Development of Education In India

History after Independence

In First Five Year Plan 7.9% of total plan outlay was allocated for education.

In Second and Third Plan, the allocations were 5.8% and 6.9% of the total plan outlay.

In Ninth Plan only 3.5% of the total outlay was allocated for education.

To streamline the education, the Govt. implemented the recommendations of Kothari Commission under ‘National Policy on Education’ in 1968. The main recommendations were

• universal primary education.
• Introduction of new pattern of education,
• three language formula,
• introduction of regional language in higher education,
• development of agricultural and industrial education and
• adult education.

To combat the changing socio-economic needs of the country, Govt. of India announced a new National Policy on Education in 1986. Main features :-

• Universalisation of primary education,
• vocationalisation of secondary education and
• specialisation of higher education were the main features of this policy.

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) at National level and State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) at State level were established to maintain the standard of education.

University Grants Commission (UGC) was instituted to determine the standard of higher education

1. Expansion of General Education:

During the period of planning there has been expansion of general education.

Primary education – been free and compulsory.

Midday meal has been started in schools since 1995 to check drop-out rate.

2. Development of Technical Education:

Besides general education, technical education plays important role in human capital formation. The Govt. has established several Industrial Training Institutes, Polytechnics, Engineering colleges and Medical and Dental colleges, Management institutes etc.

These are given below:

(a) Indian Institute of Technology:

For education and research in engineering and technology of international standard, seven institutes have been established at Mumbai, Delhi, Kanpur, Chennai, Khargpur, Roorkee and Gauhati, Technical education is imparted here both for graduation and post-graduation and doctorate level.

(b) National Institute of Technology (NIT):

These institutes impart education in engineering and technology. These were called Regional College of Engineering (REC). These are 17 in number throughout the country. There are other institutes in the country to teach engineering and technical education.

(c) Indian Institute of Management:

These institutes impart education in business management and administration. These institutes are located at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore and Kozhikode.

(d) Medical education:

There were only 28 medical colleges in the country in 1950-51. There were 165 medical and 40 dental colleges in the country in 1998-99.

(e) Agricultural education:

Agricultural Universities have been started in almost all States to improve production and productivity of agriculture. These universities impart education and research in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and veterinary sciences etc.

3. Women education:

In India, literary among women was quite low. It was 52% according to 2001 census. While the literacy among men was 75.8%.

Women education was given top priority in National Policy on Education. Many State Governments have exempted the tuition fee of girl’s up to university level. Separate schools and colleges have been established to raise level of literacy among women.

4. Vocational education:

National Policy of Education, 1986, aims at vocationalisation of secondary education. Central Govt. has been giving grants to State Governments to implement the programme since 1988. Agriculture, Pisciculture, diary, poultry, typing, electronics, mechanical and carpentry etc. had been included in higher secondary curriculum.

5. Growth of higher education:

In 1951, there were 27 universities. Their number increased to 254 in 2001.

6. Non-formal education:

This scheme was launched on an experimental basis from the Sixth plan and on regular basis from Seventh plan. The aim was to achieve universal elementary education to all children in the age group of 6-14 years. The scheme was meant for those children who cannot attend schools regularly and for full time due to poverty and pre-occupation with other works.

The Central Govt. is providing assistance to State Govt. and voluntary organisation to implement the scheme. Non-formal education centres have been set up in remote rural areas, hilly and tribal areas and in slums. These impart education to children of 6-14 age group.

7. Encouragement to Indian Language and Culture:

After the adoption of National Policy of Education 1968, regional language became the medium of instruction in higher education. Syllabus on science and technology, dictionaries, books, and Question Papers are translated into regional languages. Indian history and culture have been included in school and college curriculum.

8. Adult education:

Adult education refers to the education for the illiterate people belonging to the age group of 15-35 years.

The National Board of Adult Education was established in the First Five Year Plan. The village level workers were assigned the job of providing adult education. The progress remained not too good.

The National Adult Education Programme was started in 1978. The programme is considered as a part of primary education. National Literary Mission was also started in 1988 to eradicate adult illiteracy particularly in rural areas.

The Centre gives assistance to states, voluntary organisations and some selected universities to implement this programme. There were 2.7 lakh adult education centres working in the country in 1990-91. This programme helped to raise the literacy rate to 65.38% in 2001.

9. Improvement of Science education:

Central Govt. started a scheme for the improvement of science education in schools in 1988. Financial assistance is given to provide science kits, up gradation of science laboratories, development of teaching material, and training of science and mathematics teachers. A Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET) was set up in NCERT to purchase equipment for State Institutes of Educational Technology.

10. Education for all:

According to 93rd Amendment, education for all has been made compulsory. The elementary education is a fundamental right of all children in the age group of 6-14 years. It is also free. To fulfill this obligation Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has been launched.

The above discussion makes it clear that a lot of development in education has been made in India after Independence. There is wide growth in general education and higher education. Efforts have been made to spread education among all sections and all regions of the country. Still our education system is ridden with problems.

Schemes for Elementary Education

1. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
2. Mid Day Meal
3. Mahila Samakhya
4. Strengthening for providing quality education in Madrassas ( SPQEM)

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is implemented as India’s main Programme for universalizing elementary education. Its overall goals include universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in education and enhancement of learning levels of children.

Mid-Day Meal Scheme

Launched in 1995 as centrally sponsored scheme as the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE). Its objective was to enhance enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children,

Schemes for Secondary Education

Secondary Education is the most significant stage in the educational hierarchy as it prepares the students for higher education and the world of work. The policy at present is to make secondary education of good quality available, accessible and affordable to all young persons in the age group of 14-18. At present, the following schemes targeted at secondary stage (i.e. class IX to XII) are being implemented in the form of Centrally Sponsored Schemes:

1. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan
2. Girls Hostel Scheme
3. National Scheme of Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education
4. Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary Stage
5. Scheme of Vocational Education
6. National Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme
7. Scheme for construction and running of Girls’ Hostel for students of secondary and higher secondary schools
8. Scholarship schemes for Minority students
9. National Scholarships

The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) promotes educational development both in quantitative and qualitative terms and makes special efforts to remove disparities and equalize educational opportunities for all students.

NCERT acknowledges and appreciates educational brilliance in students through the National Talent Search Scheme. It also seeks to applaud artistic distinction through the Chacha Nehru Scholarships – for artistic and innovative excellence. The National Bal Bhawan has instituted a system of honouring talented children in different age groups in the year 1995 through the Bal Shree scheme.

Schemes for Higher Education

Higher Education is the shared responsibility of both the Centre and the States. The coordination and determination of standards in institutions is the constitutional obligation of the Central Government. The Central Government provides grants to UGC and establishes Central Universities in the country. Meritorious students, from families with or without necessary means, need an incentive or encouragement to keep on working hard in their studies and go to the next level of education in their academic career. This is where the scholarships and education loans play a crucial role.

Following are some significant fellowship schemes/scholarships awarded by the various institutions:

1. Scheme of Apprenticeship Training
2. National Scholarships
3. Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (Scheme)
4. Junior Research Fellowships for biomedical sciences
5. All India Council for Technical Education Scholarships
6. Department of Science and Technology grants and fellowships
7. DST’s Scholarship Scheme for Women Scientists and Technologists
8. Biotechnology fellowships for doctoral and postdoctoral studies by DBT
9. Scholarships /Awards at Undergraduate & Postgraduate level in various science courses at the University of Delhi
10. Fellowships/Scholarships/Awards by the Jawaharlal Nehru University
11. Sports Authority of India promotional schemes
12. Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities – Schemes/Programmes
13. Scholarship Schemes for ST Students by Ministry of Tribal Affairs
14. Post-matric Scholarships for SC /ST students
15. Scholarships for Minority Students

Important Issues in Indian Education System

1. Lack of infrastructure
Approximately 95.2 per cent of schools are not yet compliant with the complete set of RTE infrastructure indicators according to survey conducted in 2010.They lacks drinking water facilities, a functional common toilet, and do not have separate toilets for girls.
Number of boards causes non uniformity of curriculum throughout India so maintenance of quality standard is quite difficult.

2. Poor global ranking of institutes
Only 4 universities are featured in first 400 .This is largely because of high faculty-student ratio and lack of research capacity

3. System of education
Education is information based rather than knowledge based. The whole focus is on cramming information rather than understanding it and analyzing it.

4. Gap between education provided and industry required education
Industry faces a problem to find suitable employee as education provided is not suitable for directly working in industry so before that a company is required to spend large amount on providing training for employee.

5. Gender issues
Traditional Indian society suffers from many kind of discrimination so there are many hurdles in education of unprivileged sections of society like women, SC, ST and minority

6. Costly higher education
Very minimal amount of subsidy is provided for higher education so if student seeks to get chances of higher education still he misses out because of lack of economical resources

7. Inadequate government Funding
The demand for financial resources far exceeds the supply. Very small amount is available for innovative programs and ideas.