Markazi Taleemi Board Raises Concerns Over NITI Aayog School Education Report, Calls for Urgent Reforms
New Delhi: Calling for a substantial increase in public investment in education, Engr. Mohammed Salim, Chairman of Markazi Taleemi Board (MTB) of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, has urged the government to raise education spending to at least 6 per cent of the country’s GDP, warning that growing commercialisation and centralisation in the sector could undermine India’s future.
Er. Salim made the remarks while presiding over a national discussion organised by the MTB on the recently released NITI Aayog report, “School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Improvement.” The event brought together educationists, researchers, school administrators and policy observers from across the country to examine the report’s findings and implications.
Expressing concern over prevailing policy trends, Er. Salim said the State appeared to be gradually retreating from its responsibility towards public education while creating greater space for private and corporate interests. “Education is a fundamental public right and must not be reduced to a profit-driven enterprise,” he said.
He emphasised the need for increased public investment in higher education, research and doctoral studies, measures to limit excessive corporate influence in educational institutions, efforts to discourage sectarian tendencies in curriculum development, and a stronger commitment to constitutional values such as justice, equality, liberty and fraternity.
Presenting an analysis of the NITI Aayog report, Zafar-ul-Haq, Coordinator and Researcher at the MTB, highlighted what he described as a worsening learning crisis despite India’s extensive educational network comprising 1.47 million schools, 246.9 million students and nearly 10 million teachers.
Citing data discussed during the programme, he said that 27% of Grade 3 students, nearly 50% of Grade 5 students and 71% of Grade 7 students were unable to read a simple Grade 2-level text. He added that 35% of Grade 3 students, 30% of Grade 5 students and 45% of Grade 8 students struggled to solve basic division problems.
Zafar-ul-Haq also pointed to infrastructural shortcomings, noting that approximately 119,000 schools lack electricity, 14,000 do not have access to drinking water, nearly 98,000 lack separate toilets for girls, more than 100,000 function with only one teacher, and around 8,000 schools reportedly have no enrolled students.
Speaking at the discussion, Syed Tanveer Ahmad, Secretary of the MTB, said that while the NITI Aayog report correctly identifies many of the challenges confronting school education, it does not provide a sufficiently clear and actionable roadmap for addressing them. He also expressed concern that teachers spend an average of 28 days each year on non-teaching government assignments, reducing the time available for classroom instruction.
Concluding the programme, Er. Salim announced that the MTB, in collaboration with educational and social organisations, would prepare a comprehensive policy memorandum for submission to the Union Ministry of Education and state education departments, seeking urgent reforms to strengthen India’s public education system.
