India's Real Education Challenges

Amending Right To Education (RTE), decentralisation and standardisation of assessement are some of the real education challenges for the Narendra Modi Goverment.

While Parth J Shah, president, Centre for Civil Society, feels it is time to shift focus from inputs to quality of education, Mohandas Pai, chairman, Manipal Global Education, made a forceful suggestion: "The Government has to pass just one rule: All children of Government servants should go to Government schools. In five years, everything will change."

Dr Sadhana Parashar, Head (Innovation & Research), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), said the focus of CBSE has been on vocational training. "Quality of schooling also needs to be improved,'Parashar said.

Pai said while India has been able to address the issue of access, quality has suffered in the process. "Quality is a function of good management. We should allow well-managed schools/colleges to expand nationally."

Shah was of the view that changing the funding pattern and focussing on quality of learning can change a lot of things. "All the focus now is on input regulations."

Pai was very vehement when he said the core issue today is over-centralisation. "Everything is being done from Delhi/Bengaluru. It cannot run that way. Education needs serious decentralisation. Empower states to take more decisions."

Ramya Venkataraman, Leader (Education Practice), McKinsey India, was of the opinion that we need to standardise assessements.