Like the Bourbon kings of ancient France who learned nothing from history, India’s top 10 percent establishment and middle class who command 55-60 percent of national wealth and income, seem oblivious to the mass deprivation and misery of majority citizens eking out miserable lives at the bottom of professedly socialist India’s socio-economic pyramid. Incontrovertibly, 75 years after independence, the great majority of citizens suffer severe shortages of food, clothing and shelter as also persistent inflation and unemployment.
Yet perhaps the greatest iniquity that the silent majority has suffered — and continues to suffer — is lack of good quality foundational education which offers the sole opportunity to escape the grinding poverty and social injustice that 21st century India’s politically free but economically enslaved majority is obliged to endure. Although independent India has produced dozens of great economists, sociologists and development scientists, many of whom have been inducted into global development institutions such as the World Bank, IMF and United Nations agencies, they seem to have an education blind-spot.
Way back in 1967, a high-powered committee chaired by D.S. Kothari, Chairman of the University Grants Commission, recommended that the minimum annual outlay for education (Centre plus states) should aggregate 6 percent of GDP. That considered recommendation has been repeatedly ignored by successive governments at the Centre and states. Average national outlay for education has averaged a mere 3-3.5 percent of GDP for 75 years.
The chickens of prolonged under-investment in education — especially early childhood and primary education — have come home to roost. Contemporary India has arguably the lowest agriculture, industry and services (especially government services) productivity worldwide. The GDP produced by 1.4 billion citizens aggregates a mere $3.5 trillion with a per capita income of $2,900. In sharp contrast, the GDP of neighbouring China which was relatively under-developed in 1947, has risen to $18 trillion and per capita income to $13,000. Mainly because good quality primary education was universalized in China in the early 1950s. Unfortunately, as the recently released UDISE+ 2023-24 Report of the Government of India confirms, acceptable quality foundational education — especially enabling school infrastructure — remains elusive in 21st century India.
Differing with several grey and not-so-grey eminences, I believe that enabling infrastructure in our schools, colleges and universities is of critical importance because of the unique peer and self-learning capabilities of India’s children and youth. If provided enabling facilities. UDISE+ 2023-24 which details the infrastructure facilities of India’s 1.47 million K-12 schools and related issues, is the subject of our perhaps poignant cover story this month.
As usual, there’s a lot else in our allegedly “over-engineered” EW. In particular, check out the excellent expert comment essays. A feast of food for thought.
