A new education policy is expected to be announced soon. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Over 500 million Indians are below the age of 25 and though India has one of the largest education systems in the world, employability has become one of its biggest challenges. Much needs to be done to bridge the gap between education and employability.
CII has provided industry inputs for strengthening education at all levels, including primary, secondary and tertiary. Some of its key recommendations include an increase in the budgetary outlay for education; introduction of coupon system for providing subsidies; incentivizing teachers to use technology; and setting up digital libraries. In order to strengthen India’s innovation engagement, CII has been suggesting dedicated R&D funds for academic institutions, one of the key enablers of excellence of higher education.
CII has been working closely with the Central and State Governments for enhancing the quality of education. CII’s platform for collaborations between Industry and academia has resulted in over 100 industry-academia agreements. CII also has a public private partnership with the Government for awarding Prime Minister's Fellowship for Doctoral Research to PhD students. CII’s engagement in education is further driven by the CII Institute of Quality, CII Foundation, India@75 and Young Indians.
This edition of Policy Watch highlights some of the important issues related to strengthening education. It also identifies some immediate gaps where policy intervention can help accelerate implementation.