Budget 2022 Expectations: 'Reduce educated unemployment, need public programme to develop employability skills'

The Union Budget 2022-23 announcements due on 1 February will be amid unprecedented circumstances. The online and offline mode adopted by educational institutions for almost a year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has put immense duress on schools, institutions and colleges as they are feeling the brunt of financial stress now.  

The Union Budget 2022-23 is likely to be presented on February 1. So, the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on 27th December 2021, invited ideas and suggestions for the Union Budget 2022-2023. 

Sharing his expectations on the Union Budget 2022 for the education sector, Dr. M. Viswanathaiah, Professor and Principal, IFIM College said: “In India, the education sector has yet to receive its due share of development priorities. Throughout the time of development planning, the sector has been assigned just a secondary priority and has been allotted abysmally provided public resource allocations.” 

He further added that the country must respond to current social needs and new educational difficulties to effect tangible changes in society and to significantly reduce the problem of educated unemployment. “The reduction of the educational disparity requires more attention, especially as the globalisation movement continues to mainstream the laggards,” Viswanathaiah added. 

“The social imperative of the hour is to respond positively to the country's current population divide. Although a considerable increase in the number of effective workers in the age category of 15 to 45 is a positive indicator, it poses a significant challenge for the next 20-25 years, which necessitates the implementation of a huge public programme to develop employability skills. Thus require a substantial budget allocation,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education's budget allocation in 2021 was reduced from Rs 99,321 crore in the budget stage to Rs 85,890 crore in the revised stage (down 14%). Higher education funding agencies are one of the plans to significantly reduce budget allocation during the revision phase (91% reduction), he added. 

“As the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 includes several reform proposals, including rationalization of higher education supervisors, funding for private sector research and the establishment of National Research Foundations, implementing them with sufficient budget allocation, should be prioritized,” he asserted. 

He concluded that this budget must support educational institutions in both the public and private sectors in their efforts to build the necessary infrastructure as well as fund the costs of extra training and other skill development programmes.