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I have just been to Buckingham Palace and accepted His Majesty The King’s invitation to form a government in his name.

It is only right to explain why I am standing here as your new Prime Minister.

Right now our country is facing a profound economic crisis.

The aftermath of Covid still lingers.

Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilised energy markets and supply chains the world over.

I want to pay tribute to my predecessor Liz Truss, she was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country, it is a noble aim.

And I admired her restlessness to create change.

But some mistakes were made.

Not borne of ill will or bad intentions. Quite the opposite, in fact. But mistakes nonetheless.

And I have been elected as leader of my party, and your Prime Minister, in part, to fix them.

And that work begins immediately.

I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda.

This will mean difficult decisions to come.

But you saw me during Covid, doing everything I could, to protect people and businesses, with schemes like furlough.

There are always limits, more so now than ever, but I promise you this

I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today.

The government I lead will not leave the next generation, your children and grandchildren, with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves.

I will unite our country, not with words, but with action.

I will work day in and day out to deliver for you.

This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.

Trust is earned. And I will earn yours.

I will always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as Prime Minister, and I treasure his warmth and generosity of spirit.

And I know he would agree that the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual, it is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us.

And the heart of that mandate is our manifesto.

I will deliver on its promise.

A stronger NHS.

Better schools.

Safer streets.

Control of our borders.

Protecting our environment.

Supporting our armed forces.

Levelling up and building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit, where businesses invest, innovate, and create jobs.

I understand how difficult this moment is.

After the billions of pounds it cost us to combat Covid, after all the dislocation that caused in the midst of a terrible war that must be seen successfully to its conclusions I fully appreciate how hard things are.

And I understand too that I have work to do to restore trust after all that has happened.

All I can say is that I am not daunted. I know the high office I have accepted and I hope to live up to its demands.

But when the opportunity to serve comes along, you cannot question the moment, only your willingness.

So I stand here before you ready to lead our country into the future.

To put your needs above politics.

To reach out and build a government that represents the very best traditions of my party.

Together we can achieve incredible things.

We will create a future worthy of the sacrifices so many have made and fill tomorrow, and everyday thereafter with hope.

Thank you.

Image Source: NBC News

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Significance of financial independence

Self-reliant India is impossible if youth, especially students above 18 years of age remain dependent on parents or banks, which is not a sign of a prosperous society. Besides, it is often observed that financially dependent youth easily fall prey to social insecurity and low self-esteem. Whenever they fail to meet any financial exigency they blame luck or follow an illegitimate path of earning money. On the other hand, students self-sufficient in bearing their expenses have a better confidence level and they successfully achieve their academic as well as personal goals.

During the inaugural address at the India Education Summit (IES) 2021, then Minister of Education, Ramesh PokhriyalNishank, said, “By connecting students with the internships, vocational training as a student reaches class 6, we will imbibe atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in a student. By the time these students will complete school education, they will be warriors who can take on any task.” However, this ambitious statement doesn’t clarify potential avenues of earning for students. Besides, the focus should be more on college and university students, school-going kids are already laden with academic pressure and board exams.

Stock market, a potential source of income

Through investment and trading in stock markets, students can enjoy financial freedom and curtail the burden on parents. Stock market can be a promising source of income for millions of students and unemployed youth in India. When the traditional job market is struggling to create new opportunities, stock markets are creating easy income avenues for a large section of society. Hence, students must understand that stock trading and investment are easy options to make money and share financial responsibilities with parents.

Power of Compounding

Experts often claim that if you want to see the magic of the eighth wonder of the world “The power of compounding” then you should start it as early as possible. They believe that the size of the investment is not the only factor in the creation of your wealth but the consistency and the time you give to your money pay off with surprise returns. That’s why investors create wealth in the longer term, not in a day or week.

The power of compounding can be better understood with the below example.

Jackson started investing at the age of 20 years and contributed just Rs 24000 per annum whereas Tyson started investing at the age of 40 and contributed five times the amount contributed by Jackson which is Rs 120000 per annum at the same rate of interest for their retirement goals at the age of 65 years. Now, who would you think has a better ROI?

Let us analyse:

So, one can clearly see how the magic of compounding works. By investing just Rs 2000 per month with discipline can garner these results, then one should think of a situation where the investor does the same thing consistently in equities or ETFs.But, beware of blindfolding chess. Proper research should always be undertaken before investing in stocks, one should take care of the following things.

1. Invest in Blue-Chip stocks, the reliable companies present in the stock market for a long time.
2. Never invest in one single company or sector, and always diversify your portfolio with conservative as well as innovative sectors.
3. Try to invest more funds in large-cap (50% of funds) and remaining in mid-cap (30%) and small-cap (20%) companies.
4. Always have some buffer money ready with you to accumulate more equities in scenarios of corrections (crashes) of more than 25 %.
5. Start learning Technical and Fundamental Analysis today to be an intelligent investor tomorrow.

The coda

Investment or trading in the stock market doesn’t require 8-10 hours of dedicated job. Investing 30 minutes to one hour daily in stocks, students can earn enough to meet their academic and other day-to-day expenses. This way, they can make themselves a responsible and self-dependent citizen of the self-reliant country.

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The Oxford dictionary has defined the term ‘Globalization’ as the increasing worldwide integration of economic, cultural, political, religious, and social systems. This makes true sense in today’s world where there are numerous modes for trade, travel, and communication.

Design thinking and innovation of new technologies are bridging the gap with globalization in education as well. Integration of education systems, new age knowledge sharing, and teaching methods are some of the positive outcomes in this process. Classroom, online, and hybrid models have been well adopted from pre-school to higher education in India.

The new globalized Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programs impart theoretical knowledge along with practical knowledge that helps chase the world in real-time. Conventional MBA programs typically had specialization in Finance, Marketing, and Human Resources. These plain vanilla MBA courses have been redefined to specialize in segments dominating the current economic scenario.

• Banking & Finance– Banking is the core of the financial domain. An MBA degree in this sector helps master the nuances of the banking system and its allied investment avenues.
• Digital Marketing – Digital Marketing is the enhanced version that focuses on new marketing avenues. This covers social media marketing, advertising, and branding.
• Human Resource Management – Managers today handle the millennial workforce. The curriculum focuses on soft skills that help managers grow as motivational leaders in their careers. HRM emphasizes people management and a sustainable organizational structure.

The new-gen curriculum is designed such that aspirants are prepared to take on leadership roles in the corporate world. Successful entrepreneurs are equipped with a strong backbone through startup education. The following are a few MBA courses that are redefined by globalization:

• International Business – Globalization has opened doors for international trade. The course specializes in International Business Management and helps understand the dynamic global scenario.
• E-commerce Management – E-commerce management has all the learning tools that drive businesses to grow online. This program is to master various aspects of the online business, from funding to marketing. Start-up entrepreneurs can establish successful online businesses by pursuing MBA in E-commerce management
• Business Analytics – In this data-driven world, an MBA in Business Analytics is the need of the hour. This program helps make strategic business decisions backed by strong data sets. The course brings forth key career opportunities like Business Intelligence Analyst, Data Scientist, Market Research Analyst to name a few.
• IT Project Management – IT Project management requires great management skills along with sound technical knowledge. This is an apt course for an IT Project Manager that blends both the requirements.
• Travel and Tourism – With the world becoming a smaller place each day, travel and tourism have gained utmost relevance. Travel and Tourism Management emphasizes the business aspect of the hospitality and tourism industry.
• Healthcare – Education in healthcare was all about becoming doctors and nurses until a few years ago. Who could have thought of this sector having a management program? With the advancement in healthcare technology, MBA in Healthcare is the perfect fit.

All these MBA courses look very intriguing. But what about working professionals who can’t quit their jobs to resume studies. Hybrid and Online MBA programs are curated for corporate executives and senior managers who need not quit their existing jobs. These models are adopted by top universities across the globe. They offer complete flexibility to suit the busy schedules of working professionals.

• Hybrid / Part-Time MBA – These programs are a blend of on-campus and online study formats. They have workshops and interactive sessions with subject matter experts that bring immense networking opportunities. Professionals with at least two years of work experience are eligible to enrol in part-time MBA courses.
• Distance/ Correspondence MBA – One can attend the best MBA college irrespective of its location. These courses have 24*7 online access to all sessions and study material. They are cost-effective as compared to traditional full-time MBA courses.

Globalization in education has been a boon for developed as well as developing nations. In addition to income disparity, literacy levels differ between both worlds. Equal education opportunities bring the young talent pool closer to their dream aspirations. It’s rightly said, new globalization redefines MBA.

About Swarrnim Startup and Innovation University

• Swarrnim Startup and Innovation University is a knowledge hub where disciplines like Engineering, Architecture, Design, Science, Management, Paramedical, Agriculture among other streams are taught with value enhancement through innovation, startup and entrepreneurship.
• Through education, research, and innovation, their vision is to drive up the spirit of entrepreneurship amongst students and help them tap into their creative minds to curate businessmen and businesswomen.
• Wanting to bring a ‘change’ in the education system, Swarrnim is the first of its kind university in India committed to promoting startups and encouraging young minds to become leading entrepreneurs. By providing rigorous learning experiences, the institute contributes to the university’s outstanding retention, graduation, and career placement rates.
• They aim to enable youngsters to think innovatively so that they can help in contributing to the betterment of the nation. The degree programs provided by Swarrnim are designed according to the modules based on core and elective units.

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Welcoming Dr. Tara Thiagarajan into the Governing Council, Mr. Kapil Viswanathan, Chairman of Executive Committee & Member of Governing Council, Krea University said, “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Tara Thiagarajan to Krea University’s governing council. As an accomplished neuroscientist and entrepreneur, she represents the university’s ethos of interweaving the world of academia with the world beyond.”

Dr. Tara Thiagarajanis a scientist and entrepreneur with an interest in understanding and enabling the productive evolution of the human mind and human systems. She has founded and built successful companies as well as research labs that study the human brain and emerging economic systems. She holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Stanford University as well as a BA in Mathematics from Brandeis University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.  She was also a post-doctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the Section on Critical Brain Dynamics and a Visiting Scientist at the National Center for Biological Sciences in India.

Commenting on her appointment, Dr. Tara Thiagarajan said, “It is a pleasure to join the Krea Governing Council.  The Krea ethos of interwoven learning resonates strongly with me.  Having seen Krea evolve from conversations in a room to what it is today in just a few years, has been an inspiring journey and I look forward to being a part of it in this new capacity.”

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When these words are viewed in the context of socio-economic development of India, they form the very foundation on which all collaborations and multi-stakeholder interventions are built.

As per MSME report 2019, the nation realized the impact women have had on the world over the years when Oxford Dictionary named Nari Shakti in 2018. Bain & Co. and Google 2019 report it was found that around 59% of women take up entrepreneurship to lessen their reliance on a husband or family and to achieve independence. India, being a substantial and heterogeneous country, has its share of women entrepreneurs who utilize entrepreneurial opportunities concurrently promoting their business mainly motivated by their concern for the environment.

To delve deeper into the issue of women entrepreneurship, a three day women entrepreneurship training and skill development programme was organized by Tameer Educational and Welfare Trust in collaboration with Maeeshat Academy, Career Designer 360 and Abacus Scholar on the 18th, 19th and 25th of September, 2021.

The training program was conducted by well-trained experts in different fields of business.

Sania Sami, Research scholar, discussed the major motivational factors, business and general problems and crucial outcomes of entrepreneurship in the economy as well as at the individual level.

Danish Reyaz, Director of Maeeshat Academy, enlighten women about the importance of bearing the uncertainty and taking calculative risks in business.

Rajkumar Pal, owner of Bureau Global Certification, discussed the significance of getting ones’ business legalized through registration. He focused on different rules and regulations and procedures encircling different business ventures to promote independence among women to get their legal formalities done for their business through themselves.

During the last leg of the session, Rukhshi Kadiri Elias, admin of Taajira (FB women entrepreneur group), articulated the importance of achieving work-life balance concerning both physical, mental health as well as societal health. She shared her escapade about the same. She postulated “beneath a hijab, there is a cognitive mind” and one needs to maneuvered the same to identify and exploit the opportunities. She further discussed the crucial facets of living a healthy life viz., self-love, family-time, work-life, socially-active and lastly entertainment. She further motivated women to love and appreciate other women on a note that it is always beautiful to appreciate others, support others and grow with others.

Huzaifa Arshad of Career Designer 360, apprised women of sophisticated digital tools required to promote ones’ business. He propounded different digital apps and software such as Canva, Video Guru, Movavi, Digital Showroom. VidIQ were few to name.

The chief guests of the programme

Shakil Ahmed – (WBCS Executive) Special Secretary Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Govt of West Bengal

Dr. Nayeem Anis– HOD of Urdu Department Calcutta Girls’ College

Ms. Nikhat Sultana– Principal of Genius National School

Dr.Shabtab Khalid– Wellness Couch and Soul Clinic proprietor

Umar Awais– President of Human Care Trust

Mrs. Saba Islam– founder of Happy Mommy Place and parenting coach

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In conversation with Varun Kohli, Co-Founder, Coding Blocks

1. What is your perspective of coding and the importance of teaching programming?

Coding is the most desired skill of the 21st century. Considered as one of the highest paying and stable careers, traditionally Coding was opted by many students at College level. There exists a general perception that coding is the forte of the ‘Gifted learners’ and cannot be taken up by average students.

Before anything else, we need to address what is Coding and how does one start learning it. Well, simply put, Coding is a way to make software and hardware act upon your instructions. There is a particular way to do this and learning that way is learning to code. It is naturally logical in nature, and hence learning to code teaches good logical ability to learners. In addition, it teaches how to solve a problem by breaking its complexity to a simpler structure and making deductions from it.

2. What are the advantages of programming?

Coding is a boon for students as it will help them enhance logical thinking and problem solving from an earlier stage. Coding and programming are game changers in the education system. We will see a new generation that will be using analytical thinking to solve problems. In India, it is the perfect time to teach the children about new age learning which will help them tremendously both in the jobs sector as well as in Entrepreneurship.

3. What is the current status of programming in India?

Programming in India is typically opted by students at the higher education level- colleges, universities and the like. Even here, the syllabus of universities or colleges are in urgent need of an overhaul as the current syllabi presents a big challenge to students who need extra hand holding to make sure they are able to clear the placement drives of good tech companies. The key to success is to be aligned with the industry needs at all times. Students need to brace themselves with latest tech stacks and keep practicing Coding problems on a regular basis. Participation in community and Open Source are also good means to stay aligned.

4. What can be done to make the situation better? How will it help the IT industry?

Students need to understand that what they learn in college might not be enough and they need to keep themselves aligned with the needs of the IT industry. Practice is the key to success and learning the latest stacks is always beneficial.

The Covid pandemic has evolved the IT industry and it is now functioning well in the Remote working scenario. Well trained, industry aligned students will help the IT industry align easily to Remote protocol and will help students in bagging better opportunities and packages.

5. Tell us more about Coding Blocks Junior- a new initiative offering free courses in coding?

Coding Blocks Junior is one of the first initiatives in India to provide free Coding courses in Visual programming, Python, Web development and Robotics to school students across India and abroad.

Coding Blocks Junior has superb mentors, well researched content and all programs on Coding Blocks Junior are Certificate programs. There is no fee for doing the course from Coding Blocks Junior.

Coding Blocks Junior is the long awaited dream of our founder, Manmohan Gupta, an IIT Delhi alumni who believes that Coding should be imparted to all students at the school level.

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Prabhat Kumar

1. How did YIF change your life?

Having farming family background, studied in government school and college, YIF changed my life in following ways – improved my soft skills and inculcated critical thinking approach; exposed me to a global and vibrant global community and taught me to deal with it efficiently; allowed me to explore various subjects to get out of my comfort zone.

2. How should aspiring candidates prepare for the fellowship?

Be yourself. Understand the objective of fellowship and then prepare yourself accordingly. YIF values learning spirit for excellency and you need to answer how this programme will help you to achieve that.

3. What do you currently do?

I am the Founder of SumArth. The organization is trying to establish agriculture as an established profession for the future generation. Currently our focus is on Bihar’s farmers. We are working towards increasing the income of farmers by introducing cash crops in the state.

4. What motivated you to start SumArth?

I belong to a farmers’ family. Since my childhood, I have witnessed the plight of a farmer in Bihar. From my early childhood my family suggested me to do one thing “Never get involve in Agriculture” because they have not witnessed regular cash flow in this sector.

After my engineering, YIF and work experience; I started SumArth to solve the problem of cashflow in Agriculture in Bihar.Today we have 15,000+ farmers in Gaya and we are one of the largest producers of onion and mushroom in Bihar.

Anoop Maurya

1.      How did YIF change your life?

Given that I came from a socio-economically weaker background, it was a bit difficult for me to settle initially. However, YIF opened a whole new world of possibilities for me and broadened my horizon. All the batch mates, faculty and Founders are very empowering. I was the second youngest in my batch and had the opportunity to mingle with people with diverse backgrounds. There were engineers, lawyers, photographers, architects. Being at YIF helped me in understanding which direction my life should take. Being at YIF and getting liberal arts education helped me in imagining and putting down my thoughts on paper. Till today, I have the support from Pramath Raj Sinha, Amit Chandra. Meeting my batch mates and these influential founders is the central point of my answer because when you meet such people, you are inspired.  

2.      How should aspiring candidates prepare for the fellowship?

Anybody aspiring to prepare for YIF should understand that YIF is not a regular programme which has a set criteria. But one should try and spend enough time on application essays. They are self-revealing. You just need to be who you are. Do not shy from showing your true self, being bold and speaking up of your vulnerabilities, strengths, weaknesses. YIF looks for people who have passion for building something. YIF welcomes all kinds of people but what it definitely looks forward to is an unreasonableness in the way you look at the world and how you go about in navigating the tumultuous nature of the world. YIF encourages people to find solutions to problems that can make this world a better place.

3.      What do you currently do?

I am the Founder and President of Bharat Navodaya Abhiyan. BNA is a public service wing of the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas’ alumni network which is a national coalition of over 12 lakhs rural educated Indians. The portal enables, encourages and unites students and alumni of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas to impact and lead 21st century India and the world.

4.      What motivated you to start Bharat Navodaya Abhiyan? What does BNA do?

By the time I graduated, I was sure that I wanted to work with this network of my school of Navodaya Vidyalaya Alumni Network. I realized that this was a huge and powerful network, largely untapped. That’s where the potential and opportunity lied. I wanted to help and serve my people. Gradually, we started Navodaya Scholar Programme, flagship initiative of Bharat Navodaya Abhiyan. This we launched in partnership with the Ministry of Education, GoI. We select top 30-40 high school students from rural communities and work with them for two years. They go through a leadership journey that prepares them for college life etc. The programme gives them 21^st century skills.

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Why did you decide to start your own EdTech company Avalon Meta?

My father comes from a small village called Bantwal, and there was a time when he used to sell candy to pay for his college fees. So you could say that entrepreneurship is somewhat in my DNA, regardless of how small the roots. In college, I started freelancing and writing code and building web products for businesses across the world.

Eventually, I took a bigger risk and ran a recruitment startup called Jobspire that we sold in early 2017. With Jobspire, I got a deeper view into the kind of job seekers in India. Avalon Meta was born from my frustration with the kind of talent that college was producing — my team and I believed that India has potential and should be producing much better talent. So we decided to take the problem head-on and thus was born Avalon meta.

What problems are you trying to solve with Avalon Meta?

I know this sounds silly, but we’re trying to replicate as much of the experience of University as possible. There are parts of the social experience of college that you can’t bring online, but for most of the other bits, we have strong evidence that we have succeeded.

So in essence, we’re trying to build a Digital University to produce great talent that is capable of utilizing the digital skills we teach them in a way that will benefit the world and create real impact. So we’re talking excellence in code, design, sales, marketing, and more!

But it’s not just that — we’ve brought together an experience that allows people to work in teams, make friends, build projects and a portfolio, and truly enjoy the act of learning. It’s our moral responsibility to try and take as many people across the finish line as possible.

The edtech sector is currently booming and digital learning solutions have risen due to the COVID pandemic. What differentiates Avalon Meta from other online learning platforms?

The live aspect of learning, the problem solving in teams, and the social experience of making friends and working on projects truly differentiates us. We’re not a platform that sells a course for a price and then disappears. We hand hold people across the finish line and make learning enjoyable, social, and fun again.

Where do you think the education ecosystem in India currently stands?

The traditional college education system in India is beyond broken. I once said that Tier 2 and 3 colleges in India are just real estate companies trying to creatively charge rent via fees and unfortunately, that’s the truth. MOOCs kickstarted the online learning revolution but most people forget that the problem isn’t content, it’s trying to help a student finish his or her learning in a subject. There’s no point doing a design theory course if you can’t utilize Photoshop or Figma to make an app screen! So the current wave will be more live learning platforms that have their north star metric at truly helping students do well.

And there will constantly be a battle of online vs offline, and we feel online will win this one in the short term.

Brand positioning and challenges faced by Ed-Tech startups in India?

Indian Ed-tech has been scarred by a few companies that have utilized unethical methods to acquire more users in a shorter period of time. The lashback from this has affected even the better platforms and Ed-Tech in general has picked up a bad name.

We’re a community based platform and we let our users try our app for free before making any purchase decision. I think this is going to be more and more important in the future — try before you buy will become the norm and we’ll soon see Education startups covering each niche. It’ll be fun and exciting to watch the next wave of players come about.

What things can be done better in an online and offline education environment?

With offline education, we’ll need to see more transparency and a 10-20% reduction in costs. Or, a sharp uptick in teaching and outcomes.

Even today, there are institutes teaching decade old technology when the industry has raced past. Imagine the changes you have seen in the world in the last 4 years — and add on top of that the fact that in college, you are learning something that is at the very least 10 years old. That’s a 14 year gap between  what you’ve learned and what the industry needs. How offline college will keep up is a big question mark for me.

With online education, it’s not about content, it’s about keeping the student motivated and adding the social experience of offline college into the mix. We’ve cracked a model that works and that cannot be replicated easily, but I assume there’s more ways to do “social college” in the works. That’s going to be the biggest differentiator!

Your plan for the next 12 months?

Our plan for the next year is to continuously evolve our product, improve outcomes, and solidify the community learning aspect of what we do. We don’t look at the outputs and neither do we have sales targets. We focus on the inputs and try to help as many students we can. That’s the winning formula for us. It doesn’t sound scalable, but we want to help students 1 by 1 until they all win.

Last, but not least, how do you see the future of edtech?

It’s going to eventually go offline, and the content is going to find a way to keep up. The social aspect of meeting your friends in college or school is too important to lose. I assume Virtual Reality is going to enter the mix too, where you will be taught by the best teachers in a virtual classrooms. Imagine being able to high-five your friends after a class. That’s soon going to be a possibility. Can’t wait to see how the future pans out!

The post The traditional college education system is beyond broken: “Varun Mayya” appeared first on Higher Education Plus.

As the budget 2021 is just a few days away, and almost every sector is harbouring some expectations from the budget of 2021. After covid-19 pandemic has gripped the world the budget 2021 has become all more important. Every sector is looking up to Budget 2021 for getting the most awaited relief. And amidst these things, one sector that has been scaling new heights and also pivoting is the education sector which has its own demands and expectations from the Budget 2021.

Thus, Budget 2021-22 announcements within the education sector could prove to be a decisive milestone in the lives of India’s youth.

Booster for edtech: This pandemic has laid bare the wide fissures existing in the education sector. The inadequate infrastructure for online education in the midst of a pandemic posed a formidable challenge for the students, especially in rural India. Thus the 2021 budget which is being dubbed as a pandemic budget must address this issue. 

Thus the most important steps should be taken first. These most important steps constitute an improvement in internet accessibility all across India. The government’s step in consolidating the edtech infrastructure during this pandemic has attracted a fair share of praise but this budget should address the gaping holes and loopholes prevalent in the edtech sectors.

One initiative that everyone is expecting the government to come up with is to give financial assistance to students from downtrodden sections of the society who could not continue their education as they did not have access to gadgets and stable internet connection.

So the government should not squander the opportunity to revamp the digital education infrastructure and make it in such a way that in future any big disruption could not adversely impact the education system.

Boosting Spending On Schools

Another fall out of this pandemic- that it will lead to lakh and crores of people plunging into poverty and debt traps. So that would also lead to the falling literacy ratio amongst the poorer section of the society. And even many reports have brought to the fore that the students drop out ratio has risen substantially. Thus those who can’t afford the expense of private education will resort to the govt schools and colleges. Thus in this pandemic budget the government should step up expenditure on schools and colleges and should also open up new schools and colleges especially in rural India and this would be beneficial not only in the pandemic times but also have a positive impact in the post-pandemic world.

Stepping Up Expenditure on Research 

We all know how science and research played a crucial role in at least mitigating the damage unleashed by this pandemic. From testing kits to vaccine everything was a brainchild of the researchers and their efforts. As we know India’s research and development have touched many new milestones but one thing that is pretty clear is that India has not been able to unlock the full potential of bright minds across India. The reason can be attributed to not adequate research infrastructure. Also, the Indian education system has not pushed research to an extent that it should be pushed for. So in this budget, the education sector is expecting that the current dispensation sensing the need for R&D will step up spending on research infrastructure across India and will also strive to shape up the research-oriented curriculum.

Assistance For Poor and Disadvantage

In India, there is a huge section that leaves education in between due to the lack of resources and because of being financially weak. That phenomenon is equally pervasive in urban and rural India. To boost India’s literacy rate and to stride India on the path of development, in this budget the government should try to allocate more for the assistance of needy and poor people who really can’t afford the education.

So in this budget, the education sector is looking for more assistance programmes and more scholarship schemes both for rural and urban poor.

The post What India’s Education Sector wants from the Pandemic Budget? appeared first on Higher Education Plus.