The Fake Face of Indian Education: A Potemkin Village
The Fake Face of Indian Education: A Potemkin Village
Imagine a beautiful village built just for show. The houses look perfect from the road, but behind them there is nothing real – only empty walls and dirt. This is called a “Potemkin Village.” In India, our education system is like that. On paper, it looks strong: schools are full, children pass exams, and report cards look good. But in reality, many students are not learning much. We are not educating them – we are just making it appear that way.
The numbers tell two different stories. On one side, almost every child goes to school. The latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2024 shows that 98 out of 100 children aged 6 to 14 are enrolled. Graduation rates and board exam pass percentages are also very high. In CBSE Class 12 exams, over 88% students passed recently, and thousands scored 90% or even 95%+. Schools celebrate these numbers. Parents feel proud. Governments put out glowing report cards.
But look behind the numbers. The same ASER report paints a worrying picture. In Class 3, only about 27% of children can read a simple story meant for Class 2. In Class 5, only around 45% can do the same. For maths, just 28% of Class 3 children can do basic subtraction, and only 31% of Class 5 children can do division. Even in Class 8, many students struggle with simple everyday calculations.
This gap between “passing” and “learning” has been there for years. Dr Rukmini Banerji, who leads the ASER surveys, has said for a long time: children spend years in school, but “just under half of all children who are in their fifth year of school can read simple stories at grade 2 level.” She asks, “How can such a huge gap remain invisible?” The answer is simple – the system hides it.
Grade inflation hides the truth.
Exams have become easier to pass. During the pandemic years, CBSE pass rates jumped to 99%. Even now, the number of students scoring 90% and above has shot up sharply. In one state board, the number of students getting 90%+ increased by 1,000% in a few years. Teachers and boards give extra marks through “moderation” or lenient checking. Students get high marks, but they cannot solve real problems or read properly. A student who scores 95% in English may still struggle to write a clear sentence or understand a newspaper. Graduation rates are manipulated.
Schools and boards want to show “success.” So they push almost everyone through. Drop-out rates look low because failing students are often promoted anyway. The focus is on attendance numbers and pass percentages, not on what children actually know. ASER data shows that even after eight or nine years of school, many young people (14-18 years old) lack basic reading and maths skills needed for daily life – like calculating interest on a loan or reading a bus timetable. School report cards mask the failure.
Every year, governments and schools release reports full of good news: new buildings, more toilets, smart classrooms, and high enrolment. These reports rarely talk about learning levels. A school may say “100% pass rate” and get praise. But inside the classroom, the same children cannot do the work of two or three classes below them. The shiny report card shows success. The real story stays hidden.This Potemkin Village hurts our children the most. They finish school thinking they are ready for college or jobs. But many need extra coaching or struggle in the real world. Parents spend lakhs on tuitions just to cover what school should have taught. The country loses bright minds because we measure the wrong things. Questions for reflection
Exams have become easier to pass. During the pandemic years, CBSE pass rates jumped to 99%. Even now, the number of students scoring 90% and above has shot up sharply. In one state board, the number of students getting 90%+ increased by 1,000% in a few years. Teachers and boards give extra marks through “moderation” or lenient checking. Students get high marks, but they cannot solve real problems or read properly. A student who scores 95% in English may still struggle to write a clear sentence or understand a newspaper. Graduation rates are manipulated.
Schools and boards want to show “success.” So they push almost everyone through. Drop-out rates look low because failing students are often promoted anyway. The focus is on attendance numbers and pass percentages, not on what children actually know. ASER data shows that even after eight or nine years of school, many young people (14-18 years old) lack basic reading and maths skills needed for daily life – like calculating interest on a loan or reading a bus timetable. School report cards mask the failure.
Every year, governments and schools release reports full of good news: new buildings, more toilets, smart classrooms, and high enrolment. These reports rarely talk about learning levels. A school may say “100% pass rate” and get praise. But inside the classroom, the same children cannot do the work of two or three classes below them. The shiny report card shows success. The real story stays hidden.This Potemkin Village hurts our children the most. They finish school thinking they are ready for college or jobs. But many need extra coaching or struggle in the real world. Parents spend lakhs on tuitions just to cover what school should have taught. The country loses bright minds because we measure the wrong things. Questions for reflection
- Are high marks and pass percentages more important than real skills?
- If a child passes every exam but cannot read or do basic maths, has the school done its job?
- What can parents, teachers, and the government do differently to make education real, not just a show?
- Should we keep celebrating fake success, or is it time to face the truth and fix the system?
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