Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has taken care of urban and rural poor, farmers and unorganised worker but education seems to have taken
a back seat. It was particularly disappointing for UP as allocations made for higher education had little for the state.
"This is a budget with only marginal adjustments," said Muhammad Muzammil, professor of economics in the Lucknow University. The finance minister in his speech touched workers in the unorganised sector, rural/urban poor and talked about illiteracy among women but school education was missing, he said. The word education occurs a dozen times in his speech and he also talks about creating a competitive, progressive and well regulated education system of global standards that meets the requirements of all sections of the society but there are no concrete proposals for that, he said.
"Overall higher education budget goes up by Rs 2,113 crore over the previous allocation in the interim budget. Upgradation of polytechnics, IITs and NITs has been given priority. But there is nothing special for UP," Prof Muzammil said. Further, he said, grants have been given to Chandigarh University and for construction of new campuses of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in West Bengal and Kerala. However, he added, the move on AMU will perhaps not be approved by those who believe that AMU not only stands for imparting higher education to minorities but also maintaining the Muslim culture of this part of the world which will be threatened as the campuses are taken far and wide in the country with different geo-political conditions and social cultural milieu.
Manoj Dixit, director, Dr GL Gupta Institute of Public Health and Public Affairs, Lucknow University, said that higher education remains a neglected area in the list of the government. "One Central University for uncovered states is only a repeat of announcements made by the government last year," he said. "More IITs and NITs are not going to solve the problems of state universities and degree colleges which are ailing and crying for help. Stress on IITs and NITs only signify the elitist approach whereas the masses study in ordinary colleges. The need is to strengthen state universities, particularly those which were established in the pre-Independence period and have contributed in the freedom struggle," he added.
Shailendra Kumar, a research scholar, said that the annual budget was really disappointing particularly for higher education sector. "The emphasis of the government has been primary education since long, now steps are also being taken for universalisation of secondary education. But these efforts will go in vain if not supported by a strong higher education system. Here government needs to create more avenues of higher education, particularly in small towns and cities," he said. Manjul Upadhayaya, an MPhil student, felt that the higher education has not got its due. But, he said, that an employment portal proposed by the government to connect all employment exchanges in the country would be of great use for the unemployed youth because a person will have to then register at one place only. The portal, he said, will also have the data of vacancies and requirements of the industry.
a back seat. It was particularly disappointing for UP as allocations made for higher education had little for the state.
"This is a budget with only marginal adjustments," said Muhammad Muzammil, professor of economics in the Lucknow University. The finance minister in his speech touched workers in the unorganised sector, rural/urban poor and talked about illiteracy among women but school education was missing, he said. The word education occurs a dozen times in his speech and he also talks about creating a competitive, progressive and well regulated education system of global standards that meets the requirements of all sections of the society but there are no concrete proposals for that, he said.
"Overall higher education budget goes up by Rs 2,113 crore over the previous allocation in the interim budget. Upgradation of polytechnics, IITs and NITs has been given priority. But there is nothing special for UP," Prof Muzammil said. Further, he said, grants have been given to Chandigarh University and for construction of new campuses of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in West Bengal and Kerala. However, he added, the move on AMU will perhaps not be approved by those who believe that AMU not only stands for imparting higher education to minorities but also maintaining the Muslim culture of this part of the world which will be threatened as the campuses are taken far and wide in the country with different geo-political conditions and social cultural milieu.
Manoj Dixit, director, Dr GL Gupta Institute of Public Health and Public Affairs, Lucknow University, said that higher education remains a neglected area in the list of the government. "One Central University for uncovered states is only a repeat of announcements made by the government last year," he said. "More IITs and NITs are not going to solve the problems of state universities and degree colleges which are ailing and crying for help. Stress on IITs and NITs only signify the elitist approach whereas the masses study in ordinary colleges. The need is to strengthen state universities, particularly those which were established in the pre-Independence period and have contributed in the freedom struggle," he added.
Shailendra Kumar, a research scholar, said that the annual budget was really disappointing particularly for higher education sector. "The emphasis of the government has been primary education since long, now steps are also being taken for universalisation of secondary education. But these efforts will go in vain if not supported by a strong higher education system. Here government needs to create more avenues of higher education, particularly in small towns and cities," he said. Manjul Upadhayaya, an MPhil student, felt that the higher education has not got its due. But, he said, that an employment portal proposed by the government to connect all employment exchanges in the country would be of great use for the unemployed youth because a person will have to then register at one place only. The portal, he said, will also have the data of vacancies and requirements of the industry.
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