How to improve India’s education system?

When we start a didactic discourse on improving education in India, we must first understand What ails the state of education in India. India is at the nation-building stage with around 1.2 billion and the median age safely approximately 26 years. It is this age group and the expertise that can win over the world.

However, despite the understanding, education in India has remained a significant problem. According to India Today, the Indian education system is struggling with various issues, and the Ministery of Education or the universities in India have been diligently working towards reforming the existing model of education in India.

While India is about to attain a whopping 5 trillion-dollar GDP in this decade only, there are a couple of challenges that it needs to overcome; among them is the most pertinent query: how to improve India’s education system or how to better education in India. However, before we discuss what the Ministry of Education aims to do to change the system, let us look back at how the system of education in India has evolved over the years.

Since Indus Valley Civilization, learning has passed on from the oral form to the written one. In the interim, the great Aryabhatta discovered 0 and changed the whole education process in India and globally. Gurukul happened, where the concept of student-teacher bonding developed, and a holistic approach in terms of education came into being.

During the British regime, the system of education in India solidified with the establishment of schools and colleges and the doors of educational institutions opening for women. The British brought forth some rather logical and modern education policy which has gone a long way in shaping education in India.

Coming back from the past, according to a report of Financial Express, 682 students took part in the International Science and Mathematics Olympiads between 1989 and 2019. India managed to bag gold, silver, and bronze along with numerous accolades, according to the reports available at the website of Homi Bhaba center for science education. Commendable, isn’t it? However, if one looks at the Ministry of Education’s investment in proportion to GDP, it is less than 3% and is minimal compared to the budgets of the developing nations or the developed countries.

Some Facts and Statistics about Education in India

• As per the Right to Education Act, 2020 drafted by the Ministery of Education, every child between 3 to 18 is supposed to get free and compulsory education.
• The spending on education in India under the aegis of the ministry of education was increased by 80% between 2011 and 2015
• India’s literacy rate rose to approximately 74% in 2011, which is remarkable, considering1992, 52%.
• As of the latest survey in 2020, education in India statistics reveals that about 1.39 billion, nearly 26% of the Indian population, fall under the 0-14 years category, providing a fantastic opportunity for the education sector.
• Approximately 500 million, almost 18% of the population, fall in the 15 years to 24 years category, highlighting the secondary and higher secondary categories, in terms of education in India
• The universities in India are seats for higher education and hones some of the best minds.
• The NEP 2020 drawn by the Ministry of Education clearly states that several regulators in the educational sector are causing disagreement and thereby increasing the burden of compliance in educational institutions.

Why does the Indian Education System need a revamping then, and how will education in India benefit?

The statistics look pretty good, yet there is quite a gap between reality and what we need to achieve. As we had mentioned earlier that India currently boasts of a median age of about 26 years. That can be the ace up the sleeve as far as the policymaking of the ministry of education and the universities in India are concerned. Education can make this multiply as dividends and make India a superpower.

Nevertheless, as mentioned earlier, if we consider India’s investment in terms of GDP is minimal (Wes.org ( BRICS Joint Statistical Publication 2017); at a meager 3%, which reflects on numerous fields. For example, let’s look at the number of patents filed by a country.
It gives us a clear-cut understanding of what kind of investment the Ministry of Education is putting in the sector of education. Why are we talking about the importance of patents in understanding the situation of education? Because patents indicate the ability or effort that goes in terms of innovation in a country, education in India can substantially increase.

The above statistics clearly demonstrate that India is not even amongst the top 10 nations, filing patents, though it is in the league of the top 5 in terms of GDP ( Source: Statista.com). Therefore, while education in India has shown continuous growth, there is still much scope to improve it. The Ministry of education must take specific calls and implement corrective measures to make India’s education system one of the best globally.

Let us then take a look at the way forward and ponder upon how to improve India’s education system –

Let us quickly look at some pertinent points in improving the system of education in India.

1.Separate education and politics – One of the most important things to improve education in India is to separate education and politics. To achieve this, The Ministry of Education should keep educational institutions, like universities in India, out of political interference. The former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization G. Madhavan Nair, in an interview with The Economic Times, had mentioned that education in India is a ” commercial commodity”.

• Political dogmas often hijack education in India. Political parties often use schools or build educational institutions to build politicians or further their ideologies; rather than empowering every student through education.
• Rote Learning – We have moved ahead in time. However, we have not been able to wean the system away from rote learning. Education in India is still largely dependent on simply mugging up the syllabi rather than understanding.

The ministry of education has to pick up the baton in their hands to eradicate this tendency to improve education in India. Universities in India and institutions have to emphasize more on skill-based learning and implementation.

2. Curriculum Redesign- When we talk about how to improve education in India, we must also talk about the need to redesign the curriculum.

As we discussed the need to do away with the rote learning system, the ministry of education must design course materials based on skill development. Skill-based education must be made a part of the curriculum from an early age to prepare pupils to join the universities in India when they leave school.

3. Emphasis on Rural Education- This has been a bane for the longest time as far the education in India is concerned. The thrust in implementing various educational policies has always been on urban clusters. Very few excellent educational institutions are present in rural areas, and the top-notch universities in India are in the urban landscape.

Therefore, the ministry of education has to bridge the gap between the rural and urban areas to improve India’s educational system and make education in India a powerful success story.

4. Improving the quality of the Teachers- One of the most significant issues that we can talk of when we discuss how to improve education in India is the quality of the educators.

Teachers are the most crucial aspect or an essential part of the educational sector. Thus teachers should be given the best training possible. They can be considered second parents and are shaping the future. However, more often than not, the teachers themselves lack the excellence that they require. In 2011 the Government and the Ministry of Education created an examination for the teacher aspirants. in a dismal state of affairs, nearly 99% of the incumbents have failed this examination since then.

The Annual Status of Education Report published by the Ministry of Education reveals that after 3 years of schooling, nearly 60% of students still cannot read correctly. Therefore to improve India’s education system, it is imperative to ensure that India has excellent educators. It is only then that education in India will succeed to flourish.

5. Improving educational infrastructure- While discussing the wherewithal of improving the education system in India, we must also keep in mind that the Ministry of Education has to put in efforts to bring world-class infrastructural facilities for educational institutions.
Currently, most of the schools in rural areas do not have proper toilets or classrooms. Schools and universities in India have to be built even in remote areas too. The quality of education and the infrastructure of imparting them has to be uniform. The Ministry of education has to ensure that they give the students an environment to grow up liberally.

6. Address the Issues- We must recognize and understand the importance of regular assessment in developing the system of education in India.

India should regularly participate in various international assessments like Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and Programme. This process will help the Ministry of education and the universities of India to understand global trends. This process will, in turn, make headways in setting benchmarks and goals. An internal accreditation agency should come into place, and third-party audits should regularly check the progress. The Ministry of education should set up a student tracking program to map the entire educational journey.

7. What Universities in India can do- Education in India can be significantly improved with the intervention and proactive steps by the universities in India.

The universities can encourage research work by holding some focused research-related competitions. In order to improve education in India, the universities can offer stipends to research scholars and have various industry tie-ups to encourage the students. The universities in India can also arrange to have Experts delivering relevant discourses from time to time to give the students a world view.

8. Get rid of standardizing the tests- We discussed the rote learning system earlier on while discussing ways and means to improve the system of education in India.

A byproduct of the same is the standardization of tests in the country. This malpractice has hindered developing independent thought processes amongst children and, as a result, has lesser research works to showcase. This standardization of tests is so imbibed in the Indian parental psyche that a whopping number of 700 school children were expelled from Bihar for cheating, and nearly 300 parents were taken into police custody to pass on information to their children. The Ministry of education should also look into the evaluation system, as there are plenty of times that students drop out of school due to poor marks. The focus should slowly move on to project-related communications, developing leadership skills, building strength based on extra-curricular activities and participation of the students. This focused approach will go a long way in developing education in India.

9. Allocation of more budget to improve education in India- India made significant improvements from 2011 to 2015 in budget allocation for education

However, only a meager 3.65% of India’s GDP was allocated for the education sector in 2016-17. Countries such as Brazil, Mexico, or New Zealand have allocated approximately 12% of their GDP to better the educational sector. Nevertheless, in the Union Budget 2021-22, the Ministry of education under the Union Government has allocated an amount of US 7.56 billion for spreading literacy and school education and US 5.28 billion for higher education. Proper usage of the allocated funds can make at least 20 universities in India amongst the top-rated 200 universities globally. Following the same, it is also estimated that India will be amongst the top 200 universities in terms of research output.

10. Educating the Parents- To improve the system of education in India it is imperative to increase the knowledge base of the parents. More often than not, it’s seen that the parents pressure their children into choosing streams that they are not comfortable with. The career path is often selected by parental pressure due to which the students fail to excel, leading them to mental trauma. Therefore it is crucial to explain to parents the various career optics and educational options that the Ministry of Education has laid down.

11. Establish a Mission to teach everyone to Read- One of the primary and crucial initiatives in improving the system of education in India is establishing a mission to read. If a child reaches 9 years, they can read and write in any language, then 80% of India’s educational problems will be solved. Reading is of paramount importance, and the Ministry of Education needs to set up Reading centers or lay down Reading efficiency level tests before children can reach the threshold of the universities in India or abroad.

12. Invest in Technology for Education in India- Investing in technology for the betterment of education in India is a mandate given the current situation. Post pandemic when the Ministry of Education laid down the rule for conducting online classes and examinations, even the universities in India conducted all their admission tests and classes online; it is time for India to invest in technology that reaches the farthest corner of the country. The new age education system involves the internet, smartphones and tablets, and infrastructure to support these users. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure free internet and stable connections by the Government and train the teachers too in the new educational system by the Ministry of education to improve the system of education in India.

Thus the policymakers of India and the Ministry of education should join hands and come forward to make the system of education in India better and far more effective. We should be able to stand up to the global educational policies. In this article, we discussed specific policies on how to improve the education system in India and what the universities in India can do to reach the zenith.
Because it is a constantly evolving system, educators also need to evolve and grow with time and deliver what is required. The policymakers of India and the Ministry of education must lay out policies to reach the remotest areas and encourage the next generation to research and put India on the global map. Policymakers must keep in mind the students’ needs, and universities in India need to encourage students to research, which is the need of the hour.

The Ministry of education needs to craft policies accordingly emphasizing the students’ mental health. Let us all come forward and improve education in India.. Let the children develop and mature into happy, responsible, and educated adults. Let every stakeholder, like the Ministry of education, academia, industry, and most importantly, the students join hands in improving education in India cause it no longer can wait.