Government Slashes AICTE Funding by 61%, Scholarships Hit

The Union government has drastically reduced funding for the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) by 61% over two years, dropping from Rs 420 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 137.5 crore in 2024-25, Minister of State for Education Dr. Sukanta Majumdar revealed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. This sharp cut, disclosed in response to MP Dr. M. Thambidurai’s question, has sparked concerns about its impact on technical education and student support, particularly scholarships, even as the government rolls out ambitious new schemes under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

AICTE’s scholarship expenditure, critical for quality improvement in technical institutions, fell 18% from Rs 387.13 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 284.32 crore in 2023-24, with a slight recovery to Rs 309.47 crore in 2024-25, still below earlier levels. This reduction threatens direct support for students, especially under schemes like Pragati (for girls) and Saksham (for differently-abled students), which offer Rs 50,000 annually to eligible candidates.

Meanwhile, the government is prioritizing high-budget initiatives, including the Rs 50,000 crore Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) for research and innovation, and the Rs 6,000 crore One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) scheme to provide journal access to over 6,300 institutions by 2027. Budget 2025-26 also allocated Rs 990 crore for Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health, sustainable cities, and agriculture, plus Rs 500 crore for an AI centre for education. The Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education (MERITE) scheme, with Rs 4,200 crore, will enhance 275 technical institutions by 2029-30.

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Since 2017, the World Class Institutions scheme has designated 12 Institutes of Eminence, including IIT Bombay, IISc Bengaluru, and private universities like BITS Pilani, with nearly Rs 6,200 crore allocated to public institutions. The government has also established 16 IIITs, 8 IIMs, 8 Central Universities, 7 IITs, 2 IISERs, and 1 NIT since 2014, reflecting a push for global competitiveness.

However, the steep AICTE funding cuts raise alarms about the sustainability of student-level support and the operational capacity of technical colleges. Posts on X highlight concerns that reduced scholarships could exacerbate dropout rates, particularly for marginalized students, with some users questioning the prioritization of big-ticket schemes over grassroots education funding. The contrast between new initiatives and AICTE’s budget slash underscores a critical challenge in balancing innovation with equitable access to technical education.

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