), City to offer courses in Financial Management, FinTech, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics free from domestic regulations, except those by IFSCA to facilitate the availability of high-end human resources for financial services and technology,'' she said.

School education outlay for 2022-23 is at Rs 63,449.37 crore, nearly Rs 9,000 crore more than 2021-22. The country’s biggest school education scheme, the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, has been allocated Rs 37,383.36, an increase of more than Rs 6,000 crores from Budget 2021.

Funds for the Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas have increased to Rs 7,650 crore and 4,115 crore respectively.

The Centre has allocated Rs 40,828 crore to the Education Ministry’s Higher Education Department for the next financial year, which is an increase of 6.6 percent over the current financial year. In 2021-22, the budget for the Higher education department was Rs 38,350.65 crore and it further dropped to Rs 36,031.57 in the revised estimates.