Editorial 1: The ‘3Cs’ that haunt Indian education today 

Context

The government's current three-point agenda is causing harmful effects in the field of education.

Introduction

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 may seem like a big reform, but it hides the fact that the government has shown little real concern for the education of India’s children and youth. Over the past decade, the Union Government’s actions have made it clear that its focus in education is only on three things—centralizing control, promoting privatization, and introducing communal influences into textbooks, curriculum, and institutions.

Key Issues and Consequences

• Excessive centralization has been a defining feature of the government’s functioning for the past 11 years, with the education sector facing the worst impact.
• Lack of consultation with State Governments, even for major policy shifts like NEP 2020.
• No meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) since September 2019, sidelining State Education Ministers.
• Disregard for federal principles, despite education being a Concurrent List subject under the Indian Constitution.

Coercion of State Governments

Undermining Higher Education & Federalism

• Introduction of 2025 UGC draft guidelines that eliminate State Governments from Vice-Chancellor (VC) appointments.
• Governors, appointed as Chancellors, gain complete control over university leadership, reducing State influence.
• Represents a serious threat to federalism, shifting State-controlled universities under Union control through indirect means.
• The Government’s actions indicate a preference for power consolidation over democratic governance, risking the autonomy of education policy and institutions in India.

The issue of commercialisation

• The commercialization of education has been unfolding openly, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Key policies and actions have led to:
• Dismantling of public schooling through school closures and privatization.
• Increased financial burden on students due to withdrawal of government funding in higher education.
• Growing corruption in education-related institutions and agencies.

Impact on Primary and Secondary Education

Privatization of Higher Education

Corruption and Mismanagement in Education

• Bribery scandals in the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
• Failures in the National Testing Agency (NTA), affecting millions of students.
• Increased politicization and commercial influence over education institutions.
• The government’s retreat from public education funding, along with rising privatization and corruption, has made quality education inaccessible to the poor and financially burdensome for students across India.

There is a communalisation

• Government's Agenda: Focus on communalizing education, aligning with the RSS and BJP’s long-standing ideological goals.
• Objective: Indoctrination and promotion of divisive narratives within the education system.
• NCERT Curriculum Changes
  • Sanitization of Indian history to fit a particular ideological narrative.
  • Removed content:
    • Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.
    • Sections on Mughal India.T
    • he Preamble to the Indian Constitution (later reinstated after public backlash).
• Hiring Practices: Large-scale recruitment of ideologically aligned professors, regardless of academic merit.
• Leadership Control: Key positions in IITs, IIMs, and central universities given to politically favorable individuals.
• UGC's Role: Ongoing efforts to dilute qualifications for professorships and vice-chancellorships to allow ideological appointments.
• This politicization of education undermines academic integrity, distorts historical facts, and compromises educational standards in India.

Conclusion

Over the past decade, our education system has been systematically stripped of its commitment to public service, while education policy has been devoid of concerns about accessibility and quality. The relentless drive toward centralization, commercialization, and communalization has placed the burden squarely on students. This devastation of India’s public education system must come to an end.