New Delhi, June 11 : ETEDUCATION, the education platform of The Economic Times, today launched the ETEducation Outlook 2026 at its Annual Education Summit at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi. Backed by over 100 authenticated sources, a national survey of more than 200 senior education practitioners across 15 cities, and original contributions from 11 of India's foremost education leaders, the Outlook examines 25 years of India's education transformation and what must happen in the decade ahead.
The headline finding is unambiguous: India solved scale. The next decade must solve substance.
What 25 Years Built and What It Left Unfinished
School enrolment crossed 98%. Universities grew from 256 to over 1,200. Higher education enrolment expanded fourfold. India became the world's second-largest EdTech market. These are real, durable achievements.
But the ETEducation Outlook 2026 asks what sits beneath those numbers, and the answers are uncomfortable. Nearly half of India's graduates are not considered employer-ready. Class 5 students in government schools are reading below their level. India's R&D spend, at 0.7% of GDP, is a fraction of what competing economies invest. And a national survey of over 200 senior practitioners found that only 8.9% believe higher education currently prepares students "very effectively" for the workforce.
The sector knows the diagnosis. The Outlook documents whether it has the will to act on it.
A Survey That Asked Hard Questions
ETEDUCATION surveyed over 200 senior education practitioners across 15 cities in April–May 2026, spanning higher education, school education, skill development, EdTech, and industry. The findings are among the most candid sector self-assessments in recent memory.
Three numbers stand out. Nearly one in five respondents believe India's education system will be largely similar to today by 2035. The same survey found near-unanimous agreement on what needs to change and exactly where the system is failing. What explains that gap is one of the most important questions the Outlook explores.
Voices That Shaped the Outlook
The ETEducation Outlook 2026 features original columns from 11 of India's most experienced education leaders:
Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras | Prof Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur | Dr Pramath Raj Sinha, Founder & Chairperson, Board of Trustees, Ashoka University | Rukmini Banerji, CEO, Pratham Education Foundation | Prof TG Sitharam, Former Chairman, AICTE | Prof Sukhadeo Thorat, Former Chairman, UGC | Dr R A Mashelkar, FRS, Former Director General, CSIR | Prof V Ramgopal Rao, Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani Group of Institutions | Rajendra Pawar, Founder, NIIT University and Chairman, NIIT Group | P Sathyanarayanan, Pro-Chancellor and President, SRM Group of Institutions | Gautam Lakhamraju, COO, Great Lakes Institute of Management
Download the ETEducation Outlook 2026
The full Outlook, including the 2035 Vision Scorecard, AI Integration Roadmap, complete survey findings, 10 Big Shifts shaping India's education decade, and sector-by-sector policy recommendations, is available for free download.
"The sector knows what the problems are. It knows what the solutions look like. That consensus, sitting alongside the one in five who think nothing will really change by 2035, is the most honest picture of Indian education I have seen in one place." Abhay Anand, Associate Editor, ETEDUCATION, Project Lead