The year 2020 saw two historic events in Indian school education. The first was the release of a National Education Policy (NEP) after 34 years. The second was the large scale closure of schools due to COVID-19, affecting 270 million children. Thus, there were expectations that the Budget 2021 would provide financing on both fronts, to make the NEP an implementable plan, and additional resources to prevent dropouts and support safe reopening of schools.
However, Budget 2021-22 disappoints on both fronts.
There are a few positives in the Budget. This includes the development of professional standards for teachers, standardisation of sign language across India and proposal of a holistic progress card for students.
However, given the unprecedented nature of the crisis, the Budget has three major omissions.
One: Lack of additional allocations for re-enrolment of out of school children.
A survey by Oxfam India shows that 80 percent children in government schools could not access education during this time. Due to the prolonged gap in access to education, it is feared that a third of the students might not return to school. Initial media reports show that schools are experiencing low attendance rates (40-50 percent) after reopening.
However, the Budget has failed to allocate additional resources to support re-enrolment drives and accelerated learning programmes for out-of-school children. The World Bank estimates that the learning loss will cost India $400 billion in reduced future earnings, wherein girls and children from Dalit, Adivasi and Muslim communities are likely to be disproportionately affected.
It is disappointing that at this crucial juncture, the allocation for the National Education Mission in 2021-22 is lower than the actual amount spent in 2019-20.
Two: Lack of focused resources for safe reopening of schools.
Given that 40 percent schools were used as quarantine centres and only 54 percent schools have adequate WASH facilities, parents are apprehensive about sending children to school after they reopen. A pre-budget survey by the Fight Inequality Alliance India found that 97 percent people want additional funding for adequate sanitation and hand-washing facilities in schools to ensure safe reopening.
However, the Budget fails to provide additional resources for strengthening WASH facilities in schools, which is likely to negatively impact attendance of students, further increasing the learning loss, especially for the most marginalised children.
Three: Lack of clear financial outlay for implementing NEP.
The Budget proposes strengthening 15,000 schools to include all components of the NEP. This constitutes a mere 1 percent of the total government and government-aided schools in India. Further, no additional allocations have been made to fill the 17 percent teacher vacancies, without which the NEP implementation is impossible. The Budget also fails to meet the NEP’s recommendation of allocating 6 percent of GDP on education, without providing any indication of when this target would be met.
As we begin our gradual recovery from the pandemic, it is unfortunate the Budget has chosen to prioritise incentives and subsidies for other sectors over the education of India’s children.
Ankit Vyas is Programme Coordinator, Inequality and Education at Oxfam India. Views are personal.
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