Swaminomics: Developed India is not possible without improving the education system

Author: Swaminathan S Anklesaria Iyer
Prime Minister Modi dreams of a developed India. his/her goal is to make India a rich country by 2047. For this, good education is necessary. This means that Indians should become educated and skilled to be eligible for high income, as per global standards. However, the Annual Education Survey Report (ASER) of 2023 is disappointing. Nearly a quarter of youth (14-18 years) cannot read Class 2 text material fluently in their regional language without stuttering. Only 43 percent can solve easy division questions. ASER is a rural survey, and it is expected that urban schools will be better, but most of the population is rural.

India has some world-class schools and colleges that produce world-class graduates. But beneath this veneer, education is abysmal. In a country of 1.4 billion people, this is a thin layer, equivalent to millions who have achieved prestige in India and abroad. But government schools in the states are mostly pathetic. There has been no improvement in the ASER report in the last ten years. In contrast, the Centre’s Kendriya Vidyalayas are good schools. They are designed for the children of civil servants, and this elite class has the influence to ensure quality education. I helped my driver’s two children, Saurabh and Lovely Khatri, get admission in Kendriya Vidyalaya through the minister’s discretionary quota.

After graduation and college, Saurabh was hired by TCS and is currently shifting to a new IT company. Lovely works at Cognizant, another top IT company. They have taken a giant leap up the social ladder from the bottom. India needs to repeat this millions of times to become a high-income country. But education is a state subject, and state government schools are usually terrible. Their entire ecosystem is flawed. According to a famous survey, teachers in half the schools are absent or do not teach. In village schools, many children come to school not for studies but for mid-day meals. One-teacher schools with dozens of students of different grades cannot give good results.

Many teachers are politically motivated and have connections with political parties. This can ruin school discipline. State governments use teachers not only to teach but also to manage elections, census and other tasks. A teacher was even asked to become a priest in a temple. Teachers unions are powerful and oppose any change. Many teachers in both schools and colleges say that their careers depend more on political connections than on the results of their students. When the entire ecosystem is messed up, change is difficult. Breaking the structure faces huge resistance.

What is the way forward?
The best way is to start a few great centres – centres of excellence – in less developed states. Then expand them phase-wise. This can gradually create a new ecosystem to replace the old ones. This effort will take decades, so an immediate start is needed. A practical solution is to start great centres by forming a joint venture of Prime Minister Modi, Kendriya Vidyalayas and state schools. These can be jointly funded by the Centre and the states in the ratio of 70:30. Not only this, these centres should be protected from political interference.

Some of the teachers in these excellent centres could be permanent staff, but others should be staffed from state schools. These would work in excellent schools for five years and then return to state schools to try to spread the new ecosystem. As the project expands, many could take over running the new excellent centres. It would not face the resistance that a complete overhaul would. So it is politically non-disruptive.

Many states may oppose this because they feel the Centre is encroaching on their territory, even if most of the funding is decided by the Centre. So we also need alternative ideas for non-interventionist reform. PM Modi, the simplest non-confrontational path lies in your own hands. The RSS runs more than 12,000 Vidya Bharati schools with 3.4 million students. These schools focus on promoting knowledge and pride of Hindu traditions. But they also admit Muslim and Christian children. One of these topped the Class 10 exam in Assam in 2016.

Most of these are primary schools up to Class 5. Surely, in the quest for a developed India, your top priority should be to upgrade Vidya Bharati schools to the level of Kendriya Vidyalayas. This means upgrading all Class 5 schools to Class 12 level and producing graduates who will get admission in top colleges. You will not face any political interference for captive schools, and there will be no shortage of funds.
Industrialists will happily fund such excellent ventures. The RSS also runs a few intermediate schools and regular colleges. These too need to be upgraded, eventually to the level of St Stephen’s College, Delhi or Presidency College, Kolkata. This will take decades. But by pushing his/her own schools and colleges towards excellence, PM Modi can create a new educational eco-system that will have a ripple effect across states.