The Union Budget 2026 is just around the corner. Education experts want the government to stop only increasing enrolment. They say it's time to improve the quality of education, build better infrastructure, and focus on future-ready skills. India has the world’s second-largest education system. Nearly 40% of its people are under 25 years old. In the last Budget, education got ₹1.28 lakh crore, up 6.22%. Of that, ₹50,077.95 crore was for higher education alone. The Economic Survey 2024-25 shows that the number of higher education institutions climbed by 13.8% in eight years. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) also went up from 23.7% to 28.4%. Dr. P.R. Sodani, president of IIHMR University, said higher investment in education and healthcare is key to building human capital. He said, "Spending should focus on building skilled talent, digital transformation and institutional capacity." He sees Budget 2026 as a chance to boost infrastructure, digital and multilingual education, and prepare students for a knowledge-driven economy. Pankaj Priya, deputy director and dean at BIMTECH, pointed out that access to education has grown fast but infrastructure hasn’t kept up. "Spending must prioritise capacity-building, research and employability," he said. He added, "The next phase of reform must pivot towards quality, deep research capacity and strong employability outcomes, not just expanding access." Priya also stressed the need to update curricula to include new technologies like generative AI and machine learning, following the National Education Policy 2020.