Missiles and drones can be built, and Shuklaji can be given a piggyback ride to space. However, until there is radical reform in primary and secondary education, and six per cent of the GDP is allocated to implementing the New Education Policy, Indian students will continue to struggle in science, mathematics, and language communication. This is no way to achieve a developed India by 2047!

Even in 2025, there is no clarity on how many languages children are expected to learn, or when English will stop being mandatory.

Read in Hindi: भारत में शिक्षा का संकट, सर्वे ने उजागर की चिंताजनक खामियां

English-medium private schools have opened in villages and small towns, while the number of government schools is shrinking. The question remains: Why is there such policy chaos in a critical sector like education?

Village elder Ram Nath, a retired teacher, says, “The classroom has walls but no direction. There’s a blackboard, but basic understanding is missing.”

India’s primary and secondary education system is in deep crisis. Every year, millions of children go to school, but what they learn is nothing short of a national disaster.

Multiple reports consistently scream that students in Grade 8 cannot even read Grade 3 textbooks. Government school teachers exist, but lack motivation. Private schools charge high fees but lack quality education. The curriculum encourages rote learning and suppresses critical thinking.

Due to poor foundational skills in math and language, this generation is heading toward a future where they will neither find jobs nor possess the ability to make sound decisions. This is not just an education crisis—it’s a crisis of the nation’s soul.

“If we don’t act now,” warns Prof Paras Nath Chaudhary, “we’re preparing a ‘degree-holding but directionless India.’ And that tragedy will be no less than a pandemic.”

Conducted by NCERT under the Ministry of Education, the PARAKH Survey assessed over 2.1 million students from Classes 3, 6, and 9 across 74,229 schools in 781 districts. The results show major deficits in foundational literacy, numeracy, and logical reasoning.

In Class 3, only 55 per cent can arrange numbers up to 99 in order, and only 58 per cent can do two-digit addition or subtraction. In Class 6, just 53 per cent know multiplication tables up to 10, and only 29 per cent understand basic fractions. In Class 9, the average math score is just 37 per cent, and 63 per cent fail to grasp core concepts like fractions and integers.

Language skills are also worrisome. In Class 6, 43 per cent of students cannot identify key ideas or conclude a text. In Class 9, the average scores in science and social science hover around 40 per cent, with students struggling to understand concepts like electricity, geometry, and scientific reasoning.

The survey also reveals a downward trend in performance as students move to higher grades. Surprisingly, rural students in Class 3 perform better in language and math than their urban peers, possibly due to initiatives like the NIPUN Bharat Mission. But by Class 6 and 9, urban students outperform rural ones.

Gender gaps are narrow. Girls slightly outperform boys in language, but math scores are nearly identical. Kendriya Vidyalayas excel in language for Class 9 but lag in math for Class 3. Government schools perform well in lower grades, while private schools do better in science/social science, but poorly in math.

States like Punjab, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli top the charts, while Jharkhand, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh remain at the bottom, indicating deep gaps in teacher training and education quality. Experts emphasise adopting new teaching methods aligned with NEP and promoting digital learning.

If India wants genuine data-driven education reform, the PARAKH survey is a loud alarm. It demands urgent policy intervention and a shift from exam-centric education to holistic learning. Without immediate action, the dream of equitable, merit-based education will remain just that—a dream.