Education: Unfinished Agenda For Next Two Decades Up To 2047

The dream of transforming India into a Viksit Bharat by 2047 is both inspiring and achievable. However, the journey will not be easy. It demands sustained commitment, bold policy decisions, and the ability to address complex challenges across sectors. Among all these sectors, education occupies a unique and central position.

Unlike other sectors that produce goods and services, education develops “human capital”, the men and women who create, improve, and manage every other sector of the economy. Infrastructure, technology, machinery, and financial resources are undoubtedly important, but it is human capability that ultimately drives innovation, productivity, and national progress.

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Viewed from this perspective, education deserves far greater attention than it currently receives. From school education to higher education and research, every level must be strengthened if India is to emerge as a global leader in knowledge, technology, and innovation. While the National Education Policy NEP 2020 provides a broad and encouraging framework, several equally important issues deserve urgent attention. The next two decades will be decisive. Any serious neglect today may become extremely difficult to correct tomorrow, particularly in the context of India's changing demographic profile by 2050.

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Certain Definitive Steps:

Increasing Government Investment in Education: The combined expenditure of the Central and State Governments on education must increase to at least 6 percent of GDP, as recommended in the NEP. Present levels remain significantly below this target. Similarly, education's share in overall government expenditure should receive greater priority and go beyond the minimum threshold limit of 15 percent as recommended by UNESCO.

Education should not be viewed merely as another item of public expenditure; it is an investment in the nation's future. Every rupee invested in education strengthens the country's economic competitiveness, social harmony, scientific capability, and democratic values. It is, therefore, imperative that governments, irrespective of political ideology, arrive at a broad national consensus on sustained investment in education.

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Upgrading the Quality of Government Schools: The foundation of every successful education system lies in its schools. Unfortunately, the quality of teaching and infrastructure in many government schools, including those in urban areas, continues to require significant improvement.

While there are islands of excellence, they remain exceptions rather than the norm. Every child, irrespective of economic background, deserves access to quality education, competent teachers, safe infrastructure, and modern learning resources. Increased financial support must therefore be accompanied by stronger academic monitoring, greater accountability, and continuous professional development for teachers.

Most importantly, teaching at the school level should become a profession chosen out of passion rather than accepted as a last career option.

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Building an Ecosystem for Outstanding Teachers: Teachers remain the heart of every education system. Outstanding institutions are ultimately built by outstanding teachers. It is passionate, knowledgeable, and committed educators who inspire students, nurture character, encourage curiosity, and prepare future leaders.

India must, therefore, create an ecosystem that attracts some of the country's brightest young minds into the teaching profession. Competitive salaries, attractive career progression, academic freedom, opportunities for research, and social recognition are essential if teaching is to become a first-choice profession.

Just as the Armed Forces safeguard the nation's borders, Teachers safeguard its future. If India genuinely aspires to become a Vishwaguru, it must first build a community of teachers who meet global standards of excellence.

One bold initiative worth considering is the creation of a “Indian Teaching Service”, on the lines of the IAS, IPS, and IFS, to attract exceptionally talented individuals into the teaching profession and provide them with outstanding career opportunities and service conditions.

Independent academic think tanks, such as the Higher Education Forum (HEF), can also play a valuable role in supporting governments and regulators through research, policy advice, and continuous academic engagement.

Depoliticising Educational Institutions: One of the major concerns affecting Indian education is the growing influence of politics in educational institutions. While ownership structures may legitimately vary, excessive political interference has often weakened governance, reduced institutional autonomy, and shifted the focus away from academic excellence.

Commercialisation, lack of transparency, and governance failures have become matters of increasing concern in several parts of the education sector. Education must never become merely a business; its larger purpose is to build ethical, responsible, and competent citizens.

If integrity is compromised at the entry level of the education system, it becomes difficult to expect institutions to produce graduates with strong values and character. A comprehensive “social audit” of governance practices, greater transparency, and stronger accountability mechanisms are, therefore, urgently needed.

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Looking Ahead:

India stands at a historic moment. Over the next two decades, the country has an unprecedented opportunity to transform itself into one of the world's leading knowledge societies. Demographic advantage, technological progress, and economic aspirations together present a rare window that may not come again.

Realising this vision, however, will require far more than policy announcements. It will demand sustained investment, courageous reforms, competent leadership, institutional integrity, and above all, a national commitment to educational excellence. Governments, educational institutions, industry, teachers, parents, and civil society must work together with a shared sense of purpose.

The success of Viksit Bharat 2047 will ultimately depend not on the number of highways we build, the factories we establish, or the technologies we import, but on the quality of citizens we educate. Nations rise when their people rise, and people rise through education.

The unfinished agenda before us is, therefore, not merely an educational agenda; it is a “national agenda”. The decisions we take today will shape the India of 2047 and beyond. History rarely offers nations a second opportunity of this magnitude. We must seize this moment with conviction, wisdom, and urgency, ensuring that education becomes the strongest pillar on which the dream of a developed India firmly stands. Let us join in making our dreams a reality.

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