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Concerns Rise as Centre Slashes Education Budget in Interim Budget; UGC Funding Takes a Hit

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News on Education 1 ArdorComm Media Group Concerns Rise as Centre Slashes Education Budget in Interim Budget; UGC Funding Takes a Hit

The interim budget for education in India has sparked concerns as the government announced a 7% reduction in allocations, significantly impacting higher education funding. The University Grants Commission (UGC) faced the largest-ever cut of 61% in the last five years, raising apprehensions about the potential repercussions on universities and students. The budget for schools experienced a marginal dip, while central universities witnessed a 28% increase in grants. However, support for Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) was trimmed for the second consecutive year. The interim budget, presented on Thursday, allocated ₹1.2 lakh crore for education, reflecting a 7% decrease compared to the revised estimate for 2023-24. The UGC, responsible for higher education, bore the brunt of funding cuts, with its allocation reduced from ₹6,409 crore in 2023-24 to ₹2,500 crore in 2024-25. Despite the challenges, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized the government’s commitment to transforming education through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The focus is on empowering the youth during the “Amrit Kaal,” the 25 years leading to 2047. Experts raised concerns over the impact of the drastic UGC budget cut, fearing it might encourage universities to rely on self-financing courses, burdening students and increasing dependence on loans. UGC Chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar reassured a commitment to quality higher education and efficient fund utilization. While the budget for central universities saw a notable increase of 28%, support for IIMs faced a reduction for the second consecutive year, dropping from ₹608.23 crore in 2022-23 to ₹212.21 crore in 2024-25. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan hailed the budget as a stepping stone towards a “Viksit Bharat” (developed India) and highlighted the “Jai Anusandhan” scheme with a ₹1 lakh crore corpus fund as a significant announcement.

India Witnesses Remarkable Surge in Employable Youth, DEA Highlights Transformative Skill Development

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News on HR

In a significant development, the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) has reported a substantial increase in the percentage of employable youth in India. According to the January 2024 review of the economy, the employable percentage of final-year and pre-final-year students has risen from 33.9% in 2014 to an impressive 51.3% in 2024. This positive trend is attributed to the concerted efforts in mass skilling initiatives since 2014. The DEA’s report underscores the transformative journey in skill development witnessed in India over the last decade. The push for skilling has begun to yield dividends, creating ample scope to integrate skilling into the education curriculum and upskill a significant portion of the existing workforce with future-relevant skills. The report also highlights India’s notable progress in WorldSkills Competitions, moving from the 39th position in 2011 to the 11th position in 2022. This across-the-board advancement in skilling, coupled with the rising enrolment in higher education, reflects the expanding and increasingly employable young workforce in India. Noteworthy statistics from the report include India’s 50.2% of men and 41% of women with ten or more years of schooling in the 15-49 age group. The DEA sees an opportunity to leverage the education-skill continuum as a powerful tool for the Indian Miracle by focusing on the youth who can benefit from finishing schools for enhanced employability. Under the National Education Policy, 2020, the report emphasizes the special focus on vocational education and skill development. Integrating vocational education with general education and mainstreaming vocational education are identified as key reforms in the country’s education system. Despite these advancements, the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2022-23 reveals that 72.6% of workers aged 15-59 years did not receive any formal or informal vocational or technical training. To address this gap, the report highlights the recent launch of the Skill India Digital platform, serving as the digital public infrastructure for the skilling, education, employment, and entrepreneurship ecosystem. This initiative is seen as a significant step toward enhancing the ease of acquiring skills in India.

HP Launches ‘My School-My Pride’ Campaign to Transform Govt Education System

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News on Education 9 ArdorComm Media Group HP Launches ‘My School-My Pride’ Campaign to Transform Govt Education System

Himachal Pradesh has launched the ‘My School-My Pride’ campaign under the ‘Apna Vidyalay’ programme, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020. The initiative aims to actively involve individuals and organizations in adopting schools and contributing to various aspects of students’ growth. Stakeholders are encouraged to provide career counseling, offer remedial teaching, coach students for examinations, and engage in community support services. Monetary contributions are also sought for infrastructure development, event sponsorship, scholarships, and support for the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) programme. Under the ‘Giving back to society’ initiative, retired teachers, professionals, housewives, or any member of the society are urged to join the academic support team, providing teaching services without payment. This ensures continuous academic support during teacher shortages or leaves. Non-academic teams will contribute to sports, co-curricular activities, skill training, arts, and more. Dignitaries, Members of Parliament, MLAs, and government officers are encouraged to adopt government schools as patrons, suggesting improvements and staying informed about students’ progress. The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) will launch an online portal dedicated to the Apna Vidyalaya programme, ensuring transparency, accountability, and real-time monitoring of activities. The holistic approach includes the ‘systematic adolescent management and value addition dialogue’ (SAMVAD) component, educating school-going adolescents on moral values, drug awareness, nutrition, legal knowledge, and empowerment schemes. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed, “Our government is working with the motto of Vyavastha Parivartan, and the Apna Vidyalaya programme aims to foster civic duty, strengthen school vision, and create a sustainable model for educational improvement.” This initiative offers hope for the public education system, serving over 55% of students in government schools in Himachal Pradesh. The ‘My School-My Pride’ campaign is expected to bring about a positive transformation, emphasizing community engagement and mentoring for educational enhancement.

Government proposes ‘one nation, one student ID’ and online school admissions to revolutionize education system

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News on Education 3 ArdorComm Media Group Government proposes ‘one nation, one student ID’ and online school admissions to revolutionize education system

In a major step towards making education more accessible and efficient, the Union government has proposed the integration of education records of all school students into its ‘one nation, one student ID’ initiative. This move, along with the switch to online school admissions, aims to streamline the education system and bring it in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. According to an official government document, the ‘one nation, one student ID’ initiative will be implemented by 2026-27, with the goal of providing students with an Aadhaar-verified ID called Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR). This ID will serve as a universal student identifier from pre-primary to PhD, and will also act as a gateway to students’ academic bank of credit (ABC). The document, presented by the Union Ministry of Education at the third national conference of chief secretaries, also proposes that all government and government-aided schools switch to an online admission system in the next three years. This will not only make the admission process easier and more efficient, but also reduce barriers and minimize dropouts. The integration of education records into the ‘one nation, one student ID’ initiative will not only help monitor the lifelong learning journey of students, but also build a digital repository of education records. This will make it easier for students to store and access their records, and also enable the integration of interstate student records. The document also highlights the role of Aadhaar linkage in building trust in digital records and empowering stakeholders to access diverse educational services. The ministry has already launched the ‘one nation, one student ID’ initiative in higher education institutions, covering nearly 22 million students. The proposal to extend it to schools is a step towards ensuring seamless integration between the two levels of education. To facilitate the creation of APAAR IDs, the document suggests that Anganwadi or schools can assist students during the time of admissions. The ministry can also organize workshops and training sessions for states and union territories to help them create the IDs and integrate admission portals and applications into a unified platform. The document also sets a deadline of 2026-27 for 100% integration of education records through the ID. While it is not mandatory for states to adopt this initiative, it is a step towards promoting good governance and making education more accessible.