Union Budget 2015-16: Expectations for Education Sector

2014 came with a new wave of excitement and positivity with Narendra Modi’s historic win. Every sector is looking forward to massive gains from his government as is every nation in the world. Government announced several plans for the education and skilling sector in 2014 including increase of education loans, increased focus on skilling through PPPs and better accreditation of Vocational Training courses to encourage more enrollments. Amidst speculations and apprehensions, people are hoping for burgeoning job opportunities across public and private sectors. If 2014 was a year of planning, I would like to consider 2015 as the year of execution.

Scaling up Vocational Skilling: It is evident from the large number of schemes pertaining to Vocational skilling, that the government is taking it very seriously. We can expect a continued patronage to the sector, in the upcoming budget in form of increased expenditure and higher involvement of Public-Private- Partnership. Hopefully, initiatives like Skill India will succeed in penetrating the urban youth to reach rural and semi-urban population where majority of our population still resides. Involving private sectors for funds and infrastructure and NGOs for their reach in such communities can help make this happen. From a supply side, there are not enough enrolments due to lack of a proper structure and accreditation system. Vocational Training has failed to gain that respect amongst the youth and though HRD’s announcement of setting up a unified Vocational Training University will help bridge this gap and also ensure a quality check on the kind of trainings being imparted, there needs to be collaboration with the industry and job markets to ensure that those trained are gainfully employed. Only results, which in this case are employment, can attract students to such programs. Perhaps, Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiaive can be linked to such programs to create a demand-supply chain in the economy.

Linking education to skilling: Vocational Training or any skill initiative cannot succeed in isolation from education. Recently released ASER report clearly shows how our primary education system has failed to improve quality and quantity of school education being imparted at rural, government schools. These school children will be our future workforce and if the number of drop outs is so huge, we will be faced with a crisis. We need an education system aligned with skills that can help candidates to be employable and skilled by the time they pass out. At the same time, the quality and ratio of trainer/teachers need to be at par who can build interest and knowledge in their candidates. Hopefully, the budget will devote more funds to improve enrolment and quality of education along with some plan on improving the quality of teachers as well.

Micro-entrepreneurship: Perhaps we are still unaware of the huge power that micro-entrepreneurship holds for a nation like ours. Given that over 75% of our economy still runs on the basis of micro-economies who make up our informal sector, we need some concrete plans in place to give structure to it. Consider the large number of drop outs who may not be skilled enough to get employment or the number of rural women who could benefit from micro-entrepreneurship trainings. If the government ties up with NGOs and other private players to give micro-entrepreneurship trainings to those who want to start something of their own and link it with micro-financing companies, it can help uplift whole communities. For the existing micro-entrepreneurs in our informal sector, the government could form a special committee to guide and train them to be optimized and more organized which will help our economy and GDP in the long run.

Embracing Technology: The present generation is born into technology and respond much better if internet and m-learnings are used as tools of learning. These technologies have high portability, small size and low price and can reach out to large numbers at once. Thus reaching out to millions of students who may have acquired basic education through local schools but fail to continue in higher education or vocational training can be possible now, with the advent of technology. Thus, if applications can be developed to make learning possible through personal phones, it is the easiest and cheapest way to educate millions of youth across the globe. Therefore, upcoming budget should reflect this inclination by way of investment in the sector, giving equal accreditation to such online courses or incentives for start-ups working on apps, etc.
Expectantly government’s plan of turning India into a skilled economy, catering as the manufacturing hub of the world, will be a reality through practical planning at budget 2015.

The author is Sachin Adhikari, Founder & Chief Mentor, Viztar International

About Viztar International Pvt Ltd.

Viztar International Pvt Ltd. is a Business Consulting and Transformation Training organization with multi-country presence providing an array of services across verticals in the Corporate Training, Education, Wellness, Clothier, Business Outsourcing Process, Event Management and Digital Learning.

It is one of the most promising enterprises working for change from the grass root level. With a pan India presence in over 20 locations in India and educational institutions over the world, Viztar International is one of its kind enterprises with the vision of a world of trained & transformed individuals to become responsible family members, efficient professionals and a responsible citizen.

Under its brand Achievers Zone, the brand provides diagnostic services such as psychometric tests for organizations and designs, develops and executes customized training solutions keeping in mind specific organizational goals.  It aims at providing end-to-end solutions for organizations’ and individuals’ learning needs, and provides services ranging from training to logistics and technology solutions. Also, it works with leading corporates in India and abroad, providing them with business solutions and IT support through its BPO arm.

Through its diverse training programmes and tools, the organization strives to globally provide individuals with both education and employment opportunities. The company was founded under the guidance of Mr. Sachin Adhikari in 2007 and since then has witnessed phenomenal growth in the recent years. Mr. Adhikari, a Global Business Leader, Social Entrepreneur and Mentor, has developed 'Value and Principle' based revolutionary Human Transformation Models with a vision to reach to the masses. With years of experience and international exposure in diverse fields, he believes that people can be easily empowered by Attitudinal Transformation, using a Holistic Approach.