Learning steps: On the Union Budget and education

Context:

• Budget 2025 has promised higher allocations for education compared to last year’s revised estimates.

Higher Education:

• Increased Allocation: A 7% increase in higher education funding compared to last year’s revised estimates.
• Actual Expenditure Gap: The 2023-24 expenditure was 10% higher than the 2025-26 Budget estimates.
• UGC Reforms & Funding Challenge:
  • Implementation of four-year degrees, multi-institutional courses, and bi-annual admissions require significant funding.
  • State governments will bear most of the financial burden, but Budget 2025 does not adequately address this concern.
• Key Announcements:
  • ₹500 crore allocated for an AI Centre of Excellence in education.
  • Broadband connectivity for schools.
  • Expansion of five third-generation IITs.
  • Increased funding for Indian knowledge systems.

School Education:

• Budget Increase:
  • ₹11,000 crore (16%) increase from 2024-25 revised estimates.
  • However, as a percentage of the total Budget, the increase is only 0.12 percentage points, reaching 1.55%.
  • Higher education remains unchanged at 0.99% of the total Budget.
• NEP Implementation:
  • The 5+3+3+4 education structure prioritizes early education.
  • Foundational Literacy & Numeracy (FLN) is crucial for long-term workforce development.
  • Key gap: Anganwadi workers, responsible for pre-Class 1 education, are underpaid, overburdened, and lack training.

ASER 2024 Report Findings:

• Recovery from COVID-19: Learning losses have been recovered.
• FLN Progress: Levels are at their highest but still short of the NIPUN Bharat 2026-27 target.

Future Challenges & Recommendations

• More investment needed to fully achieve FLN goals.
• Strengthening early education systems and supporting anganwadi workers is critical.
• The government must prioritize school education funding to leverage India’s demographic dividend.
• Time is crucial—delays may impact long-term educational and economic growth.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/learning-steps-on-the-union-budget-and-education/article69180892.ece 

The U.S.’s exit from WHO, a chance to reshape global health 

Context

• On January 20, 2025, the United States government issued an executive order to withdraw from membership of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Impact on WHO Funding

• WHO Funding Structure:
  • Assessed Contributions (AC): Fixed annual membership fees from countries, ensuring basic operational continuity.
  • Voluntary Contributions (VC): Additional funds from member states & donors, used for specific projects but unpredictable.
• U.S. Withdrawal Concerns:
  • Loss of significant VC funding from U.S.-based donors and USAID.
  • Could impact WHO’s major health programs (e.g., polio elimination, primary healthcare).
  • Raises concerns about WHO’s financial stability and functionality.

Criticism & Need for WHO Reforms

• The U.S. cited WHO’s bureaucratic inefficiency and slow response times as reasons for withdrawal.
• WHO, like any global institution, requires structural reforms but remains crucial for addressing global health challenges.
• Emerging issues like antimicrobial resistance, climate change, and re-emerging diseases demand a stronger WHO.

Global Institutions & Rising Nationalism

• Hyper-nationalism in high-income countries is weakening global institutions like WHO.
• Without U.S. support, alliances like G-7 & G-20 are unlikely to fill the funding gap.
• Global south nations (India, Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, etc.) must step up to sustain WHO.

Health Inequities & Global South’s Role

• Funding gaps in Asia & Africa: Health challenges in these regions receive inadequate global attention & funding.
• Example: mPox vaccines were prioritized for the U.S. but remain scarce in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Over-reliance on U.S. experts for WHO programs highlights the need for a diverse pool of global health experts.

Steps for the Global South

1. Supplement WHO Funding:
   • BRICS and other alliances should step in to compensate for U.S. funding withdrawal.
2. Develop Global Health Expertise:
   • Countries like India, Ethiopia, and Ghana should train specialists in global health, not just public health.
   • Cross-training experts in diseases affecting different regions would be beneficial.
3. Establish Global Health Institutions:
   • Regional institutions should be set up in Asia & Africa to train and second experts to WHO.
4. WHO Reforms & Headquarters Relocation:
   • Reduce staff & operational costs by shifting WHO HQ to a regional office (e.g., Brazzaville, Cairo, Manila, or New Delhi).
   • Relocating to Africa or Asia would focus WHO’s work on regions needing the most attention.

Long-Term Outlook

• A future U.S. administration may rejoin WHO, but until then, this is an opportunity for low- and middle-income countries to reshape the global health agenda.
• Global health must not be dictated by high-income nations—it should be a collective effort led by the global south.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-uss-exit-from-who-a-chance-to-reshape-global-health/article69180589.ece

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