India’s education system is failing in new ways
NDIA IS talking about education. After a hot summer dominated by youth protests that toppled the country’s education minister, attention has stayed on the schools, colleges and universities in which almost 300m Indians are enrolled. The fatal collapse of a student hostel in Delhi on September 6th quickly became another symbol of neglect. Meanwhile the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which led the protests, has encouraged its supporters to report on schools across the country, turning the gaze of millions on social media onto the shoddy conditions in which Indian children are supposed to learn.
The spark of street action was an exam leak. But the fuel was rage at a system that has become what Yamini Aiyar of Brown University calls a “misery machine”. In what are probably the world’s most selective exams, tens of millions of poorly taught students compete for a tiny number of golden tickets into elite universities and government jobs. Their families fork out for private coaching, schools and colleges. But for most it ends in disappointment. Only 7% of graduates find a formal job within a year, according to Azim Premji University in Bangalore. Most are unemployed for years, thanks to a yawning gap between the numbers of graduates and jobs (see chart).
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