Scathing Report Slams India’s School System, Proposes Radical Overhaul to Tackle Unemployment Crisis

Scathing Report Slams India’s School System, Proposes Radical Overhaul to Tackle Unemployment Crisis

While the Ministry emphasized its commitment to vocational education and smoother school-to-work transitions, Raman’s report underscores the urgency of systemic reform to address India’s education-employment disconnect, warning that without drastic changes, the nation’s youth will continue to face bleak job prospects.

New Delhi, July 7, 2025 – A hard-hitting report titled School Education Report to Make Students Employable, authored by researcher Rakesh Raman and published by Raman Media Network (RMN), has exposed deep flaws in India’s school education system, labeling it “bad,” “deteriorating,” and “irrelevant” to the modern job market.

The report blames the system’s shortcomings for fueling the country’s escalating unemployment crisis, particularly among youth, and proposes a bold new framework to align education with employability.

The report highlights a litany of issues: obsolete curricula, outdated teaching methods, unqualified teachers, and a reliance on ineffective “book-to-board” approaches. It criticizes both government and private schools for teaching “haphazardly written” textbooks and conducting excessive exams that fail to foster academic growth.

According to Raman, the system leaves students unprepared for higher education or employment, with subjects like math, science, and social science deemed irrelevant for “about 99% of students.” The report cites alarming data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Institute of Human Development (IHD), noting that youth constitute 83% of India’s unemployed workforce, with 65.7% of them holding secondary or higher education qualifications as of 2022.

Raman proposes a transformative Constructive Education Framework (CEF) based on “Learning for Earning.” The model envisions a 14-year education system, including five years of primary education covering foundational skills like Arithmetic, English, IT, and Moral Education, followed by specialized streams in Humanities, STEM, Commerce, or emerging fields like AI and Governance.

The framework emphasizes self-learning, hybrid job skills, and two years of on-the-job training to ensure students are “fully employable,” potentially rendering traditional college education obsolete. Additional recommendations include hiring qualified teachers, enforcing Service-Level Agreements for educators, banning private tuitions, and redirecting education budgets toward curricula and teacher training rather than infrastructure.

The Ministry of Education’s Department of School Education & Literacy acknowledged the report, stating it has been circulated for review and may inform future policy if deemed suitable. The Ministry highlighted its ongoing efforts under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to enhance employability, including the Samagra Shiksha initiative, which integrates skill programs in 80% of schools, with 40% of secondary students enrolled in vocational courses. The government is also collaborating with the World Bank on initiatives like the “Jobs at Your Doorstep” report, which advocates for transforming schools into “Skill Hubs” tailored to local industry needs.

While the Ministry emphasized its commitment to vocational education and smoother school-to-work transitions, Raman’s report underscores the urgency of systemic reform to address India’s education-employment disconnect, warning that without drastic changes, the nation’s youth will continue to face bleak job prospects.

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