Analysis of India's Educational Policies
The current discourse on India's educational policies highlights several key issues and developments:
Educational Freedom and Employability
- There is a claim that educational policies under the current government have freed the system from past constraints, citing initiatives like Atal Tinkering Labs and coding from middle school.
- The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is positioned as a catalyst for an "educational renaissance."
- Despite these claims, the educational system lacks alignment with the demands of the marketplace, affecting the employability of graduates.
- Vivekananda’s Perspective: Education should empower individuals to achieve self-sufficiency.
NEP 2020 and its Impact
- The NEP 2020 is the fourth major policy after the Radhakrishnan Commission (1948), Kothari Commission (1966), and Officers’ Commission (1985).
- The policy emphasizes both depth (technical expertise) and breadth (flexibility) in education.
- By 2025, India's graduate employability rate saw negligible improvement, standing at 42.6% compared to 44.3% in 2023.
- Knowledge-intensive employment remains low at 11.72% in 2023.
- Multiple entry-exit points in education have led to poorly paying jobs, highlighting a gap in quality and relevance.
- NEP's approach is compared to the outdated Vannevar Bush model, lacking financial support.
Higher Education and Rankings
- There is an increase in Indian universities ranking in the top 500 of QS World University Rankings (WUR), but they have low publication quality.
- India’s Category Normalized Citation Impact (CNCI) improved slightly from 17th to 16th position among G-20 countries.
- The increase in rankings has been publicized heavily by the Ministry but lacks depth in academic quality.
Research and Innovation
- Several mega research projects were initiated, but their outcomes remain unclear to the public.
- India's Global Innovation Index (GII) improved from rank 76 in 2014 to 39 in 2024.
- India lags behind Malaysia and Türkiye in GII rankings.
- Focus on innovation has not translated into significant commercial success or technological advancement.
Start-Ups and Indigenous Technology
- Indian start-ups focus on basic services, unlike those in China, the U.S., and Israel, which tackle high-tech fields.
- There is a lack of indigenous technology and science, hindering the development of truly innovative start-ups.
The Role of UGC and Policy Execution
- The University Grants Commission (UGC) is criticized for being an outdated regulatory body with excessive control.
- The relevance of changes in pedagogy and syllabus to industry and employability is questioned.
- There is a call for the UGC to be reformed or disbanded to improve educational outcomes.
