As Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasising on ‘Skill India’ and in making the country a ‘global hub’ of human resources, academicians and educationists in the national Capital expect Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to allocate more funds and announce reforms in the education sector.
“In his speeches and programmes, the Prime Minister always emphasises on ‘Skill India’. I hope the Budget allocates more funds towards the education sector. Besides, the government should give policy direction to investment in this sector,” said Ashok Pandey, principal, Ahlcon International School, Mayur Vihar, Phase I.
“Education is the key to development as it generates human capital for the nation. If quality education and professional training is ensured to all, the problem of poverty will slowly diminish. The Budget, through its policies, can also give a message to states to carry the ‘Skill India’ vision forward,” he added, hoping that the Centre takes steps to fulfill the demands of the educationists and allocates at least 6 per cent of the GDP to education.
So far, the expenditure on education at the national level has been around 3-4 per cent.
“The main challenge is to bring government schools at par with private schools. More Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) should be opened and policy directions can also be given to states through budgetary allocations to improve the standard of the state-run government schools,” said Ashok Agarwal, president, All-India Parents’ Association.
Anurag Mishra, associate professor in Delhi University’s (DU) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, seeks more budgetary allocation for higher education and research. “I hope that more budget is allocated to higher education and research activities, which are pre-requisite for innovation,” he said.
DU college teachers except the Budget to resolve the anomalies of the Sixth Pay Commission, besides giving directions to the UGC to set up a Central Pay Commission as per the recommendation of the Seventh Pay Commission.
Doctors for cheaper drugs, better healthcare facilities
Most citizens of the country come to the national Capital for medical treatment. Keeping the increased influx of patients, senior medical professionals in the city feel that the health sector requires increased fund allocation in the Budget. Besides, they emphasise that more doctors should be hired and the rates of medicines should be made cheaper. They said hospitals should have the latest equipment and shopuld provide subsidised healthcare facility, especially to those suffering from cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Dr K K Aggarwal, secretary general, Indian Medical Association, said for Delhi-specific budget, the emphasis must be on capacity-building and providing more beds for patients. “The government must allocate 5 per cent of GDP to the healthcare sector,” he said. He said focus should be laid on providing free and subsidised life-saving medicines.
Dr AK Aggarwal, ex-president of Delhi Medical Council, said emphasis must be laid on increasing medical reimbursement and insurance coverage.