India's education system, despite achieving near-universal enrollment in primary education, grapples with persistent challenges in ensuring effective learning outcomes and strengthening school leadership, according to UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2024-25. This issue isn't confined to India alone; it's a global concern, particularly regarding the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles within the education sector.
The UNESCO report highlights that while women constitute a significant portion of the teaching workforce, their representation in leadership positions, such as principals and education ministers, lags substantially. Globally, women comprise 57% of secondary school teachers, yet in most countries, the proportion of female principals is at least 20 percentage points lower than the share of female teachers. This disparity exists despite growing evidence suggesting that gender-diverse leadership correlates with better learning outcomes and a more enabling school environment. The situation is similar in higher education, where women hold 45% of faculty positions but only 30% of leadership roles in universities and colleges.
India mirrors this global trend. While women dominate the teaching workforce in primary schools, accounting for over 60% of elementary teachers, their numbers decline sharply in leadership positions, particularly at the secondary and tertiary levels. The report also highlights the underrepresentation of women in political leadership within the education sector, with only 27% of education ministers worldwide being women between 2010 and 2023.
Several factors contribute to the challenge of learning outcomes in India. A significant issue is the quality of education, with emphasis on memorization-based learning, lack of critical thinking, and outdated teaching methods hindering student development. This is further aggravated by inadequate training and professional development opportunities for teachers. Disparities in access to quality education between urban and rural areas also exacerbate the problem, with many schools in rural India lacking basic infrastructure and resources.
UNESCO has been actively involved in supporting India's efforts to improve its education system. The India Education Outcomes Fund (IEOF), supported by UNESCO, aims to address the learning crisis and equity concerns by bringing together service providers, investors, and funders to set up scalable, outcomes-focused solutions. UNESCO also emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), to enhance learning outcomes and bridge the digital divide. The organization advocates for integrating AI in education to promote quality and skill-based education, while also addressing ethical considerations and ensuring equitable access to technology for all students and teachers.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and its anticipated successor, NEP 2025, represent transformative frameworks aimed at revamping India's education system. These policies focus on bridging gaps in quality, equity, and access to education at all levels, with emphasis on holistic curriculum development, multilingual learning, and seamless integration of vocational and academic pathways. A key aspect of NEP 2025 is its focus on promoting quality education with an emphasis on learning outcomes rather than mere completion of syllabi. The policy also aims to improve educational access and quality in rural and remote areas, where access to infrastructure, resources, and trained teachers remains limited. To address the challenge of learning outcomes and strengthen school leadership, several recommendations can be considered:
By addressing these challenges and implementing these recommendations, India can strive towards achieving its goal of providing quality education for all and ensuring that students are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the future.
