Karnataka: Experts laud focus on school infrastructure, flay lack of NEP funds – Times of India

The CM on Friday had announced a Rs 31,980 crore outlay for education, an increase from Rs 29,688 crore in 2021. Of this, Rs 500 crore has been allocated for infrastructure development in government schools across the state.

Basavaraju R Shreshta, executive director, Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement (GRAAM), told STOI: “The budget proposals to focus on aspirational taluks and invest Rs 500 crore on school infrastructure are welcome,” he said.
However, the educationist added the increase in allocation is not great in absolute terms. “We are still spending only around 2 per cent of state’s GDP on education. Karnataka should aim to spend on a par with developed nations. We should also take cognisance of inflation — projected at 4.5 per cent. Developed nations are spending around 5 per cent of their GDP on education,” Shreshta said.

Gurumurthy Kasinathan, a teacher educator and member of National Coalition on the Education Emergency, said the coalition had demanded a significant rise in investment in education to fill the gaps created by two years of the pandemic, but an expanded focus on schools seems to be missing in the budget. “This will impact the recovery from the pandemic and affect student learning, and may increase the number of dropouts,” he warned.

He applauded the government proposals to develop Bengaluru Public Schools and provide coaching for NEET in all taluks to help poor students. He, however, suggested state-level entrance exam for medical education as is done for engineering, and said the government should allow class 12 public exam results for admission to help students from rural areas and marginalised groups.

Prof Sadashivegowda, principal, Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering, said: “Initiatives like upgradation of seven engineering colleges as Karnataka Institute of Technology on the lines of National Institute of Technology and development of model universities are very good,” he said, adding that the proposal to provide JEE, NEET, UPSC and KPSC coaching for students at taluk level is also commendable.