Schools to get major funding boost; allocation crosses ₹16,000 crore

On 1st February 2026, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Union Budget 2026. The education sector was the major recipient of announcements in the presentation. The major chunk of the budget was allocated to the two autonomous bodies of the Central Board of Secondary Education, the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS).

As per the report, the government has given 10129.21 crores to the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan this time.. A 625.57 crore increase was made to this amount compared with the last year's budget allocation. In the year 2025, 26, KVS was granted a sum of 9503.84 crores in the budget.

Check the last 5 years of grants received by KVS.

2020: ₹6437.68 crore

2021: ₹6800 crore

2022: ₹7462.25 crore

2023: ₹8500 crore

2024: ₹8727 crore

Similarly, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti received a ₹6025 crore budget, an increase of ₹719.77 crore compared to the last budget allocation. Last year, NVS received ₹5,305.23 crore.

Check the budget allocation for the last 5 years for NVS.

2020: ₹3,300 cr

2021: Rs. 3800 cr

2022: Rs. 4115 cr

2023: ₹5486.50 cr

2024: ₹5,816.50 cr

According to the Times of India report, the amount in question is meant to take care of running the Kendriya Vidyalayas in the country, which include the payment of salaries, academics expenses, and other operational costs.

The Education Ministry's total budget allocation this year stands at 139289.38 crore. There has been a rise of 8.27% in the allocation as compared to the previous year. In 2025, the total budget allocation for the Education Ministry was 128650 crore.

Union Minister for Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan praised the Budget 2026, 27 for being a Yuva Shakti, a driven budget supporting education and employment creation and also for laying down a roadmap for the next phase of development.