Edu gets lion's share in Rs 60K-crore outlay

NEW DELHI: The AAP government allocated over Rs 15,000 crore to the education sector for 2019-20 in its budget tabled in the Delhi Assembly on February 26. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in his budget speech said the allocation to education is around 26 per cent of the total budget. "In the previous

years the allocation for the education had been around 24-25 percent of the total budget," Deputy CM Sisodia said. Allocation for entrepreneurship plans, the introduction of the family business curriculum, setting up a teacher training university and an applied science university are among the various initiatives announced in the budget.

"A digital learning scheme will be started in which students will have access to tablets. Around Rs 9 crore has been allocated for it. Students who score more than 80 per cent in class 10 will also get tablets," he said. The AAP government presented a Rs 60,000 crore budget for 2019-20 and said it is "two times more" than the one presented in 2014-15.

The government has announced to established a new university in "applied sciences" that will offer skill-based courses at different levels-diploma, certificate, graduate and postgraduate, MPhil and PhD. The national Capital will also get another university for teachers' training.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has been working on teachers' training ever

since it has come into power in 2015.

Under the chief minister scholarship scheme, the government has also announced to provide an annual scholarship of Rs 2,500 to government school students who scored 80% and above in classes 7 to 12. "We want to encourage talented students studying in government schools. We are not going to set any minimum limit for income of parents required to avail this scheme," said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

The government has also increased the scholarships given to SC, ST and minority category students studying in its schools.