‘New India’ Needs More Investment In Education, Should Invest At Least 6 Per Cent of GDP By 2022, Says Niti Aayog 

NITI Aayog, India’s policy think tank has said in its report ‘Strategy for New India @75’ that the country needs to ramp up it's spending on education and increase it to at least 6 per cent of GDP by 2022, reports India Today.

The report, prepared by NITI Aayog is a comprehensive national strategy for ‘New India’ that defines goals for 2022-23.

The report states that according to World Bank’s 2013 data, the combined spending by central and state governments on education is 3.8 per cent of the GDP, which is far lower than the world average of 4.7 per cent for the year.

NITI Aayog’s report covers some critical areas like school education, higher education, and vocational education. Its recommendations include improvement in enrolment, learning outcome, employability and reduced stress on school children.

The report further states that even though the enrolment at elementary levels is satisfactory, the learning outcomes of the enrolled need to be improved. The report also recommends that vocational education should be initiated right from Class 8.

The report also highlights parents’ preference to private schools due to the perception that they deliver better education.