Budget 2017: Spend on education sector seen falling short

 Experts feel the Budget spend on education is woefully inadequate for a country which is aspiring to create a pool of skilled workforce to fuel economic growth. 2017-18 was billed as ‘no-nonsense’ by many, but its impact on the education sector is not yet clear. The government has allocated roughly Rs 80,000 crore for the sector, about 10 percent higher than last year. While the number may seem huge, one has to view it in proportion to the total expenditure. Compared to peers, India spends the least on education. Experts feel this is woefully inadequate for a country which is aspiring to create a pool of skilled workforce to fuel economic growth. The budget for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) was increased by Rs 1000 crore, and that for Rashtriya Madhayamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), teacher training and adult education has been increased by Rs 305 crore compared to the revised Budget estimate for FY17. The mid-day meals scheme, which continues to face problems and much criticism since inception, will get only Rs 300 crore more. 

“There has been shortage of funds, lack of quality control in schools and instances of vendors providing poor quality, sub-standard meals to kids. So, the entire implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has not come to fruition  as per the desired objectives of the government and the SSA allocation that has been increased by Rs 1,000 crore is clearly not enough to tackle these challenges.” As per the Right to Education (RTE) forum only 8 percent schools have been made RTE compliant since the act came 6 years back. How India stacks vs global averages Amongst the BRICS nations, despite a significant growth in gross domestic product (GDP) over the years, the share of GDP devoted to education remains low for China and India. India has decreased its spending on education from 4.4 percent of GDP in 1999 to around 3.71 percent as per this year's budget estimate, undermining the work done in getting more children into school, and its prospects for improving its poor quality of education.

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