The Journal Entry #032 : India’s Education Emergency: The Crisis We Have Normalised

“A nation does not build its future in Parliament. It builds it in its classrooms.”

For the past few days, the country’s attention has been fixed on the protests outside the Prime Minister’s residence. What began as outrage over another examination controversy has evolved into something much larger—a cry from an entire generation asking a simple question:

“Does anyone in power take responsibility for our future?”

Students gathered in large numbers. Parents joined them. Young people travelled from across India to make their voices heard. A hunger strike continued even after the protester was moved to a hospital. Eventually, discussions were held, assurances were made, and promises of reforms were announced.

But one question still hangs over the entire movement:

Who is accountable?

That is what makes this protest different. It is not merely about an examination. It is about the growing belief that accountability has become the missing chapter in India’s education system.

NEET Is Only the Trigger

If we think this movement is only about NEET, we are missing the real story.

The examination became the spark.

The frustration has been building for years.

Every few months, India witnesses another controversy involving examinations or recruitment tests. Students prepare day and night, sacrificing years of their lives. Families invest their savings. Dreams are built around a single opportunity.

Then suddenly an examination is cancelled.

A paper allegedly leaks.

An investigation begins.

Students are asked to wait.

Another year is lost.

For those sitting in air-conditioned offices, it may be another administrative issue.

For a student, it can mean losing an entire year of life.

Imagine telling an eighteen-year-old that the most productive years of their life are simply “collateral damage.”

Governments Change. The Problems Don’t.

Today’s protests have become a political battleground.

The ruling party defends itself.

The opposition attacks.

Leaders arrive to support protesters.

Television debates begin.

Social media explodes.

But let us ask a question that no political party enjoys answering.

Has any government truly made education its highest national priority?

Successive governments have promised transformation.

Different parties have ruled India.

Different education ministers have occupied office.

Different policies have been announced.

Yet the same structural problems continue.

This is not just the failure of one government.

It is the collective failure of governments over decades.

Education has become an election promise instead of a national mission.

The Forgotten Government School

Whenever discussions about education begin, attention immediately shifts to IITs, AIIMS, IIMs and prestigious universities.

But India’s education story begins in a government school.

And that is where the real crisis lies.

Thousands of schools continue to struggle with inadequate infrastructure.

Many students still study in overcrowded classrooms.

Many schools lack laboratories.

Libraries remain empty or non-existent.

Internet access is still a dream in countless villages.

Most heartbreaking of all, many schools still struggle to provide safe and functional toilets for girls.

A nation that cannot provide dignity inside a school cannot honestly claim to empower its daughters.

Education begins with respect.

Not with rankings.

A School Without Teachers Is Only a Building

One of India’s biggest educational crises receives surprisingly little attention.

Teacher vacancies.

Across the country, a large number of teaching posts remain vacant.

Some schools function with only one or two teachers managing multiple classes.

Many subjects go untaught because qualified teachers are unavailable.

Children are expected to compete globally.

But who is teaching them?

A smart classroom cannot replace a committed teacher.

No amount of technology can substitute human guidance.

When governments leave teaching posts vacant for years, they are not merely delaying recruitment.

They are delaying the future of millions of children.

Why Are So Many Students Leaving India?

Every year, lakhs of Indian students choose to pursue higher education abroad.

Parents sell property.

Families mortgage their homes.

Students take massive education loans.

Some spend decades repaying those loans.

Why would so many families willingly take such financial risks?

Because they believe better opportunities exist elsewhere.

This should disturb every policymaker.

The issue is not that students are studying abroad.

The issue is that many believe they have no better option.

A country that dreams of becoming a global superpower cannot afford to lose confidence in its own education system.

Degrees Without Direction

Another uncomfortable truth confronts today’s youth.

A degree no longer guarantees employment.

Many graduates discover that the skills demanded by employers differ from what colleges teach.

Industries evolve rapidly.

Technology changes every year.

Artificial Intelligence is transforming almost every profession.

Yet many classrooms continue teaching outdated syllabi that have changed little over the years.

Students memorise.

Examinations reward memory.

Employers seek creativity.

The system produces marks.

The economy demands skills.

Students become the victims of this disconnect.

The Question Every Citizen Has the Right to Ask

Here is a question that deserves public discussion.

Many influential politicians, senior bureaucrats, business leaders and celebrities choose foreign universities or elite private institutions for their own children.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with parents wanting the best education possible.

Every parent would make the same choice if they had the means.

But it raises an uncomfortable question.

If those responsible for shaping India’s education policies rarely depend on the public education system themselves, can they truly understand the daily realities faced by ordinary families?

Confidence in a system begins with those who lead it.

Education Is Not an Expense

Whenever governments prepare budgets, education is often spoken about with great enthusiasm.

Speeches are inspiring.

Announcements are impressive.

New schemes are launched.

Yet year after year, education rarely receives the attention that matches its importance.

Every political party promises change.

Every manifesto celebrates youth.

But promises alone cannot build classrooms.

Promises cannot appoint teachers.

Promises cannot modernise universities.

Education is not government expenditure.

It is national investment.

Every rupee spent on education returns many times over through innovation, productivity, economic growth and social progress.

Ignoring education is one of the costliest decisions any nation can make.

Stop Measuring Students Only by Marks

Our education system asks children one question.

“How many marks did you score?”

Very few ask a different question.

“What kind of human being are you becoming?”

Education should produce thinkers.

Problem solvers.

Scientists.

Entrepreneurs.

Artists.

Teachers.

Responsible citizens.

Not merely examination toppers.

A nation cannot memorise its way into becoming a developed country.

It must innovate.

It must question.

It must create.

This Protest Is About More Than Students

The protests outside the Prime Minister’s residence are not simply about examinations.

They are about trust.

Students are asking whether hard work still matters.

Parents are asking whether the system protects honest candidates.

Teachers are asking why education remains a low priority.

Citizens are asking who accepts responsibility when things go wrong.

These are questions that deserve answers—not slogans.

India’s Greatest Resource Is Its Youth

India proudly speaks about becoming a developed nation.

A manufacturing hub.

A technology leader.

A global economic power.

None of these dreams are possible without world-class education.

Roads can be rebuilt.

Bridges can be reconstructed.

Governments can be replaced.

Budgets can be revised.

But a generation that loses faith in education may take decades to recover.

That is a loss no nation can afford.

The Final Report Card

History will not remember how many political rallies were held.

It will not remember who shouted the loudest on television debates.

It will not remember which party blamed the other more effectively.

History will ask a much simpler question.

When India’s students were asking for a better future, who chose politics—and who chose reform?

India does not merely face an examination crisis.

It faces an accountability crisis.

Until every government—past, present and future—places education above politics, above ideology and above electoral calculations, the real issue will remain unresolved.

The future of India is not waiting in Parliament.

It is waiting inside millions of classrooms.

And every day we delay meaningful reform, another generation pays the price.

A country that fails its students eventually fails itself.

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