Uniting Efforts to Elevate Indian Education Quality

The Economic Survey FY 2023-24 emphasizes the need for collaborative efforts across different government levels to uplift primary education quality. The National Education Policy 2020 aims to achieve foundational literacy for all third-standard students. The survey also highlights increased education spending and growing equity in higher education.

The Economic Survey FY 2023-24 emphasizes the necessity of a concerted effort among the Centre, states, and local bodies to enhance the quality of education, particularly at the primary level. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is poised to ensure foundational literacy and numeracy for children by the third standard.

Education, a pivotal sector for India's advancement, requires mission-mode and cost-effective implementation of strategic programs to improve quality, especially primary education. Unity of purpose and effort among various government tiers is essential, as public education is a concurrent subject.

Effective public spending on education involves investment in pedagogy and governance, including filling supervisory roles to monitor teaching quality and hiring local volunteers to ensure student learning aligns with curricular standards. The survey noted a 9.36% increase in social service spending, notably in education.

The survey also highlighted rising enrolment in higher education, driven by marginalized sections and a significant increase in female enrolment. To improve research output, the survey suggests stronger links between higher education, industry, and research, along with reduced patent application examination times to enhance the ease of doing research in India.