There is growing trend towards reliance on private schools.
But the government schools ought to be the drivers of change to create real impact.
What are the challenges for India in providing education?
Majority of children in each class in India have educational attainments much lower than the one they are in.
Only half of all students who enter primary school make it to the upper primary level.
Less than half that around 25 million get into the 9-12 class cycle.
The number of secondary schools is less than 150,000 for a country of 1.3 billion, and even this comes down to just 100,000 at the higher secondary level.
While there are around five million primary school teachers, at the secondary level the number is just 1.5 million.
The inexorable shift to private school education along with the Right to Education Act represents a failure of the public-school system.
What needs to be done?
India needs to view school education as a critical strategic investment and give it the status of a vital infrastructure project.
This should be carried out with the help of countries that have an amazing record in providing quality school education.
Indian public-school system must be swiftly and radically revamped.
Government must invest more on Teacher training institutions as they constitute an important part, to turn out world-class teachers.
To create the world’s largest pool of well-educated and highly trained workers India needs to introduce new policies at high economic backdrop.
