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Gifted children engaged in development workshops and stimulating activities: hidden in plain sight

government under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao indicate that the great majority of the country’s university
substantially liberalised and deregulated the economy, but graduates pushed into higher education without adequate
failed to enthusiastically take the capitalist road. Currently foundational education are unemployable. India’s 45,000
despite liberalisation and deregulation, Indian industry and undergrad colleges and 1,100 universities have been contin-
business are governed by 1,536 Acts of Parliament and state uously debilitated by woke DEI (diversity, equity and inclu-
governments, 69,233 compliances and 6,818 filings. Little sion) legislation which mandates reservation of 70 percent
wonder the blunt message of the Economic Survey 2024- of capacity in some states for socio-economically backward
25 penned by V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic classes/castes and communities rather than admission on
Adviser of the Union government is ‘Get out of the Way’. merit. As a result, although the country certifies 3 million
Simultaneously, even as Indian industry and commerce college/university graduates — including 1 million engi-
continue to be hamstrung by the reluctance of the neta- neers — annually, an estimated 45 percent are unemployed
babu brotherhood to abandon the potholed socialist road, with another 40 percent employed in jobs incommensurate
India’s chronically under-funded public education system with their academic qualifications. Unsurprisingly, Indian
has deteriorated into the worst worldwide. Even as gov- university graduates and research scholars in over a dozen
ernments at the Centre and states splurge tax revenue white elephant Soviet-style CSIRs (Council for Scientific &
on extravagant establishment expenditure, unwarranted Industrial Research) have not invented or innovated any
middle class subsidies and bankrupt public sector enter- globally acclaimed sock-it-to-’em, killer product or service
prises, for over two decades the Annual Status of Education (smartphones, Google, the internet etc) in 75 years since
Report — published by the highly-respected independent independence.
not-for-profit Pratham Education Foundation — has been But although despite loud claims to the contrary, India’s
field testing and reporting that class VII children in rural education system, Indian industry and the economy are in
India (which grudgingly hosts two-thirds of India’s popu- the doldrums, a small and growing minority of education-
lation) can’t read class III textbooks and manage simple ists, edupreneurs and academics are beginning to pin their
math sums. hopes on an asset hidden in plain sight. For over seven
In higher education as well, several authoritative studies decades, millions of rough diamond gifted children have

MARCH 2025 EDUCATIONWORLD 37