Anshul Meena
Finance minister P Chidambaram lived up to his word on February 28 when he announced the Union Budget. The education sector received a 17% jump with an allocation R65,867 crore (which is around 5-6% of GDP) for the 2013-14 fiscal.
It was heartening to note that the government has realised the importance of improving the education sector. If we look at the current scenario, it is only the knowledge-based countries who are among the leading economies globally. We need innovation centres and also need to focus on the development of science and technology. A small country like Israel invests 10% of its GDP on education!
The importance of education is not only for the economic and industrial advancement but also for the well-being of the society as a whole. As Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and RTE are firmly in place, and we need sufficient funds to achieve their objectives. It is good to see that the Budget has given due importance to the primary education. But, at the same time, we need money to invest in research institutes.
Lastly, there is a need for a PPP model in the education sector not just to execute the delivery but also deploy modern technology infrastructure across schools.
The author studies at FMS Delhi. This entry is part of the FE Mastermind contest. Views are personal