 "Finance Minister Arun Jaitley & his team")
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget as per schedule on February 1.
Business Standard presents some key takeaways for the education sector from the Union Budget 2017:
- Two new AIIMS institute in Jharkhand and Gujarat
- Take steps to increase post-graduate seats for medical sciences
- Proposal to launch a system of measuring learning in schools. Emphasis on science education and flexible curriculum.
- Focus will be the 3,479 educationally backward blocks where the government proposes to introduce the practise of measuring annual learning outcome in schools.
- Certain colleges and institutions to be identified and granted an autonomous status based on accreditation.
- Use of DTH channels to link online courses available on the Swayam platform, that will offer 310 online courses, to enable student access high-quality education resource.
- National Testing Agency to be instituted that will be in-charge of conducting all entrance exams for higher education. This would free the CBSS and AICTE from their current administrative responsibilities and focus on improving academic milieu.
- Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras to be extended to more than 600 districts across the country. 110 centres to be opened to help youth get access to employment opportunities abroad.
- Rs 2,200 cr to be set aside for investment in vocational training.
- Innovation Fund for secondary education to be created.
