Former Anna Varsity VC says India cannot progress without overhauling basic education

chennai: india will not be able to achieve developed-nation status unless the foundation of school education is fundamentally reformed, former anna university vice-chancellor e. balagurusamy has said.speaking at a seminar organised for principals of cbse-affiliated schools by the chennai sahodaya school complex on wednesday, balagurusamy said it was a matter of concern that india still remained a developing country even after nearly 80 years of independence. while the nation had made scientific strides, including discovering water on the moon, it continued to struggle to ensure basic needs such as drinking water in villages, he said.he stressed that education, alongside health and per capita income, was central to national progress. “school education is the most important. we have achieved 78 per cent literacy, but mere literacy is not enough for development,” he said.questioning the popular perception of success, he asked whether the achievement of indian software engineers was merely securing jobs in silicon valley. he also said the education system had inadvertently contributed to the rise of extremism, producing individuals who turned to militancy, including naxalism and maoism.india's economic growth figures did not reflect the poor status of per capita income, he pointed out. recalling an incident during his tenure as vice-chancellor, he said he resisted pressure from political and administrative authorities to alter a decision that had no basis in rules. “education is about clarity and integrity,” he said.balagurusamy noted that former president a.p.j. abdul kalam had envisioned india as a developed nation by 2020, a goal that remained unfulfilled five years after the target. prime minister narendra modi's aspiration of achieving developed-nation status by 2047 would also remain distant unless school education underwent structural reform, he added.former ips officer a. sylendra babu, former minister dr. h.v. hande, and cbse chennai joint secretary arunima majumdar were among those present.