New Steps for Education Reform

July 29, 2026

Abhishek Vij

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through a series of addresses on Instagram, attempted to show the country’s angry students a new path. He assured them of further tightening the punishment for paper leakers.

When Parliament resumed its session on Monday, July 27th, this law was introduced, but it failed to receive serious consideration. There was an uproar. While the law, with stringent penal provisions, has been introduced, and it will likely pass with the government’s majority, this alone is insufficient to reform the examination system and education system. Past experience shows that laws to punish the guilty have existed before, even if the penalties were not as stringent.

Yet, in the past 25 years, there has been no significant crackdown on those who leaked papers and profited from anti-social elements across the country. Only 45 alleged perpetrators have been apprehended, and two have been punished so far. The government has now announced the establishment of fast-track courts and the imposition of harsh punishments on offenders by delivering verdicts within three months. However, in the first case filed on July 27th following the inhumane treatment of students, lathicharges, and stonepelting incidents during the student protests, the CBI lawyer failed to appear, and the hearing has now been postponed to August 3rd.

While streamlining the criminal process can make the penal system more educative, rebuilding the education system will only be possible through revolutionary changes in the way education is imparted and examinations are conducted. However, the government has formed a six-member task force for this purpose. Five more members have been added to the highpowered task force headed by Nandan Nilekani, including former ISRO Chairman Somnath Singh, former IB Director Tapan Deka, ITI Madras Director V. Kamakoti, former Union Education Secretary Anita Karwal, and logistics expert Amrit Lal Meena.

Its job is to review the work of the NTA, or National Testing Agency, and make new recommendations to increase transparency and prevent incidents like paper leaks. Meanwhile, the new Education Minister, Prahlad Joshi, has stated that there will be no compromise on the future of the youth. But anyone closely involved in the education world knows that simply changing the examination system won’t suffice; the entire education system must be transformed. The world has moved forward in education, and despite slogans of moving forward with it, we are lagging behind. We proclaim that India has gone digital, that India has undergone a mobile revolution, that we will soon become the masters of artificial intelligence, and that our progress in the robotic age is praiseworthy. But we forget that even today, universities and schools have merely replaced old degrees with new job titles.

Are we equipping the younger generation for new jobs? Even today, neither teachers nor students are open to exploring new paths. They lack the desire for new research. They cling to familiar degrees, syllabi, and familiar teaching styles. When exams arrive, finding their knowledge empty, some people establish paper leak businesses and offer students a new shortcut. If you want to revolutionize, revolutionize the syllabus, revolutionize books, and revolutionize education. Make it employable, a vehicle for digital and internet power