Foolproof system.

"Indian school Education is in quite a terrible state. Research studies have revealed high absenteeism, and barely half the teachers were actually teaching at the time of surveys." "In 2009, India participated in the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) school rankings." "It came 72 out of 74 countries," and "India's reaction was to stop participating in PISA!" Now two Indian schools "have been adjudged 'best school in the world' by T4 Education," wrote Swaminathan SA Aiyar. "We run nine schools, with a total of 2,700 students." "The schools are completely free - no tuition fees, no charges for books, uniforms, the midday meal or anything else." "Simply put, our schools are better resourced and supported than most schools in India." And yet, "About 20% of our students do not achieve foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) by grade 3, and 6% not even by grade 5," wrote Anurag Behar. Because of poverty. The University Grants Commission (UGC) is aiming for 'flexibility'. Students can join and complete courses at their choosing and even "be eligible for courses without a background in those specific disciplines". How can this help when, "ILO data show that less than 40% of Indians are engaged in work that matches their education level - India, at 124, is one of the lowest in this ILO list of 145 countries. A little under a quarter of Indians hold jobs for which they are overqualified. But many more hold jobs for which they are under-educated - 40%, one of the highest shares in the world," wrote Chandrima Banerjee. One reason could be that companies are deliberately employing unqualified people to pay lower wages, which is creating unemployment among the qualified workers, forcing them to accept lower-paid posts for which they are overqualified. The Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24 released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) clearly shows rising levels of unemployment along with rising levels of literacy, with nearly full employment for the illiterate and highest unemployment among those educated higher than secondary level. TOI. In Delhi University "most students are now relying on YouTube instead of books for learning." This, despite "several universities in the West have put their courses online, and these are of excellent quality and free to download." There are other online courses free of cost. But "these lectures assume a basic understanding and prior knowledge of the subject, which most students feel they lack. The courses are also rigorous and demanding of their time and attention, which they are reluctant to put in," wrote Prof Shobhit Mahajan. Poor education levels and poor value for higher education. Worryingly, India is projected to have 350 million children by 2050 according to a UNICEF report. TIE. However, 2050 is far away and elections are to be won now. So, "Cash handout schemes have, of late, become politicians', across state and central governments, preferred social welfare instruments to secure votes - or bribe voters," wrote Subhash Chandra Garg. Keep them illiterate, give handouts, win elections. Foolproof system.