The Union Budget 2021 has all the positive emphasis on the skill and education sector by the government. It was expected that measures to create employment opportunities will be considered. In India, there is a need to enable youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them secure a livelihood as a large number of youth from both organized and unorganized sectors lost jobs due to the COVID-19 impact in 2020. According to CMIE data, India’s unemployment rate climbed to a six-month high of 9.06 percent in December 2020. It was also observed that a rise in the unemployment rate raises serious doubt over economic recovery.

During pandemic many skill training centers were shut for a long time, that’s where many organizations and groups came together to reach out to those who had no access to these training and to help them lead the road to jobs that comes with education and skill development. In sync with that, major reactions were explored with respect to the budget announced for the skill and education sector. Education Industry leaders shared their opinions on the budget outlook positioned in the long term.

Here’s what leaders of education and skill industry look forward to the applications and likely impact on the sector basis the post-budget implementation, enabling the youth of India to become a strong workforce in near future, capable of adapting and working in different scenarios:

1. Mr. T.Kalyan Chakravarthy, Executive Director, PanIIT Alumni Foundation: “The budget strengthens the Skill India mandate of India being the human capital provider for the world including an avenue for livelihoods of the underserved – economically weaker sections, SC, ST. The Nursing bill is welcome and the current draft needs amendments for creating a credit continuum from ANM (Auxiliary Nursing & Midwifery) to all the way MSc nursing for upward mobility.This is a forward-looking budget that is much needed for COVID resilience. While budgeting is important for ‘what is being funded’, It would further help if ‘the how’ (implementation) mechanisms are outlined and increasingly made outcomes-focused year on year. The central scheme based framework needs to be reimagined for making Atmanirbhar Bharat a reality.”
2.  Aakash Chaudhry, Managing Director, Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) – Coming in the wake of an ongoing pandemic, the Union Budget 2021-22 is a balanced and progressive Financial Bill that has done a commendable job of paying equal and adequate attention to all the key areas of development such as health and well-being, education, physical and financial capital, infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation and R&D. The overarching promise and the overall direction set by this visionary budget is minimum government and maximum governance. The long term demand for opening more Sainik Schools across the country is finally met with the proposal of setting up 100 such schools across the country. Another highly appreciable move is to allow women to work in night shifts with adequate protection. The government is all for simplifying the compliance for companies in this regard. This is going to pave the way for more participation of women in the workforce in the organized sector and, to that extent, going to serve as an incentive for girls to pursue higher education and enter the world of work after graduation, which is not the case with most of the female graduates today.
3. Dr Mona Lisa Bal, Chairperson, KiiT International School – Budget 2021-22 was significant as it was expected to revive the economy after the COVID-19 crisis. Education for All was one of the prime focal areas of the Budget and overall, the announcements made for the sector were positive.  The industry was expecting allocations on the implementation of NEP 2020 which has been met to an extent. Emphasis on strengthening the quality of education in schools will benefit students by cementing their primary education and promoting growth and knowledge. Upskilling of the youth has become extremely vital in the present scenario. Our youth are our strength and streamlining skill development for them will catalyse a better tomorrow for India. Upskilling of teachers and training under the National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers for Holistic Advancement (NISTHA) will be beneficial to the students and the sector at large. Focus on holistic education, moving away from rote learning to strengthen analytical, conceptual skills of students will foster critical thinking among them which will help in their overall development and learning. It is good to see the Budget focus on the needs of the special children, especially the ones with hearing impairment through standardization of Indian Sign language across the country and development of National and State Curriculum materials for use.
4. Krishna Kumar, Founder and CEO of Simplilearn – Post 2020, we have witnessed the role of technology taking center stage, opening new job opportunities and increasing the demand for a technically skilled workforce. The government’s decision of introducing post-education apprenticeship with an investment of over Rs.3,000 crore towards the skilling of engineering graduates, diploma holders, etc. is definitely a forward-looking proposition aligned with improving employment opportunities for students pursuing different disciplines. However, it would have been encouraging if the government had introduced a reduction on GST for online education services, with learners and teachers alike taking to online skilling programs in view of the demands of the “New Normal”. Another highlight of the Union Budget 2021 is the extension of social security benefits for gig employees. COVID-19 accelerated the growth of India’s gig economy, giving rise to a new genre of employment and employees. All the initiatives announced by the Government of India today, are signs of building a new India for the generations to follow.
5. Mr. Vijay Thadani, VC and MD, NIIT Ltd and Co-founder NIIT University – Union budget 2021 carries a positive message for the Education sector. It gives an active effect to National Education Policy 2020 (NEP). The formation of National Research Foundation (NRF), with an outlay of Rs. 50,000 crores in 5 years to boost quality and quantity of research in India, is a big push towards promoting innovation and research in the education sector. We are optimistic that research funding will be made available to Higher Educational institutions. The Government’s initiative to set up a HEC responsible for the accreditation and regular funding of the Colleges and Universities will go a long way, in creating better synergy between higher education institutions across the country. The education sector is hopeful that the research funding both from HEC and NRF will be made available as a level playing field between public and private higher educational institutions.