Hostels a Plus, But Overall Vision And Funds ‘Inadequate’

Hyderabad: The Union Budget’s proposal to build girls’ hostels in every district has been welcomed but experts have expressed concern over what they say is a lack of clear vision to achieve Viksit Bharat 2047 targets.

Telangana Higher Education Council chairman Prof. V Balakista Reddy saw the proposal to build girls’ hostels as a positive step as the country was focusing on girls’ education. He also welcomed the proposal to set up infrastructure facilities in four astrophysics institutes.

Telangana Education Commission member Prof. PL Vishweshwar Rao said the Budget outlines measures to make foreign education cheaper but does not touch on strengthening higher education.

Prof. The target is to increase access to higher education from the current 28 percent to 50 percent by 2035, which will require a 22 percent increase in allocations over the next 10 years, Rao said. He asked how this goal could be achieved without a significant increase in higher education funding.

Prof. stated that the proposal to establish a girls’ dormitory in every district was welcomed. However, this will be insufficient considering the population density and geographical spread of the districts, Rao said. He also noted that what he called a broader vision for both school and higher education and investment allocation are crucial.

Education expert Satish Pendyala said the main objective of the Budget is to link education with employment and industry, especially through the five proposed university townships close to major industrial and logistics corridors.

According to Chava Ravi, state president of the United Federation of Teachers, the “slight increase” in allocations to the education sector will not be enough to meet the objectives of the National Education Policy and universalization of education. He noted that considering the rising prices, funds allocated for the midday meal program and Samagra Shiksha were insufficient. The federation said the allocations were not close to the National Education Commission’s recommendation to allocate 10 percent of the budget and 6 percent of GDP to education.