Class & classroom

We need to articulate why education is most crucial for removal of poverty, and for India’s development

Written by Pankaj Chandra | Published: January 2, 2018 12:10 am

education, poverty, development, indian universities, education in india, classroom, indian express

We need to articulate why education is most crucial for removal of poverty, and for India’s development. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna/Files)

It was 1937 and the Vice Chancellor of Allahabad University, Amarnath Jha, had invited Amrita Sher-Gil to show her paintings to the entire city in an exhibition at the university. This was also the time when the university had academics like Meghnad Saha working in its laboratories. In 2017, a government-backed audit declared the university as being on the brink of becoming “unviable” and “unworkable”. One of the most illustrious universities of the country has been all but declared sick. Academic institutions mature with time, and hence, they last hundreds of years with growing grace — well, not in India.