What steps need to be taken to effect improvement?

Ending politicisation is the primary precondition for improving public school education. Teachers should be kept away from politics and political patronage. Vacancies need to be announced regularly to induct fresh minds into the teaching profession and, if necessary, the incumbent teachers who fail to deliver should be retired to create space for young professionals. Since trained teachers have also not been able to deliver, the existing training modality needs to be revised.

The government must be generous when it comes to allocating the budget as per its global commitment. The learning outcome cannot be improved without the funds to acquire proper infrastructure, resource materials, libraries, laboratories and the relevant information and communication technology. There should be a provision of reward and punishment in place both for teachers and officials under the Education Ministry.

There is a strong voice that public school teachers and government employees must enrol their children in public educational institutions. This step would compel them to work to improve the quality of the schools where their children study. A partnership between better-performing private schools and the ailing public schools also could be useful for the latter to learn how privately managed institutions are doing better.