India is a young nation with ~580 million population in the age bracket of 5-24. Union Budget 2022 has introduced schemes to support the education sector. Did you know that India is 2nd only to the US in the e-learning arena? The budget has introduced multiple initiatives to strengthen the digital learning space in India. Let’s understand how this year’s budget will influence the education sector.

1. Allocation of funds

The funds allocated this year are ~INR 1,04,278 crore for the financial year 2022-23, which is 11.86% higher than the last year. The funds allocated for school education are ~INR 63.4K crore, and for higher education, ~INR 40.8K crore. Furthermore, to recover from the learning loss caused by the pandemic, Union Budget 2022 has specially allocated ~INR 37.3K crore towards Samagra Shiksha. This program aims to aid in restarting schools to be well equipped with COVID norms, invest in training the teachers, and finance other education-related activities.

2. Work opportunities

Union Budget 2022 aims to create 60 lakh jobs. Moreover, the work opportunities in Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) will considerably increase to meet the global demand. To meet this target, it is imperative that youth continuously focuses on skilling, upskilling and reskilling programs in these domains.

3. Vocation courses

The education sector will witness a rise in virtual labs, which will impart vocational training. The rationale behind setting up these labs is to encourage students to develop various skills such as problem-solving, creative thinking and critical thinking. Hence, the Union Budget 2022 will attempt to set up ~750 virtual labs to develop Math and Science skills and 75 e-labs for skill development.

4. Digital teachers

Digital teachers will be responsible for developing engaging content  delivered via digital channels in several regional languages. Although the education sector is getting back on its feet by embracing the new normal, there is a need to develop a robust teaching mechanism to recover from the learning loss due to COVID. Union Budget 2022 has recognized this and hence will focus on skilling and training the teacher to recover from pandemic related learning loss. This will ensure that the teachers are trained to impart knowledge by welcoming the hybrid learning model.

5. Wider reach and uniformity

With Union Budget 2022 announcing Digital University, the education sector is set to witness a major transition from traditional classroom learning to online learning. Furthermore, 1 Class 1 Channel will take education to a new level by allowing students to consume learning content from the comfort of the home, even in the absence of internet connectivity and learning devices. Also, since education will be imparted in regional languages, it will effectively reduce the demographic and digital divide in the Indian education sector.

It’s a new dawn for the education sector with the announcement of the Union Budget 2022. The increase in funds allotted to education space clearly signals that the new development and schemes announced in the Budget will be effectively incorporated. This is a new hope, not just for the education sector but other sectors that depend on the success of this sector too. We hope this explains how Union Budget 2022 will impact the education sector. All the best.