Page 18 - EW November 2025.pdf Final

Editorial

CHILDREN'S DAY DESPONDENCY states, promising to raise national ex-
penditure on education to 6 percent
of GDP, it remains stuck in the 3.5-4
ay back in 1957, november mission chaired by Prof. Daulat Singh percent of GDP groove, and 52 per-
14, the birthday of Jawaha- Kothari recommended that at least 6 cent of India’s children in government
Wrlal Nehru free India’s first percent of annual GDP should be allo- schools have to endure crumbling
prime minister, was decreed as Chil- cated for education with special focus buildings, grossly inadequate labs,
dren’s Day. In his sentimental attach- on foundational primary education, libraries and lavatories and rock-bot-
ment to the newly independent coun- that target has never been attained. tom teaching-learning.
try’s children this great democrat but Post-independence India’s education Unsurprisingly built on weak
poor economist, had his heart in the expenditure has averaged 3.5 percent foundations, India’s higher education
right place but not the mind to follow per year for the past 78 years since in- system comprising 52,081 colleges,
his heart. Strongly influenced by com- dependence. 1,338 universities and 37 institutes of
munist ideology, Nehru who strode For this egregious error which has the Soviet-style Council for Scientific
the national stage like a colossus in the never been sufficiently acknowledged & Industrial Research (CSIR) hasn’t
post-independence years, imposed the or corrected by the establishment and succeeded in inventing/innovating
Soviet-style heavy industry national intelligentsia, the country has had to any global smart product or service
development model instead of the pay a heavy price. For one, with mini- or disruptive technology in 78 years
light industry wage goods paradigm mal establishment awareness that uni- since independence.
and grassroots development preferred versal primary education is the best Not that solutions are not avail-
by Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Pa- contraceptive, free India’s population able. Every year for over a decade
tel. Unfortunately Gandhiji was assas- has quadrupled to a humungous 1.4 coterminously with presentation of
sinated in 1948 and Patel suffered a billion, imposing tremendous strain the Union Budget, EducationWorld
fatal heart attack in 1950. on national resources. Now the spin on has been presenting a public schema
The focus on capital-guzzling heavy this major act of omission is that con- for the Centre to augment its pathetic
industry — and that too in the inef- temporary India is in a sweet spot by provision of Rs.1.28 lakh crore for
ficient public sector — came at the ex- way of hosting the world’s largest child education by Rs.7-8 lakh crore. Yet
pense of neglecting India’s abundant and youth population, and in a posi- the response of the education minis-
human resource, i.e, education of tion to reap a demographic dividend. try, the establishment and panoply of
children, which received insufficient Yet despite the election manifestos eminent economists has been deafen-
attention. Although in 1967 a high- of all major political parties, including ing silence. On Children’s Day, these
powered National Education Com- the BJP at the Centre and in several issues merit deep reflection.

AMAZING INVENTIONS FAILURE RECORD 1947. Yet such self-to-self comparison
is delusional. The correct progress
measurement metric is to invoke the
he us-based alphabet inc, aka junior and undergrad colleges and international demonstration effect,
Google’s announcement last 1,338 universities with an aggregate i.e, measure our progress with the
Tmonth that its quantum comput- enrolment of 45 million students and socio-economic development of other
ing chip Willow comprises the struc- faculty, it’s remarkable that the acad- nations. Thus assessed, 21st century
ture of a molecule that’s 13,000 times emy has not ideated a single global India with an annual per capita in-
faster than the best currently avail- transformative product or service on come of $2,600 (ppp) is way behind
able super computer, highlights the the lines of the internet, smartphone, the US ($86,000), China ($13,600)
backwardness of India where political robotics, machine learning among and several African countries enfee-
leaders routinely proclaim imminent other disruptive technologies — ex- bled by over 200 years of slavery.
superpower status for this country. cept perhaps the Unified Payments In- This sorry condition of our high-
Willow possesses 105 qubits, i.e formation system. The issue of disrup- potential country necessitates deep
information units, per chip against tive technologies aside, it’s shocking introspection in the academy, indus-
which India’s National Qauntum Mis- that India’s gigantic higher education try and intelligentsia. A new beginning
sion has predicted production of chips system has not delivered satisfactory starting with government respect for
with 50 qubits in five years. China’s solutions to national problems such the academy and close academy-
Zuchongzhi computing chip also re- as low farm and industry productiv- industry interaction to innovate and
portedly has 105 qubits of informa- ity, widespread malnutrition and illit- commercialise knowledge for better-
tion units, although it is believed to eracy, and massive housing shortage ment of the poor huddled masses is the
be slower than Willow. This widen- This very question was posed to a way forward. At the said EWIHERA
ing gap has profound implications in panel of eminent education leaders conclave, several academy leaders
terms of tech dependency, economic at the EducationWorld India Higher swore to research and develop solu-
growth, and not least for defence of Education Rankings Awards (EWI- tions to prevent farm stubble burning,
India’s land and maritime borders. HRA) conclave convened last June. cleanse life-sustaining rivers and rein
Although contemporary India has The standard answer was to derive in automobiles choking India’s high-
the world’s second largest higher ed- satisfaction from the glass half full — productivity cities. Fruits of their ide-
ucation system incorporating 52,081 that we have travelled a long way since ation and research are awaited.

18 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2025