Karnataka Budget doesn’t keep up with the changing times in education

The only announcement made to facilitate learning in the “new way” is a plan to convert classrooms into digital classrooms in a phased manner in government first grade colleges, government polytechnic colleges, and government engineering colleges.

For representational purpose only.

Although the pandemic has altered the way schools function, with teaching and learning taking place remotely, the 2021-22 Budget has put very little emphasis on strengthening online learning and providing students with tools to reduce the digital divide.

The only announcement made to facilitate learning in the “new way” is a plan to convert classrooms into digital classrooms in a phased manner in government first grade colleges, government polytechnic colleges, and government engineering colleges. Many of the announcements pertaining to the education sector — both primary and higher education — are the ones from the 2020-21 Budget that were not implemented. The government has stated that it would ensure that all public high schools have computer labs. It also plans to develop 50 government schools as Karnataka Public Schools. The Budget has allocated ₹100 crore over the next two years to upgrade the existing toilets in government schools and to provide water connectivity.

A training programme called ‘Samarthya Sarathya’ will be launched to impart training to approximately five lakh students for competitive exams.

The government has also decided to enhance the postgraduate seats by 100 at the Hassan and Mandya institutes of medical sciences. A new medical college will be started in Chitradurga district this year.