Education, human capital foundational pillars for development: eco survey - the statesman

Education and human capital development are among the foundational pillars of development of India and the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) is built upon this principle, said Economic

Survey 2025. The Survey highlighted that India’s school education system serves 24.8 crore students across 14.72 lakh schools with 98 lakh teachers. Advertisement Government schools comprise

69 % of the total, enrolling 50 % of students and employing 51 % of teachers, while private schools account for 22.5 %, enrolling 32.6 % of students and employing 38 % of teachers, the

survey said. Advertisement The Survey further said that the school dropout rates have steadily declined in recent years, standing at 1.9% for primary, 5.2% for upper primary, and 14.1% for

secondary levels. It said the improvements in basic facilities, including sanitation, and information and communication technologies (ICT) availability, have been notable, reflecting a

positive trend in school infrastructure development. According to the UDISE+ 2023-24 Report, the percentage of schools having computers increased from 38.5 % in 2019-20 to 57.2 % in

2023-2024. Similarly, the percentage of schools having internet facilities increased from 22.3 % in 2019-20 to 53.9% in 2023-2024. It said the importance of skill education in schools has

grown significantly with the advent of Industry 4.0, a highly dynamic and skill-intensive era defined by automation, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IoT), big data, and

robotics. The Survey also mentioned that India’s higher education system ranks among the largest globally, with 4.33 crore students enrolled in 2021-22, a 26.5 % increase from 3.42 crore in

2014-15. The GER for the 18–23 age group also increased from 23.7 % to 28.4 % during this same period (2014-15 to 2021-22). To achieve the government’s goal of increasing GER to 50% by 2035

in higher education, there is a need to double the educational network and infrastructure. Over the years, there has been a significant transformation in the higher education ecosystem.

Total Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) increased by 13.8% from 51,534 in 2014- 15 to 58,643 in 2022-23, the Survey added. By 2040, all HEIs are to become multidisciplinary institutions.

The measures to achieve this aim include greater opportunities for outstanding public education; scholarships by private/philanthropic universities for disadvantaged and underprivileged

students; online education and Open Distance Learning (ODL); and all infrastructure and learning materials accessible and available to learners with disabilities. Advertisement