It has been argued that the education system in India has veered off its course in the last 11 years of the Narendra Modi government. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The country that witnessed the monumental neglect of the education system by previous governments is deeply aware of the unpleasant truth. While nations across the world reimagined education for a rapidly evolving world, India’s educational framework remained trapped in a time capsule, with the last major policy update in 1986, which was marginally amended in 1992. This was a deliberate perpetuation of colonial mindsets accompanied by a move to insulate the country from rapid technological changes taking place in the world.
What past policy was like
Corruption and a governance deficit were the defining features of the country’s educational past. Public universities were systematically starved of funds. Unregulated private institutions mushroomed into degree mills. Those who suffer from selective amnesia need to be reminded of the infamous Deemed University scandal of 2009 — university status was granted to 44 private institutions without proper evaluation, with many found guilty of financial irregularities. Political interference in education was rampant.
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The University Grants Commission and the All India Council for Technical Education became instruments of control rather than enablers of excellence. Appointments to leadership in universities were based on political loyalty. Textbooks deliberately downplayed the contributions of revolutionaries such as Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Veer Savarkar and others while portraying uncomfortable historical truths about foreign invasions. Historical narratives were carefully curated to serve partisan interests. India’s diverse cultural and intellectual traditions were systematically marginalised. All of these contributed toward creating an education system that remained disconnected from India’s glorious past and devoid of civilisational ethos.
The National Education Policy of 2020 represents a decisive break from this inglorious past. It is a product of the most extensive democratic consultations in India’s policy history. Based on the five pillars of access, equity, quality, affordability and accountability, the NEP 2020 is a policy of the people, by the people and for the future of the people.
The focus is empowerment and change
One of its primary objectives is to correct structural inequities inherited from centralised, rigid and elitist frameworks. With this transformative approach, the enrolment of Scheduled Castes (SC) in higher education has increased by 50%, Scheduled Tribes (ST) by 75%, and Other Backward Classes by 54% since 2014-15.
Women’s empowerment is at the heart of these reforms. Female enrolment across all categories has grown by an impressive 38.8%, crossing 2.18 crore in 2022-23. Among Muslim minority students, female enrolment rose by 57.5%. In the board examinations, the performance of girls has shown steady improvement. In higher education, PhD enrolment among women has increased by a whopping 135%. Today, women in the field of higher education STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) constitute 43%, thus shattering the glass ceiling in domains that were dominated by men. Female teachers now constitute 44.23% of the teaching workforce, up from 38.6% in 2014, thus transforming academic leadership landscapes. The data represent a fundamental shift in India’s academic ecosystem, with women reclaiming their rightful place in India’s intellectual journey.
These gains reflect a fundamental shift in priorities. Per-child government expenditure has increased by 130%, from ₹10,780 in 2013-14 to ₹25,043 in 2021-22. The Government is prioritising early childhood education and foundational learning and numeracy for a child’s overall development, cognitive growth, and future learning. Government schools are being upgraded with modern infrastructure, holistic pedagogy and other support systems. With concerted efforts, the number of out-of-school children and also drop-out rates have decreased. The pupil-teacher ratio has improved, and, most importantly, learning outcomes have been steadily improving.
The NEP 2020 has introduced futuristic elements such as coding from middle school, multidisciplinary approaches to problem-solving, and innovation hubs in rural areas. Over 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) are nurturing grassroot-level innovation. The Government has plans to add 50,000 more ATLs with broadband Internet connectivity in schools in the five years ahead. These initiatives represent a fundamental reimagining of education for India’s future.
In higher education, sustainable revenue models have freed universities from resource dependency. India now has 11 universities in the QS World Rankings top 500, a remarkable improvement from the past. Research publications have increased by 88% since 2015, propelling India to 39 in the Global Innovation Index, up from 76 in 2014. The Anusandhan-National Research Foundation is nurturing research and innovation in collaboration with industry and academia.
Language primacy
Most significantly, the NEP has restored primacy to all Indian languages and knowledge traditions, overcoming the decades of ‘English-first’ policies. Through the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) initiative, over 8,000 higher education institutions have adopted IKS curricula. Through the Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Yojana, 15,000 original and translated textbooks in 22 Indian languages will be published, which will benefit millions of young minds to express themselves in their mother tongues.
The Government’s commitment to social justice was reflected in the enactment of the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act, 2019, for reservation of teaching positions in central educational institutions for SCs, STs, and others by treating the ‘Institution as one Unit’ rather than a grossly flawed system of treating ‘each Department as one Unit’. Similarly, the Government dispensed with the mischievous practice of declaring “None Found Suitable” in university recruitments to reject candidates from SC/ST/OBC categories, and is converting these into non-reserved posts, in the interest of making reservation truly meaningful.
The government remains focused on building a Viksit Bharat wherein education truly liberates and empowers. The decade ahead will witness an educational renaissance that honours India’s past while fearlessly embracing the future. India’s education system has finally broken free from colonial shadows and ideological captivity. It stands poised to fulfil the dreams of millions of Indians.
This is not merely education reform. It is the intellectual decolonisation that India has awaited for a long time, which will catapult India into the comity of developed nations.
Dharmendra Pradhan is Union Minister of Education
Published – April 02, 2025 12:16 am IST