New Delhi: In a powerful critique, Sonia Gandhi, leader of the Congress Party, has sounded an alarm over the state of India’s public education system, which she believes has been marred by centralization, commercialization, and communalization under the Modi government. She has urged authorities to put an end to what she describes as the “carnage” of public education in India.
Gandhi’s remarks are centered around the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which she argues masks a broader agenda to consolidate power at the federal level, allowing private sector influence in education, and reshaping educational content to fit ideological goals. At the heart of her criticism is the perception that NEP 2020 has been implemented without adequate consultation with state governments, reflecting a systemic failure in addressing regional educational needs.
One of the primary concerns Gandhi highlighted is the lack of dialogue with state governments, evident in the Central Advisory Board of Education remaining inactive since 2019. This, she asserts, is symptomatic of the government’s determination to push its agenda without input from regional stakeholders. Furthermore, Gandhi alleged that the Centre has used coercive tactics to force states into programs like PM-SHRI, withholding grants as leverage.
The draft University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines for 2025 are also under scrutiny, with Gandhi labeling them as “draconian” for excluding state governments from appointing Vice-Chancellors in their own universities. This centralization, she argued, undermines federalism and redirects decision-making power to the central government.
Gandhi further pointed out that commercialization has driven the poor towards expensive private schooling, as over 89,000 public schools have been closed or merged since 2014, while new private institutions have proliferated. In higher education, institutions are now compelled to secure loans from the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), which are repaid primarily through increased student fees, burdening students financially.
On the issue of communalization, Gandhi noted that NCERT textbooks have been revised with an apparent aim to sanitize Indian history, notably by removing critical chapters. She also highlighted the appointment of ideologically aligned professors to key positions, even in prestigious institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).
