Pa llavi Smart pallavi. smart@ mid- day. com BUDGET 2020 has provided the much needed impetus to higher education. Not only has R 99,300 crore been allocated to improve the quality of the sector, another R 3,000 has been set aside for skill development.
However, the school education sector seems to have been ignored.
The education sector has been receiving positive reactions from stakeholders with many applauding the move to focus on skill development, and also allowing opportunities of internships to fresh graduates in urban local offices.
u201c The idea of appointing fresh engineers in urban local bodies as apprentices is a welcome step. As an industry body, we have found that workable skill- sets are missing in most fresh graduates,u201d said Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, president, ASSOCHAM. Nealesh Dalal, managing trustee, JD Institute of Fashion Technology, said, u201c An intriguing aspect is the Budgetu2019s focus on skill development. Design Technology has longed for this kind of development, where we hope to see the youth, especially women, choose it as a career to sharpen their skills.u201d Allowing Foreign Direct Investments in education has also been received positively.
The idea is to make India a destination for education for students from Asia and Africa.
A new entrance test titled INDSAT is also expected to bring about diversity in classrooms.
Dr Akhil Shahani, managing director, Shahani Group, said, u201c Allowing foreign investments and external corporate borrowings by educational institutions will provide new funding sources.u201d Prof Dr Uday Salunkhe, director of WeSchool said, u201c We applaud the governmentu2019s focus on positioning India as a preferred destination for higher education for Asian and African countries. It will boost the quality of education.u201d R 3k cr Amount allocated to improve skill development policy While this yearu2019s budget mainly focused on higher education, we are hopeful that the yet- to- be announced policy will put the spotlight on primary education, too Shaheen Mistri, founder, Teach For India
