‘A budget of missed opportunities’

March 01, 2015 08:21 am | Updated May 23, 2016 04:37 pm IST

Educationists had been hoping for a higher budgetary allocation for school and higher education. After the announcements, however, many feel there is not enough focus on the sector.

The allocation for schools and higher education institutions should have been 15 to 20 per cent higher, C.R. Swaminathan, educationist, said. He said each State should have a special facility for faculty training at the PG level.

Reacting to the announcement of more IITs, T.R. Paarivendhar, chancellor of SRM University, said the government should provide facilities that can be used by private institutions as well.

“Centres of excellence and other facilities should be available for students in private institutions,” he said.

The education loan scheme through the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram has been welcomed by many.

Malik Sundaram, India director of ELS Education Services, said, “Hundreds of highly talented students with excellent academic records walk into our offices to study abroad, but most cannot afford it.”

Sai Prakash Leo Muthu, CEO, and Managing Trustee, Sai Ram Group of Institutions, said if the collateral is waived and the interest rates lowered, it will benefit many.

On the other hand, N.K. Ranganath, former chairman, CII Tamil Nadu, feels the onus should have been on school education.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.