The Centre proposes to set up a digital university, develop e-content for schools and expand its educational TV channel scheme from 12 to 200 channels, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her budget speech on Tuesday. However, education experts say this focus on digital learning is misplaced, given the inequitable access to digital devices and the fact that children now returning to classrooms are facing a two-year learning gap.
“Due to the pandemic-induced closure of schools, our children, particularly in the rural areas, and those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and other weaker sections, have lost almost 2 years of formal education. Mostly, these are children in government schools,” said the Finance Minister. “We recognise the need to impart supplementary teaching and to build a resilient mechanism for education delivery.”
