EDUCATION IN INDIA
Overview- Overall literacy rate of 66%
- Education is a concurrent subject
- Private education market in India valued at $40 bn
- India’s first education Minister was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
- The nodal agency for education in India is the Ministry of Human Resource Development
- India has 22 Central Universities
Modern education in India
- First IIT was established at Kharagpur (1950). Currently there are 15 IITs, with plans to add 3 more
- The Calcutta Madrasah College (1780) is the oldest continuously running Islamic seminary in India. It achieved University status in 2008
- Serampore College, West Bengal was the first institution to grant degrees in theology (1818)
- Thomason College of Civil Engineering (1847) is the oldest autonomous engineering school in Asia. It is now known as the IIT Roorkee
- The University of Calcutta (1857) was the first full-fledged multi-disciplinary university in India
- The College of Engineering, Guindy (Madras) is the oldest technical institute in India and one of the oldest in the world (1794)
Achievements
- India has the third largest higher education system in the world, after China and the US
- Three Indian universities listed in the Times Higher Education list: IITs, IIMs and JNU
- Six IITs and BITS (Pilani) listed among the top 20 science and technology schools in Asia by Asiaweek
- Indian School of Business ranked 15 in global MBA rankings by the Financial Times of London
- Ernakulam District in Kerala was the first District in India to be declared 100% literate (1990)
Challenges
- 40% of population is illiterate and only 15% reach high school
- 25% of teaching positions vacant and 57% of college professors lack masters or doctorate degrees
EDUCATION BOARDS AND SYSTEMS IN INDIA
The apex body for curriculum-related matters is the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The first education Board set up in India was the United Provinces Board of High School and Intermediate Education. Currently, the various curriculum governing bodies are - Various State Education Boards
- The State Education Boards enroll the largest number of students in India
- The first State Education Board was established in Madras Presidency in 1908
- Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
- Established in 1952, as the evolution of the UP Education Board. Headquarters in New Delhi
- CBSE affiliates all Kendriya Vidyalayas, Jawahar Vidyalayas and all schools in NCT Delhi, Chandigarh, Andaman & Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Uttaranchal. It also affiliates Indian schools in foreign countries
- Conducts the All India Secondary School Examination (AISSE) for class X, the All India Senior School Certificate Examination (AISSCE) for class XII and the All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE)
- Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE)
- Established in 1956. Headquarters in New Delhi
- Private, not affiliated to the government
- Conducts the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) examination for class X and the Indian School Certificate (ISC) examination for class XII
- National Institute of Open Schooling
- Established by the Union Government in 1989. Headquarters in Noida
- Largest open school system in the world
- Examinations are held twice a year in April-May and October-November. Students can also appear for On-Demand Examinations at the Secondary (class X) and Senior Secondary (class XII) levels
- Has established the International Centre for Training in Open Schooling and Open Schooling Association of the Commonwealth in association with UNESCO and the Commonwealth of Learning
- Other Systems
- Darul Uloom Deoband
- Established in 1866 in Deoband (Uttar Pradesh)
- The syllabus is known as Dars-e-Nizami
- Curriculum includes Islamic law, Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic spirituality and other Islamic studies
- Affiliates numerous madrassas in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other parts of the world
- International schools affiliated to the International Baccalaureate Programme and the Cambridge International Examinations
- Autonomous schools like the Woodstock School, Auroville, Patha Bhavan and Ananda Marga Gurukula
-
EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
Constitutional Provisions- The Constitution of India provides for free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14
- Education is listed as a Concurrent Subject, with joint jurisdiction of the Central and state governments. However, the Union Government exclusively determines the standards in higher and technical education
- Local authorities (such as Panchayats and Municipalities) to be assigned suitable roles through legislations at the state level
- State governments and local authorities to provide instruction in the mother tongue at the primary education level
- The 86th Constitutional Amendment to Article 21A made education a fundamental right
National Policy on Education
- First National Policy on Education was formulated in 1968
- Second National Policy on Education was formulated in 1986
- The second Policy was further modified in 1992
- Major highlights of the Policy include
- National system of education: established a nationwide-standard for various education systems and imposed minimum learning requirements
- Education for equality: Policy emphasizes removal of social disparities by promoting education of women, backward communities and the disabled
- Technical and management education: encourage the adoption of technology and management best practices
Right to Education Bill
- The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was passed by Parliament in Aug 2009
- The Act describes the modalities for providing free and compulsory elementary and secondary education for children between the ages of 6 and 14
- The Act was enacted in pursuance of Article 21A of the Constitution, which made education a fundamental right
- As per the Act, government schools shall provide free education to all children, and private schools shall admit at least 25% of their students without any fee. No donation or capitation fee may be charged either
- The Act also provides for a School Monitoring Committee – a body of elected representatives from the community to ensure proper functioning
- The Act also provides for a school in every neighbourhood
- The Act does not establish a uniform standard of education quality. However, it does recommend the constitution of a National Commission of Elementary Education to address this issue
SCHEMES AND PROGRAMMES
All schemes and programmes under the purview of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (unless otherwise noted) - Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All)
- Launched in 2004
- SSA is the Government’s flagship programme for achievement of universalization of elementary education of satisfactory quality by 2010
- Emphasizes community participation through decentralized planning and implementation
- Aims to see all children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007 and eight years of elementary schooling by 2010. Also aims to achieve universal retention by 2010
- Provides for a school in every 1 km radius
- Focuses alternative schooling methodologies, children with special needs, girls education and computer education
- SSA contains components such as National Program for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) and Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) / Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE)
- Jointly sponsored by the Union and state governments
- Under the purview of the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of HRD
- Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RSMA)
- Launched in 2009
- Set up following the success of SSA, to provide secondary and higher education for those who have completed elementary education
- Provides for a secondary school every 5 km and a higher secondary school every 7-10 km
- Aims to ensure universal access to quality secondary education by 2017 with universal retention by 2020
- Provides special support to economically weaker sections, girls, students with disabilities
- Jointly sponsored by the Union and state governments
- Implemented by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of HRD
- Information and Communication Technology in Schools (ICT)
- Launched in 2004
- Aims to help secondary school students develop ICT skills
- Aims to set up IT-based Smart Schools in Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodya Vidyalayas
- Fully sponsored by the Union government
- Implemented by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of HRD
- Mahila Samakhya Programme
- Launched in 1989
- Aims to provide women and girls with education as a tool for empowerment
- Implemented by the Department of School Education and Literacy
- Mid Day Meal Scheme
- Largest school feeding programme in the world, serving over 120 million children every day
- Mid day meal concept was first introduced by the Madras Municipal Corporation for disadvantaged children in 1925
- First large scale implementation was by the Tamil Nadu government in 1982
- Covers all children in primary and upper primary Government, Local Body and Government-aided schools in the entire country
- Largest school feeding programme in the world, serving over 120 million children every day
- Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrassas
- Launched in 2007
- Scheme has two main components: infrastructure support and introduction of modern subjects
- Sponsored by the Union government
- Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV)
- Launched in 2004
- Provides for setting up residential schools at elementary level for girls belonging to backward communities in difficult areas
- Aims to address low literacy levels and large gender gaps in educationally backward areas
- Sponsored jointly by the Union and state governments
- Implemented by concerned state education departments
EDUCATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS
- Central Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students
- Launched in 2007
- Provides financial assistance to meritorious students from low-income families
- Scholarship awarded on the basis of senior secondary examination (class XII)
- Fully sponsored by the Union government
- Implemented by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of HRD
- Scheme of Scholarship to Students from Non-Hindi Speaking States for Post-Matric Studies in Hindi
- Launched in 1955, revised in 2004
- Scholarship available to students at post-matric to PhD level
- Sponsored by the Union government
- Implemented by state education departments
- Scheme of National Scholarship for Persons with Disabilities
- Launched in 2009
- Scholarship available for post-matric professional and technical courses. However, for severely disabled students scholarship is available from class IX onwards
- Sponsored by the Union Government
- Implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
No comments:
Post a Comment