Abstract:

Historically, the role of education and especially primary education has been of critical importance in the development and social progress of the people across the world and India is no exception to the phenomenon. The ability to read, write and comprehend the things has an indescribable and profound impact on the quality of life one may lead; including the freedom to lead an informed life based on ‘reason’ which itself is a result of the knowledge and understanding gained by knowing what’s happening around you in the world by reading newspapers, magazines, periodicals and by communicating with the outside world. In the modern contemporary world, the importance of education can be understood by the fact that today, being illiterate is comparable to being in chains, severely restricting the capability of an individual in what they can achieve in life whilst quality school education can be considered as the key to unshackle the chains through which they can escape this lifelong incarceration. However, despite the clarion calls by the founding fathers of the Indian nation at the time of independence to remove poverty and illiteracy, India’s performance on both these counts has been rather sluggish to put it mildly when compared with other East Asian economies. Within the country, different states have rather disparate records on their performance in reducing illiteracy and providing primary education to all.

The current article tries to explore the pivotal role of education in shaping human lives whilst looking at it’s historical importance in the development and prosperity of nation states. The article also examines the Indian state’s performance in the field of education whilst highlighting the challenges in front of the policymakers on way to provide quality education in schools. It also recommends ways on how to improve the overall quality of education in Government schools in India.

Keywords:

Education, Schools, Quality, Government, India.