A Mind Wasted is a Nation Lost: Why Primary Education Deserves Priority in India’s 2024 Budget
While the government has commendably achieved the milestone of universal enrollment in primary education, the quality of education remains a significant challenge.
Imagine a young girl, Maya, her hair woven with hope, skipping to her village schoolhouse in Sundarbans. Beneath the sun-dappled canopy of mangroves, the promise of education hangs heavy in the air.
It’s a melody sung by generations, a promise etched in the Constitution — every child, the future architect of India, deserves the foundation of primary education.
Yet, Maya’s joyous path soon stumbles upon disrepair. Her classroom, crammed with eager eyes, lacks textbooks, the blackboard scribbled with fading hope.
Her teacher, burdened by understaffing and antiquated pedagogy, struggles to ignite Maya’s innate spark. This, dear policymakers, is the harsh reality gnawing at the heart of India’s “universal” primary education.
Yes, we’ve achieved near-universal enrollment, but what about the quality that shapes young minds, the education that truly empowers?
