Union Budget 2015 -16, A Lifeline for Indian Higher Education System?





Union Budget 2015 -16, A Lifeline for Indian Higher Education System? Date: Tuesday , April 28, 2015 Regardless of the occupation, the expectations are always on high for everyone in the country when Union Finance Minister walks with his red box to the parliament to present the Union Budget. This year, while significant announcements have been made for various sectors, the higher education sector has gained a lot. In the union budget, it has been announced that there will be an increase of 22 percent in the budget towards higher education. The plan allocation of Rs. 158555.26 crore in 2015-16 is higher than Rs.13000 crore plan allocation pegged in the revised budget for 2014-15. The government has planned to establish the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in six locations, which are Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Assam. A new IIT will be started in Karnataka while the India Institute of Mines in Dhanbad is going to be upgraded to an IIT. The government plans on starts a PG Institute of Horticulture in Amristar and a University of Disability Studies in Kerala. Two new IIMs will be built in Jammu and Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh and at the same time, a Centre of film production, animation and gaming is going to be constructed in Arunachal Pradesh. Aakash Chaudhry, Director, Aakash Educational Services Pvt, Ltd says, \"The Proposal to open 5 new AIIMS 2 IITs and 2 IIMs is a good move by the government which will benefit the youth. By granting the IIT status to ISM Dhanbad which is India\'s one of the oldest technical institute, the government has taken a positive step towards improving quality of education.\" The government also took a step further by setting up a financial aid scheme for poor students who wish to have a career in IT and are investing Rs. 1500 crore in the National Skills Mission for skill development and Entrepreneurship. Responding to the new Bduget, Prof Rupa Manjari Ray who is an Assistant Professor in Economics at MDI Gurgaon says, \"The budget proposals for 2015-16 are growth and investment oriented with a target towards skilled India. It envisions building India through encouragement to the young entrepreneurs and youth. Greater allocation towards education sector and skill creation can be viewed as a foundation stone of long-term vision of skilled India, particularly keeping in mind the current age profile of the population. The focus on minority youth in the budget is a welcome step.\" In the surveys done by the Associated Chamber of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM) and the National Employability Survey, only 10 percent of MBA graduates and 18 percent of engineering graduates are employable. The reasons for the poor state of affairs have been outdated learning, taught primarily theory and lack of exposure to what the industry needs. While the students from other graduate programs are also facing the same problem, the government has decided to put a trampoline below the students to save them from the fall to being permanently unemployed by providing funds to the National Skills Mission to provide necessary skill development programs to the youth of our nation. Meghna Ghai Puri who is the President at Whistling Woods International says, \"The education industry is looking forward to the support towards skill development and the allocations to National Skills Mission for skill development and entrepreneurship is a welcome move.\" No Focus Yet on Quality of Faculty and Research The government has taken a significant number of positive steps, which will benefit the youth of India. However, they have failed to talk about the poor quality of teachers at these institutions and the remedial plans for training them. Puri cites, \"A major setback in the budget is lack of initiative for the teachers and teachers training, which is a crucial step that the government needs to think seriously about.\" While the government has decided to provide a significant size of funding towards skilling the youth, there was no consideration in exempting tax on non degree-education / vocational education and vocational training. Puri states, \"By levying service tax on such educational activities, the government is detrimental to the proliferation of up-skilling of the country.\" Apart from the quality of education, people from the world of academics and industry have been hoping to see more activities being taken up in the field of research. The research activities in the past decade have been increasing but the number has not been significant enough to show that the youth is talented in the same. Choudary mentions, \"More grants for research at government institute will allow the graduates to pursue career in the research field as well if they are not able to make in job market.\" The budget has been positive with respect to skilling the youth and providing more number of institutions of excellence. However, the government has failed to talk about the quality of faculty and research and what can be done to improve the same. People from the industry and academia mention that these points should be taken into the consideration in order to provide the youth more opportunities to learn, grow, and a have a brighter future.