Delivering quality education is critical for the holistic development of a nation and is a key enabler for ensuring inclusive and sustainable development. Expanding access to higher education, skill development and vocational training enhances a nation’s competitiveness in the global economy and propels socio-economic development.

An infrastructure of nearly 700 universities, 35,000 colleges and enrolment of over 2.5 crore students makes India’s education system the world’s third largest, valued at $80 billion.

With over 50 per cent of our population below the age of 25 years, it is imperative to focus on educating the youth of the country and providing suitable impetus to reap the demographic dividend.

Mind the gap An increase of 1 per cent in the Government’s expenditure on education per person leads to a 0.11 per cent increase in per capita GDP. With rapid urbanisation, growing awareness of importance of education and the efforts of the Government, gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education is expected to increase from 19.4 per cent in 2012-13 to 30 per cent in 2020.

An aggregate investment of almost ₹9.5 lakh crore is required to fill the gap in the education infrastructure of universities, colleges and technical institutions.

With an incremental workforce of more than 1.2 crore people every year, India will play a vital role in contributing to the global shortage of skilled manpower of nearly 56 million by 2020. Imparting education to this mammoth workforce and equipping it with adequate skill sets will make India a knowledge powerhouse of 500 million job ready Indians by 2022 with enhanced competitiveness in specialised skills including R&D, IT and biotech.

Education will help in improving employability, earning capacity, reducing poverty and better health indicators.

Education for all In the 12th Five Year Plan, there is increased allocation for the sector to the tune of $66 billion. The ‘Education for All’ programme has achieved significant milestones in extending education to even the remotest villages, thereby significantly improving the literacy ratio.

Another encouraging factor is private investment which has also seen an upward trend with FDI of $740 million from April 2000 to September 2013, according to DIPP (the department of industrial policy and promotion).

Despite these positive trends, the sector faces a greater challenge of providing equal opportunities for higher education and addressing sectoral and social imbalances.

Education has been marred by the acute shortage of teachers, along with a decline in per student spending, leading to an infrastructure compromise. It is important that industry, private institutes, State governments and NGOs join hands to comprehensively address the skill gap issue and create an enabling ecosystem for skill development and employability.

Bold measures by the Government need to be taken to ensure revitalisation of the education sector so that India can fulfil its destiny of becoming a knowledge economy, propelled by educated and skilled manpower.

The Government in its manifesto has highlighted that education is the most powerful tool for the advancement of the nation and the most potent weapon to fight poverty. The education sector has been given high priority and steps are being taken to ensure effective implementation of the Right to Education and Right to Food Security Act. Further measures have been proposed to ensure that the young and the girl child in particular get education and jobs without discrimination.

Audit the progress In order to maximise education for all, it is important for performance audits to be undertaken to ensure that the Right to Education Act including the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme and the Mid-day Meal Scheme are effectively implemented. This will not only increase the enrolment of students but also reduce dropouts.

Setting up largescale teacher training institutes with better performance driven pay scales will help address the teacher shortfall and improve the highly skewed teacher-student ratios.

For Indian universities to match global excellence standards, it is imperative to provide quality infrastructure and facilities as well as a robust curriculum design by increasing investment in R&D and teacher training and pursuing greater international collaborations, joint research and student exchange programmes. Technology driven education needs to be fostered including flipped classrooms, massive online courses (MOOCs), and e-libraries to empower teachers and students.

For students who do not have access to full-time education, non-formal education should be promoted. Government expenditure on education needs to increase from the current 3.3 per cent of GDP to 6 per cent and complementary sources of funding should also be encouraged, including philanthropy from alumni and industry.

In order to address the shortage of skilled manpower, ensure industry responsive manpower and achieve the ‘Make in India’ vision, Industrial Training Institutions (ITIs) and vocational training programmes need to focus on labour intensive manufacturing segments, such as textiles and hardware.

Focus on skills The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) needs to engage in integrated development programmes with the Government and the private sector to focus on soft skill development, employability and entrepreneurship. Training in key industry sector should be standardised around national apprentice standards developed by the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to ensure improved awareness and acceptability amongst employers. Innovation can be promoted through collaboration between universities and industry in University Innovation Clusters (UIC).

Education is the key to the 3 Es of employment, entrepreneurship and empowerment. India needs a flexible education system with primary education to provide the foundation for learning; secondary and tertiary education to develop core capabilities and core technical skills; and further means of increasing employability and earning capabilities.

Expanding access to higher education, skill development and vocational training delivered through investment in infrastructure and technology driven learning will enhance India’s competitiveness globally and propel socio-economic development.

The writer is the president of Assocham and and MD and CEO of YES Bank

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