An Open Letter to PM of India: Education led growth

Instating a new approach where growth will be highly influenced by education, N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA (Trust Research Advisory), Publishers of the upcoming report titled ‘India's Most Trusted Educational Institutes- 2014', has drafted this open letter to the Prime Minister of India.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

Bangalore May 2014: Hearty congratulations on having won with such a resounding mandate, in what has been the longest election in the country's history. As the din of the zealous electoral campaign dims, a quieter moment will surely be needed to reflect upon the extraordinary victory that the people of India have conferred on you and your party. Irrespective of the party that Indians voted for or the beliefs they adhere to, I am sure I speak for all Indians when I say that that we all are eager to see a clean, growth oriented, and focused government, which at the same time is benign, caring and inclusive. While many issues have been the topic of the electoral campaigns and manifestos, education, unfortunately, was a subject much less discussed than others. As a byline to the growth we desire, I may see this, while we all want growth, we want one that has a new approach. A growth that will be led through a change in education; one which will be more sustainable and lasting than any other kind.

Education is clearly the most important path to the future, not just that of an individual, but of the collective future of mankind. Furthermore, education is important in India, where it is seen as a life goal than a career goal alone. Naturally, with this backdrop the solution of building ‘more'(facilities and infrastructure) comes as a handy option. However, it may be more important to look at bettering the existing education infrastructure before anything new is added. With high expectations of the world, let alone India, on your government's performance, speed will be equally important as their longevity. Improving the current system will not only give quicker results, but will also provide increased access and better quality education to an entire generation which would be left bereft for want of such change.

Our country has educational institutions of all calibers, with some that create world leaders, while others produce assembly-line students. Unfortunately, the lack of a universal metric of measurement of the institutions, be it kindergarten or post-graduation, makes most students opt for institutions through ill-informed verbal peer reviews and cluttered online information. Further, the absence of a universal metric also creates an undistinguished blur of choice, where quality of any one becomes difficult to judge.

To better the existing education system will mean to produce such a great stock of emerging students, only possible by making the right choice while selecting an institute. The factors that play a crucial role in selection of the institute include quality, accessibility, penetration, personal choices and availability, and most importantly, the trust held on the institute. The deficit of an open-source metric becomes onerously painful, one which is made by collating the opinions of the Indian people and to understand their perspective on India's most trusted educational institutes. Such an universal metric would help students converge on an institute best suited to them and help them fulfill their fullest potential, and grow not just as in individual but as able citizens of this country.

We entrust you to take this country to growth and progress, but by first fixing what we have, rather than by building anew.

N. Chandramouli
CEO, TRA (Trust Research Advisory)