Impetus on Digital learning: Education Budget 2022-23

Vinod Kakumanu
March 2, 2022, 10:54 a.m.

The Centre has announced an enhanced financial allocation for education sector, with emphasis on several initiatives like, setting up of a digital university on a ‘hub-and-spoke’ model, and expansion of programme ‘one class – one channel’ through 200 channels.

As announced by the finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, the All Indian Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will develop the curriculum for the five institutions recognised as centres of excellence on urban planning. Leading foreign universities will be permitted to offer programmes in science, technology, engineering, math, financial management, and fintech, free from domestic regulations.

The minister acknowledged the loss of almost two years of formal education due to pandemic-induced closure of schools and recognised the need to impart supplementary teaching and education delivery. To fulfil this, PM eVIDYA’s ‘one class – one channel’ programme will be increased from 12 to 200 TV channels, enabling all states to provide supplementary education for classes 1 to 12, in regional languages.

As per Sitharaman, the main purpose of the proposed digital university will be to provide personalized learning experience and international standard quality education to the students all over the country, at their doorstep. She further said the university will be on a networked hub-spoke model, with the premier educational institutions collaborating as a network of hub-spokes.

To promote critical thinking skills and creativity, the minister proposed 75 skilling labs for a simulated learning environment in 2022-23. Development of high-quality e-content in all spoken languages will be created and delivered through internet, mobile phones, television, and radio, by Digital Teachers.

With an increase of about Rs 9,000 crore from 2021-22, School education outlay for 2022-23 stands at Rs 63,449.37 crore. Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, our nation’s biggest education scheme, has been allocated Rs 37,383.36 crore, which is almost Rs 6,000 crore more than that of 2021-22.