On his recent trip to India, US Secretary of State, John Kerry paid tribute to Narendra Modi by repeating the Indian Prime Minister’s winning campaign slogan: “ Sab ka saath, sab ka vikaas. ” Now that the victory garlands are fading, how does Modi achieve “economic development for all”? Pulling macro-economic levers will not be enough to turn things around: wholesale education reform is needed to ensure that the economy has the skills essential for growth.

Education charity Pratham’s Annual State of Education Report last year showed that a high proportion of school-age children are now receiving some kind of education. School enrolment for under-14s has risen again to 96 per cent. However, as a UNESCO report succinctly says, “it is not just time in school, but skills acquired that count.”

Institutes of excellence Despite such high levels of school enrolment, India has the largest number of illiterate adults compared to any other country. Faced with poor skills, Indian industry trains its own workers; the IT giant Infosys has its own Global Education Centre that trains thousands of new recruits in technical, communications and management skills. These initiatives can be no substitute for basic skills learnt at school.

Modi must make education reform a major national project. Many of India’s teachers lack the training to be able to teach well. In 2012, 99 per cent of prospective teachers studying for a Bachelor of Education in India failed the Central Teacher Eligibility Test for competency. India’s 10,000 teacher-training colleges produce a quarter of million teachers a year, but the standard remains extremely variable: it is entirely possible for teachers to complete a year’s teaching degree, and, never having worked with actual children, find themselves in front of a class full of students with only their theoretical knowledge to fall back on.

An estimated 1.2-2 million additional teachers will be required to teach a third of Indians that under the age of fourteen. Perhaps this is an opportunity for a step change. Standardised teacher training could be achieved through a network of elite Teacher Training Colleges in each state. If these were conferred the status of Institutes of National Importance and given special recognition and funding, this would send a powerful signal about the country’s esteem for teachers.

A dynamic training system still needs to start with the best graduates to inspire the best results. The world’s highest performing education systems recruit from among the most successful graduates -- the top 5 per cent in South Korea, the top 10 per cent in Finland. In India, the most successful graduates rarely want to enter the profession due to its low pay and professional standing. Improving teachers’ pay and rewarding high performance would help to reverse this trend.

Global comparison Coaxing people into the profession is only part of the challenge. India has the third highest rate globally of teacher absenteeism, costing $2 billion per year. This is not due to teacher laziness. Wages are often meagre and paid late, forcing teachers to take a second job to pay their bills. This can be substantially reversed by prompt payment linked to attendance.

With such reforms in place, India should benchmark its system against other education systems. Arguments that comparisons with northern European social democracies such as Sweden and Finland are not useful for a country as varied as India are understandable. However, other countries in Asia – particularly China and South Korea – would make interesting comparisons.

There is no question about the appetite of Indian students for study. More than 40 per cent receive private tuition. However, this commitment can mask poor school performance: children in India often succeed despite major failings in their formal education.

A revolution in educational performance is possible. From the same base as India twenty years ago, China has now reached the point where it leads the international PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) rankings. It would be a fitting achievement for Narendra Modi, the tea-seller who became Prime Minister, if he established an education system that gives all young Indians a chance to rise above the circumstances of their birth.

The writer is the chief executive of Varkey GEMS Foundation

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