Government Expenditure on Education Less than 3% of GDP: Report
- The Economic Survey expressed its concern on unimpressive spending on education and health domains.
- The government spending in education, as a percentage of GDP, has been declining constantly.
According to Economic Survey (2017-18), the expenditure of union government and state governments on education is not satisfactory. The overall spending on education is less than 3% of country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Even though the public investment in social infrastructure is considered vital to economic progress, the government spending in education, as a percentage of GDP, has been declining constantly.
Pointing the previous surveys, the report stated that the expenditure of government on education was 3.1% of the GDP six years ago (2012-13). The spending of government on education in the past few years is as follows: -
Year | Spending of Government on Education |
2014-15 | 2.8% |
2015-16 | 2.4% |
2016-17 | 2.6% |
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The government is aiming to increase the expenditure on education to 6%. However, the government has not been able to reach the 3.1% target.
The Economic Survey further stated that the investment of Indian government in social infrastructure is unimpressive. Being a developed nation, the government unable to allocate enough fiscal space to improve the expenditure on vital social infrastructure like health and education in India. On the other hand, the government has consistently been trying to strengthen the health and education profile with the limited resources available.
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The investment in education will also help improving Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER). India is a country with numerous educational institutes in both public and private sectors. However, public universities and institutes lack enough funding from the government and as a result, these institutes are unable to make an impact in research. Only a few public universities and premier institutes are delivering quality education and better research output.