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Uttar Pradesh budget: Lion’s share for basic education with ₹80,997 crore; vocational training, skill development get big hike
The state budget boosts vocational and skill development by 88%, with significant increases for education sectors, aiming to enhance employability.
The state budget gives a big push to vocational and skill development with a 88% hike, raises the allocation for technical education by 72% and increases the outlay for secondary education by 15% and higher education by 7% while proposing a whopping ₹80,997.16 crore for basic education.
To make students employable, the state government has proposed ₹22,167 crore for secondary education, including ₹150 crore for Dream Skill lab clusters in government secondary schools.
Each district will have a Dream Skill lab where government secondary students will be trained in a number of vocations like robotics, Artificial Intelligence and technology to make the students future ready and employable, said additional director, vocational, Manoj Dwivedi, talking to HT.
“Soon, the UP government will sign an agreement with Tata and a Japanese company for a project worth ₹13.39 crore. Tata will bear 68% of expenses while the state’s share will be 32%,” Dwivedi said.
The plan to provide better basic facilities in secondary schools includes ₹520 crore for government secondary schools and ₹10 crore for non-government-aided secondary schools. A provision of ₹20 crore is proposed for scholarships for students of government Sanskrit schools.
A new ₹89-crore scheme is proposed for cashless medical facilities to teachers in non-government secondary schools. The first Sainik School in Purvanchal and the second in the state has started operating in Gorakhpur district.
Model schools to be built in every district
With ₹80,997.16 crore, the budget especially focuses on strengthening the state’s basic education system by improving the infrastructure of council schools, raising educational quality, and promoting the holistic development of students.
The state government is moving towards bringing a change in the primary and upper primary education structure, said Sandeep Singh, basic education minister.
A provision of ₹650 cr has been allocated for the scheme to provide free uniforms, school bags, shoes, socks, and stationery for all students of government schools from grades 1 to 8 to ensure that no child is deprived of education due to lack of resources.
The government is also working on a plan to establish two Chief Minister Model Composite Schools in each district.
A total of 150 such schools are proposed in the state’s 75 districts, which will be equipped with modern facilities, digital classrooms, and advanced educational resources.
There are also plans to develop one Chief Minister Abhyudaya School in each district, ensuring equal quality education for rural and urban students.
A provision of ₹580 crore is proposed for a new scheme to establish residential girls’ schools in development blocks where Kasturba Gandhi Girls’ Schools are not established.
Special provisions have also been made for teachers and staff. A new scheme is being implemented to provide cashless medical facilities to teachers, non-teaching staff, and contract or honorarium-based personnel of council schools, for which a provision of approximately ₹358 crore is proposed.
Under the Samagra Shiksha Yojana, ₹300 crore is proposed for a new scheme to develop all primary schools as smart schools from state funds.
A total of ₹300 crore is proposed for a new scheme to maintain schools that were found substandard in the safety audits of aided non-government schools.
Higher education budget hiked by 7%
A provision of approximately ₹6,591 crore is proposed for higher education, which is 7% more than the 2025-26 budget. A budget provision of ₹400 crore is proposed for the Rani Lakshmi Bai Scooty Scheme, which provides scooties to meritorious girl students.
A sum of ₹40 crore is proposed for the Chief Minister’s Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme.
A sum of ₹50 crore is proposed for the establishment of Maa Vindhyavasini University, Mirzapur, ₹50 crore for establishment of Guru Jambheshwar University, Moradabad and ₹50 crore for setting up Maa Pateshwari University, Balrampur.
A sum of ₹21 crore is proposed for a new scheme to establish Swami Shukdevanand University, Shahjahanpur and ₹21 crore to establish Kashi Naresh University, Bhadohi.
A sum of ₹14.50 cr is proposed for the Student Mental Health and Welfare Policy being introduced for higher educational institutions of the state.
Technical education budget hiked by 72%
Higher education minister Yogendra Upadhyay said, “In the 2026-27 budget, approximately ₹6,591 crore has been proposed for higher education, which is 7% more than in 2025-26.”
He stated that to encourage meritorious female students, ₹400 crore has been proposed for the Rani Lakshmi Bai Scooty Scheme.
Approximately ₹714 crore is proposed for Centres of Excellence and upgradation in government polytechnics.
As many 251 smart classrooms have been established in government polytechnics, and the process of establishing 143 smart classrooms is underway.
A sum of ₹254 crore is proposed to upgrade government polytechnics and develop infrastructure facilities, and ₹50 crore for the establishment of government polytechnics.
Vocational education, skill
development outlay hiked by 88%
Minister of state (independent charge) for vocational education, skill development and entrepreneurship, Kapil Dev Aggarwal said, “The budget for vocational education and skill development has been increased by 88% compared to 2025-26, with an allocation of approximately ₹3,349 crore proposed.”
Currently, 286 government industrial training institutes are operating in the state, offering 1,90,272 seats for youth training in various trades, he said.
While 47 have women’s branches for training women, 12 State Industrial Training Institutes operate independently for women.
More than 2,963 private Industrial Training Institutes operate in the state, with over 4.58 lakh seats.
With the support of Tata Technologies Ltd., 149 selected State Industrial Training Institutes have been upgraded under Phase 1 and training has commenced. Under Phase 2, the upgrading work of 62 State Industrial Training Institutes is underway in the financial year 2025-2026, with the support of Tata Technologies Ltd.
A sum of ₹1,000 crore is proposed for training expenses under the Skill Development Mission and approximately ₹836 crore for the Artisan Training Scheme. A provision of ₹500 crore is proposed for Project Praveen and ₹20 crore for the Chief Minister’s Apprenticeship Training Scheme.
