Monica Malhotra Kandhari, MD, MBD group shares her opinion on the upcoming union budget 2021. She points out how it will change the education sector.

What is your expectation about the Budget 2021?
We look forward to the Union Budget 2021 for the much needed thrust and impetus to the education sector which plays a pivotal role in nation building and faced a lot of challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID has completely changed the dynamics of classroom education, and has provided a push to digitization in the sector. This is the time to invest in digital infrastructure in schools and leverage technology to make learning accessible. The upcoming budget must set the tone for strengthening the education sector to be future ready. Teachers training must be a priority area in this budget because of the large scale disruption and new normal that is heavy on digitisation and technology. Provisions for developing school infrastructures for digital led learning and support for acquisition of latest educational aids must also feature in the budget. Budgetary nudge towards uplifting higher education and focus on learning outcomes along with ensuring a better teacher-student ratio will make it a positive budget for the education sector.