EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA

EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA

Since we achieved independence in 1947, our national leaders attached importance to education. There has been steady effort to spread education to all levels of Indian society.

To strengthen the Indian Education System, an educational policy was adopted by the Indian Parliament in 1968. Education was made an important and  integral part of the national development efforts.

PRIMARY EDUCATION SYSTEM

At the time of our Independence, majority of the children were deprived of the benefits of primary education. Since then, India has made good progress in the field of primary education.

Statistics point to the fact that a large percentage of children in age group 6-11 years have been enrolled in school. At some places, the enrollment rate is 90 percent.

However, it is proving very difficult to bring the remaining into the ambit of universal primary education is because of reasons such as:

• some live in inaccessible areas,
• lack of parent’s interest to send their children to school,
• there is a deep-rooted prejudice against educating girls,
• there are practical difficulties of distance and inaccessibility of schools.

Other difficulties faces by the primary education sector are:

• The syllabus of our primary students is quite heavy. A little child of primary school has to read a large number of books.
• Many books were written in a way that doesn’t create interest in young minds.
• We have less teachers and professors that our needs.

Non-Formal Education

Since, education is important for the growth of developing nation like India, various steps have been devised to cut the percentage of dropouts. Non-formal education – to offer educational facilities for the drop-outs and to fulfill the desire for additional education in the grown-up-drop-outs is being given a new orientation to make it purposeful and to attract a broad spectrum of the drop-out population.

In Indian Education system, adult education programmes covers the age group 1-35 and has been vigorously implemented by the government with the cooperation of many voluntary agencies. Even then much has to be done to realize the target which is 100% coverage adults. 

Secondary Education system

Secondary education is the fulcrum or central point of a nation’s education system. With regard to the pattern of secondary education experiments have been going on since Independence. The 10+2+3 system of education which was recommended by Kothari Commission of 1965 is now being implemented in almost all the States and Union Territories of India. This system (pattern) provides for two streams – the higher secondary schools; the academic streams paving the way for higher education and the vocational stream of terminal nature. However, very few schools live been able to offer this terminal education. As a result, schools with academic streams still abound, thereby defeating the very purpose of reducing the acute competition for college education.

In many States education is free up to the lower secondary level, and in a few states education is free up to the higher secondary stage.

Higher Education system

Higher education system in India is imparted through about 180 universities and nearly 4500 colleges. In addition there are several institutions imparting specialized knowledge and technical skills. Since education is a State subject. The State Governments in India are free to open new university. Grants Commission is an authority which dispenses grants to the universities. However, its formal sanction is not necessary to open a university. Taking advantage of this provision many State governments in India have opened a large number of universities in recent years.

The tremendous increase in the number of students and of educational institutions has given rise to the term ‘education explosion’. No doubt, this has resulted in serious problems such as inadequacy of financial resources and infrastructure and dilution of personal attention to the education and character-formation of the students. Also, there is the unwanted side-effect of enormous increase in the number of educated unemployed. However, we cannot overlook the advantages of education explosion in India. Mere increase in the percentage of literate people does not indicate a qualitative change in the educational standards of the people and a real improvement in manpower resources of India. Unemployment problem in India cannot be blamed on the availability of large masses educational people in India.