Union Budget ignores public education, betrays workers: V. Sivankutty

Minister for General Education and Labor V. Sivankutty on Sunday slammed the Union Budget and alleged that it completely ignores the public education sector and betrays the interests of ordinary workers while favoring large corporate entities.

Speaking at a press conference here, the Minister said that it was unfortunate that the Budget did not prioritize public school education, which plays a decisive role in shaping the future of the country. He pointed out that the budget has no meaningful focus on infrastructure development or quality improvement in schools from Class I to XII.

According to him, most of the education-related announcements in the Budget were limited to higher education and skill development, while school education was neglected. Additionally, there was no clear plan to improve physical conditions or close the digital divide in hundreds of thousands of public schools across the country. He added that existing schemes like Samagra Shiksha are getting only nominal increments and these are inadequate.

Citing various State Budget announcements such as insurance schemes for school children and expansion of universal education up to degree level, Mr. Sivankutty called for the Center to learn from Kerala’s approach.

Describing the budget as “anti-worker and pro-corporate”, he alleged that the Center had completely sidelined the working class even as it continued to promote the slogan of Viksit Bharat.

He claimed that the budget announced large-scale tax concessions and ‘safe harbour’ benefits for corporate entities, but made no provision for wage increases or social security for ordinary workers.

The Minister also warned that manpower procurement services under contract work would increase instability in the labor sector and erode the concept of permanent employment. This may ultimately encourage contractual engagement as part of an institutionally focused agenda.

Additionally, programs like ‘Corporate Mitra’ in the MSME sector do not address the real problems faced by employees. He pointed out that unemployment cannot be solved with short-term courses without ensuring fair wages and security.