Where does Indian education stand in comparison to the world?

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Japan built a national character through education—so what are we doing?

Five countries, five stories, and one question: where does India stand before the world’s education systems?

A few days ago I was having a fascinating dialogue with AI (Grok) on education. There’s a special charm in discussing education with AI, and it felt good to see that while Grok and I were talking, millions were reading our chat, asking questions and offering suggestions on education. People were deeply curious to know what the world’s education systems look like, where they stand, how they perform—and where India fits in.

Keeping that curiosity in mind, today I’m starting a series: “The World’s Education Systems and India.” In the first episode—five countries, five stories, and one question: where does Indian education stand compared with the world? Let’s begin with Japan.

About 150 years ago, in 1872, Japan’s leaders passed a law that made it the government’s duty to educate every child. What they did in 1872, we in India legislated only in 2011 as the Right to Education Act. Japanese leaders were thinking about every child in 1872; we started thinking about it in 2011. That is why Japan’s education system made every citizen so strong that, even after the most devastating nuclear attack in history, the country rose rapidly. In barely 20–25 years, through its education, technology, cameras, cars, robots and research, Japan once again became the king of technology—while here, in the eighth decade of our independence, we still celebrate merely achieving a passing percentage. Isn’t that worth thinking about?

In Japanese schools children don’t learn “I”, they learn “we”. All learning begins with teamwork, responsibility and patriotism—not in textbooks but in daily routines. I was amazed to see there are no janitors; children themselves clean their classrooms, toilets and corridors. Thus Japan built a national character through education.

Next, Singapore, a country that turned education into its survival strategy. Singapore became independent from Malaysia in 1965—18 years after our independence. In a TV interview right after independence, its first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, broke down and cried. Why? Because Singapore had no land for farming, no potable water, no minerals, no natural resources, no money—conditions like the slums of Delhi or Mumbai. But the leader said, “We have nothing except our children. We will give our children such magnificent education that a new Singapore will rise on their strength.” And so it happened. From engineers to street-cleaners, everyone in Singapore today receives world-class education. The cleaner gets the same quality of training as the engineer. Whatever was necessary to give every Singaporean excellent education, the leaders did. Thanks to that education model, a country with zero resources is now home to the world’s highest per-capita income.

After Singapore, look at China—an education model that has made its mark on the global economy through sheer schooling. China is the world’s fastest-growing major economy; its businesses dominate world markets; its cities are the most modern. The secret lies in education. China’s system has only one goal: make every child hardworking. It says, “We don’t ask how talented a child is; we ask how hardworking he or she is.” Laziness has no place. Chinese report cards don’t just state marks; they also state how much effort the child put in. In India we ask, “What percentage did you get?” In China they ask, “How much effort did you put in for that percentage?” That, too, is printed on the report card.

Another unique aspect: China’s system makes parents work just as hard as the children. Every parent receives at least 10 messages a day from school—about effort, conduct, class involvement, daily performance. The mantra is: hard work is a lifestyle. As a result, Chinese graduates don’t queue for government jobs; they think about which global market they can conquer with their effort.

If China’s specialty is that its goods are found in every market, there is another country whose schools and colleges contain children from every nation—Canada. In Canadian schools, more than 100 languages are spoken; children come from every country, race, culture and religion. Canada’s education system does not fear this diversity; it treats it as an opportunity, not a problem. Parliament itself sets the goals: by which age every child must develop which competencies. While schools teach every global subject—as we do—they also develop leadership, presentation skills, communication, vision-building, strategic planning and community building—skills we relegate to “extra-curriculars.” In Canada, leadership is part of the core curriculum. That is why Canada is a global education leader today.

Finally, Finland—an education leader that has stood at number one for decades. What matters is not that Finland is number one, but how it has stayed there. In the 16th century, a Finnish rule stated a child was marriageable only if he could read certain religious texts himself. Education, then, was not for jobs or degrees but a prerequisite for entering family and social life. From the 16th century to 1947, Finland had a basic system with no clear direction. Then, in 1947, all political parties formed an all-party committee that held over 200 public meetings and created a new system that took Finland to the top. Key reforms: all private schools were made public; formal schooling starts only at age seven—before that, children only play and grow, no alphabet, no numbers. Even today, a seven-year-old in Finland plays and explores but does not learn ABC or 123. Instead, talents of thinking, understanding, speaking and playing are nurtured.

Another Finnish feature: most countries use school inspectors to check quality; Finland abolished that post. The government says, “Instead of spending on inspectors, we spend on teacher training—we trust our teachers.” But that trust is earned. Becoming a teacher in Finland is perhaps the hardest in the world. Getting into a teacher-training university is tougher than getting into IIT or IIM in India, and then there are five rigorous years of study.

Countries like Finland, Singapore, Canada and China rise through education. The question for us is: which model can India adopt? Can we trust our teachers? Can we invest in education? Can we end the inequality of private schools? These examples do not mean we must become Japan or copy Singapore. We are India; our needs and realities are unique. The country will change when education changes, and education will change when the thinking of our leaders changes. And if leaders won’t change their thinking, we must change our leaders. That is the duty of every Indian. We must elect leaders who will give our children the education we want for them. That is the purpose of this video. Jai Hind.