Massive reforms are required across the spectrum in India’s Education sector, declared Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, at the plenary session on "Creating World-Class Education in India", at the 25th India Economic Summit, on Monday.

Indeed, most of the critical legislation relating to this sector would be in place by the end of the budget session of Parliament in March 2010, he said at the event jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and World Economic Forum in New Delhi.

These reforms would need to bring in flexibility, transparency and quality in education in India, he added.

Inviting the private sector to participate in a big way in India’s education agenda, Sibal emphatically delineated the distinction between ‘profit’ and ‘surplus,’ stating that enterprises must be allowed to make surpluses to be ploughed back into the sector. “We cannot allow education to be exposed to risk factors,” he stressed.

The minister outlined several key challenges. India needs to prepare the critical mass of students to be ready for higher education, he said, pointing out that at present, only 12 per cent of the 220 million children who go to school in India reach college level.

The target is to increase this to 30 per cent by year 2020, he said. There are huge gaps in the skills development sphere too, that need urgent attention, said Sibal, with only around 12 per cent of India’s 509 million young employed people equipped with the right skills.

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