In a new feature for The Caravan, Eram Agha examines the growing student protests against India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the pressures facing the country’s public universities. Drawing on months of reporting and conversations with students, she explores how rising costs, bureaucratic hurdles and changes to higher education are reshaping young people’s access to education.
The story connects today’s protests with a broader struggle over the future of public education in India, as students confront a system that many feel is becoming increasingly costly, inaccessible and difficult to navigate. With almost 40% of India’s population under 25, the stakes extend well beyond university campuses.
Read the full story in The Caravan. Teaching a Lesson: How the NEP’s killing of the public university brought Gen Z out on the streets
This story was produced with support from Report for the World.