Budget 2024: India Spent Rs 1 Lakh Crore On Education Last Year, Is It Enough?

Last year, Budget 2023 had allocated the 'highest ever' allocation to the education sector, increasing to ?1,12,899.47 crore for the next fiscal year from ?1,04,277.72 crore for fiscal 2023, which is an almost 12% increase.

The allocation for Budget 2024, to be announced tomorrow, is yet to be seen.

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Though touted as the 'highest ever', it still appears to fall short. India spends less than 3.5% of its GDP on education. This falls significantly below the target outlined in the National Education Policy 2020, which aspired for India's education budget to be at 6 percent of the GDP.

The issue of low government expenditure on education has been ailing the Indian education system for years now.

In fact, according to the Economic Survey 2022-23, the proportion of total expenditure allocated to education in India has decreased from 10.4% to 9.5% over the last seven years.

Which countries spend the most on education?

Here is how much other countries spend on education, according to the most recent value, as per UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) data:

• Afghanistan (2017) - 4.3% of GDP
• Belgium (2021) - 6.2% of GDP
• Bhutan (2022) - 8.1% of GDP
• Brazil (2020) - 5.8% of GDP
• China (2021) - 3.3% of GDP
• France (2021) - 5.2% of GDP
• Pakistan (2022) - 2% of GDP
• United Kingdom (2021) - 5.3% of GDP
• United States (2020) - 5.4% of GDP
• Canada - 5.5% of GDP
• Japan - 3.6% of GDP
• Germany - 4.8% of GDP

Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)/ World Bank

The above figures show that India is among the countries which spend the lowest on education.

India's expenditure on education: How it impacts the nation

Data indicates that Indian states that consistently allocate higher budgets to education tend to consistently achieve higher rankings across all indices of social development and empowerment .

Inadequate funding often leads to a lack of resources, outdated infrastructure, and insufficient teacher training.

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This can result in a decline in the overall quality of education, limiting access to up-to-date materials and effective teaching methods.

Addressing the impact of low expenditure on education requires a comprehensive approach that involves increased funding, targeted policies, and strategic investments in teacher training, infrastructure, and educational resources.

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