Soumitra Dutta on Education in India-From Ancient Nalanda to India’s Modern Education System

In terms of the university system of education, Nalanda is the oldest place in the world. Students from different countries were attracted to Indian education systems. Numerous branches of knowledge system started in India. Education was considered as a higher virtue in ancient India. But the renaissance and scientific attitude, which took place in Europe, did not occur in India during that period.   

Later, however, the British introduced a system of education which has been adopted in India to this day. They brought a new system of Education in the country in place of the old system. But these days, it's assumed that the education system ought to be more practical and children ought to be free. “Freedom in the schools should be granted to the students, otherwise if they start to write the same way as it is written in the textbooks, they will not be able to innovate in industry because they are less creative in the schools,” says the renowned educationist, Soumitra Dutta.

Who is Soumitra Dutta? What are their POV on Education system in India  

Soumitra Dutta, Oxford, former Dean, Co-Founder and President on-leave at Portulans Institute. He is also the founder and co-editor of the Global Innovation Index (GII) published in partnership with the world Intellectual Property Organization. 

His thoughts on education system are different as he believes that education system in India restricts innovation. The need for changes in the education system in India to encourage freedom, creativity and innovation from the school level itself.  

Is India's Education System Shrinking? 

Touted as one of the world's largest, India's school education system, has quietly shrunk over the past decade. In the period 2014-15 to 2024-25, the number of government schools reported closed was nearly 94,000 and the number of government-aided schools was roughly 4,000. Between the same time, an estimated 22.5 million fewer students were enrolled. While statistics don't convey the whole story, they do provide a disturbing picture. The education system in India seems to be coming under more pressure at a time when it needs to leverage its demographic dividend and move ahead to become a global economic powerhouse.  

These are the cold numbers and if they are indeed the ones, then, indeed, the Indian education system is in serious trouble - not only in terms of its enrollment and infrastructure, but in terms of its entire functioning. Further compounded by repeated paper leaks, examination irregularities and evaluation controversies have undermined public confidence in an education system, that millions of families depend upon as a ladder to opportunity. Credibility is becoming increasingly rare, especially in school board exams and in extremely competitive medical and engineering college entrance exams.