Charges and digital infrastructure
The panel famous that CBSE exempts visually impaired candidates from examination charges however has a uniform charge of Rs 1,600 for 5 topics for college kids showing in India.
It mentioned CBSE didn’t present monetary concessions or charge waivers for socio-economically deprived sections and advisable focused exemptions for economically weaker and socially deprived teams “so as to reduce the monetary burden and provides them alternative to proceed their schooling”.
The committee additionally advisable higher transparency in CBSE answer-sheet analysis via standardised and goal evaluation.
It mentioned the Board’s digital infrastructure beneath Pariksha Sangam ought to be frequently upgraded to make sure “foolproof safety and effectivity” for Board examinations in addition to nationwide choice checks such because the Central Trainer Eligibility Take a look at (CTET) and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Choice Take a look at (JNVST).
Incapacity entry
The panel flagged a extreme hole in infrastructure for youngsters with particular wants (CwSN), noting that greater than half of faculties lack CwSN-friendly services.
In line with UDISE+ 2024-25, of 14,71,437 colleges nationwide, solely 5,23,143 have CwSN bogs and eight,08,466 have ramps with handrails.
Throughout 2024-25, Rs 482 lakh was allotted for developing 186 CwSN bogs, however solely Rs 2.60 lakh was utilised, with no progress towards the bodily targets.
“The extreme hole within the availability of CwSN pleasant infrastructure reveals that greater than half of the colleges throughout the nation are devoid of CwSN pleasant infrastructure,” the committee mentioned.
The panel additionally famous that solely Rs 80.50 lakh was utilised towards a budgetary grant of Rs 962 lakh for particular educators within the elementary part, with restricted progress in recruiting and retaining educators for CwSN college students.
It advisable that the ministry set annual targets for the utilisation of funds and execution of CwSN-related tasks, present secure and accessible infrastructure inside a set timeframe and assess the requirement for particular educators nationwide.
Schooling spending
On public spending, the committee famous that one of many key targets of NEP 2020 was to boost public expenditure on schooling to six% of gross home product.
Nevertheless, mixed spending by the Centre and states at present stands at 4.1% of GDP, it mentioned, reflecting a persistent shortfall as NEP 2020 reaches its ultimate 12 months of implementation.
The Union Price range 2026-27 allotted Rs 1,39,286 crore to the Schooling Ministry, a rise of 8.27% over the earlier 12 months.
The committee advisable a devoted, time-bound monetary roadmap requiring each the Centre and states to extend schooling spending.
“To bridge the GDP hole, the Ministry ought to transfer away from marginal incremental budgeting and guarantee a compulsory annual baseline improve of 10% within the schooling funds to regularly converge with the 6% GDP goal,” it mentioned.
Because the second section of NEP enters the pipeline, the committee additionally advisable a specialised, non-lapsable schooling fund to assist long-term infrastructure creation, digital enlargement and inclusive schooling throughout monetary years.
(With inputs from PTI)
