post budget quote by AK Srikanth for the education industry

“A 9% higher allocation to the Ministry of Education over the revised 2020-21 estimate, and a doubling of the budgets for Digital e-Learning has been a welcome move.  The budget has touched upon the much-anticipated implementation of The National Education Policy with a mentoring model where 15,000 schools will be strengthened initially and in turn work with other schools to follow suit. Bringing in the changes proposed in the policy in this systematic manner would definitely bring in more emphasis and structure in the Early Childhood Care and Education system in India. 

 However, the education industry as a whole, and specifically the pre- primary sector was looking forward to allocation of funds towards managing the safety of bringing younger children back to schools, which has not been taken into consideration. Schools across the country would benefit from States supporting them with the adequate Health & Safety measures required to keep the children safe on their return to school – which requires governmental grants and subsidies to ensure safety, in a pandemic of a magnitude such as the one we are seeing. If not implemented properly , this aspect can create a health risk to the young ones; not to mention a learning disadvantage for children in their formative years.” AK Srikanth, CEO, KLAY Preschool & Day-care