We may examine the relationship between higher education and economic growth by comparing the Republic of Korea to the Republic of India. How do political educational decisions impact economic growth? Although both countries began with relatively underdeveloped economies at the time of their independence in the late 1940s, these two countries took different trajectories in organizing their higher education systems. Korea's strategic and sustained investment in education (along with the private sector) has helped the economy to soar. India, on the other hand, has neither strategized nor channeled its resources for the development of higher education. India appears to have been fallen prey to a competency trap, the presumption of many policymakers that secondary and higher education may not be central to economic growth. Her economy will continue to suffer until political commitment shifts and the country massively invests in higher education, thus unlocking vast potential.