Delhi Budget 2024-25: Government allocates ₹16,396 crore for Education

The Delhi government allotted Rs 16,396 crore for education in its 2024-25 budget, which was released on 04th Mar 2024. Finance Minister Atishi, who presented the budget in the Delhi Assembly, stated that the state government's top objective is to provide quality education to the city's citizens.

The minister emphasised that government schools under the Kejriwal-led state government have undergone major transformations.

"In the last 10 years, major changes have been introduced in Delhi government schools. We doubled the budget for education in the national capital. Today we are proposing a budget of Rs 16,396 crore for education in Delhi," she said. "Before the Kejriwal government, the condition of Delhi government schools was not good. People were forced to go to private schools to study", Atishi, who also holds the education portfolio, added.

Budget records show a modest decrease in the sector's allocation from ₹16,575 crore in the 2023-24 fiscal year. However, the revised estimates for the fiscal year have been reduced to ₹15,727 crore.

The government has allotted ₹12 crore for the Delhi Model Virtual School and ₹40 crore for the entrepreneurship development programme Business Blasters. This scheme provides students with seed money to create business models for their start-up ideas.

Under the Schools of Specialised Excellence (SoSE) programme launched by the government in 2021-22, 38 school campuses have been established across Delhi in 56 domains, including STEM, humanities, performing and visual arts, Atishi said.

“In 2014, sending children to a government school was a compulsion for families due to financial constraints. This year, there have been 140,000 applications for 6,000 seats in the Schools of Specialised Excellence,” she said.

She also said, “In 2023, for the first time, 324 principals were directly appointed from UPSC for Delhi government schools, setting a record. Additionally, 389 vice-principals were promoted to the position of principal, ensuring that almost all schools under the Delhi government now have regular principals who act as school leaders.”

Underlining the importance of teachers’ training, Atishi said, “Prioritising world-class teacher training, we are allocating ₹100 crore to SCERT (State Council of Educational Research and Training) for this purpose this year.”

The minister announced budget allocations of ₹118 crore for sports education and ₹1,212 crore for further and technical education. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that the ground reality is different.

“The Arvind Kejriwal government claims to be giving one of the best budgets in the country, with the biggest share for education, but the ground reality is that the budgets have repeatedly failed Delhi residents… The Delhi government should stop misleading the people and concentrate on the development of the city,” Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said.