Union Budget 2022: Govt proposes new Digital University, online classes on TV, radio, phones

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2022-23, announced an increase in the overall financial allocation for the education sector for 2022-23. In 2021-22 the allocation was set at Rs 93,224 crore and has now been increased to Rs 1.04 lakh crore. During the presentation, Sitharaman emphasised on the importance of digital modes of learning to reverse learning losses caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The revised estimate for 2021-22 is Rs 88,001 crore. The current jump in the allocation for the education sector is owed to Samagra Shiksha (school education sector), which has increased Rs 31,050 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 37,383 crore in 2022-23.

The suggestions given to further the digital learning mode include the expansion of the PM e-VIDYA initiative, a proposal to launch a digital university and the development of e-content in all Indian languages.

It has been announced that the government will focus on scaling up the “one class-one channel” initiative under the PM e-VIDYA initiative from 12 channels to 200 channels. This will help all states provide supplementary education in regional languages to children for classes I to XII. To recall, the PM e-VIDYA initiative was launched back in May 2020 to help provide children who do not have access to the internet with quality educational material.

The government is also looking to set up a digital university aimed at providing students across the country access to a “universal education with [a] personalised experience.” All of the content inside of the digital university will be made available in all Indian languages. The university will follow a “hub and spoke model.”

The hub and spoke model is a network design, where a centrally located network hub will branch out connecting to remotely located network pockets.

“Due to the pandemic induced closure of schools, our children particularly in the rural areas and those from SC and ST communities and other weaker sections have lost almost two years of formal education. Mostly these are children in government schools. We recognise the need to impart supplementary training and to build resilient mechanisms for its delivery,” Sitharaman said.

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