News
State of the Education Report for India 2024
New Delhi, 17 December 2024: The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Regional Office for South Asia has launched the sixth edition of its annual flagship report, 鈥Rhythms of Learning鈥, the 2024 State of the Education Report for India, focusing on Culture and Arts Education.
This year鈥檚 report explores the significant role that culture and arts education plays in fostering creativity, promoting inclusive and equitable education, strengthening social cohesion, and advancing sustainable development. In a country like India, where culture and arts are deeply embedded in its heritage, integrating these elements into the education system is crucial for holistic and inclusive learning.
This report is the first study of the adaptation of UNESCO鈥檚 Framework for Culture and Arts Education to a national context, providing a tailor-made approach that reflects the specific cultural and educational needs of India. This report will contribute to further promoting the role of culture and arts education in India by providing insightful information and practices for all. Culture and arts education is a transformative tool for fostering creativity, critical thinking and empathy 鈥 essential skills for addressing the complex challenges of today鈥檚 world.
The Department of School Education and Literacy and UNESCO have a shared mission of promoting India鈥檚 rich cultural diversity. I am, therefore, happy to know that the UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia has brought out the sixth edition of the State of the Education Report for India on the theme of 鈥楥ulture and Arts Education鈥. I hope this report will further inspire educational initiatives that harness the power of culture and arts
Integrating culture and arts into education equips students with creativity, critical thinking, and cultural awareness, essential for their holistic development.
One of the key principles of the National Education Policy is that there should not be any hard and fast silos in terms of arts and science education, vocational and academic education.
The National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023 has further bolstered the status of arts education by making it an equal curricular area in its own right for school education up to the secondary stage. The NCERT is equally happy to note that the Framework for Culture and Arts Education, adopted at the 2024 Abu Dhabi World Conference on Culture and Arts Education (WCCAE), has reaffirmed the vision of the NEP, 2020 and the NCF-SE, 2023.
The report, authored by the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology, uses a mixed-methods approach, combining secondary data analysis, policy reviews, research literature, interviews, and an online survey. It highlights exemplary case studies and initiatives from various regions of India, showcasing successful practices and innovative strategies in culture and arts education.
The report aligns with UNESCO鈥檚 Framework for Culture and Arts Education, adopted earlier this year at the Abu Dhabi World Conference, and provides a roadmap to strengthen access, equity, and institutionalization of arts education ecosystems across India. These goals align with India鈥檚 National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023, both of which promote innovative strategies like Art-Integrated Learning (AIL) and emphasize the importance of preserving traditional and local knowledge.
The report concludes with ten concrete recommendations for education sector stakeholders, aimed at enhancing the role of culture and arts education in India. These recommendations include: Create a culture and arts education steering committee to promote culture and arts education; enhance rural-urban connectivity through culture and arts education; strengthen teaching capacity in culture and arts education; promote culture and arts education for comprehensive lifelong learning; employ technology to enhance accessibility of culture and arts education; establish centres of excellence in culture and arts education; launch new undergraduate programmes in culture and arts education; establish a national culture and arts educational repository; create an effective assessment system for quality implementation of culture and arts pedagogy; and establish a culture and arts education fund.
The launch event also featured a live instrumental musical performance curated by the Naadvistaar Foundation, underscoring the report鈥檚 central theme of integrating arts and education to inspire creativity, cultural pride, and shared humanity.
To illustrate the report in an accessible manner, the following audio-visual package is also available free of copyright on :
- Summary video underlining the recommendations of the report
- Short capsules highlighting the key recommendations of the report
