Expenditure on education as share of GDP has fluctuated between 3.55 per cent and 4 per cent, falling short of the 6 per cent of GDP promised by successive governments. Nonetheless, over the last decade, education has accounted for nearly 5- per cent of total social services spending. Despite the increased funding, poor learning, outcomes mark the education system, irrespective of the school’s ownership. Assessments by private/non-governmental organizations (NGO) and government agencies find at least a third of students failing to meet the required minimum learning levels in mathematics and reading comprehension. Improving learning outcomes will require looking beyond funding to the central component of an effective education system: the teacher. Despite better pay and job security, government school teachers tend to perform poorly compared to their private counterparts. Remedying this requires that teachers have greater autonomy, assessment and accountability. Teachers must have the freedom to devise the curriculum in a manner suited to their classroom. The Economic Survey 2016 reports that only 79 per cent of teachers are professionally qualified. More important is a system that assesses teachers regularly not just on their knowledge but also methods. Training that is in sync with the realities of their schools and classrooms to help teachers to be the best they can be. Finally, teachers must be held accountable, not by a faraway centralized system but at the local level to the school administration and school management committees. A system that rewards performers, helps laggards improve, and punishes the habitual poor performers is essential. Schools, particularly in the government system, need to participate in international assessments like PISA and TIMSS. More money for education is welcome and necessary but it is not everything. Fixing our schools requires leveraging of existing funding, and systemic changes to achieve both empowerment and accountability.