Budget must focus on education
The education sector has high expectations for radical reforms from the first full-year budget of the Modi government. The priority should be to bring quality school education within the reach of everyone and expand on the educational opportunities available to the poor and underprivileged sections. The need of the hour is affordable and accessible loans for higher education and total support for primary education so that more and more capable children from low-income families can study in good quality schools. The lack of access to quality school education that plagues poor but meritorious students is a grave concern. Currently, only tuition fee paid to schools is tax-deductible. The deduction should also include the amount paid towards school charges for transport, hostel, library, etc. Expenses for certain types of preparatory courses may also be brought under this scheme. This will make quality education of children more affordable to middle- and lower-middle-class parents. Female illiteracy, particularly in rural areas, is a big challenge facing India’s education planners. The government needs to set up a mechanism to fund the tuition fee for girls through formal finance. Providing education to mothers of poor children through afternoon and evening schools and door-to-door support is important. This area lies completely neglected. District education offices need to be given grants to organise mothers’ education through peer teaching and trained guides. The government needs to enhance the value of teaching by investing more in training and skill-enhancement courses for teachers and create a separate fund to enable the adoption of digital technology in schools throughout the country.
Samik Ghosh
Principal, Scindia School, Gwalior
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