India’s Education Reform Must Prioritise Learning Over Access

Five years after the launch of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, India’s most ambitious education reform in decades, the spotlight must shift from simply increasing school enrolment to ensuring meaningful learning. While access to education has expanded significantly, the deeper question remains—are students truly learning? NEP 2020 set a transformative vision for Indian education, aiming to replace rote memorisation with real understanding, standardised instruction with personalised learning, and content-heavy syllabi with competency-based outcomes. However, the success of this reform cannot be measured by numbers alone. It must be evaluated by how well students acquire foundational skills, critical thinking abilities, and real-world problem-solving capacity.

Despite improvements in infrastructure and enrolment, national surveys have consistently shown that many children struggle with basic literacy and numeracy even after several years in school. This learning crisis underscores the need for urgent systemic changes—including better teacher training, dynamic classroom practices, and continuous student assessments aligned with learning goals. NEP 2020 outlines a solid roadmap, but its true potential will only be realised if the focus shifts to what matters most: learning outcomes.

India must move toward an education system that values quality over quantity, where schools are not just centres of attendance but centres of active, engaged learning. As the country aspires to harness its demographic dividend, ensuring that every child learns effectively is not just an educational imperative—it is a national one.