Education System of India

Overall View

Indian education system was improved when like Nalanda, Takshashila, Ujjain and Vikramshila came into existence. Education system in India is managed and controlled government well, providing education to all without any discrimination had become the priority of the government.
The education system in India was completely different before the Britishers Invaded India. The gurukul system, where the young students goes to a teacher’s place to complete their education was completely scrapped and new education system was chosen among top priorities. Now India’s urban literacy rate is 82 % and it produces millions of graduates every year.
India is one among few countries to have large pool of Engineers and scientists. The education in India is cheap compared to the developed as well as developing countries. The Government of India spends about 4.2 % of the total GDP expenditure.
The languages of instruction for education in school include both regional and English and English being the preferred one. Education is designed by the state where government is responsibility for quality education. Presently India is blessed with various schools, universities and other institutions in India which are providing quality education to the students. From the past several years India is producing many talent professional who are best in the world and working hard for the Nations growth and are in great demand. This shows the strength of Indian education system.

Indian education system is divided into different levels such as pre-primary level, primary level, elementary education, secondary education, undergraduate level and postgraduate level.

Pre primary: Pre-primary school education in India is not a fundamental right and is divided into two levels – Lower KG (for children between 3 – 4 years) and Upper KG (for children between 4 – 5 years).

Primary
The Primary education in India is considered a basic right and also compulsory. The primary education is completely free in government run schools and the highest grade is grade 5 in primary after which a student should qualify to move to secondary schools. The Government has made elementary education compulsory for children between the age group of years 6 and 14

Secondary
the secondary education spans for a duration of 5 more years. The Qualification exam after standard 10 will decide the direction of studies that could be taken in Higher secondary.

Higher secondary
the focus of study is narrower in higher secondary which lasts for 2 years, grade 11 and 12. The fields of study include science, mathematics and science for engineering, commerce and vocational education.

Higher Education in India: Under graduate and post graduate level: After completion of secondary education, students can choose fields of their interest and pursue undergraduate and then post graduate courses.

Educational Organizations

After independence in 1947, The Indian government has recognized and considered education as one of the most important and foremost aspects for building a modern, educated and highly civilized progressive society based on high virtues. But to impart education to such a vast population having diverse cultural and demographic variations is always a demanding task. Determined to do the work at hand The government of India along with all the state governments has formed many subordinate and independent governing bodies for regulating the education system in India at all levels from pre primary to higher as well as technical education. The governing bodies include the most important CBSE, CISCE, the State Government Boards, the National Open School, the International School, along with higher and scientific educational control bodies like ISRO, AICET etc

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is the principal governing body of education system in India. In fact it is considered as the back bone of organized education system of the country. It is in charge of conducting various examinations at the national level and also looks after the functioning of schools accredited to the central education system.

List of some of the Governing Educational Bodies in India.

University Grants Commission (UGC)

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)

Distance Education Council (DEC)

Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR)

National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)

Bar Council of India (BCI)

Medical Council of India (MCI)

Pharmacy Council of India (PCI)

Indian Nursing Council (INC)

Dentist Council of India (DCI)

Central Council of Homeopathy (CCH)

Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM)

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)

Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA)

Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan

Integrated Education for disabled children

District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET)

Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE)

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)

ICSE

ICAI

ICSI

ISRO

CSIR

CSIO

NCERT

CISCE

NIOS

AMIE

Gurukuls/Madrasah (Traditional educational system of India)

Apex Educational Bodies in India

· 
BARC - Bhaba Atomic Research Centre
BARC offers rewarding career opportunities to young qualified people in the areas of Nuclear Science and Technology. Chosen aspirants can pursue innovative research in Physics, Chemistry, Geology, Geophysics, Engineering and Biosciences at the centre.

·  AICTE - All India Council for Technical Education
AICTE, a national-level council for technical education. It  governs the Boards of Architecture, Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Information Technology, Post Graduate Education and Research in Engineering and Technology, Undergraduate Studies in Engineering etc.

·  AIMA - All India Management Association
AIMA carries out a range of management related activities and initiatives such as Distance Management Education, Management Development Programs, Research and Publications, Testing Services, andNational events and competitions.

·  BCI - Bar Council of India
BCI promotes and sets standards for legal education and grants recognition to Universities whose degree in law will serve as qualification for enrollment as a lawyer. BCI founded the National Law School of India University for research and instruction of law.

·  CDAC - Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
CDAC carries out R & D work in design, development and deployment of advanced information technology based solution. It offers advanced computing and software development courses in Software technologies, VLSI designs, Digital Multimedia, etc.

·  CHD - Central Hindi Directorate
CHD conducts correspondence courses for teaching Hindi language to non – Hindi speaking Indians and foreigners. CHD also prepares dictionaries and conversational books that are Bi-lingual, Tri- lingual and Multi-lingual.

·  CIAE - Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering
CIAE in Bhopal is a nodal institute in India conducts research and development to facilitate agricultural mechanization and conservation of soil and water. It offers course in Energy in Agriculture at the M Tech level.

·  CIET - Central Institute of Educational Technology
CIET provides and promotes educational technology especially at the school level. It publicizes alternative learning systems. Directs and coordinates the academic and technical programmes  of SIET.

·  CIEFL - Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages
CIEFL is a National Institute for providing higher education in English and other Foreign Languages in India. It conducts various Post Graduate and Research programmes. CIEFL has three campuses – Hyderabad, Lucknow   and Shillong.

·  CIIL - Central Institute of Indian Languages
CIIL strives to maintain the unity of Indian languages through scientific studies. It governs five centers, such as School Of Applied Language Sciences and Technology, School Of Literary, Cultural and  Translation Studies, School Of Classical Languages etc.

·  Central Library, IIT Madras
The Central Library is well equipped with all modern facilities and resources in the form of CD-ROM, On-line databases, microfiche, microfilms, audio video cassettes, books, journals, standards, specifications, theses, reports etc.

·  CISCE - Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations
CISCE develops effective teaching – learning provisions. Its main function is to conduct Indian School Certificate Examinations, The Indian School Certificate, and the Certificate in Vocational Education.

·  CSTT - Commission of Scientific and Technical Terminology
CSST works for the development of uniform technology for Hindi and other modern Indian languages. It is involved in development of language technology for books and periodicals at all the educational levels - primary and Higher education besides University level.

·  COA - Council of Architecture
COA is responsible for regulating the education and practice of profession throughout India besides maintaining the register of Architects. Any person willing to pursue 'Architecture' as a profession will haveto register with the Council of Architecture.

·  CSIR - Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
CSIR'S objective is todevelop new tools and applications for the industrial segment of the country and to accelerate the scientific and technological progress of the country.

·  DCI - Dental Council of India
DCI, a statutory body has representatives of the Central Government, State Government, Universities, Dental Colleges, Medical Council of India and the Private Practitioners of Dentistry. It was constituted with a view to regulate the dental education, dental profession and dental ethics.

·  DOEACC - Department of Electronics Accreditation of Computer Courses
The courses of DOEACC commence from Certificate Level and goes up to Masters level. The society also offers horizontal level entry at higher level.In the scheme, not only can students enroll but working too.

·  Directorate of General Shipping
The Director General of Shipping is the statutory Maritime authority of government of India. The directorate is responsible for administration and management of activities taking place in Indian sea waters.

·  DTE Maharashtra - Directorate of Technical Education
DTE Maharashtra manages and directs technical institutes - engineering colleges, polytechnics, industrial training institutes, and technical high schools of the state. The directorate has to ensure that a candidate gets the right sort of professional training in his/her chosen discipline which must meet to modern Industry demands.

·  FTTI - Film and Television Institute of India
Film and Television Institute of India (FTTI), National School of Drama (NSD), Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), and Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts (SRCPA)are the apex institutes under films and dramatics.

·  ICPR - Indian Council of Philosophical Research
The main objectives of ICPR are to establish, administer and manage the Indian Council of Philosophical Research. The Governing Body (GB) and the Research Project Committee (RPC) are the main authorities of the Council.

·  IIAS - Indian Institute of Advanced Study
IIAS is a residential centre for research and encourages promotion of creative thought in areas which have deep human significance, and provides.an environment suitable for academic research.

·  IIFT - Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
IIFT has evolved itself into a complete business school, offering Management Programmes in various streams of International Business. Besides, offering full time programmes in Management, it also offers part-time programmes for working professionals.

·  IISc - Indian Institute of Science
IISc is a leading institution of research and advanced instruction. Besides offering formal education the institute also offers short term programmes for engineers and scientists. The Continuing Education Programme of the institute covers a wide range of topics.

·  ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation
The objective of ISRO is to develop space technology and its application to various national activities. ISRO has operationalised two major satellite systems namely Indian National Satellites (INSAT) and Indian Remote Sensing.

·  ISI - Indian Statistical Institute
ISI is well equipped for imparting teaching and training of mathematics, statistics and allied disciplines. The institute now comprises over 250 faculty members and over 1,000 supporting staff and several modern-day gadgets.

·  IGNOU - Indira Gandhi National Open University
IGNOU delivers quality higher education, in various disciplines, through distance mode. 35 countries are the takers of its undergraduate, post graduate and certificate programmes.

·  IPR - Institute for Plasma Research
The plasma research activities of IPR institute includes, Studies on high temperature magnetically confined plasmas, Basic experiments in plasma physics, and Industrial plasma processing and application.

·  ICAI - Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
ICAI is contributing towards education, professional development, and maintenance of high accounting, auditing and ethical standards.

·  ICSI - Institute of Company Secretaries of India
ICSI  develops and regulates the profession of company secretaries. It is the ONLY institute which offers this course and awards the certificate bestowing the designation of company secretary to  qualifying mebers of the institute.

·  IEG - Institute of Economic Growth
IEG is recognized as one of the leading research institute in the areas of economics and social development. It broadly focuses on Agriculture and rural development, Environment and resource economics, Labour and welfare, etc.

·  IMSc - Institute of Mathematical Sciences
IMSc carries out research in frontier areas of mathematics, physics and computer sciences. Research at IMSc is well supported by Department of Atomic Energy Government of India and Government of Tamil Nadu.

·  IOP - Institute of Physics
IOP carries out research tasks in theoretical and experimental areas of High Energy, Nuclear, Atomic, Molecular and Condensed Matter Physics, etc.

·  JNV - Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas
JNV's are fully residential and co-educational schools covering classes VI to XII. Education in these Vidyalayas is free for all enrolled students including lodging, boarding, text books, uniforms etc.

·  KHS - Kendriya Hindi Sansthan
KHS promotes the Hindi language by teaching Hindi language to the non-Hindi speaking population of our country in order to propagate it as their second language.

·  MCI - Medical Council of India
MCI sets standard of higher qualifications in medicine and recognition of medical qualifications in India and abroad. It deals with medical colleges and hospitals and medical professionals of the country.

·  NAAC - National Assessment and Accreditation Council
NAAC certifies institutions of higher learning (Colleges, Universities, Institutes, etc.) in the country but, it does not include the institutes providing technical education.

·  NBA - National Board of Accreditation
NBA conducts periodical evaluation of the technical institutions and programmes on a periodical basis according to specified norms and standards as recommended by AICTE council to it.

·  NCERT - National Council for Educational Research and Training
NCERT undertakes Research, Developemental activities, and Training.It  provides assistance to the government at the centre and at state levels on the academic matters.

·  NCTE - National Council of Teacher Education
NCTE sets up norms and standards for teacher's education right from pre-school teacher education to post graduate level teacher education. It plans, coordinates and implements innovative ways to educate teachers.

·  NIFT - National Institute of Fashion Technology
The Government of India  established NIFT. It is acknowledged as the hallmark of Indian Fashion Industry across the country.

·  NIOS - National Institute of Open Schooling
NIOS caters to the educational needs of the children out of school, school drop-outs and socially and economical backward section of the learner population.

·  NITIE - National Institute of Industrial Engineering
NITIE teaches materials management, work studies, inventory control, shop floor management and personnel management to India's industry professionals.

·  NLM - National Literacy Mission
NLM was established to make everyone self reliant in reading, writing and arithmetic, and to make them aware of the development issues affecting the society.

·  NUEPA - National University of Education Planning and Administration
NUEPA focuses on planning, management and capacity building in educational policy, through research, training, consultancy and dissemination. It has nine academic and one administrative unit.

·  NVS - Navodaya Vidyalay Samiti
NVS manages co-educational residential schools known as Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country, for imparting education from class VI to XII.  e education at Navodaya Vidyalaya is free of cost.

·  PCI - Pharmacy Council of India
PCI prescribes, regulates and maintains minimum educational standards for the training of pharmacists uniformly in the country. Any institute providing pharmacy education in the country requires registering with Pharmacy Council of India.

·  RSS - Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan
RSS develops, propagates, and encourages Sanskrit learning and teaching in and around the country. It imparts various educational programs in Sanskrit through its various affiliated institutions.

·  RIT - Regional Institute of Technology
RIT Jamshedpur is a seat of scientific & technological learning. It offers B.Sc.(Engg.) and other Postgraduate courses. NRI Admissions are also taken.

·  RCI - Rehabilitation Council of India
RCI maintains and standardizes the standard of training professionals. It has a National Program Policy in the form of Primary Health Center and Bridge Courses.

·  SPJMIR - SP Jain Institute Of Management and Research
The course curricula offered by the SPJMIR similar to top ranked business schools of the world like Harvard, etc. The institute workS in close cooperation with Industrial sector and hence provides best training for its students.

·  SINP - Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics
SNIP offers a number of Research, Doctoral, and Post Doctoral Programs in Physics and Nuclear Physics.

·  SIET - State Institute of Education Technology
SIET was established to promote quality in primary education through INSAT-1B.

·  TTTI Bhopal - Technical Teacher's Training Institute
TTTI has developed as a centre of excellence in the area of technical education. It offers post graduate education in Technician field, along with several other related courses and projects.

·  UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization
UNESCO dealt with science and technology programmes in eleven South and Central Asian countries. Later, it also incorporated communication, education and culture programmes.

·  UPSC - Union Public Service Commission
UPSC conducts competitive examinations on all India basis for recruiting to the various posts in the fields of civil services, engineering, medical and forest service.

·  UGC - University Grants Commission
UGC has been co-ordinating, determining and maintaining standards of university education and teaching in the country.

·  VCI - Veterinary Council of India
VCI regulates Veterinary practice and Veterinary education across the country.

·XLRI-XavierLabourRelationsInstitute
XLRI emphasizes also on fellowship and research programs apart from training management graduates.

Education System of India: Its Functions, Drawbacks and Its Contribution

Why is India still a developing country and what is stopping it from being a developed country? This particular question strikes me every time when I read something about India’s education system. I see India’s education system as a stumbling block towards its objectives of achieving inclusive growth.

Let me inform you about certain startling facts. India is going to experience a paradox of nearly 90 million people joining the workforce but most of them will lack requiste skills and the mindset for productive employment according to a report in DNA. India has about 550 million people under the age of 25 years out of which only 11% are enrolled in tertiary institutions compared to the world average of 23%.

India has exam system, not education system

 

I wouldn’t be laying too much emphasis on the drawbacks of India’s public education system because it has been an issue well debated over in the past and the main flaws have already been pointed out before. I will be focusing on how the education system’s failure is leading to another social issue of income inequality and hence, suggest certain policies to improve India’s education system and reduce inequality.

The really critical aspect of Indian public education system is its low quality. The actual quantity of schooling that children experience and the quality of teaching they receive are extremely insufficient in government schools. A common feature in all government schools is the poor quality of education, with weak infrastructure and inadequate pedagogic attention.

What the government is not realizing right now is that education which is a source of human capital can create wide income inequalities. It will be surprising to see how income inequalities are created within the same group of educated people. Let me illustrate this with the help of an example:

Let us take P be an individual who has had no primary or higher education. His human capital is zero and hence it bears no returns. Let Q be an individual who completed his MBA from S.P Jain college and let R be an individual who completed his MBA from IIM Ahmadabad. The average rate of return for an MBA student is 7.5% (hypothetical). Q gets a rate of return of 5% and R gets a rate of return of 10% due to the difference in the reputation and quality of the management school. Let the income of P, Q and R be 1.In a period of 10 years, P will be having the same income as he does not possess human capital. For the same time period Q will earn an income of (1+0.05)^10=1.63 and R will earn an income of (1+0.10)^10=2.59. Now lets see what happens when the rate of return on human capital doubles. Earnings of P will not change since he does not have any human capital. Now Q is going to earn (1+0.10)^10=1.63 and R is going to earn (1+0.20)^10=6.19. Flabbergasting! As soon as return on human capital increases proportionately income inequality increases. With return on human capital doubling, Q’S income increases by 59% and R’s income increases by 139%.

The above example just shows the effect of the quality of human capital n income inequality. So if the government does not improve education system particularly in rural areas the rich will become richer and the poor will get poorer.

Hence, it is imperative for the government to correct the blemishes in India’s education system which will also be a step towards reducing income inequality.

Certain policy measures need to be taken by the government. The basic thrust of government education spending today must surely be to ensure that all children have access to government schools and to raise the quality of education in those schools. One of the ways in which the problem of poor quality of education can be tackled is through common schooling. This essentially means sharing of resources between private and public schools. Shift system is one of the ways through which common schooling can be achieved. The private school can use the resources during the first half of the day and the government school can use it during the second half. It is important to remember that the quality of education is directly linked to the resources available and it is important for the government to improve resource allocation to bring about qualitative changes in the field of education. Common schooling is one of the ways in which government can use limited resources in an efficient way and thus improve resource allocation.

Another reason for poor quality of education is the poor quality of teachers in government schools .Government schools are unable to attract good quality teachers due to inadequate teaching facilities and low salaries. The government currently spends only 3% of its GDP on education which is inadequate and insufficient. To improve the quality of education , the government needs to spend more money from its coffers on education.

Most economists feel that the only panacea to the ills of the public schooling system is the voucher scheme. Under the voucher system, parents are allowed to choose a school for their children and they get full or partial reimbursement for the expenses from the government. But however, the voucher system will further aggravate the problem of poor quality of education in government schools. Such a system will shift resources from government schools to private schools. This will worsen the situation of government schools which are already under-funded. Moreover, if the same amount given as vouchers can be used to build infrastructure in schools then the government can realize economies of scale. For example- The centre for civil society is providing vouchers worth Rs 4000 per annum to 308 girls. This means that the total amount of money given as vouchers is Rs 1232000. If the same amount can be used to construct a school and employ high quality teachers who are paid well then a larger section of the society will enjoy the benefit of education. A school can definitely accommodate a minimum of 1000 students.

I hope government takes certain appropriate policy measures to improve the education system otherwise inequalities are going to be widespread and India’s basic capabilities will remain stunted. Let us strengthen the case for a stronger education system.

  

The present day education system in India has come a long way and the age old traditions have undergone a makeover to produce an ecosystem that is evolving every single day.

Initiatives like the Right to Education Act have provided an impetus to growth and progress by laying special emphasis on elementary education in India. Combined with policy changes like making child labor illegal the being government is working ensure that the seeds of education are planted in both the rural and less privileged sub-urban areas of the country though there are a number of pressing challenges at hand that hamper the proliferation.

Key Challenges for the Indian Education System

25% of the Indian population is illiterate.

Only 7% of the population that goes to school managed to graduate and only 15% of those who enrol manage to make it to high school and achieve a place in the higher education system.

A few reasons why education in India is given less importance in some areas are as follows:

·         80% of schools are managed by the government. Private schools are expensive and out of reach of the poor.

·         More hands to earn remains the mentality amongst many families and therefore little kids are set out to fend for the family over going to school to garner an adequate education, in the most literal sense of the word.

·         Infrastructure facilities at schools across rural areas and in slums dispense very poor quality of education.

·         The teachers are not well qualified and therefore not well paid and therefore are not willing to work hard enough. This has been a classical Catch-22 problem that the government has been trying hard to fight against.

 While there are a number of drawbacks of the education system in India, a number of efforts are being made to create awareness and action for education in India.

Efforts like the Sarva Shisksha Abhiyan aim at making education and good quality of life for today’s children possible by providing community owned school systems. Another indicator of a brighter tomorrow is the Right of Children to free and compulsory education. Large investments in the education system truly make us believe that the children of India will get off the streets and start making education their mainstay for a successful life.

Like with most things we are exposed to today, there are two sides to the education system in India – both good & bad which has made it a subject of many essays and a lot many discourses.

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