The All Odisha Federation of Teachers’ Organisations conducted a seminar on ‘Union and State Budget-Its implications in Education Sector’ here on Saturday.
Presenting a base paper, federation general secretary Prof Rabi Roy said the Union Government’s expenditure for 2016-17 (BE) is budgeted at 0.48 per cent of the GDP, which was 0.50 per cent in 2015-16 (RE). “The share of education in the total Budget has also declined from 3.8 per cent to 3.7 per cent. The allocation for higher education in 2016-17 is 13.5 per cent higher than 2015-16 (RE) and there is only a marginal increase in the budget,” he said, adding that the State budget for education sector is also not satisfactory.
Retired Professor of the Utkal University Prof Birendra Nayak said “the Union Budget encourages privatisation. Making 10 private educational institutions as world class and establishment of the HEFA is a clear indication of the privatisation. Senior journalist Dillip Bisoi opined that reduction in education budget would affect the gross enrolment ratio and educational progress in the country.
Magazine Samadrusti Editor Sudhir Pattanik, Prof Manindra Samal and Prof Gopal Krushna Nanda also spoke. Federation working president Bibekananda Das chaired the seminar.