Transforming School Learning for Future Growth, ETEducation
By Kanak Gupta.
As India prepares for Union Budget 2026, the conversation around school education must move beyond allocations and announcements to a harder question: are our schools building capability at the pace India’s future demands? The ask is not to think only about today, but what kind of education will sustain India’s next 25 years of growth. India has over 250 million school-going children, and nearly two-thirds of them study in Tier 2, Tier 3, and semi-urban India. Budget 2026 must recognise that India’s next phase of growth will not be decided in a few global cities, but in the quality of schooling available across districts and emerging towns. I believe in the aspirations, growth and impact of Tier 2/Tier 3 India, and would not focus on education in any other geographic region anywhere in the world. Over the last few years, government policy has rightly focused on access, infrastructure, and digital inclusion. Connectivity to schools, labs, and digital content in Indian languages are necessary foundation. But foundations alone do not create outcomes; what matters now is execution, teacher capability, and relevance of learning.
Public spending on education continues to remain around 3% of GDP, far short of the long-stated 6% aspiration. I am hopeful the Hon’ble Finance Minister would be mindful to up the game on the spending towards education more. While higher allocations remain important, Budget 2026 must also change how money is deployed, and be outcome-linked. The NEP 2020 has outlined wonderfully what needs to be done, and we must not wait for an implementation plan. Foundational literacy and numeracy recovery, student retention, and demonstrable teacher upskilling should become measurable outputs. Teachers are the key to the reform. India has nearly 9 million teachers, yet professional development remains fragmented, and at best, subject to compliance measures as indicated by statutory bodies. Budget 2026 should institutionalise continuous professional development, not as sporadic workshops but as a structured, credit-based national system tied to classroom practice. Teaching will only become a profession of choice when growth, recognition, and skill progression are visible and valued. AI must reduce inequality, not deepen it. Treated as core education infrastructure—rather than a market add-on—it can democratise learning instead of reserving it for a privileged few. AI is already reshaping how students learn and how teachers assess. If left to market forces alone, AI will deepen the gap between elite and average schools. Budget 2026 must treat AI as core education infrastructure, not an optional add
on. This means investing in teacher training for AI-assisted pedagogy, student AI literacy, safety and ethics frameworks, and shared AI labs in non-metro regions. The goal should be to create critical users and creators, not passive consumers. Also, I think the focus on skills at school level must continue. India’s employability challenge does not begin in college—it begins in school. Communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and applied learning must be embedded early. Budget 2026 should strengthen school industry bridges, vocational exposure, and project-based learning models that make education relevant without diluting academic rigour. Skills and academics are not opposites; they are complements.
Inclusion is not welfare or sentiment; it is an investment in human capital. A school system that cannot support diverse learners cannot build a resilient nation. Roughly one in every 60–70 children in India has some form of learning difference. Yet inclusive education remains underfunded and under-staffed. Budget 2026 must move beyond intent to systems: diagnostic support, special educators, counsellors, teacher training for differentiated classrooms, and assistive technology. Inclusion is not welfare—it is an investment in human capital.
Budget 2026 is an opportunity to treat school education not as a social obligation alone, but as India’s most strategic economic investment. The question is not whether India can afford to invest more intelligently in school education—but whether it can afford not to.
10 Clear Budget 2026 Asks for School Education
1. Introduce outcome-linked programmes tied to learning recovery and teacher upskilling
2. Create a national continuous professional development (CPD) credit system for teachers
3. Create AI-for-Schools as infrastructure: training, safety, literacy, and shared labs
4. Ensure last-mile broadband uptime and tech support, not just connectivity announcements
5. Focus on competency-based assessment reform and teacher assessment literacy
6. Normalise school-level vocational exposure and industry partnerships from middle school onwards
7. Create a Schools of Choice Fund focused on Tier 2/3 quality capacity building
8. Focus on inclusive education systems: diagnostics, special educators, assistive tech and alternative pedagogy such as theatre, dance, music and poetry
9. Enable priority-sector style credit access for compliant school infrastructure upgrades 10. Simplify regulation, including enabling GST benefits to education service providers
The author Kanak Gupta is the Group Director of Seth M.R. Jaipuria Schools.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETEDUCATION does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETEDUCATION will not be responsible for any damage caused to any person or organisation directly or indirectly.
Source link
