New Delhi, Dec 17 (Agency) The ‘Right to Education’ forum has demanded that the Modi government spend six per cent of the GDP on education in the next budget and give a special package for education in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. Right to Education forum convener Ambarish Roy made this demand during the pre-budget discussion with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
He said in his report before Ms Sitharaman that for strengthening school education, it was necessary that teachers are appointed, new government schools opened and infrastructure improved. A financial roadmap should also be made. He said there has been repeated demands over the years that the budget of education be hiked to six per cent of the gross domestic product, but this has not been done till date. “Therefore, we once again demand from the government that the budget of education be raised to six per cent to make education inclusive, to overcome the problem of dropouts and to strengthen infrastructural facilities.” He also said that due to Covid-19, many children were unable to enrol in schools and had left midway. He demanded that online facility should be provided for them. A special package should also be given for all this.
He also informed that only 36 per cent of the education budget had been spent till October 2020, so it was important that the amount allocated was fully utilised in time. He also sought to remove disparities in the field of education.