From blackboard to Digital Classrooms

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that they have managed to get children to school but quality of education still a concern. Education to be treated holistically without segmentation from class nursery to Class 12, he said. The finance minister indicated in his Budget speech on Thursday that the Government is trying to bring reforms in education sector. 

1. `11 lakh crore for creating infrastructure in education sector
2. Classrooms will go the digital way
3. 13 lakh teacherswill be trained in amendedRTE Act 
4. Two new schools of planning and architecture planned

With an intention to increase digital intensity in education and to move from blackboards to digital boards in classrooms, Jaitley announced an allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore to update the education infrastructure. In the final full Budget before the Lok Sabha elections, Jaitley said that the government will focus on making sure that education is treated holistically. This is the time to move from blackboards to digital boards, he said.

It is unfortunate to know that students in rural areas are not catching up with the competition. In a recent survey, it was highlighted that nearly two out of every five 14- to 18-year-olds in rural India does not know what the country’s capital is.The government is committed to educating India’s children, Jaitley said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always emphasised that the country’s future depends on its children. 

Jaitley said that the RISE (Revitalising Infrastructure in School Education) scheme will be financed via a restructured higher education financing agency. The Finance Minister also listed schemes for higher education. Two new schools of planning and architecture to be set up.

Further, the Finance Minister said “By 2022, every block with more than 50 per cent of Scheduled Tribe population will have Ekalvya schools at par with Navodaya Vidyalayas." The Union Government also plans to make amendments to the Right to Education Act and set a new target of training 13 lakh teachers across India.