Budget 2022: New digital university and skill courses to change the face of education, say experts

New Delhi: Today, February 1, 2022, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce the Budget 2022. FM Sitharaman emphasized on a number of issues in the education sector, including digital education, the establishment of a digital university, the creation of jobs, agricultural institutions, and the training of programmers. As a result, we've compiled a list of the most important education news for you.

FM Sitaraman, when presenting the budget for 2022, stated that a digital university will be established to provide students with access to world-class quality education that meets ISTE criteria.

She went on to say that 60 lakh jobs would be created.

During her speech, Sitharaman stated that the government's next goal is to create 60 lakh employment. "Prime Minister Gati Shakti will propel the economy forward, resulting in more jobs and opportunity for the youth."

"A great deal of emphasis is given to the infrastructure development in this year's budget, especially in the digital infrastructure vertical. In my opinion, this would help digital platforms, especially EdTech and fintech platforms to scale massively to the rural areas. Reliable access to quality education is a big challenge in these areas and the budget provides massive opportunities in that space. Apart from that, carrying out these efforts sustainability is another challenge which was addressed as well. In my opinion, initiatives like these pave way to a sustainable growth in the long term which ideally, should be our goal," said Imbesat Ahmad, Founder and CEO of Filo. 

"Right to Education was adopted by Government of India a long time ago. With Budget 2022, we see the government providing students with Right to Quality Education. We are particularly ecstatic to note that the Government seeks to take fibre-based internet connection to every village in India by 2023 and expand its ‘One Class, One Channel’ program, as it will enable under-served students in Bharat to access quality education; much like their privileged counterparts across India. Creation of quality vernacular educational content is an extremely resource intensive task, which has kept most EdTech players from serving students reliant on India’s public education system. We have been involved in this space for the last 6 years, and warmly welcome the government’s foray into this space, as providing quality educational content in local languages to these students is a job no single entity can manage. We hope to work alongside the government and announcements made today to usher an age where students across India are equipped to contribute to the India growth story, irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds," said Lehar Tawde- Co-Founder ConnectEd. 

“The budget 2022 for the education sector rightly focuses on upskilling and digital learning. The announcement of one class one channel and expansion to 200 channels under e-vidya will enable the reach of online education to a vast body of students where online education is still not widespread. The push to regional education is welcome as this will once again enable people in the rural areas to access quality education in their languages. Another welcome decision on digital university is that it will expand the reach of education to the masses as it will follow a hub and spoke model and emphasize the role of ICT in digital education. The focus on skill training by ITIs will also enable students to be employable in the future. The budget has addressed structural issues in the education landscape and has ensured that all children get access to education. The budget has also well-coincided with the opening of schools as it is important to reverse the learning loss among students. Education clearly is one of the most important investments a country can make in its people and their future. The government must act to meet the needs of an aspiring generation which is looking to the future with great hope. Overall, it has given a boost to the education sector that will result in the nation’s progress,” Shweta Sastri, managing director, Canadian International School, Bangalore.

Piyush Bhartiya, AdmitKard- Edtech for higher education abroad, said, “The budget has been very much in line with the latest trends and changing paradigm in the education system. We are glad that the government is promoting digital education in India. The budget mentioned the launch of a nationwide digital university, which might be the answer to the long prevailing gaps in the higher education system. What initially started as a result of the global lockdown, has now been acknowledged as the probable solution to the difficulty of accessing higher education in the country where 65% of the population resides in the rural region. Simultaneously, stressing on Higher education will reflect in the next generation's culture and quality of skill-set in the employment market." 

“Establishing a Digital university and over 200 channels covering multiple regional languages under the One class, one TV channel' program are two very innovative and path breaking initiatives which will enable students across the country to access quality education far and wide through the hub and spoke model. The development of quality e-content to empower and equip teachers with digital tools of teaching and facilitating better learning outcomes is a welcome measure to help children. With the challenges of the online learning arrangements, the government’s decision to  enhance digital learning with E VIDYA will be a boost to the education sector. There was a necessity to train and build skills among children as this would make them employable and this has been addressed by focus on ITI’s which will undertake this task. The digital gap has also proven to be a bane for the education sector in the context of the pandemic,” said Niru Agarwal, Trustee, Greenwood High International School. 

Piyush Nangru, Co-founder & COO, Sunstone Eduversity said, "The Education Budget 2022 is in alignment with NEP 2020. The Budget advanced the vision of digitization of education through digital university, regional e-content delivery and expansion of E-Vidya Program. It laid very clear foundations for an employment-centric education ecosystem through API-based digital skilling platform (DESH) for skilling, upskilling and reskilling the youth to make them career-ready. The Budget features on education leave a promising space to explore synergies and public-private alliances to accelerate the learning outcomes, make education accessible and bring in cutting-edge technologies in the ecosystem."

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