Ameet Kumar Bali
The recurring closure of schools across many parts of India due to incessant rains, floods, and landslides reminds us once again of the fragility of our education system in the face of crises. While prioritising the safety of children and teachers is essential, the larger question persists: why must education always be the first casualty whenever emergencies strike? This is not a new pattern. Schools have repeatedly borne the brunt of disruptions, whether during border tensions, pandemics, or natural disasters. The COVID-19 crisis exposed this most starkly. With classrooms shut for nearly two years, millions of children lost crucial learning, and many never returned. For countless students, especially from disadvantaged families, education slipped into child labour, domestic chores, or premature dropout. The damage was not merely academic, it was also emotional and social, breaking the very rhythm of childhood. Climate Change and Inequality Climate change has added a new dimension of instability. Floods, cyclones, heatwaves, earthquake and landslides are no longer rare events but recurring realities. If the education system fails to adapt to this “new normal’ frequent closures will continue to disrupt learning and deeply scar children’s futures.
Crises also expose and widen inequalities. During the pandemic, urban and affluent families managed to shift to online classes, backed by laptops, stable internet, and private tutors. In contrast, rural and marginalised families often lacked even a basic smartphone. Many children shared a single device among siblings or climbed hilltops just to catch a mobile signal. UNICEF estimates that millions of Indian children were affected by school closures, with rural poor suffering the most. Education, once hailed as the great leveller, risks becoming the sharpest divider.
Building Resilience into Education Resilience must begin with infrastructure. Schools cannot be mere teaching spaces but they must be disaster-resistant, climate-sensitive institutions. Flood-proof foundations, earthquake-safe designs, and heat-mitigating classrooms are no longer luxuries but necessities to uphold the right to education.
The second pillar is digital equity. Affordable internet, widespread device access, and digital literacy must be treated as public goods. Without this, technology risks deepening the digital divide. Blended learning as an integration of classroom and online modes should not remain an emergency substitute but evolve into a standard practice.
Community halls, Panchayat buildings, and even places of worship can serve as temporary classrooms during disruptions. Equally vital is attention to children’s psychosocial well-being. Crises bring stress and trauma, and without counselling and emotional support, academic continuity alone cannot restore normalcy.
Beyond Resilience: Confronting Deeper Challenges Yet resilience alone is insufficient. Education must also be reimagined in terms of quality, inclusivity, and purpose. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 makes ambitious promises around critical thinking, creativity, and skills. But policies must travel from virtual to reality, especially in government schools where the majority of India’s children study. Vocational and technical education must also be strengthened so that youth are not just literate, but employable in an evolving economy.
Teachers: the Backbone and Inspiration
At the heart of this vision stand teachers. They are not mere curriculum transmitters but also true architects of the future. Unfortunately, in India they are too often burdened with non-academic work, insufficiently trained, and socially undervalued.
One major structural issue is the absence of clear promotion pathways. Unlike other departments, teachers frequently retire in the same position they began, with limited opportunities for upward mobility. This stagnation discourages talented youth from entering the profession. Introducing departmental examinations, transparent promotions, and professional growth opportunities would not only make the career more attractive but also strengthen motivation and innovation within the system.
Glorification, Not Humiliation of Teachers Equally important is the cultural and social recognition of teachers. Far too often, they face disrespect, neglect, or administrative humiliation. If India truly seeks quality education, society must glorify teachers, not diminish them. They should be honoured as “nation-builders,” deserving dignity from parents, communities, and governments alike.
When teachers are empowered, respected, and celebrated, they become role models who inspire future generations. Only a society that values its teachers can expect a flourishing education system that nurtures creativity, compassion, and resilience in its children.
Education as a national priority
India must confront the uncomfortable truth that crises and emergencies are not exceptions but defining features of our age. If learning continues to be suspended at the first sign of disruption, the developmental cost will be immense. Education is not merely about classrooms or textbooks, it represents continuity, stability, and the promise of a better tomorrow.
The need of the hour is to make education a national priority that is disaster-proof, digitally inclusive, teacher-driven, and value-oriented. This will require more than administrative reform, it will demand a cultural shift where education is seen not as one sector among many, but as the foundation upon which all else rests.
Ultimately, a nation’s true strength lies not in how quickly it rebuilds roads, bridges, or markets after a disaster, but in how consistently it safeguards the learning of its youngest citizens. To secure education is to secure the future. And only then will India ensure that its children, in the face of every crisis, will not just endure but also learn how to rise above it. |
