Education Budget 2020: Rs 99,300 Crore Allocated, FDI & New Policy

The minister announced that Rs 99,300 crore is the allocated budget for the education sector and another Rs 3,000 crore for the skill development for the next fiscal year.

(Photo: Shruthi Mathur/The Quint)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Budget 2020 on 1 February, and announced a slew of measures for the education sector including the announcement of a new education policy.

They are the following:

Rs 99,300 crore is the budget for the education sector and another Rs 3,000 crore for the skill development for the next fiscal year.

The finance minister said the government will introduce a new education policy soon after the government received over two lakh suggestions for the same.

Sitharaman requested the Finance Ministry to remove education fee cap for children of soldiers who lost lives.

One year internship will be provided to engineers in urban local bodies to ensure quality education. Also for quality education, it is being proposed that the top hundred institutes will run full-fledged online programmes for degrees. She also said National Police University and National Forensic University are being proposed.

There will be 150 new diploma institutes by March 2021.Steps will be taken to attract external commercial borrowing and FDI in the education sector, the finance minister said.

The government has also proposed to attach medical colleges with district hospitals on PPP model to deal with shortage of doctors, she added. Special bridge courses will be designed for teachers, nurses, para medical staff, caregivers, she said.