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Investing in education

With a government that seems genuinely concerned about educating & skilling our youngsters and has been showing signs of an action-oriented approach, we expect a Budget that will provide the much-needed fillip to the education sector

In India, the Budget sessions have always been associated with a lot of expectations and fervour. Unlike many other countries, Budget in India is not just a financial statement?but a reinforcement of the policies and allocations that underline the relevance and importance of these policies. Hence, the first Budget of this new sarkar is eagerly awaited.

Skilling and education have been key points of discussion by the new government. The HRD minister has gone on record to say that the spend on education should be at least 6% of GDP?given the huge gap in supply and ever-rising demand. Accounting for a moderate 5% growth in GDP, this means almost a 65-70% increase over the budget allocated last year! If we look at this Budget as the first of a series of Budgets to come, then we need to have a good mix of quick results and a long-term planning.

Research

Research needs to be given a big push. This applies to both fundamental research and applied research. Clear allocation to research?in the intended areas/disciplines where India wants to be seen as a leader?should begin with this Budget. A thought is to consider a model that countries like New Zealand follow?identify key impact areas and disciplines that will bring about them to happen and create centres of excellence around them. Many a times, this impact could be caused by more than one discipline or an overlay of many disciplines. The impact areas need to be manifested through the centres of excellence with clear objectives and goals. Funding to universities that work towards the identified impact areas and disciplines will be financed through the centres of excellence. Collaborations and knowledge partnerships with other globally-renowned universities will be through the centres of excellence.

Faculty

Equally important is the issue of shortage of faculty. An initiative for increasing the quantity and quality of faculty should be launched. The Budget should include measures?perhaps a separate varsity specialising on faculty development?to train and engage the teaching community. With the changes in curriculum, free access to information, ubiquitous reach of technology, globalisation of learning outcomes, unless we strengthen the faculty, we are not strengthening the base for deeper reforms in education. This should include allocation for infrastructure, trainers for training, augmented remuneration and continuous learning. Efforts should also be made to upgrade and modernise existing teacher training institutes across primary, secondary, tertiary and vocational education.

Curriculum

School education needs a comprehensive and a zero-based review of the curriculum. While CBSE has been continuously upgraded, the need of the hour is a forward-looking, future-ready curriculum. A detailed effort in understanding the rapid changes in education and research requirement?which will take into account the current teaching?learning environment and outcomes will be a game-changer in school education in India. This becomes all the more critical?given the fact that majority of human resources for the globe is going to come from India in the next decade. It also underlines the need to have a globally accommodating and relevant curriculum at our schools.

SSA, RMSA & RUSA

In the short to medium term, the three major schemes?Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for primary, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) for secondary, and Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) for tertiary education?should be strengthened and streamlined. While SSA should focus on access, availability and quality; RMSA should look at means of extending the schooling years to increase gross enrolment ratio (GER). Vocational education should be a key part of RMSA and should include alternate pedagogy such as open school and technology-based models. RUSA should focus on research, employable skills and enabling life skills?including a focused programme to make Indian university education globally competitive.

The schemes should also have sufficient monitoring and innovation component built in. In the past years, utilisation of funds allocated has been unsatisfactory (for example, the government spent just 70% of the funds allocated for SSA and Right to Education in 2010-11, according to the Planning, Allocations and Expenditures, Institutions: Studies in Accountability?PAISA?report, by the Accountability Initiative) and the trend is not promising. Even where utilised, benefits are lost to the end-consumer due to the ?trickle down? effect. A strong monitoring mechanism?which also allows for last-mile innovation and independence?should be in place for each of these schemes.

Skill development

Skill development should be given a special status?given the proximity to employment and employability. Industries through Sector Skill Councils (SSC) should arrive at a consolidated view of the skill gap and talent availability. Each SSC should be given autonomy to define its sector?s occupational standards and also allow for inter-sector mobility. The national registry for skills and employment will help in having a holistic view of training requirement. This will help organisations like the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to focus its attention in developing training providers in the relevant areas.

PPP

It is time also for the government to start thinking of meaningfully involving the private sector in this mammoth task. Successful PPP models should be made available in those areas where private participation does not happen voluntarily. In higher education, a formula for allowing private sector to get nominal returns should be considered. This will boost the quantum of investment from the private sector. Mandatory CSR credit should be allowed to bridge the viability gap in large and specific investments in education.

With a government that is genuinely concerned about educating and skilling our youngsters and has been showing clear signs of an action-oriented approach, we can expect a Budget that is going to bring in the much-needed fillip to this sector.

The author is Partner & Head of Education Sector for KPMG in India. These are his personal views.

You can reach him at narayananr@kpmg.com

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First published on: 23-06-2014 at 02:29 IST
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