What Education Sector Wants From Budget 2026: Skills, Quality and Jobs

As India prepares for Union Budget 2026, stakeholders from across the education ecosystem are calling for a decisive shift in priorities. With India’s vast youth population at the centre of its long-term growth story, educators and policy experts argue that the upcoming budget must move beyond infrastructure expansion and enrolment figures to focus on learning quality, relevant skills, and clear pathways to employment.

Industry leaders say Budget 2026 presents a crucial opportunity to convert India’s demographic advantage into a productive workforce by strengthening teaching standards, embedding skills into higher education, and making learning more affordable and future-oriented—especially for students in Tier 2, Tier 3, and rural regions.

From Expansion to Learning Quality

Education experts stress that the next phase of reform must prioritise outcomes rather than scale. Sandeep Rai, Founder of The Circle, described Budget 2026 as a strategic investment in India’s future rather than a routine expenditure exercise. He argued that the focus should shift from building more classrooms to improving what happens inside them.

According to Rai, India needs sustained investment in teacher recruitment, professional training, and performance development to raise classroom standards. He also highlighted the importance of public–private partnerships to create model schools and scalable innovations that can be replicated nationwide. Stronger links between schools and industry, he said, would ensure students acquire skills that match real-world needs.

Skills-Embedded Higher Education

Calls for reform are particularly strong in higher education. Supriya Pattanayak, Vice Chancellor of Centurion University in Odisha, said Budget 2026 must place skills-embedded education at the heart of nation-building if India wants to position itself as a global skills hub.

She advocated a significant increase in funding—suggesting at least a 20% rise or an additional ₹10,000 crore—to establish AI-enabled, industry-linked laboratories across 500 institutions in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Such labs, she said, would expand hands-on training in critical areas such as deep technology, climate-resilient agriculture, and health sciences.

Pattanayak also underlined the need to simplify frameworks for industry–academia collaboration. Tax incentives and streamlined CSR mechanisms, she noted, could unlock thousands of crores annually for structured apprenticeships, particularly benefiting rural students and first-generation learners.

Preparing Youth for Future Jobs

Affordability and employability remain key concerns. Ashish Munjal, Co-founder and CEO of SUNSTONE, said Budget 2026 should focus on preparing students for future jobs through project-based learning in emerging fields like artificial intelligence, data science, and advanced digital technologies.

He pointed out that high education costs continue to block access for many capable students outside major cities. To address this, he suggested expanding interest-free or subsidised education loans and enlarging scholarship pools to ease financial pressure on families.

Munjal also proposed recognising education as a lifelong necessity, similar to healthcare. Employer-sponsored learning credits and incentives, he said, could encourage continuous upskilling and help workers stay relevant in a fast-changing job market.

Linking Education to Employment

Across the sector, there is broad agreement that education policy must be closely aligned with employment outcomes. Stronger industry partnerships, apprenticeship models, and practical exposure are seen as essential to reducing skill gaps and improving job readiness.

Experts argue that without such alignment, India risks producing graduates who are qualified on paper but unprepared for modern workplaces. Budget 2026, they say, should therefore support innovation in curriculum design, digital learning platforms, and outcome-based funding models.

A Defining Moment for India’s Youth

With millions of young Indians entering the workforce each year, educators see Budget 2026 as a defining moment. By investing in teaching quality, practical skills, innovation, and affordability, they believe India can unlock the full potential of its youth and build a more resilient, competitive economy.

The message from the education sector is clear: the next budget must treat education not just as a social service, but as the backbone of India’s long-term growth and employment strategy.