CHENNAI: Academicians expect the government to focus on inclusiveness and improvement in infrastructure, in the edu-sector While access, equity and quality are three pillars for the upcoming 12th five-year plan, experts feel that the budget should help in achieving them. State Planning Commission Member and former Vice Chancellor of Anna University, E Balagurusamy, says that the percentage of GDP allocated to the education sector continues to be poor and needs a correction. "If we are to improve the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) to about 20 per cent, the current rate of allocation cannot achieve it. We need at least five per cent of the GDP for both school and higher education combined," he says. With availability of teachers being the tormenting topical issue in the education sector, the budget must provide provisions for a national level teacher training institute, he says. This apart, funds for the Central Universities must improve, as many of them lack even basic facilities for research. Former member of the UGC, father Xavier Alphonse mooted the need for 374 model colleges in backward districts. "Hardly 60 have seen the light of day. If the government can forcefully implement this scheme, it would greatly benefit students from the backward areas," he says. Community colleges, which mainly serve students from backward and underprivileged sections, should be given more weightage with vertical mobility from diploma to degrees made easier. "Community colleges have served about 90,000 students now and over 80 per cent of them are employed. Such colleges could greatly benefit the rural students," says father Alphonse.
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