Education sector gets lion's share in Delhi's budget, Rs 19,291 crore allocated

Giving priority to education, the BJP-ruled government in Delhi on Tuesday allocated Rs 19,291 crore to the sector in the Budget estimates for the current financial year, even more than what the last AAP government had invested. Last year, the allocation for the same stood at Rs 16,146 crore in the Budget.

While presenting the Budget in the Vidhan Sabha, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta took several pot-shots at the previous AAP regime for allegedly misleading people in the name of education sector's development. "Since 2013, the previous government talked about making education a priority for governance in Delhi, but did the exact opposite. Delhi was misled in the name of education, and the government’s policies deprived children of their future. Countless students were failed and ordered to go to open schools," Gupta said.

She said that more than 1.5 lakh students fail in classes IX and XI every year. Without effective remedial programmes, struggling students are left behind, leading to high dropout rates and weakening government claims.

"The children who had the responsibility of shaping Delhi’s future on their shoulders are today left helpless by the corrupt policies of the previous government and their future is pushed into darkness," Gupta said. She added that her government’s priority will be to ensure that every child gets good and accessible education, that too "near their homes".

She announced the opening of 60 new CM Shri Schools from the upcoming session 2025-26, which will be fully compliant with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and will implement the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSC) 2023. For this, a budget of Rs 100 crore was allocated.

Similarly, an amount of Rs 21 crore was allocated for the launch of Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya Vidya Shakti Mission, under which professional guidance will be provided to students preparing for JEE, NEET, CLAT, CA and CUET examinations.

"Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Language Laboratories will be set up in 100 government schools of Delhi. Languages like English, Hindi, Sanskrit, French, German and Spanish will be taught in these laboratories using modern technology and Artificial Intelligence," the CM said, adding that Rs 21 crore have been earmarked for the same.