Higher education gets a raw deal

Expectations of the academia -- that had asked for an almost 10-fold increase in the allocation towards higher education -- fell flat with Budget 2007-08. The Moily committee had recommended an allocation of Rs 17,000 crore.

However, the government, while increasing the allocation for primary education by 34.2 per cent to Rs 32,352 crore as compared to Rs 24,115 crore in 2006-07, has merely increased the allocation for secondary and higher education from Rs 1,837 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 3,794 crore in 2007-08.

A majority of the proposed sum of Rs 17,000 crore was to be utilised for the expansion of 27 per cent of quota in the institutes of excellence -- the IITs, IIMs, agricultural universities, medical universities and central universities. There are 17,600 colleges across India.

Of this 14,000 colleges and university departments provide general education in basic science, arts and commerce. At present, 6,000 colleges and university departments are being funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC). There are plans to bring the remaining 8,600 colleges also within UGC's purview at a later date.

Academicians say these colleges would alone need around Rs 30,000 crore of plan support to meet the needs of additional infrastructure and improvement in quality. Even the Tapas Majumdar Committee Report (November 2005) had recommended the allocation for education needed to be raised to six per cent of the GDP by the beginning of the 11th plan and then continually raised to cross the level of 10 per cent of the GDP by 2014-15.

Even the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) "� that has given a thumbs up to the finance minister's allocation towards education in this year's budget -- does feel higher education should have been given more funding. "We welcome the government's move and support towards primary education and appreciate that education cess has been increased by one per cent to welcome public and private partnership. But focus should have gone to secondary and higher education. There is a gradual increase but it is also important that expenditure on education should be raised to 6 per cent," said a UNESCO official.

Also, the government's apathy to research and development aspect has dissapointed Prof. B S Sahay, director, Institute of Management Technology (IMT) Ghaziabad. He says: "The government should certainly have increased allocation to research and development. This will help more than allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in education. All the foreign B-schools and other institutes which are coming to India are strong in research and India too should look in to the issue."

Economist and chairman Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Y K Alagh, maintained: "It's a good budget and one has to look at it holistically. Primary education is based on public funding and it's a good beginning. High schools and college enrolment rates are low particularly in poor people. But merit scholarship for class eight onwards is a very welcome move and will ensure that poor people too can avail themselves of the facility. Dropouts are what we need to stem. In the next few years, 7 million children as per the 11th plan with enter in to the workforce and will be able to draw salaries around Rs 5,000 against Rs 1,000 that one draws now. Secondary education in India is certainly at a very bad stage. But to an extent we can facilitate secondary education as people can afford to take loans also it has private participation."

However, UNESCO notes nothing has been allocated to pre-primary education in the budget. According to UNESCO's six Education For All (EFA) global monitoring programme, the expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children is also important.

Pre- primary budget should allow the children to have education and be in a position to be retained and complete at least five years of education. Unless this is done, we cannot reduce the dropout rate at the secondary and higher levels of education.