The government on Friday announced a budget of Rs 38,572 crore for its National Education Mission which comprises the Centre-sponsored schemes for education under which it allocates funds to the states and union territories. The budget amount is an increase from last year’s Rs 32,334 crore.
Most part of this entire amount, which is Rs 36,472.40 crore, is for school education for students from pre-primary to class 12. This amount is meant to be allocated for schemes which include Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan formed with the merger of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan last year and teacher training.
“In 2018-19, Budget Education was 56,619 crore made for welfare of SCs and STs, increased to 62,474 crore in RE 2018-19 has been further increased to 76,800 crore in BE 2019-20,” said Finance Minister Piyush Goyal.
A part of this budget component, that is, Rs 2,100 crore, is meant for higher education, which will go towards the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan or RUSA.
He also said that the government has not tampered with the reservation system, and that they gave reservation to educational institutions and nine crore for the poor. Goyal also added that 21 AIIMS are working in the country — 14 of them were announced after 2014 and soon the 22nd AIIMS is going to be formed in Haryana.