EPSI, the catalyst nodal agency of the country for promotion of Education covering all fields of education – School, Higher, Vocational and Professional education, hails the proposed initiatives and allocations as proposed by Hon’ble Finance Minister, Shri P Chidambaram and also appreciates the inputs of Ministry of Human Resource Development for the constructive development of Education in India.

Expressing his delight on the proposed initiatives of Economic Budget 2008-2009, Mr PK Gupta, President, Education Promotion Society for India said, “We are delighted by the proposed initiatives and budget allocations by the Hon’ble Finance Minister, Shri P Chidambaram for promotion and development of the Education Sector. The increased expenditure on setting up new and additional institutions of education is a welcome sign and are most desirable as it will only contribute in achieving the holistic education goals and also help the country to truly become a knowledge based economy.”

Commenting on the budget, Mr Manohar Chellani, Secretary General, EPSI, said, “The proposed initiatives are in the right direction. We are happy that the government has recognized our efforts for skill based relevant education, which is an important requirement of the industry.

The addition of new universities and 6000 new schools is a welcome step, however the society is also of the view that Education sector should be treated as part of the core services whereby Indian Education could lead the band wagon and in turn allows the country to generate more revenue and intellectual capital for nation development, just as it has been successfully demonstrated by developed countries such as UK, USA, Australia, NZ to name a few.

As next developmental steps, we should start looking at opening higher education sector, which needs large investments, latest know-how and the technology needs that can be best achieved by allowing educational institutions to create surplus within the system. This will enable the universities and institutions to be self sufficient and not rely on government for funding that can alternatively be deployed for supporting education’s large requirement of funds.

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