State govts should hike allocation for education: Minister

Admitting that there were a number of challenges before the education sector in the country, Union Minister D Purandeswari today stressed the need for the state governments to step up their allocations towards the field.
"Six per cent of GDP is what we (Centre) dream to allocate to the education sector in our country. Though it is around 3.8 per cent, for which we are being criticised by the people," Purandeswari, the minister of State for Commerce and Industry, told reporters here.
"...But let's not forget that the 6 per cent is public expenditure on education that we are looking at. Public expenditure on education simply does not restrict itself to the expenditure made by the Centre on education but would also need the state governments to step up their expenditure on education as well," she said.

The minister was speaking at the convocation of Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani's Hyderabad campus on the outskirts.
Referring to BITS Pilani Pro-Chancellor Shobhana Bhartia's speech on the need to hike the budget for higher education, Purandeswari said, "The Centre is trying its best in its jurisdiction...But again education being a state subject, we do need state governments to support and supplement the endeavours of the Central government."
Stating that the government appreciated the role of the private sector in improving education scenario, she pointed out the challenges the education sector faced in the country on account of geographical challenges, the numbers and the diversities in terms of traditions, cultures and even languages.

"In a country with such great diversities, we have to reach out to every child living in the remotest areas of the country. We must appreciate all that the governments are doing to reach out to these children. However, this is not to overlook or turn blind eye to the challenges that the education sector is facing. We are fraught with challenges," she said.