Budget 2021: Education

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a total expenditure estimate of Rs 93,224 crore for the education sector in 2021-22. This would include Rs 54,874 crore for the Department of School Education & Literacy along with Rs 38,350 crore for the Department of Higher Education.  

Other significant points to note in this sector are: 

Budgetary allocation for 2021-22 decreased for the Ministry of Education by 6.13 per cent in comparison to that of 2020-21, which was Rs 99,312 crore and later on revised to Rs 85,089 crore (revised estimate). 

Around 100 new Sainik schools would be set up in the country in association with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private players. 

Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned that a central university would be established in Leh.  

The Finance Minister also proposed to convert 15,000 schools to ‘exemplar schools’ in 2021-22.  

Besides, around nine cities will have a ‘higher education cluster’ each for better coordination among institutions. 

Higher Education Commission by merging education regulators through legislation was also proposed, which would be like an umbrella body with four verticals to see standard-setting, regulation, funding & accreditation.  

Around 15,000 schools would be strengthened quality-wise, which would further help other schools in achieving the goals of National Education Policy (NEP).  

National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) would be developed to set proper standards for school teachers.  

National Initiative for School Heads’ & Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISTHA) will train 56 lakh school teachers in 2021-22 digitally. 

Rs 3,000 crore would be allocated for apprenticeship initiatives and opportunities for graduates & diploma holders in Engineering. 

Central Assistance for Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for students from scheduled castes will be Rs 35,219 crore for the next six years (till 2025-26). 

Union Government will work on standardising Indian sign language across the country and develop a curriculum for the same. 

National Digital Educational Architecture (NDEAR) would be set up to support teaching & learning activities. 

In addition, CBSE board exam reforms would be introduced in a phased manner from 2022-23.  

Also, 750 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) will be set up in tribal areas.  

Finance Minister also talked about setting up regional institutes for virology. 

Last but not least, partnerships with the UAE & Japan would be undertaken to benchmark the skill levels of the workforce and skill transfer, respectively.