India raises its education budget by 20% | Future planet

Schools that have been closed for the past two years due to the Govt-19 epidemic are preparing to reopen in India, the government said The budget has increased The critical education program, Samakra Shiksha, is projected to grow by 373.83 billion rupees (4.38 billion euros) in 2022-2023, 20% more than 310.5 billion (3.63 billion euros) in 2021-2022. This money will be important for children to go back to school, train teachers, and support them because most of the states’ remaining resource resources are devoted to salaries and administrative expenses. Meanwhile, the global budget has increased by an average of 15.6% in 2022-2023 compared to 2021-2022.

Govit-19 and Closing of schools In response to infection, they face a variety of problems Loss of learningRequired Ensure compliance with safety standards Adaptation to the mixed teaching model combining face-to-face and telematics classes against viruses by reopening centers, and Digital space Between families.

To overcome these challenges, funding will be crucial. Samakra Siksha, India’s largest federal government-funded program (CSS) focuses on vocational training that can help states solve some of these problems. However, since it was launched in 2018-2019, the approved budgets for its implementation have been far lower than requested by the Department of School Education and Literacy. Ministerial Committees.

Despite the budget increase for 2022-2023, the central funding allocated for Samakra Siksha is 64.5% less than what the Ministry of Education requested in 2021-2022 last year. The amount you ordered for 2022-2023 is not yet known.

In addition, over the past two years, the total budget of the project – added to the state allocation. It has been reduced In many states. “Forced closures due to COVID-19 have caused a major setback for children in India,” said Manisha Priyam, a professor at the National Institute of Education Planning. “Through initiatives such as the Samakra Siksha to offset learning loss, it is important to focus on language and math learning and teacher training and increase federal spending on return-to-school programs.”

Funding for quality education

As far as public funding for school education in India is concerned, the bulk of the money comes from the union’s state budget, but the bulk is used for fixed obligations such as salaries and administrative expenses. For this reason, programs offered by the central government give states the opportunity to prioritize other things, such as the quality of education and the implementation of national objectives. National Education Regulation.

With 50-90% in all states, Samakra Shiksha is the largest contributor to major training related programs in India. But not all territorial boundaries depend on them equally. For example, while Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra are relatively less dependent, in 2017-2018 Bihar and Rajasthan funded more than half of their economic needs with them.

There are Two components Important of the Samakra Siksha are: “Quality Interventions” and “Rights established by the Right to Education Act (RTE Rights)”. Within the first framework, it is planned to fund the continuous training of teachers; Guarantees the use of Covit-19-related safety protocols in classes; Information technology and digital initiatives; Strengthening education through district administrative block officers and relevant school committees; And collective subsidies, of which at least 10% must be used for water, sanitation and hygiene.

RTE rights can fund the distribution of textbooks and uniforms, the relocation of 25% of seats reserved for children from disadvantaged communities to private centers, community mobilization and specialized training for outsiders. School children.

After the teachers’ salary, these two elements are given priority in the Samakra Siksha scheme. In 2021-2022, quality-related interventions accounted for 24% of the budget and RTE rights for 16%.

Facing the Challenges of Govt-19

One of the main concerns of parents when sending their children to school is safety. According to Guidelines To reopen the schools the Ministry of the Interior and the administrations of the centers should provide facilities for frequent cleaning of the infrastructure and operational taps and hand washing, as well as separate toilets for girls and boys. In addition, schools are expected to distribute masks, keep thermometers and check students’ health regularly.

For the 2021-2022 academic year Funds allocated Encourage teachers to act as counselors and train for digital or telemetric teaching by providing students with basic information about Govt-19 for online teacher orientation programs on school safety.

Also, all states Have received funding Samakra Siksha for safety and security measures for students at the school, at a rate of 2,000 rupees (about 23 euros) per center. Many have dedicated the grant to cleaning up physical infrastructure, maintaining toilets, providing masks or purchasing infrared thermometers.

With the economic resources of Samakra Siksha, the centers manufacture and distribute research materials such as worksheets, notebooks and function-based teaching materials for preschool and elementary schools.

According to Government Report for the Fiscal Year 2021, Have sought reinforcement classes in primary schools. These projects They funded As part of initiatives under quality-related interventions – pre-school support, basic literacy and numeracy and learning development programs – all within the Samakra Shiksha program.

Teachers need more training for mixed teaching, as well as for children to meet their socio-emotional needs and fill learning gaps when they return to the classroom. Their continuing education is mainly funded as part of the interventions and allocations related to the quality of the Samakra Siksha. The funds could also be used to strengthen state councils for research and teacher training, district agencies for education and training, and the Digital Infrastructure (DIKSHA) platform for knowledge sharing.

In addition, training to incorporate new teachings considered in the National Initiative for the Complete Advancement of Directors and Professors of Teacher Training Centers (NishtaFor its summary in English) is also funded by the Samakra Shiksha.

Samakra Siksha priorities in different states

The priority given to interventions related to the reopening of schools varies greatly from state to state. For example, in 2021-2022, some rich states such as Himachal Pradesh (41%) and Maharashtra (39%) allocated a relatively large portion of their budgets for quality-related interventions for the Samakra Siksha project. In contrast, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, 23% and 15%, respectively, set aside the lowest percentages.

In August 2021, the government approved the extension of the Samakra Siksha scheme for another five years from 2021-2022. However, the 300,000 million rupees (,500 3,500 million) allocated for 2021-2022 is only 52% of the Ministry of Education’s estimates. This financial regulation also reflected a reduction in the amount of funding approved by the Union government for most states by 2022 compared to 2020.

Lack of adequate funding remains a structural problem, and most schools run out of funding for 2021-2022 by December 2021. Of conversations With teachers and leading officials from Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.

Given the nature of problems such as learning disabilities and inequality faced by children in India, the education sector needs long-term planning and sustainable public funding. Therefore, the budget increase for the Simagra Shiksha project, as well as the overall budget, should continue in the coming years, especially as analysts show, which is below the ministry’s forecasts.

In addition, given in most states of the Union Most of the funding for public education Coming from the central and state budgets, this funding increase should be offset by higher allocations within the states in the coming months and appropriate interventions prioritized by the regional-specific Samagra Shiksha plans for 2022-2023.

“The closure of epidemiology and study centers as a result of the health crisis has greatly affected the mental well-being of students. The role of teachers is no longer limited to trainers, but they are expected to play the role of mentors and advisers, “said Prodiva Gundu, head of the New York-based Center for Government and Budget Responsibility’s Department of Social Affairs. Delhi. The allocation to the states must be approved. “

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