STIMULATING TIMES FOR INDIA'S EDUCATION SECTOR

In addition to making them good human beings, a primary goal of education is to enhance students' social and economic prospects. We can achieve this only when students can access high-quality but affordable education.

- MAMIDALA JAGADESH KUMAR

It is difficult to imagine another time in the history reforms are carried out at such a large scale to have a massive impact on the lives of our students, who, in turn, as the future knowledge force, will strengthen our country's cultural, economic, technological and social fabric. India is now well-entrenched in the growing knowledge industry, technological innovations, stable economy, and global competitiveness. India is now also the most populous country in the world. As we go through the G20 presidency, the world looks at India with expectations to provide leadership for sustainable development and peaceful coexistence as "One Earth, One Family, One Future."

India's National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), announced in July 2021, is equity-driven, focusing on improving the quality of education and increasing equality of opportunities as a source of upward mobility for students. Quality education implies creating an eco-system for the students to acquire the required knowledge and skills and use these proficiently to find pragmatic solutions to their life and career challenges. Providing good education to our young population is a good investment not only because it strengthens India's economy but also for the social well-being and economic prosperity of individuals. We must maximize returns to students concerning their employability or ability to evolve into job creators and the resources invested in their education.

A relentless drive towards performance, excellence, and quality in school and higher education characterized our efforts to implement NEP 2020. Consequently, education governance in India is in a rapid reformative mode, and preparing our students to be future-ready is one fundamental discursive justification for these reforms. The Central and state governments play a significant role in implementing these reforms.