Chapter 8 · Topic 8.1 · Prelims + Mains1 of 3
Education & Human Capital: Education
Key points
- Purpose of education.
- NEP 2020 targets.
- Writing education essays.
5 PYQs 2011–2020
Prelims box: facts and traps
| NEP 2020 goal | Value |
|---|---|
| School GER | 100% by 2030 |
| Higher education GER | 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035 |
| Public spending on education | 6% of GDP at the earliest. |
- Verified targets from the National Education Policy 2020 (PIB, 29 July 2020): universal education from pre-school to secondary level with 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030.
- Trap: For ‘empires of the mind’: future power rests on knowledge, research, education and ideas rather than territory.
Education and its purpose
Past topics: UPSC CSE Essay, Section B, topic 8 (official UPSC question paper): “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”; UPSC CSE Essay, Section B, topic 6 (official UPSC question paper): “A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.”; UPSC CSE Essay, Section A, topic 2 (official UPSC question paper): “The empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.”
More past topics (2014–2020 papers): UPSC CSE Essay, Section A, topic 3 (official UPSC question paper): “Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms.”; UPSC CSE Essay, Section A, topic 4 (official UPSC question paper): “Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more clever devil.”.
Outline for the 2023 topic. Hook: we forget formulas, but remember how to think, cooperate and keep trying. Meaning: real education is the lasting change in thinking, values and habits, not facts memorised for exams. Dimensions: rote learning and coaching culture; skills (critical thinking, communication); values (empathy, integrity); learning by doing; teachers as mentors; lifelong learning. Counter-view: facts and exams matter. Reply: facts are the base, but understanding is the building. Conclusion: schools should teach how to learn.
For ‘more questions than answers’: curiosity grows with knowledge; the more we know, the more we see what we don’t know. Link to scientific temper, humility and innovation. For ‘empires of the mind’: future power rests on knowledge, research, education and ideas rather than territory.
Reforms, access and quality
Verified targets from the National Education Policy 2020 (PIB, 29 July 2020): universal education from pre-school to secondary level with 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030; raise GER in higher education, including vocational education, from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035; the Centre and States to work together to raise public investment in education to 6% of GDP at the earliest. These are policy targets, not achievements.
More past topics (2014–2020 papers): UPSC CSE Essay, Section A, topic 3 (official UPSC question paper): “Are the standardized tests good measure of academic ability or progress?”.
| NEP 2020 goal | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| School GER | 100% by 2030 | target |
| Higher education GER | 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035 | baseline measured; 50% is a target |
| Public spending on education | 6% of GDP at the earliest | target |
NEP 2020 (PIB, 29 July 2020).
Dimensions for reform essays: foundational literacy and numeracy, mother-tongue learning in early years, teacher training, digital learning and the digital divide, girls’ education, vocational skills, and
assessment that tests understanding.
Mains box: analysis and answer points
- Hook: we forget formulas, but remember how to think, cooperate and keep trying.
- Meaning: real education is the lasting change in thinking, values and habits, not facts memorised for exams.
- Dimensions: rote learning and coaching culture; skills (critical thinking, communication); values (empathy, integrity); learning by doing; teachers as mentors; lifelong learning.
- Likely next angle: Empires of the mind
Practice
Prelims PYQs on this topic (5)
Read the passage
People will invest in education whenever they are granted the economic freedom to fully enjoy its benefits. Again, this is for the obvious reason that the return on education increases as the level of economic freedom rises. When people, thanks to lower tax rates, are allowed to retain most of the higher income that they gain from each incremental level of education, it makes eminent sense to invest in education. On the other hand, when the government decides to tax the higher income of educated individuals at even higher rates, it makes very little sense to invest in educating oneself further. The same incentives apply to parents who decide on whether to invest in their children’s education.
With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
- 1. Lower tax rates in a country invariably translate into greater investments in higher education.
- 2. Investment in the education of children ensures their economic freedom.
- 3. Economic freedom has a positive impact on building up human capital.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?
Answer (c) & explanation
Only assumption 3 is valid (c). Step 1: the passage says when people are free to keep the returns on their efforts, they invest in education. That builds human capital. So economic freedom helps human capital (3). Step 2: assumption 1 says lower taxes invariably lead to more investment in higher education. "Invariably" (always) overstates. Step 3: assumption 2 reverses the cause. The passage says freedom drives education, not that education ensures freedom. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Tip: watch for reversed cause and effect. "A leads to B" does not mean "B leads to A". Also, "invariably" and "always" need very strong support.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is the aim of the programme ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan connects higher education institutions with local communities (b). Launched in 2014 and coordinated by IIT Delhi, it asks higher education institutions to adopt nearby villages (at least five each). Students and teachers then use suitable technologies to solve local problems in water, energy, farming, sanitation and livelihoods. It is not a literacy mission (a), a science research upgrade (c), or a skill and welfare fund (d).
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 (2018) opened it to all higher education institutions, and thousands have joined. Notice how it links with NEP 2020's call for community engagement and with the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, where MPs adopt villages.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
Human capital formation as a concept is better explained in terms of a process which enables
- 1. individuals of a country to accumulate more capital.
- 2. increasing the knowledge, skill levels and capacities of the people of the country.
- 3. accumulation of tangible wealth.
- 4. accumulation of intangible wealth.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 2 and 4 are correct (c). Human capital formation is the process of adding to people's knowledge, skills, health and abilities through education, training, health care and migration (2). These skills cannot be seen or touched and cannot be sold separately from the person, so they count as intangible wealth (4). Building up ordinary capital (1) or tangible wealth (3), such as machines and buildings, is physical capital formation.
The NCERT Economics textbook uses this exact framing. Notice how India invests in human capital: NEP 2020, Skill India, and Ayushman Bharat. Economists such as T. W. Schultz and Gary Becker showed that spending on people brings returns just like spending on machines.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
In the last two decades, the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) has increased by 50 per cent, whereas inclusive wealth has increased by a mere 6 per cent. In recent decades, GDP-driven economic performance has only harmed inclusive wealth like human capital; and natural capital like forests, land and water. While the world’s human capital which stands at 57 per cent of total inclusive wealth grew by only 8 per cent, the natural capital which is 23 per cent of total inclusive wealth declined by 30 per cent worldwide in the last two decades.
Which of the following is the most crucial inference from the above passage?
Answer (b) & explanation
The crucial inference is that growth driven by GDP alone is neither desirable nor sustainable (b). Step 1: the passage says GDP rose about 50%, but inclusive wealth rose only 6%, and natural capital fell about 30%. So GDP growth hid a loss of real wealth. Step 2: this means GDP-only growth is not sustainable, which is option (b). Step 3: options (a) and (d) each pick one part of the argument, natural or human capital. Option (c), that world economic performance is unsatisfactory, is too vague.
Tip: inclusive wealth counts natural, human and produced capital together. A rising GDP with falling natural capital means a country is spending its savings.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Read the passage
Open defecation is disastrous when practised in very densely populated areas, where it is impossible to keep away human faeces from crops, wells, food and children’s hands. Groundwater is also contaminated by open defecation. Many ingested germs and worms spread diseases. They prevent the body from absorbing calories and nutrients. Nearly one-half of India’s children remain malnourished. Lakhs of them die from preventable conditions. Diarrhoea leaves Indians’ bodies smaller on average than those of people in some poorer countries where people eat fewer calories. Underweight mothers produce stunted babies prone to sickness who may fail to develop their full cognitive potential. The germs released into environment harm rich and poor alike, even those who use latrines.
Which among the following is the most critical inference that can be made from the above passage ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Open defecation reduces the human capital of India's workforce (c). Step 1: follow the chain. Open defecation spreads germs, which stop the body absorbing nutrients. Children stay malnourished, bodies stay smaller, and underweight mothers have stunted babies who may not reach their full cognitive potential. Weaker, less healthy people mean lower human capital. Step 2: test the others. Option (a) is wrong: the cost of latrines is not discussed. Option (b) is wrong: "most important" problem is too strong. Option (d) is wrong: "all developing countries" is not stated.
Tip: "human capital" means the health, skills and abilities of people. When a passage links a problem to poor health and lower brain development, it is about human capital.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Write an answer
In 150 words, explain the significance of Education & Human Capital with one recent example.
Flashcards (8)
2023 education topic?
Education is what remains after one has forgotten school learning.
2026 education topic?
A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.
2024 empires topic?
The empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.
Facts vs understanding?
Facts are the base; understanding is the building.
NEP school GER target?
100% by 2030.
NEP higher education GER target?
50% by 2035.
Higher education GER baseline in NEP?
26.3% (2018).
NEP public spending target?
6% of GDP at the earliest.
Next topic · 8.2 →Education & Human Capital: Health and human developmentSyllabus: Essay · Essay: Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will…