Education Sector Demands Strategic Budget 2026 Allocations for Skilling and Digital Transformation
Education leaders and edtech executives across India have issued a strong collective call for significantly higher and more precisely targeted allocations in the upcoming Budget 2026. They emphasize that strategic education spending will be absolutely critical to realizing India's ambitious vision of emerging as a premier global talent and education hub. The consensus among industry experts is that current funding levels must be substantially enhanced to address pressing needs in skilling initiatives, digital learning infrastructure development, and higher-education financing mechanisms.
Focus on Outcomes and Underdeveloped Regions
Ravin Nair, Managing Director of QS I-GAUGE, articulated that the forthcoming budget must prioritize measurable outcomes, with particular attention to underdeveloped and rural regions. "We look forward to seeing a meaningful increase in this year's budget to strengthen skilling, accelerate digital transformation, and invest in infrastructure to improve learning outcomes, particularly in underdeveloped and rural regions," Nair stated. He further emphasized that "amid changing geopolitical dynamics, India is increasingly viewed as a stable, consistently growing economy, and a strong education budget will be critical in reinforcing our ambition to emerge as a global educational hub." Nair highlighted that achieving the National Education Policy's target of raising education spending to 6 percent of GDP would play a decisive role in accomplishing these national objectives.
Education as Core Economic Driver
Sanjay Salunkhe, Founder of Jaro Education, stressed the essential need for continued recognition of education as a fundamental economic driver to realize the Viksit Bharat vision. "Building workforce readiness through outcome-led skilling, industry-aligned learning, and practical capabilities will be crucial as India's young and working population navigates an increasingly competitive, skills-driven job market," Salunkhe explained. He advocated for focused governmental support for digital and online education platforms, which could dramatically expand access to higher and executive education across diverse geographical regions. "Strengthening India's higher education ecosystem through globally competitive curricula, research-led learning, and deeper university-industry collaboration will be critical to developing future-ready talent at scale," he added.
Addressing the Employability Gap
Swapnil Sahoo, a faculty member at Great Lakes Institute of Management in Gurgaon, pointed to the persistent employability gap, urging that Budget 2026 must transcend mere headline allocation figures. "While the India Skills Report 2026 shows graduate employability has risen to 56.35 percent, the gap between academia and industry remains stark," Sahoo observed. He called for targeted policy interventions, noting that "with Rs 500 crore already allocated for AI Centres of Excellence, Budget 2026 must now incentivize 'Last-Mile Skilling'" to specifically bridge critical gaps within the expanding gig economy workforce.
Vineet Gupta, Managing Director at Jamboree Education, acknowledged recent governmental reforms in higher education, including the establishment of the National Research Foundation. "I hope this reform-oriented approach continues and gathers further momentum," Gupta expressed, indicating optimism for sustained policy evolution.
Shifting Focus to Classroom Impact
Sumeet Mehta, CEO and Co-Founder of LEAD Group, argued that the budgetary focus must decisively shift from mere access to genuine classroom impact. "As digital learning becomes integral to school education, the real challenge lies in translating potential into consistent classroom impact," Mehta asserted. He identified budget support for robust digital infrastructure and comprehensive teacher upskilling programs as essential components. Furthermore, Mehta proposed specific fiscal measures: "Rationalising GST on essential education inputs would make a meaningful difference, including removing the 18 percent GST on paper used for textbooks and lowering the tax burden on digital learning tools."
Calls for Structural Reform Over Incremental Funding
Vinu Warrier, Managing Partner and Founder of eduVelocity, conveyed that the education sector anticipates structural reform rather than piecemeal, incremental funding increases. "Higher education—especially postgraduate and global pathways—has become increasingly out of reach for middle-income families," Warrier noted. He outlined expectations for "a student-centric financing model that combines affordable credit, income-linked repayment mechanisms and transparent scholarship disbursal." Warrier concluded that public spending should be strategically prioritized towards enhancing employability, improving completion rates, and ensuring workforce readiness, all supported by stronger and more effective public-private collaboration frameworks.
