Basic school infrastructure—functioning classrooms, clean toilets, potable water, electricity, boundary walls, and playgrounds—is not just a set of physical assets. It is the cornerstone of a child's right to learn with dignity and safety. The absence of such infrastructure is not merely inconvenient—it is a direct barrier to education itself.
Consider this: over 23% of schools in India still lack functional toilets for girls. A report by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) highlights that in many states, even now, students sit on floors under tin roofs, share broken benches, and use blackboards too worn to write on. In tribal and remote regions, electricity remains a luxury rather than a standard provision. How can we expect students to thrive—let alone compete globally—when the learning environment itself is structurally broken?
Contrast this with the ambitious plans to build bullet trains, such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, projected to cost over ₹1.1 lakh crore. While such infrastructure will indeed reduce travel time and potentially boost investment and regional development, we must ask—at what cost and in what order of priority? For a country still battling low learning outcomes and high dropout rates in government schools, the question isn't whether bullet trains are beneficial, but whether they should come before every child has a functional classroom to sit in.
Economic reasoning makes this prioritization clear. Good education yields long-term dividends: a healthier, more skilled workforce, lower crime rates, better civic engagement, and enhanced innovation. Countries like South Korea and Finland didn’t start with bullet trains—they started by investing heavily in education. That early investment created a knowledgeable population capable of sustaining and driving high-tech growth later.
Moreover, the multiplier effect of basic education is enormous. A girl with access to a functional toilet at school is far more likely to attend regularly. A child with a desk and a fan in the classroom is far more likely to concentrate. A school with a boundary wall is more likely to be safe. And when children learn well, the entire community rises with them.
Governments often argue that high-speed rail generates employment and boosts GDP. That is true—but so does education, and in far more equitable and sustainable ways. Every teacher hired, every school built, and every classroom equipped creates jobs, empowers women, and builds the social fabric of the nation.
Let us not forget—no nation has ever bullet-trained its way to equitable development. But many have schooled their way there. The focus must first be on ensuring that every child, irrespective of geography or income, learns in a dignified, safe, and inspiring environment.
The call to action is clear. Before we invest ₹1 lakh crore in bullet trains, can we ensure every school has a proper toilet and a roof that doesn’t leak during monsoons? Before we race across the country in two hours, can we ensure that every girl doesn't drop out of school due to lack of sanitation? Before we dream of urban mobility, can we first fulfill the dreams of rural children struggling to access even the most basic facilities?
India’s demographic dividend lies not in speed but in strength. The strength of minds educated in sturdy classrooms, nurtured by clean water and powered by electricity. Let's build those first. The bullet train can wait.
#SchoolFirst #EducationInfrastructure #HumanCapital #IndiaDevelopment #RuralEducation #SustainableGrowth #ChildRights #EquityInEducation #EducationMatters #LongTermVision
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