Spend on Education an Investment for Future

I am fortunate that I am 18 and still not married,” said Malala Yousafzai the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner. Not many in India could say so as parents force children to quit school, especially in the hinterland. It is not just girls but even boys drop out for various reasons. So much is spoken about the demographic dividend and the power of youth in India. However, this ‘power’ can only be harnessed if the children go to school.

- P. V. Seshubabu

With close to two million students out of school and 32 out of 100 children in India not completing school, if there was ever a need to invest in education, it is now. The National Sample Survey Office survey report of 2014 says that the dropout rate stands at 4.3 %.

It has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that education empowers people to the extent that it boosts an individual’s income by 10% and increases a country’s GDP by 18%.

In 2015, more than 120 million children across the world were out of school and a majority of them from India, Pakistan and South Asian countries.

Researchers feel that investing in early education has high returns. Early investment enhances equal opportunities and higher achievement. Given the fact that early childhood education is expensive, what could be the way out to make education accessible? The lack of investment in Indian education sector is a pointer. According to Unitus Capital’s India Impact Equity Investment report 2013 estimates that equity investments made in education account for less than three per cent of share value among other investments.