India is the world’s largest democracy. India has the most political parties that participate in election campaigns. Nearly 600 million people voted in the 1996 national elections, with an average of 26 candidates running for each of the 543 territorial constituency seats.
In India, elections are held at many levels. The two major election levels are at the national level, following which the national government is formed, and at the state level, following which the state government is formed. Elections for city, town, and village councils are also held.
Different political concerns exist in Indian politics. However, these problems have persisted for decades without a remedy. Some concerns are national in scope, while others are regional in scope. Some groups desire more economic and social rights for their members, while others seek greater cultural autonomy inside Indian states. Others desired independence from India, while others demanded autonomy within the Indian Union.
Despite its many issues, India continues to exist as a single democratic state. However, India still has a number of unresolved political issues. The educational system is unquestionably the bedrock of every nation. Man, and hence the country, becomes civilized as a result of education. It educates humanity in ethical and moral ideals. Half of the job of the country’s growth is completed if we have a well-developed and balanced educational system. However, when we look at the Indian context, we see that the Indian education system is beset by a slew of problems that must be handled as soon as possible; we have some major concerns, and so the obstacles are greater.
Political corruption in the school system is an issue that we see on a daily basis and on a massive scale. Today is the age of specialization and invention. And, in this fast-paced technological age, the Indian educational system appears to be stuck. Though we are aware of Indian students’ advanced brains all over the world, we often miss the reality that the majority of them live in the United States or Australia. Let us consider some harsh truths and recognise that the Indian educational system is in severe trouble.
Political corruption is when government officials abuse their positions of authority for personal benefit. Political corruption does not include the abuse of government authority for other ends, such as suppression of political opponents or general police violence. Private individuals or companies that are not directly associated with the government are also not breaking the law. An unlawful conduct by a public official is only considered political corruption if it is directly tied to their official responsibilities, is carried out under color of law, or includes influence trafficking.
Bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and embezzlement are all examples of corruption. Corruption may aid criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking, but it is not limited to these activities; it has also infiltrated India’s education system, affecting not just the educational system but also the social and cultural environment.
Depending on the nation or jurisdiction, many actions are considered unlawful corruption. Some political finance tactics, for example, may be lawful in one jurisdiction but prohibited in another. Government officials can have extensive or ill-defined powers, making it difficult to tell the difference between lawful and criminal conduct. Bribery is believed to be worth over 1 trillion dollars every year all over the world. Kleptocracy, which literally means “government by thieves,” is a condition of unfettered political corruption.
Despite increased educational expenditure, 35 percent of India’s population remains illiterate; just 15% of Indian students complete high school, and only 7% graduate. A quarter of all teaching posts in the United States are unfilled, and 57% of college instructors lack a master’s or doctoral degree. Quality and education requirements differ dramatically from one state to the next. When we compare states like Karnataka and Maharashtra to states like Bihar and Jharkhand, we can see how vast the differences are. Female literacy varies from roughly 34% in Bihar to 88 percent in Kerala, whereas male literacy is 60% in Bihar and 94 percent in Kerala. Rajasthan has the greatest gender disparity, with female literacy at 44% and male literacy at 77%.
Governments come and go, making many promises and victimizing the innocent, but it all ends up being another mirage of optimism. Every time a vow is made to expand education expenditure to 6% of GDP, the real spending remains around 4%. There are a lot of revisions and rules created, and commissions are formed, but the ground of reality is rarely seen. The combination of education and corruption makes for a lethal combination. Where the school system should just be concerned with delivering education and information, they are also supplying money to corrupt politicians and businesspeople. They perceive it as just another business where money pours unabated, regardless of economic conditions.
If numbers are taken into account, we have 20 central universities, 215 state universities, 100 deemed universities, 5 institutions founded and operating under the State Act, and 13 institutes of national importance. Other institutions under these universities and institutes include 16000 colleges, including 1800 exclusive women’s colleges. However, quality is more important than quantity, and we are falling short.
According to World Bank data, only around 40% of teenagers in India attend secondary education. According to The Economist, half of 10-year-old rural youngsters could not read at a basic level, and over 60% couldn’t do divisions. The situation becomes considerably worse if we pursue greater technical education. The government hires faculty from outside for colleges like IITs, NITs, and IIMs, but what about institutions with low or no faculty? Parents invest their life resources in the hopes of turning their children into engineers, physicians, and other professionals, but many unfortunates wind up at colleges with no affiliation or, worse, a bogus degree. In January 2010, the government announced that 44 universities will lose their designated university status. Some were having inadequate infrastructure and some didn’t have sufficient faculties.
So, by 2024, will they be the grounds on which India would stand as a superpower? Are these our competitive advantages against China, the United States, and the United Kingdom?
There is still much to be done to bring India’s education system up to par with that of developed countries. India is a growing country with a diverse cultural and traditional heritage. When we say that India is developing, we imply that there are fresh forward-thinking ideas and developments emerging from India, as well as certain gaps in comparison to other countries. As Indians, it is our job to evaluate this and contribute to our country’s progress. This might lead to the discovery of various development variables such as technology, industries, environmental demands, jobs, and, most significantly, education.
Yes, education has become a necessary medicine for any country’s economic survival and prosperity. India is one of them, focusing more on providing education to all of its states and ensuring that it develops into a nation with a literacy rate of 100 percent. Even still, the government has several challenges in making this initiative a success. We’ll talk about them in the next paragraphs.
We can see that India has a literacy rate of 74.04 percent when we combine the literacy statistics of all states in India. Male literacy is 82.14 percent, whereas female literacy is 65.46 percent. This illustrates where India falls short on one front in its quest to become a fully developed nation. That is, females in India do not receive adequate attention to receive an education. According to the 2011 Census, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh are among the states with literacy rates below 60%. But still we can see a good rise in the literacy rate of females compared to the previous years, which is a positive sign for the government to have hope in extending education to the females in India.
What prevents India from becoming a developed country and why is it still a developing country? When we read about India’s educational system, this question arises in the minds of every Indian. We perceive India’s educational system as a roadblock to attaining its goals of inclusive prosperity.
There are some shocking truths. According to research in DNA, India will face a dilemma as almost 90 million individuals enter the workforce, yet the majority of them will lack the necessary skills and mentality for fruitful employment. Only 11 percent of India’s 550 million individuals under the age of 25 are enrolled in higher institutions, compared to the global average of 23 percent.
What is the purpose of focusing too much on the shortcomings of India’s public education system when the topic has already been hotly argued and the major issues have already been identified? Let us consider how the failure of the educational system contributes to another societal issue, economic disparity, and propose solutions to enhance India’s education system and reduce inequality.
The inadequate quality of the Indian public education system is a major concern. The amount of schooling children receive and the quality of instruction they receive in government schools are both woefully inadequate. The low quality of teaching, coupled with inadequate pedagogic attention, is a typical trait of all government institutions.
What the government doesn’t realize is that education, as a source of human capital, may exacerbate wealth disparities. It would be fascinating to watch how wealth disparities are developed even among educated individuals. The affluent will become richer and the poor will get poorer if the government does not reform the education system, particularly in rural regions.
Hence, it is imperative for the government to correct the blemishes in India’s education system which will also be a step towards reducing income inequality.
The government must implement certain policy initiatives. The primary goal of government education expenditure today must undoubtedly be to guarantee that all children have access to public schools and to improve the educational quality of those institutions. Common schooling is one strategy to address the issue of inadequate educational quality. This effectively implies that private and public schools share resources. The shift system is one of the methods for achieving common schooling. The resources are available to the private school for the first part of the day and to the government school for the second half. It’s crucial to remember that the quality of education is directly related to the resources available, thus the government must enhance resource allocation in order to achieve qualitative changes in the area of education. Common schooling is one of the ways the government may make the most of limited resources and thereby enhance resource allocation.
Another explanation for low educational quality is the low quality of instructors in public schools. Because of insufficient instructional facilities and low compensation, government schools struggle to attract qualified instructors. The government must invest more money from its coffers on education in order to increase its quality.
We can only hope that the government implements suitable legislative steps to strengthen the education system, or else inequities will persist and India’s fundamental capacities would be stunted. Let us make a stronger argument for a better education system.
Our government implements several programmes and modifications to improve educational standards. They should be more stringent in enacting new policies and modifications. The government should monitor and oversee all educational institutions set up by criminals and corrupt politicians to make money. Alternative education should be encouraged in India so that young people can pursue their passions. Scholarships should be provided not just to underprivileged students, but also to the general public. Because corruption is the root of so many problems, including education, the government should address corruption more effectively.
Another area of change in India’s educational landscape is the diminishing need for teaching jobs. Because the pay scale for teachers is shrinking, many of them are being pressured to change careers. This also drives incoming students to shift their attention away from pursuing a passion of being a teacher and appreciating the significance of education sharing, and toward advancing their careers as engineers or doctors. This poses a significant risk to future generations due to a lack of education and information. This is a compelling argument for the government to set the worth of teachers and adequately compensate them.
It should also be ensured that the quality of teachers and the grade of education are operating smoothly so that the students graduating are virtually sculpted in their knowledge and abilities via rigorous evaluation and appraisal. Even so, we can see that many people in the teaching profession are working hard to broaden education in India through free services such as education camps, learning and development awareness sessions, introduction and demonstration of new technologies and ideas, and so on, all of which contribute to India’s education system being noticeable. Such people’s selfless attitude encourages future generations to follow in their footsteps, resulting in a trained generation with a wealth of knowledge and abilities in the coming years.
When discussing education, it is critical to evaluate the number of schools in a nation. The lack of or scarcity of schools in states such as Bihar, Rajasthan, and others slows development, which is connected to the country’s growth. To expand education, the government is responsible for opening schools not just in metropolitan regions but also in rural places. Along with the rising number of schools, there should be enough infrastructure. Even in certain cities, there are numerous schools that demand labs and excellent technological facilities.
The Indian government should investigate such educational institutions and ensure that these flaws are adequately addressed. On the other hand, we can discover people who are dedicated to solving these problems and improving the quality of each educational institution. We can see an increasing number of computer study centers, student labs, tutorial institutes, and other facilities that help India’s education system run smoothly and efficiently.
The vast diversity of syllabuses is a primary cause of variation in educational and development trends between states. Different syllabuses may be found in the Indian education system, with ICSE, CBSE, and State syllabuses being some of the most common. Each syllabus has its own set of criteria and objectives, based on which students’ knowledge and abilities will vary. The contribution conditions for obtaining seats in these sorts of colleges are also a barrier for students seeking to enroll in a reputable educational institution. Students with good results are occasionally transferred to private universities due to budgetary constraints.
The government should look into such corruption in the school system and find fast solutions so that everyone, regardless of caste, creed, or financial status, receives an equal education. There are some hopeful layers in India’s education system, where students graduating from such schools and institutions are bringing fresh ideas and ambitions that they may offer for the country’s prosperity. Teachers’ inputs, which result in persons with high abilities and excellent habits, serve as a model for the next generation. Although we discussed some of the disadvantages of the Indian educational system, we also discovered several advantages that we should consider.
We cannot refute our forefathers’ contributions to education; yet, the flaws, corruption, and politics cannot be dismissed or ignored in any manner. However, we may expect for a significant shift that will allow us to appreciate the positive aspects of our educational system and generate fresh ideas for pushing the government and responsible authorities to focus on the negative aspects of the system and take the necessary steps to improve it. It’s essential to remember Dr. Abdul Kalam Azad’s remarks when doing so: “When learning is purposeful, creativity blossoms, creativity flourishes, thinking radiates.” When thinking occurs, knowledge is completely illuminated, and when knowledge is illuminated, the economy thrives. As a result, we can work together to make our country and economy a nation of educated citizens. India, too, would be able to boast of a robust knowledge culture if additional actions like these are adopted by the country’s political community. She will be able to demonstrate her dominance in the sphere of education, in addition to other areas.
SAPHAL HARPREET SINGH
STUDENT AT JINDAL GLOBAL LAW SCHOOL, SONIPAT