‘E' FOR EDUCATION

The expanded e-Vidya scheme sees a big push in the education budget. Can it bridge the divide?

- SHELLY ANAND

₹1.04 ₹10,233.7 LAKH CRORE Budgetary allocation for the education sector in 2022-23, a hike of 11.9%

₹1.04 ₹10,233.7 CRORE Funds allocated for PM Poshan (the renamed school mid-day meal scheme) in 2022-23 is Rs 750 crore less than the previous year

While making the Budget 2022-23 announcements for the education sector, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman admitted that due to the pandemic-induced closure of schools, children, particularly in the rural areas and those from the weaker sections, have lost almost two years of formal education. “To build a resilient mechanism for education delivery, the ‘one class-one TV channel’ programme of PM e-Vidya will be expanded from 12 to 200 TV channels. This will enable all states to provide supplementary education in regional languages for Classes 1 to 12,” she said.