The Centre proposes to set up a digital university to develop and provide access to digital education tools, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on February 1, as part of her speech on the Union Budget 2022-23.

In fact, “digital” was the theme of all education initiatives in the Budget speech, both for school and higher education.

The digital university will have programmes in different Indian languages, said Ms. Sitharaman, adding that it will be built on a network hub and spoke model, with collaborations with best institutions in the country

With regard to school education, Ms. Sitharaman acknowledged the serious impact of the pandemic on crores of children, mostly in Government schools and many from vulnerable communities, who have lost almost two years of formal schooling. The Government recognises the need to build supplementary teaching resources, she said.

The PM e-vidya scheme will be expanded from the existing 12 educational television channels to 200 channels. This would allow all States to provide extensive content in regional languages, the Finance Minister said.

The Centre is also taking steps to develop high quality e-content that can be delivered through various modes. Teachers will also be equipped to use such digital tools, she added.