Mansoor Ali Khan
Bengaluru, 1 FEB

The Union Budget 2025 was a chance to tackle the growing learning crisis and improve student retention. However, instead of addressing key issues like teacher training, dropout rates, and equitable access, the government has prioritised projects with little impact at the grassroots level. 

The learning crisis & dropout rates

The 2024-2025 Economic Survey boasts of 93 per cent enrolment at the primary level, but the reality is stark—only 63.8 per cent of students stay in secondary school, and this drops to 45.6 per cent at the higher secondary level. Instead of focusing on remedial education, student support systems, and curriculum reform, the budget remains fixated on infrastructure-driven metrics, favouring visible gains over meaningful progress.

AI & education: Fix the foundation first

The Rs 500 crore allocated for a Centre of Excellence in AI for education is certainly forward-looking, but it raises an important question: why prioritise futuristic solutions when basic education needs urgent attention?

Digital infrastructure without support

Broadband connectivity for all government secondary schools sounds promising. But what about device availability, teacher training, and digital literacy programmes? Past digital initiatives have shown that without proper implementation, such schemes fail to create real impact.

Higher education: Favouring the elite

The government is expanding IITs and adding 6,500 new seats, but what about the thousands of underfunded public universities and State colleges that serve the majority of students? 

Expanding medical education without support

Increasing 10,000 medical seats this year is the need of the hour, but where are the faculty, infrastructure, and resources to maintain quality? If we do not invest in training faculty and improving medical education standards, we risk producing underqualified doctors.

The way forward

Instead of flashy announcements, India needs a fair, inclusive, and practical education policy that focuses on real impact.

·        Teacher training and welfare over superficial reforms

·        Public universities and colleges over exclusive elite institutions

·        Remedial education over tech-driven optics