This Quote Means: ‘The destiny of India is now being shaped in her classrooms’

We take a deeper look at the implications of this quote and what it has come to mean in India in the years since. A portion of the quote was given as a statement question in the 2017 UPSC Civil Services Examination’s Essay paper.

Where is the quote from?

The Kothari Commission, headed by former University Grants Commission chief DK Kothari, was set up “to advise the Government on the national pattern of education and on the general principles and policies for the development of education at all stages and in all aspects.” In simple terms, it was to recommend a comprehensive Education Policy to the government. As part of its report, the quote is mentioned.

What the quote means

The quote gives a deeper meaning to a space that is quite routine for a large section of India’s population today. Classrooms and schools are part of the everyday lives of millions of students in schools and colleges, but the quote suggests that attaining an education is not just an individualistic action.

A person’s ability to get educated and a person’s choice to send their children to school does not just promise a better future for their own economic prospects. For instance, it was found in the latest Annual Status of Education Report (Rural), ASER 2022, that children whose parents have attended schools themselves are more likely to send their children to school. The Kothari Commission’s report also called education an “Instrument of Change”.

However, it added, “This emphasis on the social purposes of education… as a tool for the realization of national aspirations or for meeting national challenges, does not imply any underestimation of values for the individual. In a democracy, the individual is an end in himself and the primary purpose of education is to provide him with the widest opportunity to develop his potentialities to the full.”

So, education should ideally not be limited to securing marks in examinations or getting a job, though those are important goals nonetheless. Education should be the means to learn more about oneself, the diverse world around oneself and be a tool to develop oneself in all spheres of life.

Why the education system needs reforms

The commission’s report further said that the system of education at the time was “designed to meet the needs of all imperial administration within the limitations set by a feudal and traditional society, [and] will need radical changes if it is to meet the purposes of a modem democratic and socialistic society.”

Since then, several changes and policies have been made in the field. Free school education from ages six to 14 was made mandatory after the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE Act), 2009, came into force in 2010 under the 86th Amendment to the Constitution of India (2002). Programmes such as the Midday Meal Scheme further aided poor children in attending schools, becoming an incentive for parents to enroll their children in formal education.

The literacy rate of India is now around 74 per cent (based on the 2011 Census data). There has been a steady decline in the school dropout rate and an increase in enrolment both in school and higher education, according to the Economic Survey for 2022-23.

However, there are still significant gaps that need to be addressed. First, the definition of literacy is wide – referring to a person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with understanding in any language. And within this, while the literacy rate was 82.14 for males, it was at 65.46 for females. There are also wide regional variations: Kerala had a 93.91 per cent literacy rate while Bihar stood at 63.82 per cent.

What about the role of teachers in education?

In its report, the Kothari Commission said that of all the different factors that influence the quality of education, “the quality, competence and character of teachers are undoubtedly the most significant.” Teachers can act not just as people who give instructions from a pedestal but people who can directly influence a student’s level of interest and understanding when it comes to a subject. They can guide students towards the path that could help them in the future.

The report said that therefore, it was paramount to attract sufficiently high-quality recruits to the teaching profession. This would, from the government’s end, mean the provision of adequate remuneration, opportunities for professional advancement and favourable conditions of service and work. Vast infrastructural gaps – such as having toilets in schools – continue to exist to date.

Teacher vacancies would have to be addressed, as would the trust issues arising in the process of recruiting public teachers.

From the classroom side, teacher absenteeism would have to be tackled, by understanding what prompts such actions and whether surveillance of teachers is necessarily the way to resolve this issue. Whether students have the freedom to freely question and debate ideas in a classroom, yet be gently guided by a mentor in how such discussions can be held in a sensitive manner, is also a point of concern today.