According to the assessment results, on average, countries are moving away from the UNESCO benchmarks for public education spending, which are no less than 4% of GDP or 15% of total government expenditure.
India maintains an education spending level slightly above the minimum UNESCO benchmark relative to GDP, but the sector's share in public spending has fallen below the established threshold. According to the UNESCO report on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4) for 2026, education accounts for 4.1% of GDP, but only 14.2% of total government expenditure, which is below the 15% mark, compared to 15.7% in 2015.
Manash Pratim Gohain is an experienced journalist with over twenty years of experience at The Times of India. During his career, he has created an extensive body of material covering educational policy, politics, and governance. He is known for his in-depth coverage of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, accreditation reforms, and upskilling initiatives. Additionally, he has covered student politics, urban policy, and social movements.
Students from the state of Jharkhand, protesting against irregularities in entrance examinations, rejected the assertion by the government led by Hemant Soren that 98% of their demands had been met. The protests have been ongoing for the seventeenth day.
The protesters stated that only three out of the thirteen exams they demanded to be canceled had actually been canceled.
The new academic year is beginning in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and students are returning to school with their backpacks and notebooks. This raises the question of how students can apply artificial intelligence (AI) in the learning process. According to the UAE's approved academic calendar, the 2026-27 academic year starts on August 31st.
Artificial intelligence is no longer something external to the classroom; it is now an official subject in UAE public schools, covering all levels from kindergarten to grade 12. However, using AI in studies does not mean asking a chatbot to write an essay or solve homework. Previously, the Khaleej Times reported that approaches to using generative AI vary across UAE schools: some allow controlled or teacher-guided use, while others restrict access to public tools or require the use of approved school platforms. Schools also emphasize fact-checking and student data protection.
For families preparing for the new semester, there is a clear distinction: AI can help a student understand material or simply do the work for them. Below are five methods that help utilize AI in a beneficial way.
Sometimes the problem is not the student lacking an answer, but rather that the explanation from the textbook or lesson was not understood. AI tools can reiterate a concept using simpler language, a different example, or by breaking it down into smaller steps. For instance, a student struggling with photosynthesis might ask: 'Explain photosynthesis at an 8th-grade level. Use a simple real-life example, and then ask me three questions to check my understanding.' If the explanation remains unclear, they should ask the AI to try another approach. Features like Study Mode in ChatGPT and Guided Learning in Gemini are designed for this step-by-step learning, including posing questions instead of immediately providing the final solution.
Instead of relying on highlighted pages that create the illusion of reviewing material, AI can transform these notes into questions. Students can upload or paste their study material and ask to be tested on it one question at a time. A suitable prompt could be: 'Quiz me on these notes with ten questions. Ask one question at a time and do not show me the answer until I respond. At the end, tell me which topics I got wrong.'
Both ChatGPT and Gemini support the creation of quizzes, tests, or study guides based on learning materials. There is a significant difference between asking AI to solve a math problem and asking for help to overcome a difficult stage. Students can inform the chatbot beforehand that they do not need the final answer. Instead, they can ask: 'Do not solve this problem for me. Look at my work so far and give me one hint about what I should try next.' If that is not enough, they can request another hint.
Especially for math and science tasks, a student can ask the chatbot to explain the necessity of a specific step before proceeding. The goal is to continue working without eliminating the part of the homework that requires the student's thinking. Instead of asking the chatbot to draft an essay, report, or presentation, the student can first attempt it and then ask the tool to critically evaluate it. An example prompt: 'Do not rewrite my paragraph. Identify the three weakest parts, explain what is wrong with them, and ask me questions that will help me improve them myself.'
This same principle applies to all subjects. A language student can ask AI to point out grammatical errors without immediately correcting them. A mathematician can provide their calculations and ask AI to identify the first step where a calculation error occurred. In this case, the initial attempt always remains the student's own work.
The phrase 'Study science tonight' is just a plan that is largely ineffective. Before creating a review schedule, students can ask AI to test their current knowledge. For example, they could enter the query: 'I have an exam next week on these four topics. Test me first. Then create a five-day review plan that dedicates more time to the topics where I am struggling.'
This allows turning a long list of chapters into a more targeted plan. Gemini, for instance, can create quizzes from uploaded study materials and use the results to identify gaps, while Study Mode in ChatGPT can analyze notes, generate practice questions, and review incorrect answers. Ultimately, the most important question for parents this academic year may be: did AI help my child understand the material, or did it just do it for them? The difference may depend less on the chosen chatbot and more on what the student asks it to do.
In Haryana, the deadlock between the government and students regarding alleged examination irregularities continues. The third round of negotiations also yielded no results. The government claims to have addressed about 98% of the students' demands, but the demand for an CBI investigation into the JSSC-CGL exam cannot be accepted. On the other hand, students insist that protests will not cease until this demand is met, and they are preparing to take to the streets.
The question arises as to why the entire dispute needs to be prolonged over one demand when most issues can be resolved through dialogue between the government and the students? Students believe that the intervention of a central agency is necessary to ensure an impartial and reliable investigation into the issues raised regarding the examination process. They argue, 'Is it bad to remove doubts from the minds of the students?'
The government should realize that the recommendation for an investigation does not imply an admission of guilt. Accepting the demand for a CBI investigation does not mean the government is found guilty. If the government states complete transparency in the examination process, this statement will become even more weighty after an impartial investigation. Then everything will become clear.
Hemant Soren's government in Ranchi appears to be repeating the same mistake recently made by the central government concerning students protesting at Jantar Mantar. When a protest is dragged out, the issue between the government and the demonstrators gradually transforms from a matter of demands into a matter of prestige. After this, the government starts to believe that if it meets one demand, it will be perceived as weakness. It is this mindset that makes any protest unnecessarily protracted.
In the case of students, such a stance is even more detrimental. Issues of employment and competitive exams are linked to the future of the youth. If there is suspicion of irregularity in any exam, it affects not only that exam. The time, money, and careers of thousands of young people are at stake. In such a situation, the government's primary task must be to assure students that their complaints are being treated with utmost seriousness.
The government has taken several positive steps. These include the recommendation for an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into alleged financial irregularities in JPSC, the announcement of the creation of an accelerated court for examination matters, and the promise to file a charge sheet within 90 days, as well as the decision to involve experts from IIT-ISM Dhanbad, IIM Ranchi, and XLRI Jamshedpur to improve the examination system in the JSSC-CGL case under the chairmanship of a former Supreme Court judge. However, despite all these steps, if the students' biggest doubt is not eliminated, the government must reconsider its position.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren's statement that problems will be solved through dialogue, not force, is in the right direction. But dialogue is not just holding meetings. Dialogue also means that the government understands the main concern of the opponent and seeks a way to resolve it.
Imagine the Chief Minister personally visiting the protesting students, talking to them, and giving them assurances that the government is ready to recommend a CBI investigation. This will not diminish the government's prestige; on the contrary, it will enhance it. If the investigation shows that the government and the examination system are clean, this will be the greatest proof for the government. And if any wrongdoing is discovered, the path to action against the guilty will become clear.
In politics, small issues often turn into crises, making them a matter of prestige. The same threat exists with Hemant Soren. Prolonging the student movement is not beneficial for either the government or the students. The government should abandon hiding behind technical and legal arguments and take a political initiative. If the Chief Minister himself comes to the protest site, talks to the students, stops their hunger strike or sit-in, and guarantees an investigation, he will gain political advantage. Today's youth need not orders, but trust. They must feel that the government cares about their future.
This crisis is an opportunity for Hemant Soren. It can allow him to turn it into a 'government versus students' struggle or to set an example of dialogue and problem-solving. If the doubts of thousands of students are dispelled by the recommendation for a CBI investigation, it will be a victory for democracy, not a defeat for the government. By doing what the Modi government failed to do at the central level, Hemant Soren can forge his own image among the students.
