Learning has never been a simple process; it is actually difficult and we pay less attention to this reality. Learning demands motivation, sound pedagogy, supportive environments, adequate time and meaningful engagement. Learning is experiential, collaborative and iterative. It thrives through practice, reflection and interaction, while every learner follows a unique developmental trajectory. Although modern schools have evolved considerably since the industrial age, their basic structures continue to reflect the logic of mass education for standardised outcomes, at least in people’s mindscape.
It is therefore unsurprising that India remains locked in an almost perennial debate over poor learning outcomes. Every assessment reignites concerns about a “learning crisis.” While these concerns are valid, the narrative has often become larger than the reality, reducing a complex challenge to simplistic conclusions.
Alongside this educational debate is another troubling reality unfolding among adolescents and young adults. Vaping, smoking and, in some cases, substance abuse is spreading rapidly, no longer confined to metropolitan centres or affluent families. Smartphone addiction, excessive gaming and the compulsive use of social media are emerging as serious behavioural concerns. The consequences for attention spans, emotional well-being and cognitive development are becoming increasingly visible. A cognitive decay is knocking at the doors of our adolescents. World is increasing recognizing this and social media bans for under 16s or 15s is catching up.
Whether these two realities are directly connected deserves deeper research. Yet it is difficult to ignore the pressures confronting today’s youth—academic competition, parental expectations, peer influence, uncertain career pathways and the relentless hooking culture fuelled by social media. For many, these pressures and exposures may be contributing to unhealthy coping mechanisms.
This makes schools far more than centres of academic instruction and learning. They are spaces where emotional resilience, values and healthy habits must be nurtured. Yet the system often remains preoccupied with technology, rankings and numerical indicators rather than the human dimensions of learning. Educational reform does not happen merely by issuing policies. Schools have to change, teachers have to change, and in a country as diverse as India, that transformation inevitably progresses at different speeds.
Teachers remain central to this transformation. Yet they continue to shoulder responsibilities far beyond teaching. The recent deployment of teachers for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is only the latest reminder that teachers are routinely treated as an administrative workforce for government programmes. They are expected to function as educators, data managers, surveyors, election officials and clerical staff. A kind of Superheroes!
Ironically, this comes at a time when the teaching profession itself demands constant upgrading. New pedagogies, digital tools, AI, competency-based learning and interdisciplinary approaches require continuous professional development. While policymakers frequently acknowledge this reality, institutional support remains inadequate. Government schools, in particular, suffer from shortages of administrative and support staff, forcing teachers to multitask at the expense of classroom engagement.
Students notice this. They see exhausted, overburdened teachers struggling with responsibilities outside education. Unsurprisingly, teaching no longer figures prominently among the career aspirations of school graduates. A profession that shapes every other profession deserves far greater dignity and demonstrated support.
Those who study higher education know that its foundations are laid during the first fifteen years of schooling. School education should prepare young people not merely to pass examinations but to understand the real world. Internships, project-based learning and community engagement can bridge this gap, although implementing such models across India’s vast geography and uneven developmental landscape remains challenging. A more practical alternative is to anchor school curricula around solving real-life problems and introduce the students to critical and creative thinking.
Public discourse on education, however, often gravitates towards catchy statistics rather than deeper structural issues. For nearly two decades, the ASER narrative has dominated conversations by highlighting children’s inability to read simple sentences or perform basic arithmetic. These findings are important, but they have sometimes shaped perceptions more than solutions. Instead of addressing chronic problems such as thousands of single-teacher schools, persistent teacher shortages, uneven teacher preparation and weak school infrastructure, the debate often ends up indignifying the learner.
A similar simplification is now emerging around graduate unemployment. The State of Working India 2026 report’s observation that nearly 40 per cent of graduates remain unemployed has understandably attracted attention. Yet the figure must be interpreted in context. India has witnessed an unprecedented expansion of higher education over the past decade, with millions more students entering colleges and universities. However, this rapid growth in educational capacity has not been matched by an equivalent expansion in productive, stable and high-quality employment.
Graduate unemployment is shaped by multiple structural factors: the continuing shift away from agriculture, rising aspirations attached to degrees, the contraction of traditional employment sectors, the disappearance of many small businesses, the rapid expansion of the platform economy, outdated college curricula, inadequate infrastructure and high pupil-teacher ratios. Reducing this complex reality to a single statistic risk humiliating the aspirations of young Indians instead of addressing the systemic issues behind it.
India is approaching the peak of its demographic dividend. The share of the working-age population is expected to begin declining after 2030. By the 2040s, the number of educational institutions required may naturally stabilise or even reduce as demographic trends reverse. This makes the next two decades extraordinarily significant. The education system has a narrow window to build the human capital that will sustain India’s economic and social ambitions for decades.
With nearly one-fifth of the world’s population, India’s educational choices carry global consequences. A well-prepared workforce will strengthen not only India’s development but also the global economy. Conversely, failing to equip young people with relevant knowledge, skills and values could transform a demographic opportunity into a social and economic challenge.
NEP 2020, alongside the vision of Viksit Bharat, has sought to revive the optimistic nation-building spirit that characterised the early decades after Independence, when schools were viewed as institutions that shaped the future of the Republic. The policy rightly emphasises holistic development, community participation, student well-being, skills, values and multiple learning pathways, much like contemporary global frameworks such as the OECD Learning Compass.
However, the challenge now lies in implementation. The education system itself must become a learning system. It must be willing to question its assumptions, adapt continuously and respond to emerging realities. Caregiving, for instance, is poised to become one of the world’s fastest-growing employment sectors as populations age, yet structured educational pathways for caregiving remain largely absent. Nursing education, too, deserves far greater expansion and policy attention than it currently receives.
Schools continue to struggle with translating NEP 2020 into everyday practice. Regulatory norms remain rigid, administrative processes remain cumbersome and market pressures often prevent schools from responding meaningfully to children’s evolving needs. At the level where policy ultimately succeeds or fails—the school—the culture of collective excitement and shared purpose envisioned by NEP has yet to fully emerge.
The anniversary of NEP 2020 should therefore not become another occasion for congratulatory speeches. The phase of celebration is over. The next chapter must be defined by honest assessment, institutional learning and sustained action on the ground. Only then can the policy realise its promise of transforming Indian education into a system that truly prepares every learner for an uncertain but hopeful future.
