The Union Government’s openness to suggestions on how to improve the country’s education system is a welcome opportunity for academicians, educators, industry professionals, students, and concerned citizens to contribute to a larger national conversation. Education is too important to be left only to policymakers and institutions. Those who teach, learn, employ and work with young people every day must also have a voice in shaping its future.
As an academician who has spent considerable time teaching, pursued doctoral research, and continues to engage closely with students, particularly the younger generation, I believe Bharat needs to look at education not merely as a pathway to obtaining a degree, but as a foundation for a resilient, productive and confident society.
For centuries, Bharat had centres of learning that attracted scholars from different parts of the world. Nalanda is one of the most celebrated examples of this intellectual tradition. The country’s educational heritage was subsequently disrupted by successive political and colonial transformations. The colonial period, in particular, introduced an education framework designed substantially around the requirements of the administration of the time. After Independence, there was undoubtedly much that needed to be rebuilt and modernised. Yet, in my view, the process could have drawn more consciously upon Bharat’s own intellectual traditions, knowledge systems, languages, sciences, arts and philosophies.
The task before us today, however, is not to remain trapped in an argument about the past. It is to build an education system capable of preparing young Indians for the next 25 years.
Employability must become a central pillar of education.
The disconnect between education and employment has existed for decades. At one point, graduates often found themselves working in areas entirely unrelated to what they had studied. Today, the situation has acquired a different dimension. Technology, artificial intelligence and automation are rapidly changing the nature of employment itself.
The popular perception that an IT job is the ultimate destination for an educated young Indian also needs reconsideration. The technology sector will remain enormously important, but it cannot—and should not—be the only aspiration. Young people need multiple pathways to productive careers.
The growing anxiety among professionals in their thirties and forties deserves serious attention. People who have spent years acquiring qualifications and building careers can suddenly find themselves confronting technological disruption, changing skill requirements and uncertainty about their next professional move. These pressures can have consequences far beyond the workplace, affecting financial planning, family responsibilities, housing commitments and personal wellbeing.
Education must therefore teach adaptability as much as employability.
Students should graduate not merely with a qualification, but with the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn. Communication, critical thinking, financial literacy, digital competence, entrepreneurship, vocational skills and practical problem-solving should become integral components of education.
At the same time, Bharat must rediscover the enormous opportunities beyond conventional white-collar employment. Agriculture and food processing, tourism, traditional crafts, metallurgy, architecture, temple conservation, manufacturing, healthcare, renewable energy and numerous emerging sectors can create meaningful livelihoods if supported by modern technology and investment.
I am particularly encouraged by the emergence of educational institutions and entrepreneurs who are investing in new models of professional education. Such investments need to grow substantially. Curriculum development and infrastructure must progress together, with institutions aspiring to genuinely global standards while remaining responsive to Indian realities.
The future of education must also be geographically decentralised. Tier-II cities such as Visakhapatnam, Warangal, Guntur, Vijayawada, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore, Indore and Vadodara are increasingly demonstrating that opportunity need not be concentrated in a handful of metropolitan centres. Strong educational institutions, technology infrastructure and entrepreneurial ecosystems can transform these cities into engines of regional growth.
There is also a larger economic question. Why should Indian talent and enterprise remain disproportionately dependent on overseas capital and global corporations? Bharat needs more Indian capital, Indian entrepreneurs and Indian-owned technology enterprises capable of competing globally while creating opportunities domestically.
This does not mean turning away from the world. Quite the opposite. Bharat should become globally connected without becoming intellectually dependent.
Our education policy should therefore encourage young Indians to think beyond a single “dream job”. It should prepare them for careers that may not even exist today. It should encourage entrepreneurship, multiple income streams, lifelong learning, prudent financial habits and professional flexibility.
The government’s invitation for suggestions provides an excellent opportunity to begin precisely this conversation.
We need an education system that respects Bharat’s civilisational inheritance, embraces modern science and technology, creates employable and entrepreneurial citizens, and gives young people the confidence to navigate uncertainty.
The objective should not merely be to produce degree holders.
The objective should be to produce capable Indians who can create jobs, build institutions, solve problems and contribute meaningfully to Bharat’s economic and social progress.
That, in my view, is the education revolution Bharat needs.
