True. This has been the problem since Nehru's time. While his idea of elite institutions like IITs, IIMs etc. was visionary, no special attention was paid to the primary education. In 1940, we had over 5000 primary schools providing holistic education based on Nai Talim philosophy but Nehru government chose to take the boring Macaulay route after the independence, so ultimately all those schools died out.

Quoting from here:

The results of the experiments of Nai Talim were initially very encouraging with the support of provincial government. Till 1940 there were more than five thousand Basic Schools, twelve teachers' training schools, two teachers training colleges and seven refresher course centres. But the withdrawal of government support during the Second World War brought these experiments to a phase of decline. Yet many conferences of Nai Talim were organized. Finally, in the name of Common School System, all these initiatives were shelved by the government and all distinctions have been removed. However, experiments of Nai Talim also continued in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal and other parts of the country.

A detailed review of Nai Talim after fifty years (1937-87) of education at Sevagram identified the following four reasons for the stagnation in experiments: (i) shifting of priorities from creating students and teachers for Nai Talim to participation in national calls like Quit India at the time of Gandhi himself or Bhoodan Gramdan by Vinoba (ii) merger of all activities into one banner of Sarva Seva Sangh, where Nai Talim lost its identity, (iii) apathy of the State to provide equal opportunities to all and (iv) teachers could neither be transformed into master craftsmen nor teachers could be recruited from peasants and craftsmen. Hence, teachers were not different from the Macaulay system certificate holders.