On National Education Day, observed on November 11 to commemorate the birth anniversary of India’s first Education Minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the country’s education system faces a familiar but unresolved question: has the expansion of schools, universities and degrees translated into meaningful learning for every child?
India has made visible progress in access to education. The country now has over 1.467 million schools, approximately 247.2 million students and more than 10 million teachers. According to UDISE+ 2025–26, the secondary-level dropout rate has declined to 7 per cent. Yet, the quality of foundational learning remains a serious concern.
Azad’s Foundational Vision
When Maulana Azad assumed charge of the Education Ministry in independent India’s first government on August 15, 1947, the country grappled with widespread illiteracy, poverty, social inequality, and educational backwardness. He viewed education not as a privilege for a particular class, community or economic group, but as a right of every citizen and a collective national responsibility.
His priorities included universal primary education, girls’ education, technical and vocational learning, scientific research and the integration of India’s cultural heritage into education. His tenure helped lay institutional foundations for higher education and cultural institutions, including the University Grants Commission, the Indian Institutes of Technology and several national academies.
Azad believed modern India could be built only through a blend of knowledge, reason, scientific temper and cultural tolerance. Nearly eight decades later, that vision remains the benchmark against which the country’s educational progress must be measured.
Expansion, Not Assurance
India’s education system has expanded dramatically since Independence, but enrolment alone does not guarantee learning. According to the ASER 2024 report covering rural India, only 48.7 per cent of Class V students could read a text meant for Class II, while just 30.7 per cent could solve a basic division problem.
These figures suggest that a substantial proportion of children complete primary schooling without acquiring foundational language and mathematical skills. The concern is not merely about curriculum design or examination results; it is about whether the schooling system is equipping children for meaningful learning and real-life challenges.
Policy Promises, Ground Reality
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 promised a comprehensive transformation, aiming to make education more inclusive, qualitative, practical and responsive to future needs. But the real test of any policy lies in its implementation, not its stated objectives.
Shortages of teachers in government schools, disparities between rural and urban education, limited access to quality mother-tongue instruction and the incomplete integration of skill-based learning continue to challenge the system. The question remains whether the benefits of the policy are reaching every region, social group and child at the last mile.
Investment Gap Remains
Government priorities are also reflected in spending. Combined public expenditure on education by the Centre and states stood at approximately 4.1 per cent of GDP in 2022–23, while the National Education Policy envisages raising it to 6 per cent.
This gap indicates that education has yet to receive the financial priority required to build a knowledge-driven economy. Unless education is treated as an investment rather than a cost, the gap between policy ambition and classroom reality will persist.
Commercialisation and Inequality
The growing commercialisation of education has added another layer of concern. Expensive private schools and universities coexist with government institutions struggling for adequate resources, raising questions about whether quality education is increasingly linked to a family’s financial capacity.
The coaching industry, mounting pressure of competitive examinations and the pursuit of degrees have also distorted the purpose of education. India needs graduates who can solve problems, innovate and create employment—not merely seek it.
Education as Democratic Citizenship
Beyond skills and employment, education must cultivate the ability to question, disagree, reason from evidence and respect differing viewpoints. Schools and universities should nurture responsible citizens capable of independent thought, rather than followers of any single ideology.
Scientific temper, constitutional values, pluralism and social harmony must remain central to the education system. These were essential principles in the formative years of independent India and remain equally relevant today.
Language and Inclusion
Maulana Azad’s vision is particularly relevant to the question of language. Education in the mother tongue strengthens comprehension and expression, while proficiency in English and other languages opens wider opportunities.
Respecting Indian languages and providing access to global knowledge are not contradictory goals. India needs a multilingual approach in which no child’s language becomes a barrier to learning, progress or opportunity.
Beyond Tributes
Reducing Maulana Azad to a political or religious identity would diminish the larger significance of his contribution. He was among the founding architects of modern India’s educational vision, seeing knowledge as the foundation of national integration, social transformation and democratic consciousness.
As India aspires to become a developed nation, economic indicators, technological achievements and global rankings alone will not suffice. The country needs educated, enlightened, skilled and socially sensitive citizens.
Paying floral tributes to Maulana Azad’s portrait will not transform the future of education. His ideals must become the soul of the system. The true promise of freedom will be fulfilled only when every child, irrespective of background, has the opportunity to acquire knowledge, question established ideas and realise their dreams without discrimination.
- Asif Zaman Rizvi