Budget 2021: Great expectations for NEP

By Shambhavi Upadhyaya
As India awaits the Union Budget 2021, the Education Sector has high hopes. It is expected that more emphasis would be given to the implementation of the New Education Policy, 2020 (NEP) and going forward with the digitization of Education to a greater extent.

The Education sector is all set to the changes that would come with the NEP. "Schools and colleges around India will need to revamp their education models to comply with the recently announced National Education Policy 2020. This will require additional Government funding to enable this to happen. Budget 2021 should allocate at least six per cent of Indian GDP to the Education sector, says Dr Akhil Shahani, Managing Director, Shahani Group and Ask. Careers.

An incentive for student welfare in the form of easy access to research and scholarships is envisaged. “The changes by NEP 2020 cannot happen only with Government funds. Private investment and Foreign Direct Investment should be encouraged in mainstream education with an expectation of a reasonable return. The Budget should also provide incentives for universities to conduct research & scholarships for student entrepreneurs who wish to create innovative products." Shahani added. An increase in the financing of equipment that would enable digitization and also to maximize the access of academic material in the form of eBooks is expected. “We await the Union Budget 2021 with great hope, as it will be among other things, the first after the introduction of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 that envisions to transform India into ‘a global knowledge superpower’. “First and foremost, we must invest in networks and infrastructure to bridge the digital divide across the country.

“The NEP 2020 underlines the need to create a robust research ecosystem in our country, something that would, over time, be an important catalyst in driving India forward.

“At a time when food and energy costs have been rising, healthcare has been inadequate, and climate change threats are increasingly visible, investments in R&D of the physical kind become more important than ever,” Rupamanjari Ghosh, Vice-Chancellor, Shiv Nadar University and Co-Chair, FICCI Higher Education Committee, stated.

Educational institutions are anticipating an effort into building a scientific temperament in the students and also to offer other alternatives in the creative fields.

“In the 2021 Budget, we look forward to adequate outlay of funds to higher education institutions, both public and private, for the purpose of scientific enquiry and research.

“This will enable young minds, right from the undergraduate levels, to develop scientific thought to meet India’s most pressing societal and industrial needs,” Ghosh added.

Finally, great expectations are being put into skill development and vocational training to tackle the problem of unemployment for students who face a rapidly changing job scenario and the lack of required skills which have evolved alongside jobs.


The story first appeared in The Times of Bennett, the lab newspaper produced by the first semester students of The Times School of Media.

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