When Good Intentions Aren’t Enough
Education, often held up as a great equalizer, is failing in unexpected ways and not due to a lack of effort. In this panel, speakers from across the country examine systemic shortcomings, misplaced assumptions, and the gaps between well-meaning programs and on-the-ground impact. G. Gauthama opens with a reflection on the historic evolution of Indian education, suggesting that its failure is one of character rather than capability. Ashok Kamath recounts how teacher training programs that worked in Bangalore fell flat at scale due to lack of planning, handholding, and institutional follow-through.
From the mountains of Ladakh, Sujatha Sahu sheds light on how remoteness and social isolation can neutralize even well-run schooling systems. At the higher education end, IIT’s Santosh Noronha exposes how infrastructural neglect and the publishing industry’s obsession with success stories hinder true learning and innovation. And yet, among these stories of failure are also ideas for transformation—through community involvement, local adaptation, and confronting our narrow views of success.
