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How COVID-19 deepens the digital education divide in India

A girl, who has missed her online classes due to a lack of internet facilities, listens to pre-recorded lessons over loudspeakers in the western state of Maharashtra Image:  REUTERS/Prashant Waydande

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• A total of 320 million learners in India have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and have transitioned to e-learning;
• With huge regional and household disparities in access to the internet and technology, this transition has not been possible for all students and educators;
• The rapid shift to e-learning prompted by the pandemic has resurfaced long-standing issues of inequality and a digital divide in India that must be addressed by future economic, education and digitalization policies.

The education system in India is facing a new crisis thanks to COVID-19. Besides the effect on short-term learning outcomes, extended school closures will result in a loss in human capital and diminished economic opportunities in the long run.

Have you read?

This innovative solution is helping indian children get an education during the pandemic, india's superpower is education. here's why it must build on this, covid-19 has intensified the digital divide.

Literature suggests that for countries with already low learning outcomes, high dropout rates, low resilience to shock and inadequate infrastructure to build back better the impact on education will be felt even more deeply.

What does this mean for India and its people?

India has the world’s second-largest school system, after China . Shutting schools to maintain social distancing amidst the COVID-19 crisis was the most logical solution to avoid community transmission. However, this prolonged closure has a disproportionately negative impact on the most vulnerable students. The pandemic has not only caused the wide rift in educational inequality to balloon but also exacerbated existing disparities .

A total of 320 million learners in India have been adversely affected and transitioned to the e-learning industry, which comprises a network of 1.5 million schools . An NSSO 2014 report highlights that 32 million children were already out of school before the pandemic — the majority of them belonging to the socially disadvantaged class in the country.

While the government endorses India as the flag-bearer of the digital revolution and acknowledges that it is a diverse and multilingual country, as supported by the recently drafted new education policy , e-learning platforms cannot replicate the various dialects, varied contexts and different lived experiences that are brought together by physical classrooms. If e-learning is the “new normal”, the policy must go further to address the feasibility of digitalization to ensure equity and quality in education.

The operational burden

E-learning, as the name suggests, relies on the availability and accessibility of technology, but little or no availability of electricity is a significant challenge to taking advantage of education online. In a recent 2017-18 survey , the Ministry of Rural Development found that only 47% of Indian households receive more than 12 hours of electricity and more than 36% of schools in India operate without electricity. This suggests that while students from families with better means of living can easily bridge the transition to remote learning, students from underprivileged backgrounds are likely to succumb to inefficiency and a lack of adaptation, either because of the inaccessibility of the technology or the low education of their parents to guide them through tech-savvy applications.

Aside from the stresses of access and affordability, a daunting task for a student is to keep up with their studies and peers. Unlike an active classroom setting, e-learning does not accommodate one-to-one discussions or problem solving with tutors. Reports emphasize that the receivers (students) are not the only ones struggling – teachers are too. Teachers and institutions are not always trained and equipped to transition to online teaching. Many teachers are unqualified when it comes to using new technologies and interfaces.

The digital divide and gender bias

NSSO 2014-2015 data suggests that economic factors are critical to children dropping out of school in India. The pandemic and lockdown have affected 1.4m migrant workers and others working in the unorganized sector (90% of India’s population is engaged in disorganized work). The migrant workers have either moved back home along with their children or are unable to send remittances home this season. In such a situation, the emphasis on technology-driven education is preventing many children in the country from continuing school education.

According to the Key Indicators of Household Social Consumption on Education in India report , based on the 2017-18 NSSO, fewer than 15% of rural Indian households have internet access (as opposed to 42% urban Indian households). A mere 13% of people surveyed (aged above five) in rural areas — just 8.5% of females — could use the internet. Girls in vulnerable households face increased domestic duties inducing their inability to access online education either because of inadequate access to the internet and gadgets or because the male child and his teaching are prioritized. This silent exclusion of children belonging to families in distress may cause child labour and child marriage.

Economic reform policies have always leaned towards hyper-digitalization. For a long time, they have discussed how to innovate working and studying with at-home technologies. However, the implementation of these policies has not addressed the educational inequalities that have today emerged as a crisis in the caste and class struggle in India.

The scope of e-learning is enormous and can help realize the potential of each student. There lie both opportunities and challenges for the government and the private sector. The aim should be to ensure equal and adequate access to such platforms as the country continues to globalize and catch up with advanced economies. If the Indian education system aims to transit to online learning in the future, it must emphasize policies that bridge the digital divide and move the country closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

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Problem Solving Skills Inspired by STEM Education

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education serves as a catalyst for developing competent problem solvers who are capable of tackling challenges in a variety of fields. The core principles of STEM education provide the foundation for developing robust problem-solving skills that transcend traditional boundaries.

In an era characterised by technological revolutions, STEM education has become indispensable. It instils in students critical thinking skills, motivating them to inquire, evaluate, and resolve real-world issues. Furthermore, STEM fosters attributes like creativity, teamwork, and adaptability, all of which are vital in a globally interconnected and competitive job market.

Educational Empowerment

 STEM projects place a premium on education as the foundation of their efforts. They work relentlessly to improve STEM education in schools, colleges, and institutions. This involves creating an up-to-date curriculum, improving teaching methods, and offering professional development opportunities for instructors. By providing instructors with the most up-to-date information and tools, they may successfully transfer their enthusiasm for STEM subjects to their pupils.

Inculcating Analytical Thinking 

Teaching Analytical Thinking in STEM education imparts a culture of analytical thinking. Students are encouraged to approach problems systematically and break them down into manageable components. This analytical mindset forms the basis of effective problem-solving, allowing individuals to systematically analyse problems and develop strategic solutions.

Application of Theoretical Knowledge 

Promoting Critical Research The focus of STEM education is the promotion of critical research. Learners are encouraged to ask questions, challenge assumptions and explore innovative approaches. This innate curiosity fosters a problem-solving mindset that seeks comprehensive and efficient solutions to complex challenges rather than just solutions. Application of Theoretical Knowledge STEM Education bridges the gap between theory and application. Practical experience is gained through the practical application of concepts through experiments and projects, allowing students to translate theoretical knowledge into real-world problem-solving scenarios.

Embracing Iterative Problem-Solving 

Comprehensive Iterative Problem-Solving STEM-inspired problem solvers understand the iterative nature of problem-solving. They embrace trial and error and see failure not as a setback but as a stepping stone to further development. This iterative approach fosters resilience and adaptability in dealing with complex problems.

Hands-On Learning

 STEM programmes aggressively promote hands-on learning. This includes giving students and researchers access to cutting-edge facilities, equipment, and Technology. Individuals gain practical insights into scientific topics and engineering principles via hands-on experimentation. They learn not only from textbooks but also through actively participating in their study materials and activities.

Interdisciplinary Approach STEM education

Promotes an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving.Students integrate knowledge from a variety of STEM fields to develop a comprehensive understanding of the problem. This interdisciplinary perspective widens the range of solutions available to address challenges.

Mentoring and advising

STEM projects frequently match students and prospective researchers with experienced mentors. These mentors provide advice, share their knowledge, and provide essential insights. Mentorship programmes develop creativity and provide a supportive environment for aspiring innovators. This not only recognises accomplishments but also gives a venue for innovators to get feedback, enhance their concepts, and connect with possible partners and investors.

Technological Integration 

Integrating Technology Integrating Technology into his STEM education provides an individual with the skills to utilise technological advances in problem-solving. Knowledge of coding, data analysis, and the use of technical tools improves problem-solving skills and enables innovative and efficient solutions.

Collaborative Problem-Solving 

Problem-solving through collaboration Collaboration is the cornerstone of his STEM education. Students participate in team-based projects and learn how to collaborate effectively. This fosters an environment where a variety of ideas come together and fosters a collaborative problem-solving approach from a variety of perspectives.

Cultivating Resilience and Innovation 

Promoting Resilience and Innovation STEM education strengthens the resilience of problem solvers. Encountering and overcoming challenges fosters innovative thinking. Individuals learn to adapt, innovate, and create unconventional solutions, expanding their problem-solving repertoire.

Fundamentally , STEM education serves as a powerful catalyst for developing problem-solving skills. By emphasising a multifaceted approach, critical thinking, technology integration, and a collaborative spirit, we develop individuals into skilled problem solvers prepared to tackle the complex challenges of today and tomorrow.

India STEM Foundation

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Educating India’s Children

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Since 2001, India’s Education for All program has brought nearly 20 million children into primary school.
• India is now seeking to improve the quality of primary education as well as improve access, equity and quality in secondary education.
• Since 2000, the World Bank has committed over $2 billion to education in India.

Almost two decades of basic education programs have expanded access to schools in India. Today, India’s Education for All program – Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) - caters to some 200 million children living in over a million habitations across the country, making it one of the largest elementary education programs in the world.

Since 2001, the program has brought nearly 20 million children into primary school. Very few countries can parallel this impressive performance. 

Twenty four of India’s states have already achieved universal primary enrollment and many others are approaching it. Most of the newly-enrolled children are first generation learners from long-deprived communities or children with special needs.  More girls are now in school - there are 93 girls for every 100 boys in primary school compared to just 90 in 2001.

Universalizing good quality basic education

Having improved access, India is now seeking to upgrade the quality of education provided and improve levels of learning. It is also seeking to bring the remaining 8 million or so out-of-school children into school. Most of these children belong to marginalized communities or live in far flung rural communities. The country is also seeking to ensure that all those enrolled are retained in school till they complete their elementary education (Grade 8).

Expanding secondary education and improving quality

Secondary Education, is critical to enhance India’s competitiveness in a rapidly globalizing world. But, for this, all India’s children will need to be equipped with at least ten years of schooling. This is the minimum level of education required to secure the jobs of the future, the jobs that will power India’s growth.

However, today, while more than 95 percent of India’s children attend primary school, less than half of 16 year olds - just 44 percent – complete Class 10. This is a huge loss for a nation that will soon have the largest and youngest workforce the world has ever seen.

The government is now seeking to bring 90 percent of the country’s 50 million secondary age children into school by 2017.

To achieve this goal, access, equity, management and quality will all need to be improved. Curriculum and teaching practices will need to be upgraded to impart more relevant skills, such as reasoning skills, problem solving, learning-to-learn, and critical and independent thinking. Since this is an enormous task for the public sector alone, public-private partnerships will need to be expanded to tap into the potential offered by the 60 percent of secondary schools which are privately managed in India.

World Bank Support

Since 2000, the World Bank has committed over $2 billion to education in India. It has also provided technical support. Assistance includes:

Elementary/Primary education:  Since 2003, the Bank has been working with Central and State governments, along with development partners (UK's DFID and the European Union) to support the  Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan  program.

In Phase 1 (2003-2007) the World Bank invested $ 500 million to expand facilities and improve infrastructure, get children to school, and set up a system to assess learning.

In Phase 2 (2007-2012) the World Bank provided a total of $1.35 billion to expand access to upper primary education, increase retention of all students until completion of elementary education (Grade 8), and improve learning levels.

In addition, World Bank evaluations and research provided pointers to further improvements. This included studies on financing elementary education, teacher absenteeism, instructional time and quality in primary education, and the impact of information sharing with village education committees. It also included studies on inclusive education for children with disabilities, comparisons between public and private schooling in UP, AP, and MP, and incentives to improve quality.

Secondary Education:  The World Bank is supporting the Government of India’s centrally sponsored scheme for secondary education, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), with an estimated $ 500 million. This is largely based on the analytical work on secondary education, published in 2009, which focused on strategies to improve access, equity, management and quality. In addition, the World Bank has conducted research into the feasibility for expanded public private partnerships at the secondary level, and has supported learning workshops on the role of information and communication technologies at the secondary level.

Support to States:  The World Bank is also supporting state governments. For example, in Bihar, the Bank is providing about $250m to develop a comprehensive and effective teacher development and management system to improve the quality of education in elementary schools. It is using innovative approaches, such as technology-driven and distance learning models so teachers can continue to be their students even while upgrading their skills and knowledge.

• PROJECT DOCUMENTS Elementary Education III
• PROJECT DOCUMENTS India: Secondary Education Project

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Is India’s National Education Policy- NEP 2020 solution to Global Skill Gap challenge?

If we were to ask you a simple question – Have you ever hired an electrician, a plumber or a carpenter and why? For almost all of you, the answer will be yes and you would think we are the foolish ones here for asking you why because clearly the answer is to fix the electrical, plumbing or wood work issue, right? Of course it is! But let us check the underlying theme of the statement. You had a problem; you hired a specialist who used his skillset to solve a problem. Through this article we will look to explore the future of Indian educational system producing problem solvers who can compete at a global level. We will be taking into account the New Education Policy (NEP 2020) elements that specifically target this area.

The basic reason for hiring the services of a person, whether we are hiring as an individual or as a big organization, remains the same “solving the problem”. In the case of organizations the quality and quantity of problems are varied and therefore it requires a range of problem solvers. Let’s take an example of a car manufacturer; it has many questions to be answered like -which car to manufacture? What would be the design? What kind of upholstery to use? Which material to use? What is the most efficient way of sourcing materials? How will it be assembled? Where will it be assembled? Who will buy the cars? How will the cars be serviced? How to insure the quality? How to manage the finances? And many more.

Answers to these questions come in a wide variety of solutions, including technology, processes, best practices and above all well “Human Resource”.  Humans in the context of organizations are categorized as “resources”, probably because of our unique gift “the mind”, which can think and create.

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Throughout the history of industrial revolutions, we have seen that the human interface for repetitive tasks has been gradually reduced, and advancements in technology have efficiently answered the simpler questions and some complex one as well. For the car manufacturer, Humans are not required anymore to answer “how to assemble the car”? it is more efficiently done by robots now. Having said this, organizations still have multiple business questions to be answered by the humans. The problems left for humans to answer are getting more and more complex in nature.

50% of the skills listed in ‘top 10 skills of 2025” by the world economic forum are categorized as “problem-solving”, be it analytical thinking and innovation, complex problem-solving, critical thinking and analysis, creative originality and initiative or reasoning, problem-solving and ideation. 1 India under current leadership has envisioned becoming the ‘Skill Capital of the World’. This is a noble idea considering the demographic dividend we have. However, to realize this dream we have to develop ‘problem-solvers’, a critical 21st century skill.

Unfortunately, the current Indian education system, with its inherent problems, doesn’t support in developing this critical 21st century cognitive skill. Right from the primary to higher education, the focus is on rote learning. Cognitive skills, like problem solving develop throughout the learning years of an individual, with a supportive education system, which is completely lacking. National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP) recognizes the importance of 21st century skills including problem solving. It rightly links this critical skill with every stage of education be it Early Childhood, Schooling, Higher or professional education. It further puts emphasis on inclusion of 21st century skills within the curriculum and teachers training, this is a substantial and welcome shift in policy. It looks to explore ways to create ‘problem solvers’ to cater to the future market demands. Keeping this in mind, suggestions have been made towards overhauling the entire educational structure and learning outcomes, from foundational till professional education, in a way that it produces critical thinkers and problem solvers.

In a great start, the foundational education has been envisioned as a 5 year setup (consisting of primary schooling up to class 2). Earlier, government schools relied on anganwadis for pre- primary education and only inducted students from class 1 onwards. The new framework looks for focus on early childhood care and education (ECCE). The ECCE will have a larger aim to develop critical thinking, problem solving abilities, social, emotional and soft skills like empathy, leadership, teamwork in the child from early education days. While structurally remaining the same, the new policy looks to develop anganwadis as model ECCE learning centres. To tackle the lack of training and ill equipped staff at these anganwadis, skilling programs ranging from 6 months to 1 year will also be launched to create better educators who can in turn mold the child’s mind at an early stage.

Another great development is the changing of secondary education from only 11 th and 12 th to 9 th – 12 th standards. If implemented as is, the draft proposes students pick subjects of choice for the entirety of the 4 years of schooling as opposed to only 2 earlier. During the course of these 4 years, the students will have options to choose from a vast range of subjects including co- curricular and sports as graded alternatives. Even the choice of academic subjects will not be limited to science, arts or commerce as streams. One could in theory study physics with literature and music. This will be reinforced by multiple board exam attempts (best out of two) with the option to pick basic and advanced levels for appearing in examinations. All of the above mentioned points will help the student get out of the cycle of rote learning and focus on overall development of the student. These structural changes will lead to the increased critical thinking abilities along with deeper learning outcomes, teamwork and communication skills besides general engagement and enjoyment of learning.

To create better human capital that most companies desire, while foundational and secondary education can develop the aptitude and cognitive skills in a student, professional degrees are the final stepping stone towards achieving the larger goal. The changes proposed in the NEP regarding this also look very promising when it compares to creating a better skilled workforce. The shift of bachelor’s degrees from 3 to 4 years with multiple exit options is a great start towards building that pool of problem solving individuals who will be part of the workforce. A student getting into a program but not finding it a fit may choose to quit the program after the first year and still get a certification in the subject, not labelling the lost time and effort as a sunk cost. There are also similar options of leaving a course in two or three years diplomas, completing four years and even going into research directly.

All of this sounds good right? But we still have to answer the major question which may arise in any rational person’s mind – How will the teachers who have implemented rote learning for years adapt to new changes? This is also answered in the NEP. In fact, the draft proposes that teachers too become critical thinkers and problem solvers in their own way. Right from providing bridge courses to anganwadi workers and trainers to getting better and more experiential teaching tools and teacher eligibility tests from school to college levels is a priority of the draft NEP policy. It also provides an alternative of a 4 year integrated B.Ed. degree right after class 12th as opposed to the widely followed 5 year process of B.A and B.Ed. All in all, the NEP looks to create a pool of talented educators, who are problem solving individuals themselves and can impart those skills to their students to become critical thinkers and doers.

Alas, not everything is sunshine and rainbows. While on paper the NEP looks to be creating a paradigm shift in policy leading to creation of a structural system that is creating problem solvers, the major point of concern is the budget. Currently India contributes less than 3% of its GDP on education 2 and the NEP aspires to increase it to 6% of the GDP. While it sounds like a steep increase, the reality is that the last two policy changes in education way back in 1968 and 1986-1992, both had a target of 6% GDP spends which were never achieved.

The recipe for developing the ‘problem solvers’ is well written in NEP, only question remains is, do we have the state capacity and willingness for this tectonic shift in our education system to produce the ‘human resource’ capable of solving the organizational problems.

*Reference: The Future of Jobs Report 2020 | World…” 20 Oct. 2020, https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020. Accessed 11 Mar. 2021.

Important Information: This editorial is original contribution of Mr. Atishai Kumar Saxena, International Skill Development Expert and Advisor for Skill Development to Government of Oman and Mr. Manan Silawat, Policy Advocacy Expert

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• Quality education

Grade-appropriate education for all boys and girls.

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Poor quality education is leading to poor learning outcomes in India, ultimately pushing children out of the education system and leaving them vulnerable to child labour, abuse and violence. Many classrooms continue to be characterized by teacher-centred rote learning, corporal punishment and discrimination.

Learning assessments show that many of those children who are in school are not learning the basics of literacy and numeracy or the additional knowledge and skills necessary for their all-round development as specified under the Right to Education Act.

Much remains to be done to ensure a child-friendly learning environment where all children benefit from gender-sensitive and inclusive classrooms, as well as the availability of improved water, sanitation and hygiene, and mid-day meal practices.   

Every girl and boy in India has the fundamental right to quality education, an education one that helps them to acquire basic literacy and numeracy, enjoy learning without fear and feel valued and included irrespective of where they come from.       

For the first time in 10 years, reading and arithmetic scores have improved in public funded schools at early grades (ASER 2016). In seven states (Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Telangana and Uttarakhand) reading level increased by 7 per cent at grade 3 level since 2014. This indicates that increase in learning is possible but takes time. Nevertheless, ASER 2018 showed that in grade 5 after more than four years of schooling, only half of all children could read a grade 2 level text fluently. The National Achievement Survey 2017 which was conducted for grades 3, 5 and 8 gave a similar picture with only 45.2 per cent of students achieving the targeted performance levels across all subjects and classes at the national level. States such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh with large populations of children from scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST) and minority communities have the lowest scores. In the NAS 2017 girls scored slightly higher or as the same level as boys.

While governments both national and state have invested in large scale learning assessments, the challenge is in the use of assessment data for improving the delivery of education rather than letting it remain a simple data collection exercise.

Successful performance in school is supported by a wide range of abilities, attitudes and socio-emotional competencies, beyond traditional literacy and numeracy skills - life skills significantly contribute to learning and are an aspect of quality education. While there is an understanding around the importance of life skills , there is a possible lack of alignment between traditional curricula and a life-skills learning agenda  and a lack of understanding of how these can be developed across the education continuum. The NEP brings this focus stressing the importance of leaning by doing.

Since March 2020, schools in India have been closed and learning has shifted to remote home-based learning for those who can access it. School closures will impact learning across the education system. Gains in enrolment, school completion, and learning must not get eroded due to the combination of schools being closed and socio-economic hardships related to Covid-19. According to the World Bank, five months of school closures due to COVID-19 will result in an immediate loss of 0.6 years of schooling adjusted for quality, bringing the effective learning that a student can achieve down from 7.9 years to 7.3 years. During this period of school closure, efforts have been made by governments to ensure continuity of learning for children while they have been home. Digital tools including internet based high tech tools like apps and online learning classes, social media platforms, television and radio were used extensively.    India is now looking at delivering education programmes differently and speedily to employ solutions, that accelerate impact and achieve scale across interventions targeted at children and adolescents.  

COVID-19 presents urgency as well as an incredible opportunity to act and transform the education system through technology using it as an important tool of capacity building, inclusiveness and quality learning, without replacing the essential role of teachers/facilitators. While technology is not a silver bullet to solve the problem of inequities in access and learning, it has huge potential for changing how teaching and learning is delivered in India, if employed in a systemic and inclusive way, empowering teachers, frontline workers, children and adolescents and increasing access to and quality of learning.

Currently around one-third of the 2.6 million secondary schools in India have ICT labs and a functional computer.  Universal access to technology in homes is yet a dream in tribal belts, interior locations, rural areas, and amongst children with disabilities. Children with poor or no access to technology face most challenges in continuing to learn. There is disproportional access to the internet across state, further extending into the rural-urban schism, where 13 per cent people of over five years of age in rural areas can use the internet against 37 per cent in urban areas. Additionally, the digital dichotomy extends to the access to hardware and devices where the poorest students and marginalised communities, including girls, do not have access to smartphones, and even if they do, internet connectivity remains poor.

The main area of UNICEF engagement and support is elementary education especially early grades and the transition to secondary education. As schools remain closed and children learn remotely, UNICEF will engage with state government for expanding access to remote learning options. UNICEF will support the expanded use of technology and the use of online systems to improve governance in education, enhance capacity of teachers, teacher support systems, other education functionaries and participation of children for enhanced learning and skills development. But at the same time recognizing that quality learning requires quality teachers and teaching.

Implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 being a priority UNICEF will provide technical support at national and state level in the key areas related to curriculum revision, learning assessment and reporting, foundational learning, life skills and career guidance.

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Urvashi sahni urvashi sahni nonresident fellow - global economy and development , center for universal education @urvashi_sahni.

January 20, 2015

Content from the Brookings Institution India Center is now archived . After seven years of an impactful partnership, as of September 11, 2020, Brookings India is now the Centre for Social and Economic Progress , an independent public policy institution based in India.

In recent decades India has made significant progress on access to schooling and enrollment rates in primary education but dropout rates and low levels of learning remain challenges for the state and central government. As the U.S. has a longer history of public education than India there are opportunities for India to learn from the successes and failures in the American education system and to collaborate in tackling shared challenges, such as the best use of technology in primary education.

Primary school enrollment in India has been a success story, largely due to various programs and drives to increase enrolment even in remote areas. With enrollment reaching at least 96 percent since 2009, and girls making up 56 percent of new students between 2007 and 2013, it is clear that many problems of access to schooling have been addressed. Improvements to infrastructure have been a priority to achieve this and India now has 1.4 million schools and 7.7 million teachers so that 98 percent of habitations have a primary school (class I-V) within one kilometer and 92 percent have an upper primary school (class VI-VIII) within a three-kilometer walking distance.

Despite these improvements, keeping children in school through graduation is still an issue and dropout rates continue to be high. Nationally 29 percent of children drop out before completing five years of primary school, and 43 percent before finishing upper primary school. High school completion is only 42 percent. This lands India among the top five nations for out-of-school children of primary school age, with 1.4 million 6 to 11 year olds not attending school. In many ways schools are not equipped to handle the full population – there is a teacher shortage of 689,000 teachers in primary schools, only 53 percent of schools have functional girls’ toilets and 74 percent have access to drinking water.

Additionally, the quality of learning is a major issue and reports show that children are not achieving class-appropriate learning levels. According to Pratham’s Annual Status of Education 2013 report, close to 78 percent of children in Standard III and about 50 percent of children in Standard V cannot yet read Standard II texts. Arithmetic is also a cause for concern as only 26 percent students in Standard V can do a division problem. Without immediate and urgent help, these children cannot effectively progress in the education system, and so improving the quality of learning in schools is the next big challenge for both the state and central governments.

Improving learning will require attention to many things, including increasing teacher accountability. According to school visits teacher attendance is just 85 percent in primary and middle schools and raising the amount of time teachers spend on-task and increasing their responsibility for student learning also needs improvement. Part of this process requires better assessments at each grade level and more efficient monitoring and support systems. Overall, the public school system also needs a better general management system.

India also faces many challenges that could be tackled through the education system. For one gender issues have come to the fore because of the spate of recent cases of violence against girls. Changing gender mindsets seems to be imperative and gender studies education is one way of doing so. Also India, along with most countries, is concerned with the future of the labor market and employability; Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi wants to emphasize skill development in order to make school education more practically relevant.

Areas of Collaboration

Many of India’s concerns about education are shared by the U.S., such as ensuring quality, improving teacher capabilities, effective use of technology, and improving management systems. The US and India can achieve better learning outcomes if they pool their experience and resources – both intellectual and economic.

Leveraging technology : Both the U.S. and India are looking for solutions to provide high-quality learning opportunities to marginalized students. Technology has a lot of potential to improve education but how it can be implemented most effectively and in the case of India, most cost-effectively, still remains a question. There are several initiatives in India, by NGOs, like the Azim Premji Foundation & Digital Studyhall, and corporations like ILFS, Educom, Intel, Medialabs, to mention just a few, in content creation, teacher training and classroom learning. So far philanthropists and incubators are the ones who have helped to identify and scale best practices. A more officially driven effort is required to evaluate digital content and even more importantly to develop cost effective methods of making these available to teachers and students in areas where resources are scarce. Prime Minister Modi has shown a keen interest in this area, mentioning the need for ‘digital classrooms’ several times in his speeches in India and abroad. Given the issues of scale in terms of numbers and geography, which India needs to tackle in order to reach all her children and make sure they are learning effectively, technology definitely has an important role to play. The U.S. and India could collaborate and work to understand together how technology might be leveraged to improve student learning, teacher training, monitoring and support, management of schools and the quality of learning, especially in remote districts. The U.S. already has much experience in providing technology to schools and India could learn from its successes and failures. Furthermore, collaboration with the U.S. could help promote research in this area and build the evidence base in India.

Teacher education : The lack of learning in India’s schools call for changes to teacher education. A collaboration between American universities’ schools of education with Indian teacher training institutes could help build capacity and upgrade teacher education both in terms of curriculum and pedagogy, which is much needed in Indian teacher education institutions like the District Institutes of Education and Training. Such collaborations could be facilitated through technology, collaborative research projects, teacher exchanges, and subsidized online courses for teachers in India by universities in the United States.

Building good assessment systems : Good assessments are useful at the classroom level for teachers to gauge their students’ understanding and also to inform policy. The need for regular and useful assessments in India is something that Indian departments of education are focusing on at the central and state level. The U.S. could share lessons learned on how to make assessments as effective as possible in terms of assessment design, implementation and management of data.

Gender studies education : The state of women in India has recently drawn a lot of attention and promoting gender equality through education has an important role to play. Boys and girls should be taught to think about gender equality from an early age and the curriculum should include gender studies with appropriate teacher training. The U.S. could share its experiences of promoting gender equality through schools and help advance both action and research.

Skills Development : As making education more practically relevant to the labor market is a priority for Prime Minister Modi, there is much India can learn from experiences in the United States. A shared agenda of helping identify and implement improved ways to develop skills and competencies even at the school level could be an important area for collaboration.

Resources : Currently spending on education is low in India, and stands at 3.4 percent of the GDP. The U.S. might be able to help make it more of a priority, and nudge the government to increase spending on education.

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International Conference on Research into Design

ICoRD 2017: Research into Design for Communities, Volume 2 pp 953–967 Cite as

Design Thinking and Creative Problem Solving for Undergraduate Engineering Education in India: The Need and Relevance

• Tigmanshu Bhatnagar 5 &
• Petra Badke-Schaub 5  
• Conference paper
• First Online: 11 February 2017

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6 Citations

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 66))

A way to spark design, creativity and innovation culture in the country is by encouraging Design Thinking and Creative Problem Solving in the vast spread of technical educational institutes in India. Facilitating them in engineering education would benefit students by providing them a structure to think creatively and meaningfully in their education and future profession. At the same time, it would bring the much-needed awareness about design’s deeper notion of being a systematic and creative problem solving approach among engineering students. This would increase the value of design in the community of engineers. A study to evaluate the need and relevance of design thinking and creative problem solving from the perspective of engineering students was conducted in the name of a ‘pop-up class’ for one week, without any credit incentives at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD). 30 3rd year Bachelor students from various technical fields (chemical, mechanical, civil, production engineering, textile, electrical engineering and engineering physics) participated in the study. They were introduced to the topic via a mix of theoretical lectures, case discussions and practical workshops. The workshop had been evaluated by the students with a questionnaire at the end of the study and subsequently analyzed. All respondents answered that Design Thinking and Creative Problem Solving are relevant for their education. 90% responded positively to the suggestion of introducing such a course in their education stating that it’s important for engineers to know how to solve real world problems in a meaningful way, and by this to drive innovation. Although most students agreed that it should become a compulsory course, they feared for its value, when it would become grade oriented like other courses.

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Acknowledgements

A heartfelt thanks to Prof. PVM Rao from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi for his motivation, support and guidance throughout the practical study.

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Tigmanshu Bhatnagar & Petra Badke-Schaub

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Appendix 1: Research Questionnaire

Part 1 (1 is bad, 5 or 10 is excellent)

For how many days did you manage to attend the course?

How would you rate the overall learning experience of the course?

\( 1\quad \quad 2\quad \quad 3\quad \quad 4\quad \quad 5 \)

With respect to your engineering studies, how relevant do you think is Design Thinking?

\( 1\quad \quad 2\quad \quad 3\quad \quad 4\quad \quad 5\quad \quad 6\quad \quad 7\quad \quad 8\quad \quad 9\quad \quad 10 \)

With respect to your engineering studies, how relevant is the creative problem solving process?

With respect to your engineering studies, how useful are the idea generation techniques?

What kind of an effect did the learning have on your approach to solve problems?

Comparing to the last day’s experience to the first. (1 is bad, 10 is excellent)

What happened to the quantity of ideas?

What happened to the quality of solutions?

How about the process? What effect did it had on the final outcomes?

How was the experience of working in a team?

Do you think that ‘design thinking for undergraduate engineers’ should be a semester course (like an elective) for all students?

Why do you think so?

Any suggestions for improvements?

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Bhatnagar, T., Badke-Schaub, P. (2017). Design Thinking and Creative Problem Solving for Undergraduate Engineering Education in India: The Need and Relevance. In: Chakrabarti, A., Chakrabarti, D. (eds) Research into Design for Communities, Volume 2. ICoRD 2017. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 66. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3521-0_81

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Problems faced in progress of education in India

Following are the principle issues looked in the advancement of training..

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Following are the principle issues looked in the advancement of training:

Lack of capital:.

The absence of adequate assets is the fundamental issue in the improvement of instruction. An expense for training in Multi-Year Designs has been diminishing. Because of inadequate finances, most instructive establishments need the framework, science gear and libraries and so on. Because of this reason, desired outcomes can't be accomplished.

Expensive higher education

Neglect of indian languages:, the problem of brain drain:.

In India, higher educated young people are more likely to be unemployed than those without any schooling, according to the  International Labour Organization .

The jobless rate for graduates was 29.1%, almost nine times higher than the 3.4% for those who can’t read or write, a new ILO  report  on India’s labor market showed. The unemployment rate for young people with secondary or higher education was six times higher at 18.4%.

“Unemployment in India was predominantly a problem among youths, especially youths with a secondary level of education or higher, and it intensified over time,” the ILO said.

The figures suggest a sharp mismatch between the skills of the labor force and the jobs being created in the market. It also underscores  warnings  by well-known economists like former central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan that India’s poor schooling will hinder its economic prospects over time.

“Youth unemployment rates in India are now higher than the global levels,” the ILO said. “The Indian economy has not been able to create enough remunerative jobs in the non-farm sectors for new educated youth labor force entrants, which is reflected in the high and increasing unemployment rate.”

In China, the jobless rate for young people aged 16-24  climbed  to 15.3% in the first two months of the year, about three times higher than the 5.3% rate for the urban population.

While the share of young unemployed Indians — aged 15-29 — dropped to 82.9% in 2022 from 88.6% in 2000, the share of educated youths climbed to 65.7% from 54.2% in the period, the ILO figures show.

Women are particularly hard hit. They accounted for 76.7% of the educated unemployed youths compared with 62.2% for men, the figures show. Joblessness was also higher in urban areas than in rural parts.

India has one of the lowest female labor force participation rates in the world, at about 25%, the ILO said. The rate improved during the pandemic after a “significant increase” in subsistence employment, it said.

The report also cautioned about the rise in so-called gig jobs, or temporary and low-paying employment, like food delivery drivers. Digital platforms have blurred the distinction between employees and self-employed individuals, creating new challenges for the well-being and working conditions of workers, the ILO said.

— With assistance from Swati Gupta

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India’s Silicon Valley Faces a Water Crisis That Software Cannot Solve

Bengaluru gets plenty of rain. But the city did not properly adapt as its soaring population strained traditional water sources.

Filling up with subsidized water at a government distribution center in the Indian city of Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore. Credit...

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By Damien Cave

Photographs by Atul Loke

Reporting from Bengaluru, India

• Published March 31, 2024 Updated April 2, 2024

The water tankers seeking to fill their bellies bounced past the dry lakes of India’s booming technology capital. Their bleary-eyed drivers waited in line to suck what they could from wells dug a mile deep into dusty lots between app offices and apartment towers named for bougainvillea — all built before sewage and water lines could reach them.

At one well, where neighbors lamented the loss of a mango grove, a handwritten logbook listed the water runs of a crisis: 3:15 and 4:10 one morning; 12:58, 2:27 and 3:29 the next.

“I get 50 calls a day,” said Prakash Chudegowda, a tanker driver in south Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore, as he connected a hose to the well. “I can only get to 15.”

The Silicon Valley of South Asia has a nature issue — a pain point that software cannot solve. In the sprawl beyond Bengaluru’s core, where dreams of tech riches usually grow, schools lack water to flush toilets. Washing machines have gone quiet. Showers are being postponed, and children with only dirty water to drink are being hospitalized with typhoid fever.

The big problem afflicting Bengaluru is not a lack of rain (it gets plenty, about as much as Seattle), but rather what often holds this giant, energetic nation back: arthritic governance. As the city rushed toward the digital future, tripling its population to 15 million since the 1990s and building a lively tech ecosystem, water management fell behind and never caught up as otherwise healthy aquifers were drawn dry by the unchecked spread of urban bore wells.

Failures of environmental stewardship are common across a country with severe pollution and an acute need for economic growth to provide for 1.4 billion people, spanning political parties and India’s north-south divide . But Bengaluru’s water struggle is especially withering for many — and motivating for some who have water sales or reform in mind — because the city sees itself as an innovator. And in this case, the causes and solutions are well known.

“There is no crisis of water availability,” said Vishwanath Srikantaiah, a water researcher and urban planner in Bengaluru. “It’s a clear-cut crisis of state failure.”

Viewed another way, he added in an interview at his home, where books about water and rivers were stacked nearly to the ceiling, it is a crisis caused by a lack of imagination.

As public policy experts tell it, Bengaluru and the broader state of Karnataka have been too slow to plan for growth, too divided across agencies and too rigid in their reliance on pumping water uphill from reservoirs along the Kaveri River more than 50 miles away.

Despite a long history of local hydrology — Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, the 16th-century founder of Bengaluru, built hundreds of cascading lakes for irrigation — officials have mostly stuck with the traditional engineering option that their predecessors turned to in the 1950s and ’60s.

That is the case despite its challenges and expense. The energy cost alone for pumping eats up 75 percent of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s revenue, while supplying only around half of what the city needs.

The rest, for decades, has come from bore wells — holes about six inches wide that act like straws for water from aquifers below. An authority separate from the water board has punched 14,000 of them into the ground, half of which are now dry, according to officials. Experts estimate that residents have drilled an additional 450,000 to 500,000 into the cityscape, without the government’s knowing where or having a clear sense of their impact.

In much of the city, the wells are like doorbells, plentiful but seemingly invisible until someone points them out. Drilling failures appear as cutout circles on quieter streets; successes are often covered in flowers, with a black hose snaking into a home down the street.

Spending a day in the cab of Mr. Chudegowda’s tanker truck offered a glimpse of how the ad hoc system works. At one stop, drivers wrote their times in a logbook while cameras watched how much they took. At another the supply was slow and organized: A half-dozen drivers took 20-minute turns for fill-ups of around 6,000 liters, or about 1,600 gallons, just a few steps from a lake depleted to a puddle. At a third, a building owner sold a load to Mr. Chudegowda without the wait.

“Every minute counts,” he said as he climbed out of the truck.

His customers ranged from a bra factory with 100 workers to a small apartment building, all within a few miles to maximize profit. He charged each up to 1,500 rupees ($18) for each tanker load, more than double the going rate from a few months ago, which he considered justified because costs had gone up.

Drills — easily hired from companies with storefronts across the city — often fail to find water or have to go deeper now, which means more electricity and gas for the pumps pulling precious liquid from the earth.

The effects, while not at “Dune”-like levels, have become more visible in recent weeks, especially in the tech corridors, with their blur of luxury apartments, slums, mobile phone stores, malls, in vitro fertilization clinics and shimmering offices.

In Whitefield, a busy software hub, Sumedha Rao, a teacher at a new public school, offered to ask her class of 12-year-olds about their experiences with water scarcity. The hallways were painted in bright colors with words of encouragement — resilience, citizenship, collaboration. In class, they were asked how often they have water at home.

“One day a week, ma’am,” said a girl with pigtails.

“We just have a bucket,” said a boy near the back.

“There’s no water in the bore wells,” shouted another.

Many take small amounts of drinking water from school taps for their families — only one water bottle per child, because it is all the school can spare. Behind a play area the color and consistency of ground ginger sat a hulking pile of metal: a broken bore well.

“The motor stopped working,” said Shekar Venkataswamy, a physical education teacher with a brigand’s mustache.

Walking toward his home behind the school, he pointed to a dry hole where drilling failed, and one where it worked. A few thousand families take turns using the water for an hour each, with an elaborate schedule that is tightly managed.

Community leaders expressed pride in how they were handling the crisis, softening the blows of sacrifice. Many others have been inspired to broader action.

One morning, four tech workers who had become water activists showed up in a northern corner of the city where Mr. Srikantaiah, the water researcher, had worked with the local community to rejuvenate a once trash-strewn lake. A small network of gurgling filters and pipes sends out 200,000 liters of potable water per day.

“It will soon be 600,000,” Mr. Srikantaiah said. And the price per customer: nearly a third of what tanker drivers are charging.

The tech workers said they planned to share the details with neighbors and officials, to spread the word that a lake, using rainwater and lightly treated sewage, could be turned into a safe, affordable, reliable water source.

In an interview at his office, the chairman of the water board, Ram Prasath Manohar, 43, a seasoned government administrator installed three months ago, embraced the idea.

Acknowledging that some past officials had thought narrowly about water management, he said he hoped to attract public and private money for a more innovative approach, mixing data-driven methods that would revive lakes to let aquifers recharge and would expand rainwater harvesting and conservation.

“We’re going for a greener solution,” he said. “A more effective solution.”

So far, though, progress has been slow. He has not been able to hire any additional staff, he said, and he is working from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day.

Short-term relief, he prays, will come in the next few weeks, with reservoir water extended to more parts of the city and the expected spring rains. Most of all, like many others in India’s Silicon Valley, he hopes all the public attention to water scarcity will add momentum for long-term change.

In one corner of his offices, a quote from Benjamin Franklin had been printed on a piece of paper and pasted to a window: “When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.”

“This crisis,” he said, rubbing his tired eyes, “it gives us an opportunity.”

Imran Khan Pathan contributed reporting.

Damien Cave is an international correspondent for The Times, covering the Indo-Pacific region. He is based in Sydney, Australia.  More about Damien Cave

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