New Delhi, July 26: Continuing his critique of the Union Budget, Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, condemned the Union Government for drastically reducing the higher education budget by Rs 9,600 crore.
“BJP-RSS wants to destroy India’s education sector by a thousand cuts! Budget for higher education has been slashed by a whopping Rs 9,600 crore, the interim budget also slashed it by 16.38 per cent,” Kharge posted on X.
The Congress President also highlighted that the funding for IITs and IIMs has been cut for the second consecutive year, while the University Grants Commission (UGC) faced a massive 61 percent reduction. “UGC is a statutory body, and was supposed to be the only grant-giving agency in the country, but Modi Govt has snatched its power, thereby trampling upon its autonomy,” Kharge said, in a statement to the Indian Express.
Kharge further asserted that the UGC’s role in granting funds has been taken over by the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), a partnership between Canara Bank and the Ministry of Education.
“This will not only compel colleges and universities to introduce more self-financing courses, but also increase the financial woes of SC, ST, OBC, and EWS students.
“Modi govt’s 5-pronged attack on India’s education system continues unabated in the form of controlling universities, strangulating the funds of autonomous institutions, undermining their autonomy, destroying public education through cronyism and betraying the youth,” Kharge said, concluding his remarks on the Budget.
