Towards Reforming the Education System in India

Issue: Nov-Dec 2020 Education is a major determinant of human resource development which enables people to get better insights into the complex world they inhabit, enabling them to harness and experience their potential capabilities. This paper scrutinises the performance of the entire gamut of the education sector of India. To weigh this performance with some yardstick, the study makes a comparison of India’s performance with that of other BRICS countries. The study focuses on governance structure, quality of educational standards, and inequality issues, and addresses the issues relating to increasing prominence of privatization at all levels of education and its consequences on efficiency and equity in educational facilities. Overall, the study stresses the importance of “more and better education” including high levels of technical knowledge and skill formation. It highlights the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education sector in India. Finally, it identifies the emerging challenges in higher education and suggests reforms for achieving efficiency with equity which is the sine qua non for building a better and advanced society.