India is on the cusp of launching itself on the global map. The winds of political change that swept the country resulted in a decisive mandate for the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. With this, several sectors are now poised for a renewed thrust and faster pace of growth. Among many others, India’s education sector needs an overhaul and a comprehensive policy is the need of the hour. That will rejuvenate the education system and help India adapt to changing global educational challenges.
The new government is planning to set up an education commission to draft a new education policy. The new policy becomes crucial due to the several changes that the Indian society has undergone since the last NEP in 1986 (later modified in 1992). Ever since, India has been at the crossroads amid waves of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, besides democratisation of technology through mobile phones and the Internet. The new education policy would require looking at the needs, challenges and solutions in the sector.
Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Zubin Irani has already indicated that an education policy would be formulated after discussions at the national, state, regional and international levels so as to address all issues. This is a welcome move.
Also, there seems a need to tweak the norms for boarding schools, as it has been long since any government bothered to give those a relook. To help the government come up with the right set of norms in this regard, we decided to do an in-depth story on the state of our boarding schools, and that makes our cover report too.
As new boarding schools with global benchmarks are established to accomodate the needs of a rising India, it is worthwhile to recall what Noble Laureate Albert Einstein wrote: Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything one learned in school. No wonder, a boarding school is a place where every person is moulded in terms of love and loyalty, friendship, discipline and an indomitable spirit and zest for life. Moreover, children are allowed to be human – to err, to learn, to forgive and to forget.
We are also proud to announce the fourth edition of World Education Summit (WES) 2014 (http://wes.eletsonline.com/), scheduled for August 7-8, 2014, in New Delhi. The meet will carry forward the incredible success of the 2013 Summit. This year, the summit will highlight innovations and best practices in the education sector. We invite you all to share the platform and become a part of the imminent resurgence in the education sector.
