Archana Venkat

Chennai, March 1 As the Finance Minister announced increased allocations for the education sector, by about 20 per cent to Rs 34,400 crore, the television screens flashed green on all education sector stocks. With Rs 13,100 crore being allotted to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rs 4,554 crore to secondary education, companies engaged in the business of education, are a happy bunch.

Though a large portion of the outlay is expected to be utilised in building infrastructure for schools, the scope for training is substantial. “There is opportunity at every level – primary, secondary and college. With our focus on vocational training we should also be able to benefit from the Rs 15,000-crore outlay proposed by the government towards skills training,” Mr P. Kishore, Managing Director, Everonn Systems, told Business Line.

Mr Abhinav Dhar, Senior Vice-President, K-12, Educomp Solutions Ltd, said the increased outlay in the sector could spur more private-public partnerships.

The slashing of excise duty on convergence devices, from 10 per cent to 5 per cent, is seen as a move to encourage IT adoption in education, industry players felt. This includes giving students access to computers and setting up digital classrooms.

Apart from IT companies, publishing houses such as Navneet Publications also see scope for increased business. Mr Sunil R. Gala, Director — Finance of the company, said there would be demand for more education aids.

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