Page 32 - Mayo College November 2025

Cover Story

LANDMARK EDUCATION REFORMS

LANGUID PROGRESS

(1999-2025)

Twenty six years after EducationWorld was launched on the eve of the new
millennium with the ambitious mission statement to propel education to the top of
the national development agenda, this objective has not been realised. While the
critical importance of QEFA (quality education for all) has impacted the national
mindset, education reforms are advancing at glacial pace

Summiya Yasmeen

A S ON THE EVE OF THE FRENCH especially foundational primary school education — and

Outraged and convinced that neglect of education —
Revolution (1789), post-liberalisa-
tion India on the eve of the new mil-
sustained failure to educate its abundant human resource
lennium was the best of times, and
was the main cause of the lowly status of India in the com-
the worst of times, a time of high
munity of nation states worldwide, in November 1999 your
hopes and winter of despair.
ment Magazine, with the ambitious mission statement to
In early January 1999, a team of
“build the pressure of public opinion to make education the
eminent Delhi-based educationists editors launched EducationWorld – the Human Develop-
including Anita Rampal, Anuradha De, Prof. Jean Dreze #1 item on the national agenda”.
and Dr. Shiva Kumar released the sensational Public Re- Although after 26 years of investing blood, toil, tears
port on Basic Education (PROBE) focused on rural primary and sweat in uninterrupted publication, EducationWorld
education. has established a national reputation as India’s — perhaps
For the first time in the history of post-independence Asia’s — #1 education newsmagazine, this ambitious mis-
India, the report exposed deep rot in public primary educa- sion statement has not been realised. While the critical im-
tion in the populous Hindi heartland states (Bihar, Madhya portance of QEFA (quality education for all) has impacted
Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh). PROBE reported the national mindset and education has slowly moved high-
that 48 percent of government schools didn’t have pucca er on the national development agenda, it’s far from having
buildings; 53 percent lacked drinking water facility; 89 become the nation’s #1 priority. Nevertheless because of
percent were bereft of toilets; only 3 percent had reliable EW’s persistent, unrelenting advocacy, several education
electricity supply and 33 percent of schools averaged only legislation policies, schemes and initiatives have been initi-
one teacher because of chronic teacher absenteeism. This ated by the all-powerful neta-babu brotherhood to univer-
unprecedented report also contradicted the popular myth salise, improve and upgrade preschool, school, higher and
that parents in rural India don’t want to send their children skills education.
(especially girls) to school. It highlighted that 98 percent of In 2002, Parliament unanimously enacted the 86th
rural parents want boys and 89 percent want girls learning Constitution Amendment to make education a fundamen-
in formal, well-equipped schools. tal right of all children (Article 21A). But it took seven years

32 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2025