Union Budget ignores public education, betrays workers: V. Sivankutty

General Education and Labour Minister V. Sivankutty on Sunday strongly criticised the Union Budget, alleging that it has completely ignored the public education sector and betrayed the interests of ordinary workers while favouring large corporate entities.

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Addressing a press conference here, the Minister said it was unfortunate that the Budget has failed to give any priority to public school education, which plays a decisive role in shaping the country’s future. He pointed out that the Budget lacked any meaningful focus on infrastructure development or quality enhancement in schools from Classes I to XII.

According to him, most of the education-related announcements in the Budget were confined to higher education and skill development, while school education remained neglected. Besides, there were no clear plans to improve the physical conditions of lakhs of government schools across the country or to bridge the digital divide. Existing schemes such as Samagra Shiksha had received only nominal increases, which were inadequate, he added.

Mr. Sivankutty urged the Centre to learn from Kerala’s approach, as he cited various State Budget announcements such as insurance schemes for schoolchildren and extension of universal education up to the degree level.

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Terming the Budget as “anti-worker and pro-corporate”, he alleged that the Centre has completely sidelined the working class, even as it continues to promote the slogan of Viksit Bharat.

He alleged that the Budget announced large-scale tax concessions and ‘safe harbour’ benefits for corporate entities, but made no provisions for wage increases or social security for ordinary workers.

The Minister also cautioned that manpower supply services under the ambit of contract work would increase instability in the labour sector and erode the concept of permanent employment. This could eventually promote contractualisation as part of a corporate-driven agenda.

Besides, schemes like ‘Corporate Mitra’ in the MSME sector do not address the real problems faced by workers. Unemployment cannot be solved through short-term courses without ensuring fair wages and safety, he pointed out.