The All-India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO), Mysuru, has criticised the Union Budget for 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman, saying it encourages the students to suffer in a “debt-trap”.
It said the Budget has allocated ₹1,48,000 crore for education, employment and skill development. By adding many sectors together, the government wants to show it has increased spending on education. But, in reality, it is still below 4% of total budget and nowhere near 6% allocation as recommended under NEP-2020.
“The most shocking announcement in the Budget has been the provision of education loans to students studying in domestic institutions. The government itself is allowing the student community to avail loans and suffer in a debt trap. Instead of reducing fees and increasing public-funded institutions to reduce the burden of educational expenditure on the common people, the government is asking students to take loans to meet the higher cost of education. This approach is highly condemnable and through this, the government is turning away from its bounded responsibility of providing education for all,” said AIDSO District Secretary Chandrakala.
According to AIDSO, the budget has identified 20 lakh students for providing skills. Genuinely, skills are necessary but without job creation, skills are of no avail. How the government will create jobs is not mentioned with a clear roadmap in the Budget.
Cheap labour
“The move is to provide cheap labour. Internships with stipends as low as ₹5,000 per month will push the student community into deep financial instability and the scheme has been brought to hide the failure of the government in creating jobs. The stipend will be provided by the companies and not by the government as no money is allocated for it, thereby leaving even that stipend amount in disarray,” Ms. Chandrakala said in a statement here, reacting to the allocation for students and education.
Also, there has been no measure announced in the Budget to curb those who have been exploiting the student community and destroying the very essence of education. The budget which has focused on loans, cheap labour and skill without creating jobs is a blow to the student community who are already in a midst of deep crisis and overburdened by educational expenditure, it stated.
The AIDSO demanded that the Centre must spend money allocated for education to strengthen public education and ensure education for all.
