India, June 12 -- Nearly two centuries ago, British administrator Thomas Babington Macaulay laid the foundations of an education system designed to serve the needs of a colonial empire. The objective was straightforward: create a class of English-educated Indians who could assist in administering British rule. The system emphasised standardisation, examinations and rote learning, producing generations of clerks and bureaucrats who kept the colonial machinery running. In 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, seeking to fundamentally transform that legacy and prepare India for the demands of the 21st century. If Macaulay's education model was intended to serve an empire, the NEP seeks to equip...