As India prepares for Union Budget 2026, education experts urge the government to move beyond infrastructure and enrolment numbers. They want policies focused on quality teaching, skills-based higher education, industry partnerships, and affordability, especially for youth in smaller towns and rural areas. The goal: transform India’s demographic dividend into a future-ready workforce.
Sandeep Rai, Founder of The Circle, emphasizes that Budget 2026 should be seen as a long-term investment in India’s future, not just an expense.
“The 2026 national education budget is an opportunity to continue shaping the future of India and unlocking our demographic dividend,” Rai says.
He stresses that India needs to move away from merely expanding infrastructure and enrolment and instead invest in initiatives that drive quality educational outcomes.
Rai highlights three priorities:
Better teacher recruitment and training
Public–private partnerships for model schools
Stronger industry–school links
“We have to see this year’s budget as a strategic investment in the future of India’s youth, not merely a cost,” he adds.
Supriya Pattanayak, Vice Chancellor of Centurion University, Odisha, urges the government to prioritize skills-embedded higher education in Budget 2026.
“To fully capitalise on India’s demographic advantage and become the global skills capital, Budget 2026 must make skills-embedded higher education the foundation of nation building,” she says.
Pattanayak calls for a 20% increase in funding, or at least ₹10,000 crore, to set up AI-powered, industry-linked labs in 500 Tier 2 and Tier 3 institutions.
These labs would help universities expand hands-on training in areas like deep technology, climate-resilient agriculture, and health sciences.
She also recommends stronger industry–academia partnerships, suggesting tax incentives and a simpler CSR route, which could free up about ₹5,000 crore annually for structured apprenticeships, especially benefiting rural and first-generation learners.
Ashish Munjal, Co-founder and CEO of SUNSTONE, sees Budget 2026 as an opportunity to prepare India’s youth for future jobs.
He emphasizes higher spending on project-based programs in emerging technologies such as AI, data science, and digital learning platforms.
Affordability remains a major concern for millions of students in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Munjal suggests interest-free or subsidized education loans and a larger scholarship pool.
He also recommends treating learning like a long-term necessity, akin to health insurance.
“We need to provide incentives through employer-sponsored learning credits,” Munjal says, adding that it would improve employability and support lifelong learning.
The education sector wants Budget 2026 policies that:
Improve teacher quality
Build practical skills in students
Support innovation and industry collaboration
Make education more affordable and accessible
If implemented well, these steps can close skill gaps, boost employment, and strengthen India’s economy, turning the country’s youth advantage into a long-term growth engine.