Illustration depicting the proposed Indian Education Service (IES) with educators, national symbols, books, and policy elements questioning the need for a new All-India Service.

Conceptual image representing the debate on establishing the Indian Education Service (IES) as a new All-India Service for India’s education sector.

The Indian Education Service (IES): Do We Really Need a New All-India Service?

A Balanced View from Education For All in India
Website: https://educationforallinindia.com, published on 8th December 2025.

 

Introduction

India runs the world’s most extensive school system – 1.48 million schools, 9.5 million teachers and nearly 260 million children. Yet the biggest problem is not money or buildings – it is poor management and lack of professionalism at every level (block, district, state and centre).

For the past 60 years, many committees have recommended creating a new “Indian Education Service” (IES) modelled on the IAS. But on 4 December 2025, the Ministry of Education once again said: “There is no such proposal under consideration” (Economic Times, 4 December 2025).

At Education For All in India (https://educationforallinindia.com), we have studied this idea for over 25 years using UDISE data and on-the-ground realities. Our honest and balanced view is:

Instead of creating a brand-new All-India Service, it is wiser, cheaper, and constitutionally safer to rapidly professionalise the existing 2–3 million education officers and teachers through massive training and mission-mode orientation programmes.

Quick History of the IES Idea

The idea of an Indian Education Service (IES) as a prestigious All-India cadre has haunted Indian policy circles for over a century, yet it has always slipped away at the final moment. It began in 1896 under the British Raj, when London created the first Indian Educational Service – an elite, mostly European cadre to run colleges and the education department in provinces. Though meant for imperial control rather than Indian uplift, it planted the seed that education needed its own specialised civil service.
After Independence, the dream was reborn. In 1964-66, the Kothari Education Commission boldly recommended the creation of a new Indian Education Service as an All-India Service on par with the IAS and IPS, arguing that only a common cadre of highly trained professionals could give India the intellectual leadership its schools and universities desperately needed. The idea was revived again in the National Education Policies of 1968 and 1986, and even found a place in the 2016 T.S.R. Subramanian Committee report and the 2019 Draft National Education Policy.

Yet when the final National Education Policy 2020 was unveiled in July 2020, the IES proposal had quietly vanished from the text – dropped without explanation after intense behind-the-scenes resistance from states wary of further centralisation.

Fast-forward to December 2025: in response to a parliamentary question, the Government of India once again declared that there is “no proposal under consideration” to create the Indian Education Service.

Thus, a concept first born in the colonial era, repeatedly endorsed by commissions and policy drafts for six decades, continues to remain just that – an idea whose time, it seems, never quite arrives.
A few mile-stones are presented below:
  • 1896 → The British started the first Indian Education Service (primarily for Europeans).
  • 1964-66 → Kothari Commission asked for a new IES.
  • 1968, 1986, 2016, 2019 Draft NEP → All repeated the demand.
  • 2020 → Final NEP 2020 quietly dropped it.
  • December 2025 → The Government again said “no proposal”.

Eight major attempts – zero success.

Why a New All-India Service is Difficult and Risky

  1. Education is mainly a State subject. States see any All-India Service as interference in their constitutional rights.
  2. It will create two parallel cadres, leading to jealousy and fights.
  3. Cost: Even a small IES of 10,000 officers will require thousands of crores of rupees every year.
  4. Experience: IAS officers posted in education often know little about teaching, child psychology, and other dynamics of a complex education system like ours.

Our Practical and Proven Alternative

We strongly believe the better path is:

“Strengthen and fully professionalise the existing education force at all levels – from Block Education Officers to State Directors – through World-class training and mission-mode programmes.”

This can be done in three simple phases:

Phase

 What to Do Pilot States (Example)

Time
Phase-1 (2026-28) 100-day intensive residential training for all District & Block officers on leadership, data use, NEP 2020 Odisha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand 2 years
Phase-2 (2028-30) Same training for Cluster & School Heads + yearly online refresher Expand to 15 more states 2 years
Phase-3 (2030-35) Make professional training compulsory for promotion + create State Education Leadership Academies All India 5 years

Training partners: NIEPA, IIMs, Azim Premji University, TISS, State SCERTs, and other such institutions, such as NCERT, Education Departments of State and Central Universities, etc.

Why this Approach is Better

  • No constitutional conflict – states remain entirely in control.
  • Much cheaper than a new service.
  • Uses existing officers who already know the local language and culture.
  • Faster results – pilot results visible in 2–3 years.
  • Proven success: Himachal Pradesh & Kerala show strong training works wonders.

When Can an All-India Service Be Useful? 

We are not entirely against the idea. After the above mission succeeds, a small All-India Education Service (only 2,000–3,000 officers) may be created only for:

  • Top policy posts in the Ministry of Education
  • Vice-Chancellors of central universities
  • National bodies (NCERT, CBSE, NIEPA, NCTE, NiOS etc.)

Never for district or block level – that must remain with trained state officers.

Concluding Observations

Creating a new Indian Education Service sounds good on paper, but it will face significant resistance from states and may create more problems than it solves.

The practical, constitutional and low-cost path that Education For All in India strongly recommends is: Take all states on board and launch a massive, mission-mode professional development programme for the existing education workforce.

If we succeed in turning our 2–3 million existing officers into a truly professional, data-driven and child-focused team, India will achieve the fundamental goals of NEP 2020 and SDG-4 much before 2030 – without any new All-India Service.

Let us strengthen what we already have rather than fight for something new.

Suggested Readings

  1. Latest Government Statement on IES (Dec 2025)
    Economic Times, 4 December 2025
  2. UDISE+ 2024-25 Detailed Analysis by Arun C Mehta
  3. National Education Policy 2020 (official)
    NEP 2020 Full Document
  4. Success of Training-Led States: Himachal Pradesh & Kerala

Article prepared by Prof. Arun C Mehta
Former Professor & Head, Department of EMIS, NIEPA, New Delhi
Website: https://educationforallinindia.com
Date: 7 December 2025