Education experts express their views in a two-day workshop at the JIH HQRS.

New Delhi, 22 Nov. 2021: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s (JIH) education board has reiterated the demand for spending six percent of GDP on education.

Delivering inaugural address at a workshop on the ‘Education Budget in India,’ organized here by the JIH Markazi Taleemi Board (Education Board), JIH President Syed Sadatullah Husaini has stated that the education is a fundamental human right and it is the government’s duty to facilitate it to every citizen. He said, “Article 38 of the Constitution states that India will be a welfare state, which means every individual will be provided basic rights, equally. The insertion of Article 21A after the constitutional amendment of 2002 makes education a fundamental right. It was done with high hopes but it did not bring any major change. Still education is a major issue of our country.

Speaking on the current year’s budgetary allocation for education, the JIH President pointed out that it was slashed to Rs.930 million, which is just 0.5% of GDP while, it should be 6% to improve the quality of education. He said, “Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has been demanding the same that was also recommended by many education commissions and experts. Even the same suggestion has come from ‘NITI Aayog’.”

Stressing on the need to increase the budget for education at both central and state levels, Mr.Husaini has suggested deliberating on how the budget allocation should be distributed on primary and higher education, and how much it should be spent on research in the workshop. “There is also a need to draw the attention of the government to introduce effective schemes for the educationally backward classes, to elevate their status,” he added.

Addressing the workshop, economist Dr. Javed Alam, founder of the Institute of Policy Studies, has highlighted the process of budget formulation, implementation, the terms and conditions and how we can play a role in it.

On this occasion, Chairman of the JIH Markazi Taleemi Board (education board), Mr. Mujtaba Farooq reminded Muslims that as far as the education budget is concerned, we should work not only for the community but also for the disadvantaged and weaker sections. He also reminded that there is a need to work proactively, with a true spirit of service in passing and implementing the education budget.

Commenting that the central government is retreating from spending on education, Mr. Farooq said that the government should now accept the demand of allocation of 6% of GDP on education. He said, it is our responsibility to awaken the people and run a campaign to increase the budgetary allocation for education for a better India.

Educationists and experts from across the country also participated in the workshop through online mode and discussed future course of action.