Delhi govt earmarks Rs 19,326 crore for education sector: free bicycles, Sainik School announced

Delhi govt earmarked Rs 19,326 crore for the education sector in 2026-27, the lion’s share of its Budget, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announcing a Sainik School in the capital and free bicycles for 1.30 lakh Class IX girl students.

Tabling the Budget, the chief minister said the government will introduce a “Private Play Schools Policy” to regulate the play school under a framework and a common library infrastructure, along with a digital library system to ensure equal access to knowledge resources for students, Gupta added.

She said around 1,30,000 girl students studying in Class IX will be provided free bicycles to make it easier for them to reach school, with an allocation of Rs 90 crore for the scheme.

To empower the youth with discipline, patriotism and leadership qualities, the Delhi government will set up a Sainik School in the city for the first time and demanded that the Centre provide 10 Kendriya Vidyalayas in the national capital.

The allocation for the education sector this year is slightly higher than last year’s Rs 19,291 crore, which had also received the highest share of the total budget.

The government has proposed Rs 5 crore to establish medical rooms in every government school in 2026-27. It has also earmarked Rs 2 crore for providing creche facilities in offices with designated caregivers, she said.

An allocation of Rs 10 crore has been proposed for the use of artificial intelligence in assessment systems, examination processes and personality development to improve learning outcomes, while Rs 5 crore has been set aside for exposure visits for students of Delhi government schools, Gupta said.

She further said that, additionally, Rs 1.5 crore has been proposed for pedagogical innovations and exposure visits for CM Shri Schools.

Out of the total allocation, Rs 19,148 crore has been proposed specifically for education, including Rs 200 crore for the construction of new school buildings and Rs 275 crore for the expansion of existing schools, she said.

The chief minister further said that meritorious students who have passed Class 10 will get laptops, and Rs 10 crore is allocated for this.

She said that around 7,000 classrooms were equipped with smart boards in 2025-26, and the target for 2026-27 is to set up 8,777 smart classrooms, with plans to expand this to 21,000 in the near future. An allocation of Rs 150 crore has been made for this initiative.

An amount of Rs 50 crore has been earmarked for sports hostels, sports grounds and swimming pools, the CM said and added that the government has proposed Rs 18.5 crore for new initiatives aimed at making education globally competitive through artificial intelligence, data analysis, exchange programmes and exposure visits.

Under technical education, Gupta said, a budget of Rs 720 crore has been allocated, with plans to expand infrastructure at ITIs in Shahdara, Pusa and Jail Road, and construct new buildings for GB Pant Engineering College and Polytechnic with an allocation of Rs 100 crore.

Centres of Excellence will be established at ITIs in Jahangirpuri, Dhirpur, Shahdara, Narela and Nandnagri, she said.

Gupta also announced plans to develop an “Educity” in Narela, expand Ambedkar University and construct a permanent campus for the Sports University in Mundka. An allocation of Rs 10 crore has been made for the National Law University.

A “Talent Hunt Scheme” will be organised to allow youth from all 70 Assembly constituencies to participate, with Rs 10 crore allocated for the initiative, she said.

CM added that rehabilitation centres in government stadiums will be set up, and a Private Sports Academy Policy to improve sports infrastructure and exposure for students of government schools will be introduced.