education system in india facts

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UNESCO launches 2021 State of the Education Report for India: No Teacher, No Class

New Delhi, 5 October 2021: Today, on the occasion of World Teacher’s Day, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched its 2021 State of the Education Report (SOER) for India: “No Teacher, No Class” .  

This publication is the annual flagship report of UNESCO New Delhi and it is based on extensive research. 

This third edition of the State of Education Report, focused on the theme of teachers, teaching and teacher education, underscores that the work of teaching is complex. It   attempts to provide an understanding of key aspects of the teaching profession, provides a profile of the 9.6 million teaching workforce, as well as the challenges of their intricate teaching routine and their professional development. 

The National Education Policy (NEP) , adopted in 2020, acknowledges teachers as crucial elements in the learning process, while stressing the importance of their recruitment, continuous professional development, good work environment and service conditions. 

With an in-depth analysis of the current state of teachers in India, highlighting best practices, the UNESCO State of the Education report for India 2021 aims to serve as a reference for enhancing the implementation of the NEP and towards the realization of the SDG.4 target 4c on teachers.

The report also looks at teachers’ experience of ICT and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the teaching profession. The ongoing pandemic has drawn attention to the centrality of the profession and the importance of quality of teaching. During this unprecedented health crisis, most teachers were found to have positive attitudes and beliefs about integrating technology in education, even though they perceived a lack of professional skills.   

The report concludes with a set of ten action-oriented recommendations to address the challenges facing the teaching profession in India, and thus help achieve the NEP 2020 vision and objective – “Ensuring quality education for all in the country”. 

The ten recommendations are: 

• Improve the terms of employment of teachers in both public and private schools
• Increase the number of teachers and improve working conditions in North Eastern states, rural areas and 'aspirational districts' 
• Recognize teachers as frontline workers 
• Increase the number of physical education, music, art, vocational education, early childhood and special education teachers. 
• Value the professional autonomy of teachers
• Build teachers' career pathways
• Restructure pre-service professional development and strengthen curricular and pedagogical reform
• Support communities of practice
• Provide teachers with meaningful ICT training
• Develop teaching governance through consultative processes, based on mutual accountability

The substance of the Report has been developed by an expert team of researchers in the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, under the guidance of the UNESCO Office in New Delhi.  

To illustrate the report, the following audio-visual package is also available free of copyright :

1.     Summary video underlining the recommendations of the Report  2.    Short capsules

• Recognize teachers as frontline workers
• Increase the number of teachers in physical education, music, art, vocational education, early childhood and special education

3.    Teasers 

• What qualities do you look for in a good teacher - Student voices
• What qualities do you look for in a good teacher – Teacher voices  

Note to the Editors UNESCO has made the supply of well-trained, supported and qualified teachers one of its top priorities. This focus has been reinforced by Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education through the Education 2030 Framework for Action .    UNESCO hosts the International Task Force on Teachers  (link is external) for Education 2030 and they work together to address the “teacher gap” as well as tackle the issues raised in target 4.c and in the Incheon Declaration , which specifically calls for Member States to “ensure that teachers and educators are empowered, adequately recruited, well-trained, professionally qualified, motivated and supported within well-resourced, efficient and effectively governed systems”.

Previous editions

• N for Nose: State of the Education Report for India, 2019
• Vocational Education First: State of the Education Report for India, 2020

About UNESCO

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture. UNESCO's programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.

In this spirit, UNESCO develops educational tools to help people live as global citizens free of hate and intolerance. UNESCO works so that each child and citizen has access to quality education. By promoting cultural heritage and the equal dignity of all cultures, UNESCO strengthens bonds among nations. UNESCO fosters scientific programmes and policies as platforms for development and cooperation. UNESCO stands up for freedom of expression, as a fundamental right and a key condition for democracy and development. Serving as a laboratory of ideas, UNESCO helps countries adopt international standards and manages programmes that foster the free flow of ideas and knowledge sharing.

Follow UNESCO New Delhi on Twitter , Instagram and Facebook

For more information, please contact :

Nicole Bella, Head of Education Sector and Programme Specialist E-mail: n.bella@unesco.org  

Rekha Beri, Public Information Officer E-mail: r.beri@unesco.org    

More on this subject

Event International Conference of the Memory of the World Programme, incorporating the 4th Global Policy Forum 28 October 2024 - 29 October 2024

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Education in India - statistics & facts

Pre-school and k-12 education, the study-abroad dream, national education policy: the way ahead, key insights.

Detailed statistics

Market size of education industry India FY 2020-2025

Rate of literate population in India 2022 by gender

Number of school students in India FY 2022, by education level

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Rate of unemployment in India 2022, by education level

Number of higher education institutions in India 2021, by type

Education Level & Skills

Employability among graduates in India 2014-2023 by gender

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Education market.

• Premium Statistic Market size of education industry India FY 2020-2025
• Premium Statistic School market size in India 2022-2028
• Premium Statistic School market distribution in India 2023, by education level
• Premium Statistic Preschool and childcare market size India 2022-2028
• Premium Statistic Size of the higher education market in India 2022-2028
• Premium Statistic Indian EdTech market size 2020-2025

Market size of education industry across India in financial year 2020, with an estimate for 2025 (in billion U.S. dollars)

School market size in India 2022-2028

Size of the school market in India from 2022, with forecasts until 2028 (in billion U.S. dollars)

School market distribution in India 2023, by education level

Distribution of school market in India in 2023, by education level

Preschool and childcare market size India 2022-2028

Market size of preschool and childcare in India from 2022, with forecasts until 2028 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Size of the higher education market in India 2022-2028

Size of higher education market in India in 2022, with forecasts until 2028 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Indian EdTech market size 2020-2025

Value of EdTech market across India in 2020, with an estimate for 2025 (in billion U.S. dollars)

Key Indicators

• Premium Statistic India's performance in quality education SDG 2023, by indicator
• Premium Statistic Rate of literate population in India 2022 by gender
• Premium Statistic Ratio of pupil to teacher in India 2022, by education level
• Premium Statistic Multidimensionally poor and deprived population in education in India 2006-2021
• Premium Statistic CPI of education India 2022-2023

India's performance in quality education SDG 2023, by indicator

India's performance in quality education as per sustainable development goals (SDG) as of 2023, by indicator

Literacy rate among population over 15 years of age in India in 2022, by gender

Ratio of pupil to teacher in India 2022, by education level

Pupil to teacher ratio across India in FY 2022, by education level

Multidimensionally poor and deprived population in education in India 2006-2021

Share of multidimensionally poor and deprived population in the years of schooling indicator in India between 2006 and 2021

CPI of education India 2022-2023

Consumer Price Index (CPI) of education across urban and rural India from March 2022 to March 2023

Expenditure on education

• Premium Statistic Education consumer spending per capita worldwide 2020, by country
• Premium Statistic Budget allocation for education sector in India FY 2018-2023
• Premium Statistic Budget expenditure on teachers training and adult education in India FY 2022-2023
• Premium Statistic Total budget expenditure on STARS project in India FY 2022-2023
• Premium Statistic Budget allocation towards Samagra Shiksha Scheme in India FY 2022-2023

Education consumer spending per capita worldwide 2020, by country

Ranking of the per capita consumer spending on education by country 2020 (in U.S. dollars)

Budget allocation for education sector in India FY 2018-2023

Total budget allocation for the education sector in India from financial year 2018 to 2023 (in billion Indian rupees)

Budget expenditure on teachers training and adult education in India FY 2022-2023

Total budget expenditure on teachers training and adult education in India for financial year 2022 and 2023 (in billion Indian rupees)

Total budget expenditure on STARS project in India FY 2022-2023

Budget expenditure on Strengthening Teachers-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project in India for financial year 2022 and 2023 (in billion Indian rupees)

Budget allocation towards Samagra Shiksha Scheme in India FY 2022-2023

Total budget allocation towards Samagra Shiksha Scheme in India in financial year 2022 and 2023 (in billion Indian rupees)

School education

• Premium Statistic Number of schools India 2022, by type
• Premium Statistic Number of school students in India FY 2022, by education level
• Premium Statistic Distribution of K-12 schools in India 2023, by funding institution
• Premium Statistic Market share of pre-primary education India 2023, by players
• Premium Statistic Gender parity index at primary school level India FY 2016-2022
• Premium Statistic Net enrollment ratio for primary and upper primary education India FY 2016-2022
• Premium Statistic Gender parity index at higher secondary school level India FY 2016-2022
• Premium Statistic Gross enrollment ratio for higher secondary education India FY 2016-2022

Number of schools India 2022, by type

Number of schools in India in 2022, by type (in 1,000s)

Number of school students in India in financial year 2022, by education level (in millions)

Distribution of K-12 schools in India 2023, by funding institution

Distribution of K-12 school segment in India in 2023, by funding institution

Market share of pre-primary education India 2023, by players

Share of market of pre-primary education in India in 2023, by players

Gender parity index at primary school level India FY 2016-2022

Gender parity index at primary school level in India from financial year 2016 to 2022

Net enrollment ratio for primary and upper primary education India FY 2016-2022

Net enrollment ratio for primary and upper primary education in India from financial year 2016 to 2022

Gender parity index at higher secondary school level India FY 2016-2022

Gender parity index at higher secondary school level in India from financial year 2016 to 2022

Gross enrollment ratio for higher secondary education India FY 2016-2022

Gross enrollment ratio for higher secondary education in India from financial year 2016 to 2022

Higher education

• Premium Statistic Distribution of the higher education market India 2023, by segment
• Premium Statistic Estimated number of student enrolments in higher education in India FY 2020-2035
• Premium Statistic Number of student enrolments in higher education in India FY 2016-2022, by gender
• Premium Statistic Number of universities in India FY 2015-2022
• Premium Statistic Share of universities in India FY 2012-2020, by type
• Premium Statistic Number of colleges in India FY 2016-2021
• Premium Statistic Number of Indian students studying abroad 2017-2022

Distribution of the higher education market India 2023, by segment

Distribution of the higher education market in India in 2023, by segment

Estimated number of student enrolments in higher education in India FY 2020-2035

Estimated number of students enrolled in higher education across India from financial year 2020 to 2035 (in millions)

Number of student enrolments in higher education in India FY 2016-2022, by gender

Number of students enrolled in higher education across India from financial year 2016 to 2022, by gender (in millions)

Number of universities in India FY 2015-2022

Number of universities across India from financial year 2015 to 2022

Share of universities in India FY 2012-2020, by type

Share of universities across India in financial year 2012 and 2020, by type

Number of colleges in India FY 2016-2021

Number of colleges across India from financial year 2016 to 2021 (in 1,000s)

Number of Indian students studying abroad 2017-2022

Number of Indian students studying abroad from 2017 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Edtech and private coaching

• Premium Statistic Share of students who attend tuition classes in rural India 2018-2022
• Premium Statistic Share of students who attend tuition classes in rural India 2018-2022, by state
• Premium Statistic Leading K12 and test preparation platforms in India 2022, by website traffic
• Premium Statistic Edtech platform users in India 2023, by platform
• Premium Statistic Share of Ed Tech consumers in India 2023, by type
• Premium Statistic Time spent on education apps India 2022, by subgenre
• Premium Statistic Funding raised by Byju's from 2013 to 2023
• Premium Statistic Profit of AESL FY 2014-2020

Share of students who attend tuition classes in rural India 2018-2022

Change rate of students (grade I-VIII) who attend paid tuition classes in rural India between 2018 and 2022

Share of students who attend tuition classes in rural India 2018-2022, by state

Share of students (grade I-VIII) who attend paid tuition classes in rural India between 2018 and 2022, by state

Leading K12 and test preparation platforms in India 2022, by website traffic

Leading K12 and test preparation platforms in India in 2022, by website traffic (in million)

Edtech platform users in India 2023, by platform

Edtech platform users in India in 2023, by platform (in millions)

Share of Ed Tech consumers in India 2023, by type

Share of Ed Tech consumers in India as of January 2023, by type

Time spent on education apps India 2022, by subgenre

Time spent on educational apps in India in 2022, by subgenre (in million hours)

Funding raised by Byju's from 2013 to 2023

Funding raised by Indian Ed-Tech Byju's from 2013 to 2023 (in million U.S. dollars)

Profit of AESL FY 2014-2020

Profit of Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) from financial year 2014 to 2020 (in million Indian rupees)

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• Education for all

All girls and boys accessing quality education to reach their full potential.

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The layers of inequity woven into India’s social fabric are well known, and teachers and students alike bring these to the school and classroom. Social divides like language, caste, faith, gender, location, culture and customs are inherited from generation to generation together with their inherent biases. 

A child’s gender, economic class, location and ethnic identity largely define the type of school they will access, the kind of experiences they will have in school and the benefits they will reap from being educated. With the great diversity of learners in today’s classrooms, there comes the responsibility to provide equitable education to every child.    

Ensuring equity and excellence by delivering equitable, quality education in formal schooling lies at the very core of any country’s educational system, in which the teacher – the key facilitator of the education process – plays the most important role in shaping the child’s journey through schooling. 

Over the years, awareness has increased in India about the need to ensure that quality education reaches children from all social backgrounds. This is particularly the case for girls, and children of both sexes from Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), children with disabilities and children from linguistic, ethnic and religious minority groups. Across India gender inequality results in unequal opportunities in education, and while it impacts on the lives of both genders, statistically it is girls that are the most disadvantaged. Girls are more likely than boys to drop out of school – this is because they are traditionally needed to support house work, it could be considered unsafe for them to travel to school or because a school lacks sanitation facilities for them when they have their period. Gender stereotypes around a woman’s place being at home also persist and result in girls dropping out of school.

UNICEF works with the government and partners to address issues around the gender gap in primary and secondary education. It also seeks to ensure that, all children complete primary schooling, with girls and boys having equal access to quality education.

We provide gender responsive technical support to enable out-of-school girls and boys to learn and enabling more gender-responsive curricula and pedagogy. For example, implementing new strategies for identifying vulnerable out of school girls and boys, overhaul of textbooks so that the language, images and messages do not perpetuate gender stereotypes.

Gender equality and inclusion are two of the most important aspects UNICEF considers as part of training programmes for teachers and the wider community. Training for the community ensures that all children in the neighbourhood around a school are enrolled, attend school regularly and are treated well in school. UNICEF has supported states to develop training modules and incorporate training on developing skills to respond to diversities in school and within classroom settings.

UNICEF has led community mobilization programmes in areas where education indicators are below par. The focus has been on mobilizing the community through localized campaigns, sensitization meetings involving existing community-level institutions, such as the attendance campaign, creating awareness about the entitlements of children and talking directly to particularly vulnerable families. UNICEF has commenced work in selected areas of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha that are affected by conflict, to provide children education as a fundamental right. In Assam, for example, UNICEF and partners have been able to reach small communities in hostile locations to ensure school attendance participation where a lack of education otherwise adds further to people’s marginalization . While the approach has been different in the four states, each focuses on aspects that will help children in these areas complete eight years of elementary education. Alongside this, both UNICEF’s Education and Child Protection sections have initiated inclusion programming in Jammu and Kashmir.

UNICEF is also working to improve functioning of the  Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas ( KGBV) - residential upper primary schools for children out of school, especially religious minorities and girls aged 11-14 years from marginalized groups.  In addition, it has introduced a physical education and sports programme (Prerna, Handbook for Physical Education and Sports) and undertaken vulnerability mapping in selected KGBVs. Discussions have been initiated to improve transition rates of girls from the upper primary level to the secondary level of education.   At the national level, UNICEF has engaged with the Department of School Education and Literacy in the National Evaluation of the KGBVs and coordinated a subsequent review with state level workshops. 

Digital Gender Atlas for Advancing Girls – a decision-making tool was developed by UNICEF to identify low performing geographic pockets for girls, particularly from marginalised groups such as scheduled castes, schedule tribes and Muslim minorities, on specific gender related education indicators.        

UNICEF has been working on the effort closely with the Indian government flagship education programme,  Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) , both at the national and states levels, along with supporting states in developing teacher capacity and wardens’ management skills. 

UNICEF has also been working with girls’ collectives such as Meena Manch in states including Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh to build self-confidence among girls, create awareness about the importance of education and attending school regularly and desired hygiene and sanitation practices, and develop leadership qualities and team spirit.  There is evidence that involvement in these collectives has helped delay the marriage age of participants’ peers and others in the local community and increased the flow of children withdrawing from work and enrolling and regularly attending school.

To further accelerate the efforts, UNICEF has also formed partnerships with various NGOs and the  Mahila Samakhya Programme  (programme of the Government of India for the empowerment of women through education).                       

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Education in India – A Detailed Analysis

Last updated on April 21, 2024 by ClearIAS Team

This article is a detailed analysis of the Education System of India.

The post covers various aspects of the problems faced by the Indian Education sector, the Constitutional provisions related to education, and the education policies adopted by modern India.

Also read: Learning Poverty

Table of Contents

History of Education in India

India has a rich tradition of imparting knowledge.

The ‘gurukul’ was a type of education system in ancient India with shishya (students) living with the guru in the same house. Nalanda has the oldest university system of education in the world. Students from across the world were attracted to Indian knowledge systems.

Many branches of the knowledge system had their origin in India. Education was considered a higher virtue in ancient India.

However, the renaissance and scientific thinking as happened in Europe didn’t happen in India at that time.

The British who took control of the Indian affairs by that time had different priorities. Education in British India initially lagged a lot.

However, later, the British established the modern education system still followed in India. They replaced age-old systems of education in the country with English ways . 

Still, the education system in India needs a lot of reforms.

Also read: Examination System in India

Current Status of Education in India: Data from Census 2011

• Literacy rate in India as per Census 2011:  74%.
• Literacy rate: Male: 82.1%; Female: 65.5%
• Kerala tops the rankings, followed by Delhi, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.
• Bihar is the lowest among states, followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, etc., however, they are improving their position.
• Bihar has a literacy rate of 63.8%, and that of women is 53.3%.
• Literacy rates for both adults as well as youths have increased, still, the absolute number of illiterates in India is as much as India’s population was at the time of independence.
• The gender gap in terms of literacy began to narrow first in 1991 and the pace has accelerated, however still lags far behind the global female literacy rate of 7% (UNESCO 2015).
• There are large state variations in the gender gap.
• However, during 2001 – 2011, the male literacy rate increased by 6 percentage points but female literacy increased by nearly 12 percentage points. Achievement in female literacy in Bihar is noteworthy: from 33% in 2001 to 53% in 2011.
• Be that as it may, India is still lagging behind the world  literacy rate of 86.3%(UNESCO 2015).  A major group of states lies in the average rank i.e. just above the national level of 64.8 percent.  

Indian Education System: The Present Pyramidal Structure

The Indian education system can broadly be considered as a pyramidal structure:

• Pre-primary level: 5-6 years of age.
• Primary (elementary) level: 6-14 years of age. Elementary-level education is guaranteed by our constitution under Article 21 A . For this level, the government has introduced Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) under the Right To Education(RTE) Act.
• Secondary level: Age group between 14-18. For this level, the government has extended SSA to secondary education in the form of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan .
• Higher education: generally of three levels: UG→ PG→ MPhil/PhD. To cater to the requirements of higher education, the government has introduced Rashtriya Uchhattar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).

Read: Examination System in India

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) related to Education

Goal 4 of SDG : Education for all – ensures equitable, inclusive, and quality education along with the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030.

Provisions in the Indian Constitution related to Education

• Under  Article 45 in DPSP , it was mentioned that the government should provide free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14 years within 10 years from the commencement of the Constitution. As this was not achieved, Article 21A was introduced by  the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002 , making elementary education a fundamental right rather than a directive principle. Article 45 was amended to provide for early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years.
• To implement Article 21A, the government legislated the RTE Act. Under this act, SSA – Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan – got a further impetus. SSA aims to provide Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time-bound manner.
• SSA has been operational since 2000-2001. Its roots go back to 1993-1994 when the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was launched. However, under the RTE Act, it got legal backing.

RTE Act 2009

• 86th Amendment Act 2002 introduced Article 21-A, which provides for free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right.
• The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act was enacted to implement this fundamental right.

Provisions of the RTE Act

• ‘Compulsory education’ means an obligation of the government to provide free elementary education and ensure compulsory admission, attendance, and completion of  elementary education.
• Provision for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age-appropriate class.
• Rational deployment of teachers, ensuring that there is no urban-rural imbalance in their postings.
• Prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational work, other than services like decennial census, elections, etc.
• It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment (b) screening procedures for admission of children (c) capitation fees (d) private tuition by teachers (e) running of schools without recognition.
• Development of curriculum in consonance with the values enshrined in the constitution, ensuring all-around development of the child, building a system of child-friendly and child-centered learning.
• To further inclusiveness, 25% reservation is provided for disadvantaged students in private schools.

Criticisms of the RTE Act

• Even though the RTE + SSA have increased access to schools, resulting in a high enrollment rate, dropout rates increased in tandem. However, there is inadequate attention given to this scenario.
• There is a fear of financial burden on the government for teacher recruitment and training.
• The grey area of teacher transfer is also not helping the cause.
• Since all state holidays are not relevant for all localities, such a calendar preparation by local authorities can increase attendance and can also encourage local panchayats to take ownership of schools.
• RTE students in private schools are paying extra fees as the schools claim that the government fund provided for the same is not adequate.
• Most private schools treat RTE as charity and demand that the onus of universalizing education should be on the government’s head rather than putting pressure on them.
• 70% of students are in government schools. So it must be fixed in priority, by providing infrastructure , teacher quality , and targeted   learning  for children from  disadvantaged  groups to provide an equitable education system.
• Under the RTE Act, till class 8, students should not be failed in exams. This is called the No detention policy. It had reduced dropout rates.
• There is growing criticism of the policy resulting in reducing the quality of elementary education. Hence the RTE Act was amended to scrap the policy.
• RTE Act prioritized schooling of children only from the age of 6, thus ignoring pre-school education. Kothari Commission had recommended the establishment of a center for the development of pre-primary education in each district.
• District Information System for Education (DISE) report states that 30% of primary and 15% of upper primary schools have higher PTRs.
• According to the Economic Survey 2018-19, the PTR at the national level for primary schools is 23 and 27 for secondary schools. Thus PTR appears to be satisfactory, as there are sufficient teachers. However, the main issue is a balanced deployment of teachers based on student strength.
• Even though the Student-Classroom ratio (SCR) improved in almost all of the States, there is disparity across the country.

Modern Education in India: The Evolution of the System through various policies

The British government had introduced modern education in India. From Macaulay’s minutes to Wood’s dispatch to several commissions like the Sadler Commission, 1904 Indian education policy, etc. built the foundation of the Indian education system during the colonial period.

Radhakrishnan committee

In 1948-49, the University Education Commission was constituted under Radhakrishnan . It molded the education system based on the needs of an independent India. The pre-Independent Indian education value system was catering to colonial masters. There was a need to replace Macaulayism  with the Indian value system.  ( Macaulayism is the policy of eliminating indigenous culture through the planned substitution of the alien culture of a colonizing power via the education system). Some of the values mentioned in the commission were:

• Wisdom and Knowledge 
• Aims of the Social Order : the desired social order for which youths are being educated.
• Love for higher values in life
• Training for Leadership

The Independent Indian education system developed along the lines of this value framework. In the present times, where there are imminent threats of political ideologies hijacking the pedagogy of education and commercialization of education eroding value systems, it is appreciable to dust off the values promulgated by the commission. A recent controversial circular by the Central University of Kerala (CUK), directing that research topics for Ph.D. students must be by ‘national priorities’, and research in ‘irrelevant topics’ and ‘privilege areas’ must be discouraged, is a case in point.

Kothari commission

If the Radhakrishnan committee charted out the value system of the Indian education system, it was the Kothari Commission that provided the basic framework of the same. The commission provided for:

• Standardization of educational system on 10+2+3 pattern.
• Emphasized the need to make work experience and social/national service an integral part of education.
• Linking of colleges to several schools in the neighborhood.
• Equalization of opportunities to all and to achieve social and national integration .
• Neighborhood school system without social or religious segregation and a s chool complex system integrating  primary and secondary levels of education.
• Establishment of Indian Education Service.
• On-the-job training of the teaching staff and efforts to raise the status of the teachers to attract talents into the profession.
• To raise expenditure on education from 2.9% of the GDP to 6% by 1985.

This committee report paved the way for the National Educational Policy 1968 which provided the base and roadmap for further development of the education system in India.

National Educational Policy 1968

• The policy provided for “radical restructuring” and  equalization of educational opportunities to achieve national integration and greater cultural and economic development.
• Increase public expenditure on education to 6% of GDP.
• Provide for better training and qualification of teachers.
• Three-language formula : state governments should implement the study of a modern Indian language, preferably one of the southern languages, apart from Hindi and English in the Hindi-speaking states, and of Hindi along with the regional language and English in the non-Hindi-speaking states. Hindi was encouraged uniformly to promote a common language for all Indians.

National Educational Policy 1985

• The policy aimed at the removal of disparities and to equalize educational opportunities, especially for women, SC and ST.
• Launching of “Operation Blackboard”  to improve primary schools nationwide.
• IGNOU, the Open University, was formed.
• Adoption of the “rural university” model , based on the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, to promote economic and social development at the grassroots level in rural India.

T.S.R.Subramanium committee report

• ECCE is inconsistent across states. So all government schools should have facilities for pre-primary education, which would facilitate pre-school education by the government instead of the private sector.
• The policy of no detention should be upheld only till class five and not till class eight.
• There is a steep rise in teacher shortage, absenteeism, and grievances.
• Need to constitute an Autonomous Teacher Recruitment Board.
• Four years integrated B.Ed. the course should be introduced.
• There is an inadequate integration of information technology (IT) and the education sector.
• The National Skills Qualification Framework should be scaled up.
• The choice of vocational courses should be in line with local opportunities and resources . 
• Bringing formal certification for vocational education at par with conventional education certificates.
• All India Education Service.
• Existing separate laws governing individual regulators in higher education should be replaced by the said act.
• The role of existing regulatory bodies like UGC and AICTE should be revised.
• National Accreditation Board (NAB) subsuming the existing accreditation bodies.

Kasturirangan Report On School Education (Draft National Education Policy)

For restructuring the education system in India, the government is preparing to roll out a New Education Policy that will cater to Indian needs in the 4th Industrial Revolution by making use of its demographic dividend. Committee for Draft National Education Policy (chaired by Dr. K. Kasturirangan) submitted its report on May 31, 2019.

You can read about the National Education Policy 2020 in detail here .

School Education: 

• Low accessibility.
• The curriculum doesn’t meet the developmental needs of children.
• Lack of qualified and trained teachers.
• Substandard pedagogy.
• Currently, most early childhood education is delivered through anganwadis and private preschools. However, there has been less focus on the educational aspects of early childhood.
• Guidelines for up to three-year-old children.
• Educational framework for three to eight-year-old children.
• This would be implemented by improving and expanding the Anganwadi system and co-locating anganwadis with primary schools.
• Expanding the ambit of the Act to all children between the ages of three to 18 years, thus including early childhood education and secondary school education.
• There should be no detention of children till class eight. Instead, schools must ensure that children are achieving age-appropriate learning levels.
• The current structure of school education is to be restructured based on the development needs of students.
• 10+2+3 structure to be replaced by 5-3-3-4 design comprising: (i) five years of foundational stage (three years of pre-primary school and classes one and two), (ii) three years of preparatory stage (classes three to five), (iii) three years of middle stage (classes six to eight), and (iv) four years of secondary stage (classes nine to 12).
• The current education system solely focuses on rote learning. The curriculum load should be reduced to its essential core content.
• Force students to concentrate only on a few subjects.
• Do not test learning in a formative manner.
• Cause stress among students.
• To track students’ progress throughout their school experience, State Census Examinations in classes three, five, and eight should be established.
• Restructure the board examinations to test only the core concept. These board examinations will be on a range of subjects. The students can choose their subjects and the semester when they want to take these board exams. The in-school final examinations may be replaced by these board examinations.
• Although establishing primary schools in every habitation has increased access to education, it has led to the development of very small schools making it operationally complex. Hence the multiple public schools should be brought together to form a school complex .
• A complex will consist of one secondary school (classes nine to twelve) and all the public schools in its neighborhood that offer education from pre-primary to class eight.
• These will also include anganwadis, vocational education facilities, and an adult education center.
• Each school complex will be a semi-autonomous unit providing integrated education across all stages from early childhood to secondary education.
• This will ensure that resources such as infrastructure and trained teachers can be efficiently shared across a school complex.
• A steep rise in a teacher shortage, lack of professionally qualified teachers, and deployment of teachers for non-educational purposes have plagued the system.
• Teachers should be deployed with a particular school complex for at least five to seven years.
• They will not be allowed to participate in any non-teaching activities during school hours.
• Existing B.Ed. the program will be replaced by a four-year integrated B.Ed. program that combines high-quality content, pedagogy, and practical training. An integrated continuous professional development will also be developed for all subjects.
• Separating the regulation of schools from aspects such as policymaking, school operations, and academic development.
• Independent State School Regulatory Authority for each state will prescribe basic uniform standards for public and private schools.
• The Department of Education of the State will formulate policy and conduct monitoring and supervision.

Higher Education

• According to the All India Survey on Higher Education , the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education in India has increased from 20.8% in 2011-12 to 25.8% in 2017-18. Lack of access is a major reason behind the low intake of higher education. The policy aims to increase GER to 50% by 2035.
• Multiple regulators with overlapping mandates reduce the autonomy of higher educational institutions and create an environment of dependency and centralized decision-making.
• The National Higher Education Regulatory Authority (NHERA) should replace the existing individual regulators in higher education. Thus the role of all professional councils such as AICTE would be limited to setting standards for professional practice. The role of the UGC will be limited to providing grants.
• Separate the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) from the UGC into an independent and autonomous body. It will function as the top-level accreditor and will issue licenses to different accreditation institutions. All existing higher education institutions should be accredited by 2030.
• Replacing the current system of establishing higher educational institutions by Parliament or state legislatures. Instead, institutions can be set up through a Higher Education Institution Charter from NHERA.
• Research universities focus equally on research and teaching.
• Universities focus primarily on teaching.
• Colleges focus only on teaching at undergraduate levels.
• All such institutions will gradually move towards full autonomy.
• Total investment in research and innovation in India has declined from 0.84% of GDP in 2008 to 0.69% in 2014. India also lags behind many nations in the number of researchers, patents, and publications.
• NRF will act as an autonomous body for funding, mentoring, and building the capacity for quality research.
• Undergraduate programs should be made interdisciplinary by redesigning their curriculum to include: a common core curriculum; and one/two area(s) of specialization.
• Introduce four-year undergraduate programs in Liberal Arts.
• By the next five years, five Indian Institutes of Liberal Arts must be set up as model multidisciplinary liberal arts institutions.
• Poor service conditions and heavy teaching loads, augmented by a lack of autonomy and no clear career progression system, have resulted in low faculty motivation.
• Introduction of a Continuous Professional Development program and permanent employment track system for faculty in all higher education institutions by 2030.
• The student-teacher ratio of not more than 30:1 must be ensured.
• All higher education institutions must have complete autonomy on curricular, pedagogical, and resource-related matters.

Read: Institutions of Eminence Scheme

Additional Key Focus Areas:

Additional key focus areas are (1) Technology in Education (2) Vocational Education (3) Adult Education and (4) the Promotion of Indian Languages.

Technology in Education

• Improving the classroom process of teaching, learning, and evaluation
• Aiding teacher training.
• Improving access to education.
• Improving the overall planning, administration, and management of the entire education system.
• Electrification of all educational institutions paves the way for technology induction.
• An autonomous body, the National Education Technology Forum, set up under the Mission, will facilitate decision-making on the use of technology.
• Single online digital repository to make available copyright-free educational resources in multiple languages.

Vocational Education

• Less than 5% of the workforce in the age group of 19-24 receives vocational education in India, in contrast to 52% in the USA, 75% in Germany and 96% in South Korea.
• Vocational courses : All school students must receive vocational education in at least one vocation in grades 9 to 12.
• Higher Education Institutions must offer vocational courses that are integrated into undergraduate education programs.
• The draft Policy targets to offer vocational education to up to 50% of the total enrolment in higher education institutions by 2025, up from the present level of enrolment of below 10%.
• National Committee for the Integration of Vocational Education for charting out plans for the above objectives.

Adult Education

As per Census 2011, India had a total of 26.5 crore adult non-literate (15 years and above).

• Establishing an autonomous  Central Institute of Adult Education as a constituent unit of NCERT. It will develop a National Curriculum Framework for adult education.
• Adult Education Centers will be included within the school complexes.
• Relevant courses are made available at the National Institute of Open Schooling.
• National Adult Tutors Programme to build a cadre of adult education instructors and managers.

Education and Indian Languages

• The medium of instruction must be the mother tongue until grade 5, and preferably until grade 8.
• 3 language formula be continued and flexibility in the implementation of the formula should be provided. Implementation of the formula needs to be strengthened, particularly in Hindi-speaking states. Schools in Hindi-speaking areas should also teach Indian languages from other parts of India for national integration.
• To promote Indian languages, a National Institute for Pali, Persian, and Prakrit will be set up.
• The mandate of the Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology will be expanded to include all fields and disciplines to strengthen vocabulary in Indian languages.

Transforming Education

The policy talked about the synergistic functioning of India’s education system, to deliver equity and excellence at all levels, from vision to implementation, led by a new Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog.

Education Governance

Revitalize education governance by bringing in synergy and coordination among the different ministries, departments, and agencies.

• Constitute the National Education Commission or Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog, as an apex body for education headed by the Prime Minister. It would be responsible for developing, implementing, evaluating, and revising the vision of education and overseeing the implementation and functioning of bodies including the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), National Higher Education Regulatory Authority, and National Research Foundation.
• The Ministry of Human Resources and Development must be renamed the Ministry of Education to bring the focus back on education.

Financing Education

• The Draft Policy reaffirmed the commitment to spending 6% of GDP as a public investment in education.
• The draft Policy seeks to double the public investment in education from the current 10% of total public expenditure to 20% in the next 10 years. 5% will be utilized for higher education, 2% in school education, and 1.4% for early childhood care and education.
• There should be optimal and timely utilization of funds through the institutional development plans and by plugging loopholes in the disbursement of funds.

Criticism of the New Education Policy of India

• The New Education Policy lacks operational details.
• It is not clear from where the funding will be sourced.
• Enough importance is not given to innovation, startup culture or economic principles to be added to the curriculum.
• One-size-fits for all states can’t be a solution as each state in India is diverse in its educational needs. Controversy on NEET has shown this.
• With technological advancement and the democratization of knowledge, the policy should have focused more on how to teach rather than what to teach.
• Economic Survey 2017-18 mentioned the perils of the distinction between research institutions and universities in higher education. The policy recommendation of three distinct higher education institutions of research universities, teaching universities, and teaching colleges will further augment the gap between research and universities.
• The draft policy is silent on the Institutions of Eminence and agencies like the Higher Education Funding Agency.
• The role of Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog should be defined clearly. What would be its role vis-a-vis existing regulators? Also, there are criticisms from some quarters that RSA will open the door to the politicization of education.
• Earlier the 3-language formula proposed by the draft policy made Hindi compulsory in non-Hindi speaking states. However, after the furor, the proposal was removed.
• Even though the policy talks about bringing “unrepresented groups” into school and focusing on educationally lagging “ special education zones” , it doesn’t comprehensively address the inequalities prevalent in the system. It misses methods to bridge the gaps between rich and poor children.
• The policy proposes to remove the provision mandating that primary schools be within stipulated distance from students’ homes and common minimum infrastructure and facility standards that should be met by all schools. If a common minimum standard is not specified, it will create an environment where quality in some schools will fall further thus augmenting the inequalities between schools across the country.

India’s education history is rich with ambitious policies failing at the altar of inadequate implementation of the same. In the absence of a handholding mechanism for states to embark on the path-breaking reforms mentioned in the policy and that too in a short time, will be too much to ask.

Funding requirements and governance architecture pose major challenges in the implementation of the policy. Political commitment is required to increase funding. RTE Act expansion to include preschool should keep in mind the present infrastructure inadequacies and teacher vacancies.

Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog may face administrative problems and turf battles. Also, it will raise questions on the role of new bodies like the National Medical Council.

The recent controversy on 3 language formula shows the sensitivity of language education in India and care should be taken to appreciate the emotional overtures while implementing the same.

Politically acceptability, social desirability, technological feasibility, financial viability, administratively doability, and judicially tenability are 6 pillars that will impact the implementation of the policy.

Be that as it may, the new education policy aims to address the challenges of (i) access, (ii) equity, (iii) quality, (iv) affordability, and (v) accountability faced by the current education system. It aims to revitalize and equip the education system to meet the challenges of the 21st century and 4th industrial revolution rather than catering to 19th and 20th century needs of industrialization. Also, India is on the cusp of a demographic dividend, rather than entered into this phase. So the education system catering to these needs is not a luxury that we hope for but rather a dire need at this moment in Indian history.

The Problems associated with the Education System in India

HRD ministry: Over 1.4 million schools and 50,000 higher educational institutions are operating in India. Out of 907 universities, there are 399 state universities, 126 deemed-to-be universities, 48 central and 334 private universities.

• Even after more than a hundred years of “ Gokhale’s Bill”1911, where universal primary education was originally mooted, India is yet to achieve this goal.
• China had achieved it in the 1970s. As per Census 2011, over 26% of India’s population is still illiterate, compared to 4% in China. About 50% of India’s population has only primary education or less, compared to 38% in China. The 13% of the population with tertiary education at the upper end in India is comparable with China.
• Progress has been made in respect of female participation up to secondary level and GER for girls has exceeded that of boys.
• But the girl’s enrollment rate is lower than that of boys at the higher education level.
• A gap is visible across social categories in terms of enrollment rate at the higher education level.
• According to NSSO’s 71st round (2014), drop-out rates are very high for boys at the secondary school level. Reasons for the same are economic activities, lack of interest in education, and financial constraints.
• The transition rate from secondary school to senior secondary and further to higher education is very low.

Despite these highly ambitious education policies and elaborate deliberations on the same, the outcomes are rather shaky. Major criticisms and shortcomings of these policies and their implementations are:

• Half the population is crowded at the bottom, either illiterate or with only primary education. Meanwhile, a disproportionately large segment is at the upper end with tertiary education.
• The 2015 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) reflects this deteriorating quality. The report opines that deficits in foundational reading and arithmetic skills are   cumulative, which leaves students grossly   handicapped for further education .
• India had fared poorly in the Programme for International Student Assessment  (PISA) test in 2008, and 09.
• Education policies in India are focused on inputs rather than on learning outcomes.
• Teacher shortages.
• Local politics.
• Corruption in teacher appointment.
• Defects in teacher training.
• Socio-cultural factors like caste division, and cynical attitude towards the teaching profession.
• There is no accountability, as there is a guaranteed lifetime job independent of performance.
• From 1952-2012 , education expenditure as a percentage of total government expenditure increased from 7.92 to 11.7, and as a percentage of GDP increased from 0.64 to 3.31. But it has still not reached 6% of GDP, as was recommended by the Kothari Commission way back in 1964.
• Expenditure by the government on elementary education is more than tertiary level, but expenditure per student is more in tertiary. So there is a need to increase expenditure in all segments.
• All India survey on higher education has shown that in West Bengal Muslim students in universities are very low. Lack of education at the primary and secondary levels is said to be the main reason.
• Even though Article 15(4),(5) provides reservations for SC, ST, and OBC in higher education institutions , the Economic Survey 2018-19 points out their inadequate representation in these institutions.
• The suicide of Rohit Vemula, a Ph.D. scholar at the University of Hyderabad, in 2016 had brought forward the discrimination still existing in these institutions.
• Also, the representation of teachers at these levels is skewed against the backward class in spite of reservations. Article 16(4) provides for reservations of backward class in jobs.
• At the school level, poor children are primarily concentrated in government schools. The poor quality of government schools thus disproportionately affects these children and creates a vicious cycle of illiteracy.
• At the higher education level, the situation is more critical. One reason for the introduction of the National Medical Commission Bill is to curb the exorbitant fees charged by medical colleges.
• Youths coming out of the higher education system in India are not employable, as they lack relevant industry-level skills.
• India’s long-standing neglect of primary and secondary education has limited access to quality basic education. No skill development program can succeed without an underlying foundation of basic education.
• National Policy on  Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 (PMKVY) has shown disappointing results.
• Budget 2019-20  stated that the government enables about 10 million youth to take up industry-relevant skill training through the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). The  Budget has also increased focus on  ‘new-age skills’  like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, 3D Printing, Virtual Reality, and Robotic.
• Currently, B Tech courses in AI are offered mostly in premier institutions only.
• The budget 2019-20 proposed the National Sports Education Board for the development of sportspersons under the  Khelo India program (2017).

Now we will look at each rung of the education ladder in India.

Early childhood education

• Early childhood education (ECE) is needed for  cognitive development in the early stage.
• Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS)  has a component for providing ECE through Anganwadis . But lack of effective regulation in this sector is eroding the quality of ECE.
• There is a National Early Childhood Care and Education Policy 2013 . However, the policy has not been properly implemented.
• There are multiple service providers but there is no clarity in the types of services provided.
• The sprawling of an unregulated private channel, both organized and unorganized, which is also spreading to rural areas, has led to inequitable access, uneven quality, and commercialization of ECE.
• Both Anganwadis and private schools focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic rather than cognitive and conceptual development.
• There is a decline in the quality and training of teachers.
• S.R. Subramanian’s committee report has brought focus to the quality deterioration in this sector.

Primary level

• There is an increasing trend of parents choosing private schools for the primary level. However, there is variable quality in private schools. Also, fees vary from school to school and are on the higher side.
• Eschew rigid curricula and make them more cognitive and flexible. There should be a broader cognitive approach than rote learning.
• There is a need for activity-based learning. Teachers should teach at the right level, rather than teaching for the average learner.
• The government has launched Padhe Bharat Bade Bharat –  targeting early reading and writing. The twin-track  approach of comprehension and math is the main focus.
• There is a supply-side problem . The government is pumping funds through government schools thus increasing the number of schools and thus enrollment. However, quality and inclusiveness have dropped and dropout rates increased. These lead to poor learning outcomes.

School Complex

• RTE and SSA have resulted in over-access but low-quality primary-level education. Now the aim should be to integrate these into school complexes, as mentioned by the Kasturirangan committee report, thus rationalizing the number of schools in an area.
• The ‘Adarsh’ integrated school system of Rajasthan is an example of a school complex system . Here one school provides classes from l to XII under one principal. There is one such school in every gram panchayat.
• This is an efficient way to solve teacher shortages and also to address the shortages of secondary schools. It can also address the problem of resource scarcity by integrating and rationalizing resources.
• Inclusive learning can be furthered through school.
• Also, these complexes can act as a pivot around which new reforms in education can be implemented.

Secondary level

ASER Rural 2017: In 2017, ASER changed the age group of the survey from primary level to secondary level. The report mentions the following:

• Enrollment is low in this age group. There is a high digital divide at this level. Low quality also persists at this level. There is a high amount of absenteeism as well.
• There is a need to expand RTE to cover the 14-18 age groups.
• To realize the demographic dividend, skill education for these groups is necessary.

Economic Survey 2018-19 points out that Indian demography is changing and it requires more quality secondary education system rather than merely an increasing number of primary-level schools.

Private fees

• The vagueness in the judgment regarding ‘reasonable surplus’ and ‘commercialization’ of education has watered down the outcome of the judgment.
• There are state laws for capping fees. However, implementation problems and litigation make them ineffective.
• CAG report mentioned misreporting and mismanagement by private schools. So laws should address this problem through stricter inspection, penalties, etc.

Higher education

There is an increasing number of higher education institutions but their quality is questionable, effectively making ‘islands of excellence amidst the sea of mediocrity. Increased accessibility to a low-quality higher education system has made democratization of mediocrity.

Raghuram Rajan, the ex-RBI governor, argued that India needs idea factories and universities by leveraging India’s inherent strengths like tolerance, diversity, etc. He said that there is a need for strong accreditation agencies and continuing education.

Problems of the higher education system in India

• There is a dual problem of both quality and quantity. The gross enrollment ratio (GER) in higher education is only 24.5.
• Even though education policy had an elitist bias in favor of higher education, the state of the same is much worse than the state of school education. Unlike school education, there is no national survey of the learning levels of college students.
• The desired levels of research and internationalization of Indian campuses remain weak points.
• Also, there is a low philanthropic investment in this sector. This creates an exclusive dependency on government funding by universities. This, in turn, reduces the autonomy and vision of these universities.
• Privatization of higher education has not been led by philanthropy but the commercial interest that does not have a symbiotic relationship with the vision of universities.
• These have led to inadequate human capacity, shoddy infrastructure, and weak institutions. Recommendations of the Narayana Murthy committee,  on the role of the corporate sector in higher education, have not been implemented and thus channeling of CSR funds to higher education remains inadequate.
• Banks and financial institutions are not giving adequate attention to this area. Giving PSL status to these institutions can be considered.
• Indian higher education system is of a linear model with very little focus on specialization.
• UGC and AICTE act more as controllers of education than facilitators.
• Due to the mushrooming of colleges at a higher rate since the 1980s , there is a regulatory sprawl in higher education.
• Poor governance , with mindless  over-regulation , is widespread in this sector. Educational institutions responded to this with claims of academic and institutional autonomy for themselves, which was mostly a smokescreen for a culture of sloth in these institutions.
• There is a concentration of powers, as these regulatory institutions control all aspects like accreditation, curriculum setting, professional standard-setting, funding, etc.
• Compartmentalization and fragmentation of the knowledge system.
• Disconnect with society.
• Overemphasis on entrance tests.
• Absence of innovation in learning methods.
• Corrosion of autonomy of universities.
• For long basic disciplines across the physical and social sciences and humanities were ignored.
• However, the Economic Survey 2017-18 mentioned that there is an increase in Ph.D. enrolment in India in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) due to efforts by the government to increase the number and quantum of fellowships. However, there are still fewer researchers in India in comparison to other countries.
• Budget 2019-20 proposes ‘Study in India’  with a focus on bringing foreign students to higher educational institutions in India to make India a “hub of higher education.”
• Higher education institutions are used as rewards for loyalists and channels of graft by political parties in power.
• Indian higher education system is plagued by unregulated and shoddy coaching institutions. The coaching industry makes around Rs. 24000 crores a year in India. Proper regulation of the same is required.

Research and development (R&D)

Economic Survey 2017-18 stated: “To transform from net consumer to net producer of knowledge, India should invest in educating its youth in science and mathematics, reform the way R&D is conducted, engage the private sector and the Indian diaspora, and take a more mission-driven approach in areas such as dark matter, genomics, energy storage, agriculture, and mathematics and cyber-physical systems”.

• Although Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) is consistently increasing, as a fraction of GDP it has been stagnant between 0.6-0.7  percent of GDP over the past two decades.
• The universities play a relatively small role in the research activities in India. There is a disconnection between research institutes and universities. This results in the compartmentalization of research activities and teaching into two separate silos.
• The  separation of research from teaching leads to a situation where universities  have students but need additional faculty support, while research institutes have qualified faculty but are starved of young students.
• India was, at one point, spending more on R&D as a percentage of GDP than countries like China – but currently, India under-spends on R&D.
• Doubling of R&D spending is necessary and much of the increase should come from the private sector and universities.

The need of the hour

• It is imperative to improve math and cognitive skills at the school level to make a difference at a higher level.
• There is a need to expand R&D in India and to go beyond paper presentations and patents to a broader contribution of providing value for society.
• There is also a need to encourage Investigator-led Research for funding science research.  Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) 2008,  a statutory body of DST, is a step in the right direction.
• 50:50 partnerships with SERB for industry-relevant research under the Ucchatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY) is the right way to go forward.
• It would strengthen state universities and provide knowledge in areas specific to a state.
• National Research Foundation,  to fund, coordinate, and promote research at the college level, is proposed by the Kasturirangan report. It is reiterated in Budget 2019-20 : NRF will ensure the overall research ecosystem in the country is strengthened with a focus on areas relevant to national priorities without duplication of effort and expenditure. The funds available with all Ministries will be integrated into NRF.
• Link national labs to universities and create new knowledge ecosystems. Together they can link up with the commercial sectors and help develop industrial clusters.
• National Mission on Dark Matter
• National Mission on Genomics
• National Mission on Energy Storage Systems
• National Mission on Mathematics
• National Mission on Cyber-Physical Systems
• National Mission on Agriculture
• Ramanujan Fellowship Scheme.
• Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research ( INSPIRE ) Faculty Scheme.
• Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship.
• Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty Scheme ( VAJRA ).
• Improve the culture of research thus ‘ ease of doing research’. There is a need for less hierarchical governance systems that encourage risk-taking and curiosity in the pursuit of excellence.
• Greater public engagement of the science and research establishment is needed. A greater effort at science communication  is needed.

Government initiatives on higher education

The government is trying to revitalize the Indian higher education system and for this many initiatives have been launched. Let’s discuss the importance of them.

National Testing Agency (NTA) 2017

• NTA was set up for conducting entrance exams in higher educational institutions. It is based on the recommendations of the Ashok Mishra committee on IIT entrance 2015.
• It will conduct JEE, NEET, National Eligibility Test (NET), Common Management Admission Test (CMAT), and Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT).
• It will provide diversity and plurality in higher education. It will also ensure independence and transparency in conducting the exams.
• However, it should be ensured that the computer-based test should not lead to further exploitation of rural students.
• NEET stands for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test . It is for admissions in medical courses by replacing a plethora of medical entrance tests with one national-level test.
• Supreme Court had said that NEET should be the sole basis for admission to medical courses.
• There is a controversy about whether urban and CBSE students will dominate NEET. The government should pay heed to this criticism.
• In Tamil Nadu doctors serving in rural areas get weightage in PG admission. NEET will effectively dislodge this system.
• This controversy brought forward the conflict between the fair and transparent system of admission to curb the commercialization of medical education and the socioeconomic goals of the state, which in the case of Tamil Nadu includes ensuring enough doctors for rural areas.
• Controversy on NEET has brought the following question to the limelight: should uniformity be thrust upon a country with such vast disparity and diversity? The political leadership should iron out the differences and produce a suitable admission policy. This task should not be left to the judiciary.
• Be that as it may, states can’t remain insulated from the need to upgrade their education standard.

RUSA: Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan 2013

• About 94 % of students in higher education study in 369 State universities, whereas less than 6% of students study in 150 Centrally-funded institutions.
• 11th 5-year plan  (2007-12) opined that the center’s bias towards premier central institutions had skewed funding for these institutions mainly and thus neglected state-level institutions.
• State investment in higher education was declining. UGC’s system of direct release of funds to State institutions bypassing State governments also leads to a sense of alienation for the states.
• RUSA tried to correct this bias. The scheme aims at financing state institutions concerning their governance and performance.
• RUSA has shown the result in increasing the performance of state institutions and changing the way regulators function for the good. State Higher Education Council(SHEC)  made medium-long-term state perspective plans.
• Cabinet in 2018 decided to continue the scheme. A renewed focus by the center on RUSA will be a success only if it is impartially administered and states are willing to heed the advice of SHEC.

HECI: Higher Education Commission of India bill

• On the recommendation of the Yashpal Committee 2010 for renovation and rejuvenation of higher education, the National Commission on Higher Education and Research bill was introduced but was not passed.
• HECI was proposed to act as an overarching regulator of higher education by replacing UGC, which will maintain academic standards, approve new educational institutions, etc. but with no funding powers.
• Draft Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal of University Grants Commission Act) Bill, 2018 was introduced in 2018. Budget 2019-20 proposed to bring a bill on HECI this year.
• The draft bill had separated funding and placed it under MHRD. This was criticized for the fear of increasing political control and reducing the autonomy of universities.

IoE: Institutions of Eminence 2017

• Around 2005, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings started, and in 2009 the Academic Ranking of World Universities started. From India, only the Indian Institute of Science was included in the top 500 every year. This prompted the government to introduce NIRF and IoE.
• Under IoE, UGC was tasked to select 10 government universities and 10 private ones as IoE. These would be given autonomy in operations.
• Selected government institutions would be provided with ₹1,000 crore over five years.
• The IoE tag is expected to help them achieve the world’s top 500 higher education institutions in a decade and later into the top 100.
• Institutes among the top 50 in the National Institute Ranking Framework rankings or in the top 500 in international ratings were eligible.
• The model for the sector remains dependent on state patronage.
• Entry into the global education race could now become an overriding concern when many systemic issues are plaguing the sector.
• Funding only for public institutions is discriminatory.
• Humanities institutions were neglected.
• Transparency in the selection process, and the public sharing of benchmarks and guidelines. The furor over the selection of Jio Institute, even before it functioned, had attracted many eyeballs and criticisms.
• Separate category to include sectoral institutions like IIM.

National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2015

NIRF is a methodology adopted by the MHRD to rank higher education institutions in India.

• NIRF is common for public and private institutions as well as state and central institutions. Comparison of state-level colleges with central and private colleges may lead to a vicious cycle of low funding, poor performance, and low ranks among state-level institutions because of the resource gap.
• So performance index values should be normalized concerning investments and resources that have gone into that institution. Also should consider making another ranking system for state-level institutions.

HEFA: Higher Education Financing Agency 2018

Introduced in Budget 2018-19, HEFA is a joint venture of MHRD and Canara Bank

• With an initial capital base of Rs 1,000 crores, it will act as a not-for-profit organization that will leverage funds from the market and supplement them with donations and CSR funds. These funds will be used to finance improvement in infrastructure in top institutions.
• It has been tasked with raising ₹1 lakh crore to finance infrastructure improvements in higher education by 2022.

 Foreign Education Providers Bill 2013 

• There is no account of programs delivered by foreign universities in India. Inadequate regulation has led to low-quality courses offered in this sector.
• The foreign Institution bill was not been able to pass in Parliament. However,

EQUIP report has mentioned the revival of this bill.

There are many other schemes and initiatives like SWAYAM, which offers open online courses from Class IX to post-graduation free of cost, GIAN and IMPRINT which are primarily focused on elite institutes like IITs and IISc.

APAAR: One Nation One Student ID Card

The Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) is a transformative initiative introduced in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 and the National Credit and Qualifications Framework (NCrF).

It aims to provide a unified and accessible academic experience for students across India by assigning a unique and permanent 12-digit ID to every student, consolidating their academic achievements in one place.

Other Major Issues connected with the Education sector in India

The Indian education sector is also affected by other issues like the politicization of campuses, gender parity problems, poor-quality standards, etc.

Politicization of campuses

• JP movement had provided an impetus to the politicization of students.
• In Indian higher education institutions, university politics has become a launchpad for political ambitions.
• Though campus politics is vital for democracy, as it makes students better citizens, the negative side of the politicization of campuses has been visible across Indian campuses. Recent incidents at Kerala University are a case in point.
• One of the most important problems of student politics in India is that it acts as an appendage to political parties without having an independent identity or autonomy.

Gender Parity

• By parents → who send boys to private and girls to government schools. Economic Survey 2018-19: enrollment of girls is higher than that of boys in government schools but the pattern gets reversed in private schools. The gender gap in enrollment in private schools has consistently increased across age groups.
• By teachers → who reinforced the belief that boys are quick learners.
• Girls are eased out of school to work on home chores or get married.
• Economic Survey 2018-19 opines that BBBP has been a success and proposes to extend the cause of Gender equality by coining the slogan of BADLAV (Beti Aapki Dhan Lakshmi Aur Vijay-Lakshmi) to enhance the contribution of women in the workforce and the economy.
• For ranking states based on gender disparity, Digital Gender Atlas for Advancing Girl’s Education was launched by MHRD.
• In higher education, gender disparities still prevail in enrollment.
• Efforts by the Government through programs like Beti Padhao, and Beti Bachao, the GPI has improved substantially at the primary and secondary levels of enrolment.

Quality of education

Learning outcomes are not assessed in India as numerical outcomes. The 12th Five-Year Plan noted the need for measuring and improving learning outcomes.

• Children of illiterate parents can’t supplement school studies at home and also can’t afford expensive tuition, leading to a vicious cycle of illiteracy.
• From 2014 to 2018, there was a gradual improvement in both basic literacy and numeracy for Class III students but only a quarter of them are at grade level (ability to read and do basic operations like subtraction of Class II level).
• The report also shows that 1 out of 4 children leaving Class VIII are without basic reading skills (ability to read at least a Class II level).

Government initiatives

• Central Rules under the RTE Act were amended in February 2017 to include the defined class-wise and subject-wise learning outcomes.
• Nationwide sub-program of SSA to improve comprehensive early reading, writing, and early mathematics programs for children in Classes I and II.

Teacher Training

• Teachers play the most critical role in a student’s achievement.
• The need is for better incentives for teachers, investments in teacher capacity through stronger training programs, and addressing the problems in the teaching-learning process.
• However, teachers in India, especially in government schools, are considered a cog in the way to efficient governance. There is an inadequate focus on their motivation and skill updation.
• NCERT study shows that there is no systematic incorporation of teacher feedback into designing pieces of training. Also, there is no mechanism to check whether this training is translated into classroom performance.
• These results in de-professionalizing the teaching profession and curb a teacher’s “internal responsibility” — the sense of duty to the job.
• World Development Report on Education (2018) opined that both teaching skills and motivation matter. Individually targeted continued training is important. In line with this, MHRD and the National Council for Teacher Education launched the National Teacher Platform, or Diksha in 2017 . It is a one-stop solution to address teacher competency gaps.
• However, the current training through Diksha follows a one-size-fits-all approach. Even though the platform is designed to democratize both access to and creation of content by teachers, its real benefits are in the ability to provide continuous professional development which complements existing physical training.
• This technology-enabled platform allows training to become a continuous activity rather than an annual event and also creates a feedback loop ensuring the effectiveness of the material.
• Diksha has the potential to re-engineer in-service teacher training in India. It is important to create good content and also to ensure technology consumption by teachers, the role of headmasters in promoting teachers’ professional development, etc.

As India participates in the PISA in 2021, it is to be made sure that we recognize the importance of teachers and their role in education outcomes.

Private Schools vs Public Schools: The Big Debate in Education

At least 30% of students between the 6-14 age groups are in the private sector.

• There is an increasing perception that the quality of teaching in private schools is better than that of public schools. Thus there is a clamour for increasing the number of private schools and simultaneously limiting public spending on government schools.
• However, the claim on the quality of private schools is debatable as there is a wide disparity of the same among these schools.

Research paper by Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, professor of education and international development at the Institute of Education, London, offers insights into private-public school education in India:

• The paper points out that between 2010-11 and 2015-16, the average enrolment in government schools declined from 122 to 108 students per school, while in private schools it rose from 202 to 208.
• Nevertheless, according to the District Information System for Education (DISE), 65% of all school-going children, 113 million, get their education from government schools.
• The study points out that the migration to private schools is due to the belief among parents that these schools offer better value for money in terms of quality.
• IndiaSpend, in 2016, reported that despite the Rs 1.16 lakh crore spent on SSA, the quality of learning declined between 2009 and 2014. It also points out that less than one in five elementary school teachers in India are trained. Also, the contractual teachers, who are high in number in government schools, are likely to be less motivated and accountable.
• Preference for private school tutoring is there.
• The quality of schools varies between states. In 2016, in Kerala, the proportion of children enrolled in primary government schools increased from 40.6% in 2014 to 49.9% according to ASER 2016.
• States with better-functioning government schools have more expensive private schools as there is no market for the ‘low-fee’ budget private schools. Around 80% of private schools in India are ‘low’ fee schools.
• ASER 2016 has shown small improvements in learning outcomes in government schools.
• Between 2010-11 and 2015-16, the number of private schools grew by 35% – to 0.30 million. On the other hand, the number of government schools grew only by 1%, to 1.04 million. The migration out of government schools has left many of these economically unviable.
• Government teachers in India earn four times that of China but don’t perform as well. Up to 80% of India’s public expenditure on education is spent on teachers. There is a need to link teacher salaries to their accountability.
• However, the salary of private teachers is very low compared to their government counterparts. This is due to the “bureaucratically-set high ‘minimum wage’, which is being influenced by strong unions of government school teachers.
• Another reason for the low salary of private school teachers is that the private education sector offers salaries based on market factors of demand and supply. Since 10.5% of graduates are unemployed in India, there is a high supply of teachers.
• Rather than merely increasing the budget outlay for education, the need is to revise the Education policy for better accountability and monitoring mechanisms.
• Gandhi argued that a Public-private partnership (PPP) model may be the solution, with public sector funding and private resources for education, since reforming the present system may not be politically feasible.

Rather than debating about private versus public schools, the focus should be to  enable the private sector to set up more schools under the scrutiny of regulatory authorities. There is no point in driving off the private initiative in schooling given the limited resources of the states. Private investment should be encouraged but made accountable for quality and conduct.

The above discussion showed the challenges of the Indian education system. A workforce that India wants to create in this digital age requires reforms in education at all levels. UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2016 opined that India is expected to achieve universal primary education in 2050. India is 50 years late in achieving its global education commitments. If the nation wants fundamental changes in the education system, it has to meet the 2030 SDG targets on education. There is an urgent requirement for greater evolution in education in India.

Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP): How to transform Education in India?

EQUIP is a  five-year vision plan on education, released by MHRD, by  the Prime Minister’s decision to create a five-year vision plan for each Ministry.

The EQUIP project is crafted by ten expert groups led by experts within and outside the government:

• Group 1: Strategies for expanding access
• Group 2: Towards global best teaching/learning process
• Group 3: Promoting Excellence
• Group 4: Governance reforms
• Group 5: Assessment, Accreditation, and Ranking Systems
• Group 6: Promotion of research and innovation
• Group 7: Employability and Entrepreneurship
• Group 8: Using Technology for Better Reach
• Group 9: Internationalisation
• Group 10: Financing Higher Education

The groups have suggested initiatives to transform the education system completely. The goals set by the groups are:

• Double GER in higher education and resolve the geographically and socially skewed access to higher education institutions.
• Upgrade the quality of education to global standards.
• Position at least 50 Indian institutions among the top 1000 global universities.
• Introduce governance reforms in higher education for well-administered campuses.
• Accreditation of all institutions as an assurance of quality.
• Promote Research and Innovation ecosystems for positioning India in the top three countries in the world in matters of knowledge creation.
• Double the employability of the students passing out of higher education.
• Harness education technology for expanding the reach and improving pedagogy.
• Promote India as a global study destination.
• Achieve a quantum increase in investment in higher education.

We can see that each of the above goals has been known to us for a long time. The problem is its implementation. The political class and all other stakeholders should come together to achieve these goals. The plethora of government initiatives on higher education is a sure sign of the importance given by the political class in the reform of the education system of India. Let’s hope that a new dawn of Indian education is around the corner which will bring back the glory of ancient times when India was the centre of knowledge production.

As the Economic Survey 2016-17 points out, lack of health, malnourishment, etc. affects the cognitive ability of children. This will, in turn, have a detrimental effect on their future educational prospects. This leads to a vicious cycle of inter-generational illiteracy, poor health, and ultimately poverty. So education and health are complementary to each other and reforms in one sector should invariably be preceded and followed by reforms in other sectors. Human development as a whole can be considered as a wholesome development and we must appreciate the interlinkages of each section of human capital formation, be it health, education, digital literacy, skills, etc.

Also read: PM-USHA

In the larger domain of human capital , education, and skill development have a big role.

Census 2011 data on literacy gives us a quick perspective on the current status of education. However, education is not just about literacy.

RTE act acts as a cornerstone for Indian education. Nevertheless, it is the various education policies, charted out since Independence, which led to the historical evolution of the education system in India.

The results of these policies can be said to be mixed. There is still a lot of room for improvement.

There are various government initiatives targeting each level of the education system in India. The higher Education System is given a greater focus these days.

The latest update in the education sector is the Kasturirangan report or draft new education policy . It captures the need of the hour for reforming education.

The modern Indian education system is crying for a revamp. The draft New Education Policy (NEP) is the right moment to take stock of its history, achievements, and misgivings to chart out a futuristic education plan for 21st-century India.

Article by  Sethu  Krishnan M, curated by ClearIAS Team

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Reader Interactions

November 27, 2019 at 10:33 pm

Wow what the largest matter of education is?. Very nice thank u sir

November 28, 2019 at 12:09 pm

Nice article but it is too long we need around 400 words which explains education in india,challenges,way forward only It is very hard to remember and segrate from given imp because all points look like imp please try to make it around 400 words only

November 28, 2019 at 2:00 pm

@MKM – The aim was to cover almost everything about Education in India as a comprehensive post. The post covers: (a) History of Education in India (b) Current Status of Education in India: Data from Census 2011 (c) RTE Act (d) Various Educational Policies in the past (e) The New National Educational Policy (NEP) (f) The Problems associated with the Education System in India (g) Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP): How to transform Education in India?

Though ClearIAS prefers short and crisp articles, for important areas like Education, we felt a detailed write-up would be useful.

Thank you for your feedback. We will continue to create concise articles as well.

November 28, 2019 at 12:35 pm

Good Source thank you Team.

November 28, 2019 at 1:56 pm

November 28, 2019 at 2:41 pm

November 29, 2019 at 7:45 am

This is a very nice and comprehensive information on education.

November 29, 2019 at 2:21 pm

Such a nice article sir thank you..

December 16, 2019 at 5:31 pm

March 30, 2020 at 12:48 pm

Sir,a small corrrection regarding literacy rate ranking, Kerala (93%)tops its followed by Lakshadweep(92 %), Mizoram (91 %) , Tripura (87.7 %) and Goa (87.4 %) as 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th places repectively according to 2011 census.

June 16, 2020 at 12:20 am

Excellent Work

August 31, 2020 at 1:14 pm

Thank you vry much team.🤗 You provide excellent data ,analysis,facts,etc…evrything at one doc.

November 16, 2020 at 10:47 pm

Absolutely amazing stuff. Can’t believe.. Thanks from the bottom of my heart ❤️❤️

May 27, 2021 at 12:38 pm

Great article about Education ​very informative thanks for sharing

May 31, 2021 at 11:55 pm

Well and easy to understand…thank u for the team

September 12, 2021 at 10:37 am

Very good and such a broad information thank u 💖.. Lots of love

December 16, 2021 at 11:10 am

Need to update with current data eg how much percentage of school/ children get access of online education in pandemic Era COVID challanges others family support etc thank

January 28, 2022 at 10:32 am

Thank you so much for your birthday support

February 27, 2022 at 5:33 pm

good information

June 10, 2022 at 3:00 pm

Nice article very informative…traditional classroom study should be changed into a smart classroom online

July 14, 2022 at 8:55 pm

December 18, 2022 at 1:05 am

Absolute coverage article, Kindly keep it up for your determined spectators.

May 28, 2023 at 9:10 pm

desserstation on education/slums/miagration par hindi me pdf mil sakta hai

January 23, 2024 at 8:06 pm

The analysis provides a comprehensive overview of India’s education system, highlighting its pyramid structure and alignment with Sustainable Development Goals. Constitutional provisions like Article 21A and the RTE Act aim for universal education. However, the RTE Act faces criticism. To enhance educational outcomes, addressing these concerns and ensuring effective implementation are imperative. Schools in Pataudi Gurgaon focus on quality, inclusivity, and overcoming criticisms can lead Indian education to new heights. Thank You Samriddhi Sharma

February 7, 2024 at 7:44 pm

It’s crucial to delve into the challenges confronting the Indian education sector and understand the constitutional framework and policies guiding it. Exploring these aspects sheds light on the complexities and opportunities within the system. However, it’s equally important to consider how these discussions translate into action at the grassroots level, especially in local communities like Rajajinagar, Bangalore. How are schools in rajajinagar bangaloreaddressing these systemic issues and implementing reforms to ensure quality education for all students? This intersection of policy discourse and on-the-ground realities is where meaningful change happens.

March 8, 2024 at 6:22 am

Is there any data on how many states provide free education to girls till grade X and how many provide it till grade XII?

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• Jul 12, 2023

Transforming Education in India: A Journey from Tradition to Innovation

- By Samruddhi Gole , Senior Research Associate, Leadership For Equity

India, a land steeped in rich cultural heritage, has a vibrant history of imparting knowledge and education dating back to ancient times. This nation has witnessed a massive transformation in its education system, evolving from traditional Gurukuls to modern schools and now to online colleges. This article will delve into the evolution of the Indian education system, highlighting its historical roots, current status, future prospects, and the transformative role of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Unravelling India's Educational Heritage

Traditionally, Indian education was primarily reserved for the upper castes. However, societal evolution has bridged this gap, and today, education is universally accessible, regardless of caste, social class, or any other differentiating factors.

The first education system in India, dating back to 5000 BC, was the 'Gurukula' system. In this model, a student (shishya) would approach a teacher (Guru) for admission. If accepted, the student would stay with the Guru, assisting with household chores while learning practical skills, science, mathematics, philosophy, and metaphysics. This holistic education system emphasizes the development of human values and the practical implementation of knowledge to solve real-world problems.

However, the Gurukula system was eventually replaced by the modern school system introduced to India in 1830 by Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay. This system prioritized science and mathematics, with less emphasis on philosophy, ethics, moral values, and metaphysics. The medium of communication was also changed to English.

Current State of Education in India: Facts & Figures

Under the 2020 amendment to India's Right to Education Act, free and compulsory education is ensured for every child aged 3-18. Here are some statistics related to India's education system:

26% of the Indian population, approximately 1.39 billion, falls within the primary education sector (0-14 years).

18% of the Indian population, roughly 500 million, fall within the secondary and higher education sector (15-24 years).

The adult (15+ years) literacy rate in India is 69.3%, with male literacy at 78.8% and female at 59.3%.

Kerala boasts the highest literacy rate in India.

University of Delhi is the most popular higher education institution in India, followed by IIT Bombay.

In the 2019 English Proficiency Index, India ranked 34th among 100 nations.

Future Prospects for India's Education System

India's future aims for its education system are ambitious and progressive. Initiatives such as the United Nation's E9 Initiative, launched in April 2021, aim to encourage digital learning, specifically targeting marginalized groups, particularly girls. The Union Budget of 2021-22 allocated $7.56 billion for school education and $5.28 billion for higher education. It is estimated that by 2030, more than 20 Indian higher education universities will rank among the top 200 universities globally.

The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020: A Game-Changer

The NEP 2020, introduced by the Government of India, seeks to reform the Indian education system by replacing rote learning with competency-based learning. The policy aims to produce engaged, productive citizens capable of fostering an equitable, inclusive, and plural society.

The NEP 2020 replaces the existing 10+2 academic structure (ages 6-16 and ages 16-18) with a 5+3+3+4 structure, emphasizing Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). It also focuses on the inclusion of Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs).

Key highlights of the NEP 2020 include:

The school curriculum will focus more on core concepts, introducing practical learning.

Introduction of vocational education from the 6th grade.

The 10+2 school system will be replaced by the 5+3+3+4 school system.

Higher education will become multi-disciplinary, aiming for all universities to become multidisciplinary by 2040.

Multiple exit options in undergraduate degrees.

Online Education in India

The NEP 2020 also emphasizes online education to meet present and future challenges in providing quality education. Online education breaks away from the traditional 6-hour-long classroom system, focusing instead on the practical application of learned skills. Some advantages of online education include flexibility, affordability, diverse options, efficient Learning Management Systems (LMS), and effective time management.

Open Learning and Distance Education System in India

Open and distance education plays a crucial role in increasing the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER). The government has set measures to improve the open and distance learning infrastructure, promoting a blend of online and distance education.

The transformation of India's education system is an ongoing journey. With the introduction of the NEP 2020 and the growing focus on online and distance learning, India is poised for a revolutionary shift in its educational landscape.

This transformation, however, requires a systemic approach, active stakeholder involvement, and a commitment to improving the quality of education across all levels. Only then can India truly harness the potential of its vast youth population and pave the way for a brighter, more educated future.

Dash, M. (2000). Education in India: Problems and perspectives. Atlantic Publishers & Dist.

Kalyani, P. (2020). An empirical study on NEP 2020 [National Education Policy] with special reference to the future of Indian education system and its effects on the Stakeholders. Journal of Management Engineering and Information Technology, 7(5), 1-17.

Kumar, A. (2021). New education policy (NEP) 2020: A roadmap for India 2.0. University of South Florida M3 Center Publishing, 3(2021), 36.

Mahmood, S. (1895). A History of English Education in India: Its Rise, Development, Progress, Present Condition and Prospects, Being a Narrative of the Various Phases of Educational Policy and Measures Adopted Under the British Rule from Its Beginning to the Present Period,(1781 to 1893).. (Vol. 50). MAO College.

Tilak, J. B. (2023). Book review: Revisiting the educational heritage in India. Journal of International Cooperation in Education, 25(1), 157-162.

Sector, E. (2006). Literacy Initiative for Empowerment LIFE.

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Nice article on Indian Education System. Shiv Nadar Foundation has emerged as a pioneering foundation dedicated to revolutionizing the modern education system in India.

Transforming Education in India is a crucial step towards progress. Innovation is key to nurturing young minds. For those seeking the best schools in Bannerghatta, Bangalore , look for institutions that embrace modern teaching methods while respecting traditional values.

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“ We owe a lot to the ancient Indians for teaching us how to count. Without which most modern scientific discoveries would have been impossible. ” - Albert Einstein

In today’s day and age, the premise that quality higher education is crucial for sustainable human development is undeniable. Higher education leads to acquiring analytical and problem-solving skills, ultimately helping humans to develop intellectual curiosity and character. It pushes the students to identify and set career goals that make them ready for professional setups. Therefore, a refined higher education enables economic, physical and social well-being to a student.

Indian Higher Education System

India has one of the largest higher education systems in the world that stands second in terms of the higher education network. The term ‘higher education’ with respect to India denotes the tertiary level education that is imparted after 12 years of schooling (10 years of primary education and 2 years of secondary education). The entire higher education ecosystem in India comprises around 1000+ universities and 42,000+ colleges imparting exceptional education. All these institutions fall under the purview of the Ministry of Education.

The institutions in India are furnished with state-of-the-art infrastructure, modern libraries, classrooms equipped with advanced amenities (such as smart class, computers, wifi-connectivity, etc). All in all, these top-grade resources facilitate interactive and 360-degree learning for the students. Due to these salient features, 3 Indian institutes namely, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have been featured in world top-ranking institutions lists. This solidifies the belief that India is emerging as a major education hub for both international and national students.

Over the years with the combined efforts of public and private players, Indian higher education has grown impressively. The top-notch learning methodology opted in Indian institutes lets the students expand their visualizing ability and encourages them to think out of the box. ... During the entire course of their higher education, the students can improve their critical thinking, oral and communication skills. Higher education is pivotal for all and the Government of India makes constant efforts to upgrade it. As a result, the Indian institutes invest significant resources and efforts to provide the students with experimental learning opportunities by arranging visits to real-world set-ups such as industrial sites. Such activities help the students to broaden their learning horizons and they are not limited to the conventional classroom education system. After the completion of their respective degree, the students come out as independent, passionate, skilled, learned and responsible individuals who are equipped to take up professional roles.

The Landscape of Indian Higher Education

The structure of Indian Higher Education is three-layered, consisting of Universities, Colleges and Courses. The universities and colleges work in unison with regulatory as well as accreditation bodies to deliver standardized education.

TYPES OF UNIVERSITIES

On the basis of management the universities are classified as:

Central Universities: These are set up through an Act in Parliament. The establishment and operation are funded by the Union Government.

State Universities - These are set up through an Act in the State Legislature. The state universities are primarily funded and operated by the State Government.

Private Universities - These are set up through an Act in the State Legislatures. It includes specialized institutions and multidisciplinary research universities.

Deemed Universities - These are well-performing institutes that are declared to be of equal standing as the universities by the Central Government on the advice of the Union Grants Commission (UGC).

Institutes of National Importance (INI) - These are eminent institutions of India that are known to develop highly skilled individuals. They are funded by the Government of India and include all the IITs, NITs and AIIMs institutes.

Note: Apart from the Institutes of National Importance, the UGC has set a recognition scheme for Indian higher education institutes (in 2017) according to which a total of 20 institutions will be granted the status Institute of Eminence. Until now 12 institutes have been granted this status.

The colleges enabling higher Study in India can be affiliated either with central or state universities. The private colleges are mostly affiliated with state universities. Further, there are autonomous colleges as well that enjoy autonomy in terms of deciding curriculum, admissions and examination process. But, they are also affiliated with a government university (central or state).

The courses offered in Indian higher education institutions can be generally classified into two categories:

STEM Courses - STEM is a broad term that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and it encompasses all the courses providing education in these disciplines. Instead of teaching the four disciplines separately, the purpose of STEM courses involves cohesive learning and it focuses on the practical application of the subjects. Effective education in STEM courses is not limited to theoretical learning but extends to experimental and research-based learning too. The well-equipped laboratories of Indian institutes enable the same and help the students to inculcate innovative, problem-solving and competent skills.

Non- STEM Courses - The courses offered in disciplines such as Commerce, Arts, Business Management, Humanities, and Social Affairs are termed non-STEM courses. Yet again, the Indian institutions are well equipped to provide education in these disciplines wherein the students can gain expertise in the subject of their choice. Non-STEM majors like humanities open a wide range of career opportunities where the skills, knowledge and deeper understanding are made applicable. Similarly, education, accounting, marketing, English, journalism, language studies, etc degrees all have plenty of uses for various professions. A few examples for career options under non-STEM courses include counselors, education administrators, teachers, clinical psychologists, art or creative director, etc.

The Regulatory Structure

The entire ecosystem of higher Study in India is primarily overseen by the following authorities-

UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION (UGC)

The main regulatory body that performs a range of tasks such as providing funds to the universities, establishing education standards for the universities and analysing the growth of the various higher education institutions. It is crucial for universities to meet the criteria set by UGC so as to enjoy degree-awarding authority.

ALL INDIA COUNCIL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION (AICTE)

The regulatory body that coordinates, plans and develops technical education in the country.

Finally, the accreditation of the universities and colleges is overseen by the NAAC and NIRF.

The paradigm shift in the higher education system in India is aided by the integration of the latest innovation and technology. The transformed system focuses on the inclusive development of the learners and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 ensures the same. The main purpose of NEP 2020 is to implement and strengthen multidisciplinary, inclusive and technology-based learning that is accessible to all. It focuses on imparting higher education that enables personal accomplishment for students and prepares them to pave a good future. ... In addition to this, the policy highlights the need for the internationalization of higher education. For this, the Indian higher education institutions are being promoted on the world stage through programmes such as Study in India and International Students Offices. Furthermore, the NEP 2020 granted increased flexibility to the institutions according to which they have the right to create a curriculum and decide the internal assessment so as to execute an interactive learning experience for the students. In short, the underlying aim of the entire higher education system will be to attain global standards in terms of quality.India with its valuable and competitive education ecosystem is an attractive option for international students. Moreover, the freshly implemented policies further push the development of constructive skill-sets in the students. The overall culture, tradition, heritage, spirit, and inclination towards creativity and innovation make India a great study destination for higher education.

India is home to genius discoveries and innovations. Be it the discovery of Zero or the negative numbers, the concept was formulated on this land. This has continued till today. Brilliant projects planned and curated by young minds getting nurtured at Indian higher education institutions prove it. A few examples of the same are - SmartCane: a robust cane that helps users to detect any above-the-knee obstruction from a 3m distance, Solar-Powered Cold Storage, Zero-energy House, and Waste-for-Water Machine: dispenses clean drinking water in exchange for recyclable waste items. The competitive and holistic learning environment allows students to network and learns new skills. By the end of their academic journey, the students are well prepared to thrive in the real world. The Study in India partner institutes is home to some respected alumni. Some of them are even global leaders supervising the Fortune 500 companies. To name a few, Satya Nadella- CEO of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai -CEO of Google, and Ajaypal Singh Banga- President and CEO of MasterCard.

The University Grants Commission is the statutory body responsible for ensuring, maintaining and promoting the standards of Indian higher education institutions as per the prevailing global educational trends. Institute Ranking plays a fundamental role in building institutional position and receiving authorization from the UGC. The higher education institutes utilize the ranking parameters to bring about strategic and academic changes. Moreover, the international students planning to study in India can effectively use the ranking to assess the education standards of the institute they plan to go to.

Broad Framework For The Categorization of Universities

The UGC categorises the Indian institutions in broadly three categories:

CATEGORY- I UNIVERSITY

A university is recognised as Category - I if it fulfils one or more of the following parameters:

• Should have been accredited by NAAC with a score of 3.51 or above;
• Should have received a corresponding accreditation grade/ score from a reputed accreditation agency chosen by the UGC;
• Should have been ranked among the top 500 of reputed world rankings, such as Times Higher Education or QS.

CATEGORY - II UNIVERSITY

A university is recognised as Category - II if it fulfils one or more of the following parameters:

• Should have been accredited by NAAC with a score of 3.26 and above, up to 3.50; or,
• Should have received a corresponding accreditation grade/score from a reputed accreditation agency chosen by the UGC.

CATEGORY - III UNIVERSITY

A university is recognised as Category-III University if it doesn’t fall under the above two categories.

The Accrediting Organizations

The quality and standard assessment of higher education institutions are overseen primarily by two organizations NAAC and NIRF. A brief detail of both of them can be found below.

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is an autonomous organization set up by University Grants Commission and it is headquartered in Bengaluru. The main function of NAAC is to ensure that quality is the defining feature of higher Study in India. It facilitates performance assessment and inspection for volunteering higher education institutions through a series of parameters. The accreditation granted by NAAC helps the institutions to identify and amend their internal planning areas, resource allocation and weakness through an extensive review procedure. On the other hand, the students get reliable information in terms of quality education offered by the concerned institution.

Assessment Criteria: According to NAAC there are seven criteria that serve as the base for the assessment process of the higher education institutions. For a simplified approach, NAAC has classified the Higher Education Institutions into three categories namely- University, Autonomous College and Affiliated College for evaluating the quality standards. The major criteria for assessment are-

• Curricular Aspects
• Teaching-Learning and Evaluation
• Research, Innovations and Extension
• Infrastructure and Learning Resources
• Student Support and Progression
• Governance, Leadership and Management
• Institutional Values and Best Practices

Eligibility Criteria For Institutions: The higher education institutions that either have been in existence for six years or have a record of a minimum of two batches of graduated students can apply for the assessment and accreditation process by NAAC.

The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is the methodology approved and launched by the Ministry of Education (erstwhile known as Human Resource Development) that outlines the procedure of ranking higher education institutes across India. The methodology revolves around ranking the institutions based on five broad categories which are sub-categorised as well.

For the simplified approach, the institutions are grouped as - Category A (Institutions of National Importance, State Universities, Deemed-To-be-Universities, Private Universities and Autonomous institutions) and Category B (Institutions affiliated to a University).

Assessment Criteria: There are five parameters opted by the NAAC in order to rank the Indian higher education institutions and these set of parameters are -

Teaching, Learning & Resources

• Student Strength including doctoral students (SS)
• Faculty-student ratio with emphasis on permanent faculty (FSR)
• Combined metric for faculty with PhD and experience (FQE)
• Financial resources and their utilisation

Research and Professional Practice

• Combined metric for publications (PU)
• Combined metric for quality of publications (QP)
• IPR and Patents: Published and Granted
• The footprint of projects and professional practice

Graduation Outcomes

• Metric for University Examinations
• Metric for Number of PhD students who graduated

Outreach and Inclusivity

• Percentage of Students from other states/countries
• Percentage of women
• Economically and socially challenged students
• Facilities for physically challenged students
• Perception Ranking

Peer Perception

• Academic peers and employers

The grade conversion data mentioned below is indicative information.

• The students can refer to the following table to convert their grade (as per the grading system followed in their respective countries) in percentage as recommended for the Study in India programme.
• Students can consult their respective education boards for the exact Grade/GPA conversions.
• The formulae given in the reference conversion table are only approximate values and it may not derive the exact result.
• The submitted scores in percentages would be verified by the Indian Authorities and their decision in this regard would be binding for the student.
• The home country as mentioned in the following reference table is the country of the participating student.
• In case of any help is required, please contact us at toll-free helpline at +91120-6565065 or email at help[at]studyinindia[dot]gov[dot]in

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Education System in India: Everything You Need To Know

Manali Ganguly ,

Mar 4, 2024

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The education system in India has evolved in the past few years to accommodate a more logical and practical approach towards education. The Indian education system can be roughly divided into the pre-primary, primary, secondary, higher secondary, graduate and the postgraduate levels.

The education system in India has evolved over the years and plays an important role in shaping not just the careers of the students but their lives as well. The education system in India is divided into several levels. They are the pre-primary level, the primary level, the secondary level, the higher secondary level, the graduate level and the postgraduate level.

In India, the education system can be said to be state-run. There are centralised boards as well as state boards to which the schools are affiliated. After the higher secondary level, education is imparted in colleges and universities, where the courses are bifurcated into academic, professional, and vocational courses.

An in-depth study of the complete system is crucial for a clearer understanding.

Table of Contents

Current Education System in India

• Literacy Rate in India

Right to Education Act (RTE)

Stages of education in india, central and state school education boards, education schemes in india, challenges faced by the education system in india.

The education system that is currently existing in India can be said to have come down since the Rig Vedic times. In the early period, Mathematics was the only subject through which education was imparted which implies a logical approach to learning. In the latter period, subjects that were included to be taught were Pali grammar, buddhist literature, social values and logic.

For the Hindu society, education was imparted in pathshalas or gurukuls where the students had to stay and serve the ‘guru’ or the teacher and learn their lessons there. Education was free in those times. In a Muslim society there were Madrasas and Maqtabs. The Madrasas exist till today.

When India became a British colony, initially the East India Company did not think of working on or improving the education system in India. It was later that the missionaries coming from Europe introduced Western education in the country. The Sergeant Commission and the Hunter Commission are the commissions that were set up by the British to improve the quality of education in India.

There was immense improvement in the Indian system of education in the postcolonial period. The modern education system in India can be segmented into four distinctive layers roughly. They are: primary,secondary, higher secondary and higher education.

Modern India made it mandatory to educate children in the age group of 6 years to 14 years. The higher education refers to the education after completing the higher secondary level. The graduate, post graduate, doctoral and postdoctoral levels constitute the higher education in the country.

Also Read:  Indian Education System vs Foreign Education System

New Education Policy

The New Education Policy has made several amendments in the education system in India. The moderations made in the system has been mentioned in the section below:

• The foundational stage of education runs for 5 years. The age group covered in this segment is 3 years to 8 years.
• The preparatory stage runs for 3 years. The age group covered in this stage is 8 years to 11 years, which ideally corresponds to classes 5 to 8.
• The middle stage of education is between the age group of 11 years to 14 years. The classes covered are 6 to 8.
• The secondary stage is between 14 years and 16 years which includes the classes 9 and 10.
• The higher secondary stage is between 16 years and 18 years which corresponds to the higher secondary classes of 11 and 12.

Also Read: What is Quality Education? Meaning and Importance

Literacy Rate in India

The education system in India is controlled and supervised by three central committees - University Grants Commission (UGC). National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). There exists a Ministry of Education in each state. There are more than 37000 colleges and 700 universities in India.

The literacy rate in India for seven year olds and above is 74.04%. The male literacy rate stands at 82.14% while the female literacy rate in India is 65.46%. The GER or General Enrolment Ratio for higher education in India stands at 26.30%. The GER is a metric that represents the percentage of people in the age group of 18 years to 23 years going for higher education.

Also Read: 10 Ways to Balance Student Life And Academics

The Right to Education Act was enacted on Aug 4, 2009, and came into force in Apr 2010. This is an Act of the Parliament of India to safeguard the rights of children to education free of cost. As per the act, the children are entitled to receive free and compulsory education from 6 years of age to 14 years of age.

The Right to Education Act makes it mandatory for the children to free fundamental education irrespective of caste, creed or gender. The Act lists down the norms that the schools must abide by while imparting elementary education to the children of the specified age group.

Also Read: Best Career Options for Girl in India

The education system in India is divided into the pre primary level, the primary or the elementary level, the secondary level, the higher secondary level, the graduate level, the postgraduate level, and the doctoral and postdoctoral levels. The description for each level can be found below.

Pre-Primary Level: This stage covers the education of children between 3 and 6 years of age. While terminology may differ for different regions and schools, this stage mostly starts from the playgroup and ends with upper kindergarten.

Primary Level: This is a relatively longer stage and covers classes 1 to 8 in school. Classes 1 to 5 constitute the primary level and classes 6 to 8 constitute the upper primary level.

Secondary Level: This stage is constituted by classes 9 and 10 in school.

Higher Secondary Level: This stage includes classes 11 and 12 in school.

Graduate Level: This stage includes 3 years of degree courses which are done in the college.

Postgraduate Level: The postgraduate stage can be done in the colleges or universities.

Doctoral and Postdoctoral Levels: The doctoral and postdoctoral levels require research and are done at the universities.

Also Read: Types of Education: Formal, Informal & Non-Formal    

There are a number of education boards in India apart from the state education boards. The central boards are CBSE, CISCE, and NIOS. Each of these boards has a separate set of curriculum for teaching as well as conducting exams.

The centrally operating education boards in India are the following:

• Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE)
• Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
• National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)

The state-run education boards in India can be found below:

• Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB)
• Punjab School Education Board (PSEB)
• Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE)
• Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education (JKBOSE)
• Board of High School and Intermediate Education Uttar Pradesh
• Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education (CGBSE)
• Board of Secondary Education Rajasthan (RBSE)
• Haryana Board of School Education (HBSE)
• Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education (HPBOSE)
• Andhra Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (BSEAP)
• Andhra Pradesh Board of Intermediate Education (BIEAP)
• West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE)
• Maharashtra State Board Of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE)
• Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSEB)

Also Read: CBSE vs State Boards: Which is Better?

The education system in India has witnessed the introduction of various kinds of educational schemes aiming at improving the quality of education among the targeted population. All such schemes that have been introduced and implemented to improvement the education system and therefore the literacy rate are mentioned below:

1. Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009) : This act was passed in 2009 to make education compulsory for all children aged between 6 and 14 years.

2. Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC): This scheme was introduced to aid in the development and promotion of a conducive ecosystem in the higher educational institutes for conducting research by way of communication and exchange of ideas with the foreign nations.

3. National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT): This scheme aimed at improving the quality of education in the higher educational institutes.

4. Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA): This scheme was introduced in 2013 by the-then Ministry of Education. This scheme is sponsored by the Centre to facilitate strategic development in the higher educational institutes of the country.

5. NISHTHA 2.0: This scheme was introduced to train the teachers as per requirement to support logical and critical thinking in students.

6. Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) Yojana: This scheme has been introduced by the Government of India to facilitate better learning in 14,000 schools located country wide. The aim is to improve and uplift the education in these schools to bring them at par with the other centrally controlled and state controlled schools in the country.

7. Mid-Day Meal Scheme: This system was renamed the PM Poshan or Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman in September 2021. This scheme offers lunch to the children from classes 1 to 8 in the government-run schools.

8. PRAGYATA: This scheme issues an advisory in the form of guidelines, created by the NCERT, to the schools for digital education.

9. Samagra Shiksha: This scheme merges together the schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Teacher Education (TE), and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). This scheme covers the pre primary to the higher secondary level of education in the schools. The scheme fosters equal and all-inclusive education in the schools.

Also Read: Women Education in India: Importance, Welfare Schemes, and Benefits

Despite the all round development of the education system in India, there are a few challenges faced by the system. Corrective measures can help in dealing with the challenges and taking the education system of India to be at par with the top ranking systems in the world.

The challenges faced by the system are:

1. Lack of Infrastructure: The lack of infrastructure in most of the schools in the rural area leads to an insufficient development of the students in terms of learning.

2. Rote Learning Methods: This is one of the major drawbacks of the Indian education system. As compared to the top ranking countries, in terms of education, the education system in India lies behind because of the rote learning techniques. The ways of teaching in most of the schools are rather outdated, despite digital platforms being used in a few. Stressing on rote learning fails to instil interest in the students thereby leading to a half hearted knowledge.

3. Lack of Practical Application: Most of the lessons imparted in the school level lack any demonstration or practical application. This leads to an insufficient knowledge among the students which hinders their educational growth in the long run.

4. Expensive Education: The top private schools rank among the best schools in the country. However, the expenses are sky reaching which makes it not just difficult but impossible for most of the population to afford these schools.

5. Teacher to Student Ratio: This is a factor that is constantly hindering proper learning among the students. The class strengths are quite high which makes it difficult for the teachers to pay attention to individual students and address their needs.

Also Read: 5 Advantages And Disadvantages Of Online Education

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40 Amazing Facts About Education in India

Did you know that the world’s largest school is in India? Or that education is still considered a luxury in some Indian regions?

Discover everything through these 40 amazing facts about education in India ! 🇮🇳 🎓

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Best Facts About School in India

Facts about indian schools, more education in india facts, indian school hours, general facts about schooling in india, more education facts, the full list of 40 indian school facts.

India is a large country located in Asia. Its heritage and history are unique, and its capital city is New Delhi, which has a bit more than 250,000 inhabitants (but 26,454,000 if you count the metropolitan area!).

An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its education. In light of that, I have listed my 40 best facts about the school system in India, and I hope you will love them:

1. India has the second-largest school system in the world

Because India is the second most populated country in the world, it is a good thing that it also has the second-largest school system on the planet.

Indeed, it would have been a disaster if nearly 1.4 billion Indians were facing severe school shortages.

2. There is a lack of participation in Indian schools

Even though the education system in India is the second-largest one in the world , and millions of students are enrolled, there is still a gap in participation rates.

This is particularly true for marginalized populations, like lower castes, minorities, and most importantly rural regions.

3. Education is free and compulsory for children aged 6 to 14 in India

When it comes to education, children in India have no choice but to go to school from age 6 to 14. This was introduced through the “ Right to Education Act ”, voted by the Indian Parliament in August 2009.

Since then, education has been steadily improving.

4. Many metrics drastically improved since the Right to Education Act

This act is very important for the whole population of India.

As a matter of fact, ever since it was introduced, everything has improved in education. For instance, literacy rates have increased in the past few years, and the number of students grew by 5 percent in only 5 years.

5. Thanks to the improvement of its education, India’s economy has grown a lot

Everyone should know this: education is the pillar for the future of any country.

From 2011 to 2015, India has increased its spending on education by 80 percent. Also, the English language has been used more and more, giving more opportunities to foreign students as well as Indians.

6. Despite improvements, the situation is sometimes critical in Indian schools

While it is true that the Indian education system has only been getting better and better, it is still lackluster in many places like rural areas.

In fact, 1 in 40 primary schools takes place in either tents or open spaces, with underqualified teachers.

7. Funds dedicated to Indian schools in rural areas are still insufficient

As I said earlier, the Indian government increased its spending on education by 80 percent… but rural areas still suffer.

Because funds are insufficient, children have little to no common resources such as pens and paper. And yes, some of them learn in open spaces.

8. Teachers in rural Indian schools are unqualified because of the qualification requirements

The main issue with teachers being underqualified or even unqualified in Indian rural areas is the qualification requirements. These are too low , and often overlooked.

This problem hugely impacts India as a whole, and it absolutely needs to be solved quickly.

9. Many out-of-school children in India are girls

The majority of out-of-school children in India are girls.

Most of them have to help their poor families on the farms. This is why it is quite easy to see children working in rural areas, so they simply cannot go to school.

10. Parents themselves force their girls out of school

Another reason why so many girls are out of school in India is because their own parents often force them to drop out.

They need them at home to help them out, and some of them even resist sending their girls to school.

11. The Right to Education Act helped Indian girls a lot

Indian girls can be thankful for the Right to Education Act. Because of it, a lot of progress has been made in keeping them in school.

From 2006 to 2018, the percentage of out-of-school girls dropped from 10.3 percent to 4.1 percent.

12. Indian girls were facing poor conditions in school

Maybe another reason for Indian girls to skip school is their own comfort and safety.

Thanks to the Act though, the number of girls’ toilets has doubled, and many school grounds were walled (this was a major safety concern for girls’ attendance).

13. Preschool is widely underfunded in India

Preschool is generally ignored in India, whether it is by Indians, or by the Indian government.

Not many children attend preschool, and it is not mandatory. The government itself does not prioritize preschool at all, and preschool, for children aged under 6, is largely underfunded.

14. Because there are so many poor Indian people, many children drop out of school

More than a fifth of India’s population lives under the official poverty line.

And while that does not seem related at all, it is a huge reason for children to drop out of school. With a very poor family, they are primarily concerned with helping them survive.

15. Many poor Indian people are convinced education is a luxury

Mindsets in rural areas are yet another reason for children to not attend school.

Indeed, most impoverished Indians will tell you that education is a luxury that they just cannot afford: not only in terms of money but also in terms of time!

16. Rural mindsets could be changed by the Indian government

This is a long and tedious work, but the Indian government could technically help the rural areas of the country.

If it decided to allocate more money to impoverished areas of the countries, children could attend school, and maybe even help their parents on top of that, if need be.

17. The Indian government trusts its students

Students are the near future of the country.

Because of this, the Finance Minister of India recently announced a 4.9 percent increase in the education budget. More precisely, it is setting up world-class education institutions in India, and it invested $58 million to do so.

18. Higher education is vastly privileged in India

While preschool and rural areas are largely underfunded in India, the government tends to put emphasis on higher education.

30 percent of the budget is allocated toward higher education, and the government wants to transform the country’s higher education into one of the best in the world.

19. Despite everything, the Indian government still thinks about its rural areas

Even if Indian rural areas face lots of problems when it comes to education, the government still plans on increasing the spendings for rural areas.

$5.7 billion will be allocated toward recruiting teachers and building rural educational infrastructures in the near future.

20. Another issue for school attendance in India is travel time

Because of how isolated some villages are in India, going to school can be a real struggle for these kids.

For that, the Indian government launched “ Samagra Shiksha ”, which plans on extending support to everyone, from preschool to senior level.

And there you go for the first 20 India education facts. But wait, there’s more, there are just too many interesting things I need to tell you about, so keep reading:

There are so many things to say about India education system that I just could not stop after only 20 facts.

I have 20 other ones for you, starting with 10 facts about Indian schools:

21. There are 22 universities named after Gandhi in India

Mahatma Gandhi was a major Indian figure of the 20th century. He played a major role in the independence of the country.

There are 22 universities named after “Gandhi” in India… but only 8 of them are dedicated to Mahatma! Other important Indian figures named Gandhi, such as Rajiv Gandhi or Indira Gandhi have universities named after them.

22. The largest school in the world is located in India

The world’s largest school is “City Montessori School”. It is located in Lucknow, India, and it is a co-education private school.

When it comes to this school, more than 55,000 students and 4,500 staff work in 18 different campuses. It was even awarded the 2002 UNESCO Prize for Peace Education.

23. In many villages around India, there is a lack of teachers

Unfortunately, many rural areas suffer from a lack of teachers in India.

Sometimes, a single teacher is even forced to run an entire school! On top of that, there are corrupted teachers who earn a salary without even working and teaching their students.

24. Lots of average Indian students cannot go to good colleges

Average students suffer a lot from the liberal marking system in India.

Because of it, admissions into several reputed colleges are very hard to get. That is due to some educational boards laying too much emphasis on marks.

25. Kerala became the first state in India with 100 percent primary education

It was only in 2016 that an Indian state, Kerala, achieved 100 percent primary education.

It used a literacy program named “ Athulyam ”, which was launched by the government, to do so. This is great news for the country, as it means governmental reforms could work, and other states could be inspired by Kerala’s success.

26. The majority of Indian schools are either public or governmental

The majority of schools in India are public, or governmental. The rest of them are private schools, run and owned by either individuals or entire firms.

In urban areas, private schools are on the rise though, and over a quarter of students in cities choose them nowadays.

27. Private schools are more reputed in India

If you ask Indian people what they think about their school system, they will almost always consider private schools as being way more efficient than public schools.

Why? Because private schools’ equipment is simply better, and there is an amazing teacher-to-student ratio.

28. There are many problems in northern Indian schools

The part that suffers most from education issues is northern India.

There, the standard of school education is extremely poor, and some days, there are not even any school sessions! This is yet another issue that the government needs to address as soon as possible.

29. Education budget is mainly used to pay teachers, and not on materials

A great reason for schools being underfunded in rural areas is that even when they are, they dedicate around 95 percent of their budget to pay their teachers.

In some states, less than 1 percent of the budget is used for materials or schools.

30. Girls barely attend school in India

Sadly, millions and millions of girls leave school very early, and their hopes and dreams are rapidly ended.

In fact, only 1 in 4 Indian girls remain in school long enough to complete class 10. Definitely a big issue for the future of the country.

And there you go for the 10 facts about schools in India. Don’t go anywhere though, for I still have 10 more facts to tell you about:

There are so many things to say about the education system of India that I just could not stop after only 30 facts.

Here, have 10 more education in India facts:

31. India is going to be a globally huge education hub in the near future

Many experts predict India to become a major education hub in the near future.

But even now, tons of foreign students come to India every year to attend great higher education institutions. Their main fields are commerce, industry, and profession.

32. India counts the biggest amount of illiterates in the world

Sadly, there are 268 million illiterate people in India. This means they are almost a third of the world’s total number of illiterates!

This is a huge issue, as these people not only cannot read or write, but they also cannot make a reasoned decision.

33. The Indian government doesn’t spend enough money on the education of the country

Despite all recent efforts and the rising government spendings on education, only 3.3 percent of India’s GDP is dedicated to education.

This becomes even more problematic when you compare it to the average GDP spendings on education in developed countries: 5.8 percent!

34. There are almost 1,000 universities and around 40,000 colleges in India

India’s higher education institutions are incredibly numerous .

This is obviously relative, because of how populated the country is, but having around 40,000 colleges is still quite impressive. On top of that, there is a maximum of 50 percent of seats dedicated to disadvantaged groups.

35. There are two types of educational institutions in India

Education in India is divided into two parts: recognized and unrecognized institutions.

The first ones are basically every institution following courses prescribed by the government that is open for inspection by local authorities. Any other institution not respecting these conditions is considered unrecognized.

36. Several private schools in India follow the British public school model

There are lots of private schools in India… carrying the appellation “Public”!

“Delhi Public Schools” and “Frank Anthony Public Schools” are actually both private schools, following the British public school model. These schools are old, expensive, independent, and exclusive fee-paying.

37. There are 469 international schools in India

Even though international schools are considered private schools, they are still a specific category. In fact, there are precisely 469 of them in India .

These schools provide either unique English education in non-English speaking areas or a different curriculum than that of the country, still in English.

38. Home-schooling is legal in India

Even though not many Indian students choose home-schooling as an option, it is still legal.

Home-schooling is a huge debate among educators, and the government thinks parents are free to teach their own children at home if they can and want to.

39. Three Indian universities were part of the world’s top 200 universities

Times Higher Education released a ranking of the world’s top 200 universities, and 3 of them were Indian: Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

On top of that, 6 of the 20 best science and technology schools in Asia are in India.

40. Facilities are very lackluster in many Indian schools

Another major issue in the Indian education system is the lack of facilities.

For instance, 3.5 percent of Indian schools had no toilet in 2016, and only 68.7 percent had usable toilets! Also, drinking water facilities, separate toilets for girls, and libraries are still far from being present in every school.

So there you have them, these were all my 40 facts about the Indian school system. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today.

In case you want to learn more about the rest of the country’s education system, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about:

Let’s keep going with our next part, dedicated to Indian school hours. The typical school schedule in one country can often be very different from your own, and it’s always interesting to have more details on how students go on about their day.

India Primary School Schedule

Before primary school, there is preschool in India, though it is widely ignored: only 1 percent of the population under age 6 is enrolled in preschool. There are several types of preschools, like playgroups, nurseries, and kindergartens.

When it comes to primary school, it is divided into two parts: Lower Primary (classes I to IV) and Upper Primary (classes V to VIII, equivalent to middle school). Each state has its own rules, so primary school does not last for a precise amount of years in India.

Private schools in India begin at 8:15 AM, and end at around 3 PM in general. For public ones, the day usually starts at 9:30 or 10 AM, before ending at 4 or 4:30 PM.

Indian High School Schedule

High school, or secondary education, is for children aged 14 to 18 in India. There are around 88.5 million children enrolled in secondary education.

The final two years of secondary education are called Higher Secondary, Senior Secondary, or the “+2” stage.

After each of the two phases of secondary school, students need to pass an exam to pursue higher education.

This last part is dedicated to general facts about schooling in India. More specifically, we’ll check 2 key figures that will give you a better understanding of the education level in India.

Enrollment in tertiary education for India: 23.89%

(Average for regions: Sub-Saharan Africa: 8.6% | South Asia: 20.8% | Arab States: 36.4% | East Asia: 36.5% | Latin America: 43.3% | Europe and Central Asia: 62% | North America: 84%)

Data from World Bank EdStats/UNESCO

India literacy rate: 72%

(Average for regions: Sub-Saharan Africa: 65.3% | South Asia: 72.9% | Arab States: 79.4% | Latin America: 93.7% | East Asia: 95.8% | Europe and Central Asia: 98.5%)

Did you like these facts about Indian education system? Discover more education facts about other countries below:

• Education in Pakistan
• Education in the Philippines
• Education in Singapore

Or click here to see ALL the education facts up on the blog!

• India has the second-largest school system in the world
• There is a lack of participation in Indian schools
• Education is free and compulsory for children aged 6 to 14 in India
• Many metrics drastically improved since the Right to Education Act
• Thanks to the improvement of its education, India’s economy has grown a lot
• Despite improvements, the situation is sometimes critical in Indian schools
• Funds dedicated to Indian schools in rural areas are still insufficient
• Teachers in rural Indian schools are unqualified because of the qualification requirements
• Many out-of-school children in India are girls
• Parents themselves force their girls out of school
• The Right to Education Act helped Indian girls a lot
• Indian girls were facing poor conditions in school
• Preschool is widely underfunded in India
• Because there are so many poor Indian people, many children drop out of school
• Many poor Indian people are convinced education is a luxury
• Rural mindsets could be changed by the Indian government
• The Indian government trusts its students
• Higher education is vastly privileged in India
• Despite everything, the Indian government still thinks about its rural areas
• Another issue for school attendance in India is travel time
• There are 22 universities named after Gandhi in India
• The largest school in the world is located in India
• In many villages around India, there is a lack of teachers
• Lots of average Indian students cannot go to good colleges
• Kerala became the first state in India with 100 percent primary education
• The majority of Indian schools are either public or governmental
• Private schools are more reputed in India
• There are many problems in northern Indian schools
• Education budget is mainly used to pay teachers, and not on materials
• Girls barely attend school in India
• India is going to be a globally huge education hub in the near future
• India counts the biggest amount of illiterates in the world
• The Indian government doesn’t spend enough money on the education of the country
• There are almost 1,000 universities and around 40,000 colleges in India
• There are two types of educational institutions in India
• Several private schools in India follow the British public school model
• There are 469 international schools in India
• Home-schooling is legal in India
• Three Indian universities were part of the world’s top 200 universities
• Facilities are very lackluster in many Indian schools

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Good work! But it seems you have got few facts wrong. After going through the article, it feels as if the education system in India is one of the worst in the world. There are many good things happening around here. I urge you to visit us again and see for yourself. As most of the things you mentioned are relating to rural villages and towns. Add some facts for cities too. Cheers!

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• What Did The Ancient Indian...

What Did the Ancient Indian Education System Look Like?

Like the culture and traditions of India, the system of education also has a rich history of its own. Majorly influenced by the Hindu religion, the knowledge acquired by people of ancient times was passed on from one generation to another and is reflected even in the teachings of today. Here’s a brief take on what the system of education was like during the early days of the Indian civilization.

In the olden days, there was no formal education in India . A father passed on knowledge, primarily related to his occupation, to his child. Much later, two systems of education emerged – Vedic and Buddhist. The Vedic system revolved around the Vedas , Vedangas and Upanishads, while the Buddhist system preached the thoughts of the major Buddhist schools. The language of education was Sanskrit for the Vedic system and Pali for the Buddhist system.

What was unique about ancient Indian education?

Education in ancient India was quite different from the rest of the world back then. The society and state couldn’t interfere with the curriculum or the administration. To get an education, a child had to leave home and live with a teacher in a gurukul for the entire duration of his studies. No fee was charged for education; in fact, the teacher took care of everything, including food, clothing and housing. According to this system, physical labor was of utmost importance. So, even if a child was interested in acquiring philosophical knowledge, he would still have to do some manual work every day. Debates and discussions were a part of education, even in ancient days.

When could a child start acquiring education?

In the Vedic system, a child started his education at the age of five. To mark this commencement, the Vidyarambha ceremony, which included worshiping Goddess Saraswati and learning alphabets for the first time, was conducted. Leaving home and starting to live with ateacher required the child to conduct another ceremony called Upanayana . Boys practiced this ceremony at different ages according to their castes (only children of the Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya did so).

In the Buddhist system, a child started his education at the age of eight, with a ceremony called Pabbajja or Prabrajya . Unlike the Vedic system, this initiation ceremony could be practiced by boys of all castes. After this, the child would leave home and go to live in a monastery under the guidance of his teacher (a monk).

The education of women

Education for women was quite important in ancient India. They were trained in housekeeping, as well as in dancing and music . Girls also had to conduct the Upanayana ceremony. Educated women were divided into two classes – Sadyodwahas , those who pursued their education just until they got married, and Brahmavadinis , those who never married and continued studying throughout their lives. Vedas and Vedangas were taught to women, too, but were limited to religious songs and poems necessary for rituals. Some notable Vedic and Upanishad women scholars were Apala, Indrani, Ghosha, Lopamudra, Gargi and Maitreyi.

What were the subjects of study?

Both Vedic and Buddhist systems of education had different subjects of study. The Vedic system comprised of the four Vedas ( Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda ), six Vedangas (ritualistic knowledge, metrics, exegetics, grammar, phonetics and astronomy), the Upanishads , Tarka Shastra (logic and reasoning), P uranas (history), and more. The main subjects in the Buddhist system were the three Pitakas (V inaya , A bhidhamma and S utta ), the most recognized works of all 18 Buddhism schools. Certain other subjects common to both the systems were arithmetic, military science, law, performing arts, ethics, and art and architecture.

The period of learning and vocational education

Mastering one Veda took 12 years. Thus, depending on how many subjects the student wanted to learn, the study period varied accordingly. The education could go on for as long as 48 years.

In order to earn a livelihood, men needed to know an art form. As per the ancient Indian education system, there were about 64 art forms, including dance, music, jewel making, sculpture, agriculture, and medical sciences. To acquire vocational training in a particular art form, men were required to work as trainees under a master to gain expertise. They were taught without any cost, and food and boarding were also taken care of by the master.

Methods of teaching

Though teaching in groups was common back then, students were also taught individually by their teachers based on their capabilities and aptitudes. Oral recitation was the basic medium of imparting knowledge and was practiced through various methods like introspection (listening, contemplation and concentrated contemplation), storytelling, memorization, critical analysis, practical study and seminars.

Ancient educational institutions

Just as we have world renowned universities today, there were popular educational institutions here during the ancient times as well. Four of these institutions were quite prominent and known for different specializations. The University of Nalanda was famous for its Catholic and cosmopolitan character and its department of logic. Takshasila University, in an area what is now modern-day Pakistan, was well-known across the world for its medical school and was the chief learning centre in 6th century BC. What Nalanda University was to east India, Vallabhi was to west India. It was also a famous study center that specialized in subjects like law, medicine and economics, and had students attending from all parts of the country. Vikramshila was yet another esteemed institution, best known for Tantric Buddhism.

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20 Interesting Facts About Education System In India

India boasts of an education system which is one of the largest in the world with 1.4 million schools, 36000 higher educational institutes and 227 million students. India has made significant progress in improving the literacy rate since independence in 1947. The Indian education system at the primary and secondary level consists of both private schools and government run schools. The private school system in India is a huge sector with 29% of the students enrolled in them. In fact, the shoddy administration and terrible facilities of the government schools force more parents to send their children to private schools. The bad quality of government-run educational institutions is a long festering issue in the country.

This is the list of 20 interesting facts about the education system in India.

In This Content

1. FDI in Education

The inflow of Foreign Direct Investment in the Indian educational system amounted to US$ 1,256 million in the period between April 2000 and March 2016. In the financial year 2015-16, the Indian education market was worth US$ 100 billion.

2. e-learning market

India’s e-learning market is expected to touch US$ 40 billion this year. India is also the second largest e-learning market in the world after the USA. The distance education sector in India is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 34 percent by 2018.

3. Poor higher education enrollment

The most alarming fact about the Indian education system is the fact that only one out of nine children join a higher educational course after completing school. This translates to a dismal enrollment ratio of 11% as opposed to the USA with an enrollment ratio of 83%.

4. Size of the higher educational system

The higher educational sector in India is the largest in the world with more than 70 million enrollments. India has also been able to create 40 million more vacancies for the students.

5. Employability of Indian graduates

The sad state of affairs of the higher educational system in India can be gauged by the fact that only one out of ten students holding a degree in Humanities are employable while only one out of four Engineering graduates are capable of employment.

6. Educational boards

Apart from the ICSE and CBSE, the various Indian states have a State Board of Secondary Education except Andhra Pradesh which has more than one board. Union territories such as Daman and Diu, Lakshwadeep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh and Pudducherry do not have their own board.

7. Grading of Universities

According to NAAC, 90% of the colleges and 70% of the universities in the country are of either average or poor quality. These numbers caused much consternation among the policy planners in New Delhi.

8. State with 100% literacy

Kerala became the first state in India to achieve 100% primary education on January 2016. This became possible due to the literacy program called Athulyam launched by the state government.

9. Greener pastures

It has been estimated that Indian students spend around $7 billion to go and study in the foreign universities. Indian students make up a huge chunk of immigrant students in foreign countries such as the USA. This is also called “Brain Drain”.

10. Digital literacy

Digital literacy has become essential in the modern world. The current digital literacy rate in the country is just 15%. Government of India has launched the Digital India campaign which also aims to improve the digital literacy rate to 50% in the next three years.

11. High cut off marks

The over emphasis on marks and liberal marking system of some educational boards has seen the cut off percentages for admissions into some reputed colleges touch insanely high numbers. This deprives many average students of a good college education.

12. Absent teachers

Government funded schools are suffering from the chronic problem of shortfall of teachers. In many villages and small towns across the country, a single teacher is forced to run an entire school. Corruption has also enabled many teachers to remain absent from schools and collect salary for the same with impunity.

 13.  Lagging in Science and Technology

India accounts for an incredibly small amount of just 3% of all the research papers published in the world in science and engineering. Citations account for an even smaller amount of just 1%. USA, on the other hand, is way ahead of India.

14. Children with learning disabilities

CBSE has attempted to address the issue of children with learning disabilities by passing an order to appoint special educators for such children. This is a part of the Right to Education Act and the philosophy of “inclusive practices” that the board is trying to follow.

15. High grade corruption

The University Grants Commission has granted the status of deemed university to more than 49 private universities within a few years as opposed to just 44 private universities in 50 years. This inevitably leads to charges of corruption against UGC.

16. Digital academic documents

Government of India plans to digitize degrees, diplomas, mark sheets, etc. from secondary to tertiary level institutions into a National Academic Depository as a part of the Digital India Initiative.

17. The best schools

The Doon School in Dehradun, La Martiniere School in Kolkata and the Delhi Public Schools are considered to be the best schools in the country. The Kendriya Vidyalayas run by the Union government are considered to be the best government-run educational institutions in India.

18. Premier Engineering and Medical Institutes

Despite being a laggard in the quality technical education, IITs, Indian Institute of Science and AIIMS have achieved global fame.

19. Distance learning

The National Institute of Open Schooling provides distance education to students at the secondary and higher secondary level. The Indira Gandhi National Open University provides distance education at the higher education level through its 53 regional and 1400 study centers.

20. Rural education

A survey done among children aged 10 in the rural areas found that half of them were unable to read at a basic level, half dropped out of school by the age of 14 and 60% did not know division.

Santosh Kumar is a Professional SEO and Blogger, With the help of this blog he is trying to share top 10 lists, facts, entertainment news from India and all around the world.

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• Indian Education System Issues And Challenges

Major Issues in the Indian Education System

The Indian Education System has its share of issues and challenges which need to be resolved to provide better and improved education to children, who are the future of the country. Over the years, a lot has changed in the Indian education system but still, there are many loopholes and problems which need to be resolved. 

In this article, we shall discuss in detail the issues and challenges with the Indian Education System and a few counter solutions to overcome these challenges. Also discussed are a few schemes which have been initiated by the Government for the improved education of students across the country. 

Aspirants preparing for the upcoming IAS Exam must carefully go through this article. 

Education System in India – Issues Download PDF Here

About the Indian Education System

A major shift in the education system can be observed from the pre and post-British rule till today in India. Initially, children were educated in Gurukuls which was later modified and the modern education system was introduced. 

After India became independent, the constitution committed six fundamental rights, of which one was the Right to Education. It allowed free education for every child up between the ages of 6 and 14 years. 

The education system is mainly divided into pre-primary, primary, elementary and secondary education, which is followed by higher studies. 

However, there are many drawbacks and loopholes in this system which if curbed can work for the overall development of the country. 

To know in detail about the Right to Education Act (RTE) , aspirants can visit the linked article.

Current Issues in Education in India

Discussed below are the current issues with the Education system in India:

• Expenditure on education – More funds should be allotted for the development of the education system in India. In the past few years, many beneficial steps have been taken in this direction and if the same is continued India may soon overcome the current challenges.
• Gross enrolment pattern – As followed by the UN must also be adopted by India.
• Capacity utilisation – The world now needs creative minds and the Government must encourage schools to boost the students and utilise their capacities to the max and not let their ideas go unheard.
• Infrastructure facilities – Better infrastructure must be provided especially in Government schools. Since the Government is now focussing on digital education, they must undertake steps to provide all necessary facilities in the Government schools and rural areas as well.
• PPP model – Well-designed PPPs can create models of innovation for the school system in India. Thus the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model must be taken into consideration.
• Student-teacher ratio – The number of students in search of proper education is way more in comparison to the teachers and faculty available. Thus, qualified teachers must be appointed to impart knowledge to the future of the country.
• Accreditation and branding – quality standards.
• Students studying abroad – Many students choose to study abroad because of these issues in the Indian education system. The concerned authorities must work on them and students must also choose to stay, learn in India and empower the country through their knowledge.

UPSC and other Government exam aspirants can also refer to the links given below for exam preparation:

Indian Education System Problems and Solutions

There are a few simple solutions which can help in overcoming the problems with the India Education System:

• Innovations required – India is moving towards digital education. This will help in budding the innovative minds of students and the youth of the country. This will bring a transformation in the Indian education system and the authorities and Government must encourage and boost the young minds to focus on overall development rather than just the book-learning.
• Quality of education – There is a major difference in the quality of education being provided in the rural and urban areas of the country. Steps must be taken to standardize the quality of education across India so that everyone can get equal and unbiased knowledge and opportunities to grow.
• Making education affordable – There are Government schools and educational Institutions which are affordable but lack in terms of infrastructure and quality. On the other hand, there are various private education institutions which demand high fees and have better infrastructure and equipment to study. This disparity must be worked upon and the Government must make education affordable and accessible for all. 

Schemes & Campaigns to Boost Education System in India

Given below is a list of Government schemes introduced to enhance the education system in India:

• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan – Launched in 2001 to promote ‘Education for All’, strengthening the existing infrastructure of schools and construction of new schools. To know in details about the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) , visit the linked article.
• National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level – It is a focused intervention of the Government of India, to reach the “Hardest to Reach” girls, especially those not in school. Read more at Elementary Education: Moving Towards RTE And Quality Improvement.
• Mid-Day Meal Scheme – It is one meal that is provided to all children enrolled in government schools, government-aided schools, local body schools, special training centres (STC), madrasas and maktabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Visit the Mid Day Meal Scheme page to learn more.
• Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan – It is a flagship scheme aiming at enhancing secondary education and increasing the enrolment rate by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of every home.
• Scheme for Infrastructure Development in Minority Institutes – The scheme would facilitate the education of minorities by augmenting and strengthening school infrastructure in Minority Institutions to expand facilities for formal education to children of minority communities.
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao – The scheme to promote girl child education in India. Visit the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana page to learn more about the BBBP campaign.

Aspirants can get the detailed UPSC Syllabus for the prelims and mains examination at the linked article and start their exam preparation accordingly. 

Frequently Asked Questions about Indian Education System

What are some of the problems that beset the indian education system, how effective is the indian education system.

For any further updates, candidates can visit BYJU’S and get the latest study material and preparation strategy. 

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Education System India Explained – New Edu Policy 2024

Feb 1, 2024 59.9K Reads

India is among the traditionally rich countries in terms of imparting knowledge and education with universities like Nalanda – the oldest university system of education in the world. The education system since then has evolved a lot in India. From Gurukuls, to modern schools, to online colleges, there have been some massive changes in the education system in India. 

In this blog, we will be discussing about education system in india this evolution, from history, to present and what lies in the future. We will also discuss the changes in the new National Education Policy (NEP) and how it plans to reform the current education system for a brighter future. 

Education in India- Facts & Statistics

Under the amendment made in 2020 in the India’s Right to Education Act (2020), free and compulsory education is to be ensured to each and every child in the age group of 3-18, which was earlier 6-14 before the amendment of 2020.

Following are some of the statistics (as of 2020) related to the education system in India 

• 26% of the Indian population which is roughly around 1.39 billion is in the age group of 0-14 years that fall under the primary education sector. 
• 18% of the Indian population which is approximately 500 million is in the age group of 15-24 years that fall under the secondary and higher education sector. 
• The adult (15+ years) literacy rate in India is 69.3%, out of which adult male literacy is 78.8% and adult female literacy is 59.3%. 
• Kerala is the Indian state with the highest rate of literacy .
• University of Delhi is the most popular higher education institution in India followed by IIT Bombay. 
• In the 2019 English Proficiency Index, India was ranked as 34th among 100 nations.   

Future Aims for Education System in India  

• India has joined the United Nation’s E9 Initiative  in April 2021. The purpose of this initiative is to encourage digital learning, targeting the marginalised, especially girls.
• In the Union Budget of 2021-22 , the Govt. of India has allocated a budget of $7.56 billion for school education and $5.28 billion for higher education. 
• It is estimated that by 2030 more than 20 Indian higher education universities will be among top 200 universities globally. It is also estimated that India will be among the world’s top 5 countries in the field of Research and Development (R & D) with an annual spend of $140 billion.

Brief History of Education System In India

Traditionally, education in the Indian subcontinent was mostly reserved for the upper-caste. However, the evolution of education has bridged this gap and now education is a right to all irrespective of the caste, social class or any other differentiating factors.   

The ‘Gurukula’ was the first education system in India dating back to 5000 BC. In this education system, a student (shishya) who wished to study would go to a teacher (Guru) and request for admission. If accepted, the student stays with the teacher in the teacher’s house. Apart from learning from the Guru, the student helps in all of the house chores as well which helps in developing an emotional bond between them.  

The Guru teaches important subjects like science and mathematics. However, they also put equal emphasis on subjects like Philosophy and Metaphysics. The mode of communication was Sanskrit. The education was practical and linked to nature and real life situations rather than just reading books and memorising information. The aim was for a holistic development of the students including their cognitive, mental, physical, and spiritual wellness. 

Another plus point of this education was that rather than focusing on memorising books, the focus was actually on developing human values of the students. Values like empathy, self-reliance, creativity, right behaviour, strong moral values, and ethical behaviours were encouraged so that the students could practically implement knowledge to find solutions to real-world problems. 

There were broadly six aims of education given at Gurukuls for the students and these are: 

• Understand Brahma (God) and acquire supreme knowledge 
• Character development 
• All-rounded holistic development 
• Social virtues like only speaking truth and refraining from deceit and falsehood
• Spiritual development 
• Cultural education 

The Gurukul system of education was replaced by the modern school system brought to India in 1830 by Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay. This system introduced classroom learning where the link with nature as well as the close emotional bond between the teacher and student was broken. The primary focus of this system was on Science and Mathematics subjects like Philosophy, Ethics & Moral Values, Metaphysics, etc being deemed unnecessary. The medium of communication was also changed to English. 

This education system continued and evolved and is still prevalent in India. However, this 10+2 education system was recently replaced by the 5+3+3+4 system with various other modifications such as equal focus on practical and theoretical knowledge, multidisciplinary subject choices, use of technology and digital education.  

This blog from here on will be specifically about this evolved and new education system introduced by the new National Education Policy 2020 . 

Key Highlights of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020

• The school board examinations will encourage knowledge and application based learning. 
• School curriculum will be focused more on core concepts and the pedagogy will introduce more practical learning. 
• The 10+2 school system will be replaced by the 5+3+3+4 school system 
• Introduction of vocational education from 6th grade. 
• Except for the medical and law colleges, all the other higher education institutions will be governed by a single umbrella body and the same set of regulatory norms, academic standards, and accreditations will be set in place for both private and public higher education institutions. 
• Higher education will be multidisciplinary with an aim of all universities to become multidisciplinary by 2040. 
• There will be multiple exit options in the undergraduate degree which means that if a student exits the UG course after 1 year, they will get a certificate, if they exit after 2 years, they will get a diploma, and they will get the degree after completion of 3/4 years.  

What is the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of India? 

Until July 2020, India was following the age old 10+2 schooling system according to which, you get a Secondary School Certificate (SSC) after completing 10th standard and the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) after completing 12th standard. 

This 10+2 system has been replaced with the 5+3+3+4 system in the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. These divisions have been made in accordance with the cognitive development stages of a child. Following is how these divisions are made according to the age criteria. 

• Foundation Stage (3-8 years)
• Preparatory Stage (8-11 years) 
• Middle Stage (11-14 years) 
• Secondary Stage (14-18 years) 

The government has also emphasised on bringing STEM education early on in schools as there is a huge gap in the supply and demand of skilled professionals in this field.  

Following are some of the important points included in the new policy for school education

• All levels of school education will be singularly regulated 
• There will be a new and revised curriculum for the early childhood care and education
• The school curriculum and the pedagogy of teaching will be reformed towards being more progressive and focused on overall development of students. 
• Apart from Hindi and English, the medium of instruction will be in regional/local languages up to class 5th or 8th to promote regional languages. 
• The new assessment system will be more competency based rather than just theory based. 
• There will be some changes in the recruitment process of teachers as it will become more transparent. The promotions will also be based on merit henceforth. 

New Changes In the Higher Education System In India

Following are some of the most important changes introduced in the higher education sector in India. 

• NEP 2020 aims at increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) from 26.3% to 50% by 2035.
• The policy has largely focused on introducing flexible, holistic, as well as multidisciplinary undergraduate courses with multiple exit options. 
• There will be a single and comprehensive governing body called the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) to coordinate all of higher education except for law and medical fields.   
• Higher education will introduce all types of occupational education as a fundamental part to promote vocational education. 
• Aim to promote public investment in the Indian education sector. 
• Promoting open and distance learning which will in turn increase the GER. 
• Emphasis on the promotion of digital and online education. 

Online Education System In India

The reason why even the government has been focusing on promoting online education is because of the many advantages that accompany. It is time that we move on from the age-old traditional education system brought by Macaulay. 

Online education sort of breaks stereotypes of the 6 hour long classroom education system. Online education focuses more on the practicality of the learnings received by the students. The emphasis is on acquiring skills rather than just memorising what is written in the books. 

Following are the advantages of the online education system in India and how it is important and prevalent according to the current times 

• Flexibility

Online education allows you to complete your entire higher education course (UG & PG) in the online mode which means you can complete the entire course from your home. 

Online colleges offer various flexible options like all the live lectures are recorded so that students can attend either the live lectures or watch the recordings later if by any chance they miss it. This type of flexibility is possible only in the online mode. 

Another flexible option that you get in online education is that you can take more time to complete your degree course. For instance if you are pursuing a 3 year online bachelor’s degree, many online colleges allow you to complete it in 4-5 years. So, the duration of the course in the online mode increases. 

• Affordability 

The online courses are much more affordable as compared to the offline regular courses. This is because offline courses charge you many other fees apart from the tuition fee, including the infrastructure related facilities they offer. However, in an online course you do not have to pay such charges. You only have to pay the tuition, exam fee, and a one-time registration fee. 

Apart from the college fee, you save on other expenses also as you do not have to travel to the college everyday or move to a different city and stay at the hostel or some other accommodation, and hence you save on the living expenses as well. 

• Diverse Options 

Online education not just offers the conventional courses, but also industry relevant courses, in-demand skill based courses, and job-oriented courses. 

For instance, cyber security is a branch of computer science that has great demand and amazing job opportunities. However, in India there is a huge scarcity of cyber security experts. This is because there are no dedicated courses for cyber security. There are courses only for Computer Science, Computer Applications, and Information Technology, which are broad subjects. 

However, in the online mode, there are various certificate, diploma, UG, and PG courses that are dedicated to such in-demand subjects. There are online courses exclusively for subjects like cyber security, data science , business analytics, artificial intelligence & machine learning, and many more. 

LMS stands for Learning Management System . It is a software or an application that works as a virtual classroom and makes online learning possible in a much more efficient way. Now, the advantage of LMS is that it elevates your ease of learning. How? 

For instance, in offline classes, if you miss college one day, then you will not be able to access the lectures of that day in future. However, in online classes, the live lectures are recorded and saved in the LMS. The LMS allows you to view those recorded lectures at any time and as many times as the student pleases. 

• Time Management 

Time is the greatest wealth anyone can have. In an online course, you save a lot of time as you do not have to go to college. You are at great advantage if you use this time judiciously. 

By using the time judiciously means that you can utilise the time that you saved in upskilling yourselves. You can take up another skill-based short-term course which is related to the online course that you are already pursuing. 

Another very good option is that you can start working, either an internship or a job (preferably relevant to the course you are pursuing). This way you will not just gain monetary benefits but also work experience which will be a great asset to your CV. 

Open Learning and Distance Education System In India

The government has emphasised on the importance of open and distance education as it is estimated to play a crucial role in increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER). 

The government has set measures to improve the open and distance learning infrastructure such as blended online courses, digital repositories, funding of researches, improving student services, maintaining the standards of imparting quality education, and more such measures.    

Best Online Colleges in India 

Given below are some of the top online colleges in India currently operating and offering diverse online courses. 

Best Open and Distance Colleges In India 

Open and distance colleges have been around in India for quite some time. However, as technology is evolving, so is education. Hence, recently many open and distance colleges have come up with better and evolved open and distance courses using technology by creating a blend of online and distance education. 

Given below are some of the top and most reputed open and distance colleges in India

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

⭐ what is nep.

NEP stands for the National Education Policy. This policy is drafted by the Ministry of Education (MoE), Govt. of India. The policy mentions and describes all the norms, rules, regulations, and guidelines regarding education in India at all levels.

⭐ What are the changes in the new education policy of 2020?

Some major changes according to the new education policy, the 10+2 school education system will be replaced by the 5+3+3+4 system. The policy also has emphasised on the promotion of online as well as open and distance education.

⭐ What are the main features of higher education in the new NEP 2020?

In higher education there will be an exit policy which will allow students to exit from a degree course at any point of time with a certificate if exit is after 1 year, a diploma after 2 years, and degree after 3/4 years. Read the above blog to know other main features.

⭐ Is online education the future?

With the recent pandemic and epidemics, the necessity of online education has come forth. Even the government of India in its new National Education Policy (NEP) has emphasised a lot on the importance of online education and how it is going to change the future of education in India. The policy has laid down various measures regarding the use of technology in education.

⭐ How will NEP affect online and distance education?

The government has been working towards encouraging online education as well as distance education. According to the new NEP, open and distance education will play a vital role in increasing the GER in higher education, while the government will work in the area of online education which will help give access to education to even the marginalised.

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What to Know About COVID FLiRT Variants

Virologists are keeping an eye on several COVID variants that have all picked up the same set of mutations. Here’s what that means.

Aliza Rosen

At the end of March, the KP.2 variant was causing about 4% of infections in the U.S.,  according to the CDC , while its parental strain, JN.1, was causing over 50% of infections at that time. As of early May, KP.2 makes up about 28% of infections, overtaking JN.1 as the dominant variant.

KP.2 is one of several variants being referred to as “FLiRT variants,” named after the technical names for their mutations. The prevalence of these variants comes at a critical time, when experts are deciding how to formulate the fall COVID vaccine.

In this Q&A,  Andy Pekosz , PhD, a professor in  Molecular Microbiology and Immunology , explains what virologists like him are seeing, whether these variants might cause a summer wave of infections, and how people can protect themselves.

What are these “FLiRT variants”?

This is the term being used to describe a whole family of different variants—including KP.2, JN.1.7, and any other variants starting with KP or JN—that appear to have independently picked up the same set of mutations. This is called convergent evolution. They are all descendants of the  JN.1 variant that has been dominant in the U.S. for the past several months.

The particular mutations that people refer to as “FLiRT”s or “FLip”s refer to specific positions in the spike protein—in this case, positions 456, 346, and 572.

Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 mutate frequently, and when they mutate to evade recognition by antibodies, this often weakens their ability to bind to the cells they want to infect. We then see mutations appear that improve that binding ability. This is a cycle we have seen many times with SARS-CoV-2. The fact that these different variants are picking up the same mutations tells virologists that this combination of mutations is helping the virus accomplish these goals most efficiently.

How do these mutations help the virus bind to cells while evading antibodies?

Two of these mutations—456 and 346—eliminate binding sites for antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2. However, those same antibody binding sites are also important for the virus to bind to and enter cells. So in evading antibodies, these FLiRT variants may have also lost some ability to bind to their receptor. At the same time, the 572 mutation appears to allow the virus to more tightly bind to cells and ultimately cause an infection.

Do people who recently had COVID have any protection against infection from FLiRT variants?

A JN.1 infection should provide pretty strong protection against all the FLiRT variants. The difference between JN.1 and these variants is only one or two amino acid changes, so there are still a lot of other places antibodies can bind to. Infection from a variant older than JN.1 is less likely to offer as much protection.

Do we know yet how well the current COVID-19 vaccines work against the FLiRT variants?

Against JN.1, the vaccine designed around XBB.1.5 does generate some cross-reactive antibodies. Studies have not been yet done with some of these newer variants, but those are likely to be a little less cross-reactive. It’s also been several months since many people received their last dose of the vaccine, and that immunity wanes over time.

Back in February, the CDC recommended  an additional dose of the current COVID vaccine for adults 65 and older who received theirs in the fall. There is a question now of what the guidance will be going into the summer. We’ve seen fairly low uptake of these additional boosters when they’re recommended, even in high risk populations, so it’s unclear whether a third dose of the current vaccine will be recommended. If case numbers remain relatively low, it may not be necessary.

Should we anticipate these variants to drive a surge in cases this summer?

It’s certainly possible. The FLiRT variants would be high on my list of viruses that could cause another wave of infections in the U.S. That said, our definition of a wave has changed; while we still see case rates rise and fall throughout the year, we see much lower numbers of cases of hospitalizations or deaths than we saw in the first couple years of the pandemic.

And yet, while these waves are becoming smaller, they are still having the greatest impact on our susceptible populations: the elderly, people who are immunocompromised and those with other secondary medical conditions. Everyone can play a role in protecting those populations that remain the highest-risk when new variants cause an uptick in cases.

How might these variants impact plans for the COVID vaccine formula that gets updated for the fall?

This is the time of year when governing bodies like the WHO and FDA recommend a formulation for updated COVID vaccines that will roll out in early fall. Last year, the  vaccines were based on the XBB.1.5 variant , and only a few months later, the  JN.1 variant became the dominant variant in the U.S.

At the end of April, the  WHO announced that their COVID vaccine advisory group advises using the JN.1 lineage as the antigen for the upcoming formulations of the vaccine. All of these FLiRT variants are within the JN.1 family of variants.

Here in the U.S.,  the FDA has postponed its meeting to determine the fall 2024 COVID vaccine from mid-May to early June. That gives them more time to see which of the FLiRT variants is becoming the dominant one so they can fine-tune the WHO recommendation to what they anticipate will be most prominent in the fall.

New COVID variants are likely to crop up after a decision is made— just as it did last summer —but the goal remains to select a formulation that, come fall, will match the circulating variants as closely as possible.

What are the usual symptoms and transmission timeline for FLiRT variants?

When it comes to symptoms, we’re not seeing anything new or different with these variants. We continue to see more mild disease, but that’s likely not because the virus is milder, but because our immunity is so much stronger now. After years of vaccinations and infections, most of the population is better able to fight off an infection without as much concern for severe disease.

The period of infectiousness for these FLiRT variants remains the same as with JN.1 and previous omicron variants: After exposure, it may take five or more days before you develop symptoms, though symptoms may appear sooner. You are contagious one to two days before you experience symptoms and a few days after symptoms subside. And as with previous variants, some people may have detectable live virus for up to a week after their symptoms begin, and some may experience  rebound symptoms .

At-home testing remains a really important tool for knowing whether you could potentially infect others.

Are antivirals like Paxlovid effective against FLiRT variants? 

Yes, the good news is that  Paxlovid is still recommended for high risk individuals . It still works against variants up to JN.1, and based on the sequencing of the FLiRT variants, they should still be susceptible to Paxlovid, as well as to antiviral drugs like molnupiravir and remdesivir. The companies that produce these drugs are always testing them against new variants to ensure they continue to be effective.

How can people protect themselves and their loved ones as we head into summer?

As with any respiratory virus, even when case rates nationally are low, it’s common to see infections increase in one area of the country but not another. Keep an eye on case rates in your region or anywhere you plan to travel, to know whether you should take additional precautions, like wearing a mask or gathering in well-ventilated areas. Some local health departments report on virus levels in wastewater, which can signal an upcoming rise in cases. This is particularly helpful as people experience more mild illness; those cases may not require hospitalization, but they’ll still be detected in wastewater data.

It’s always a good idea to keep a few COVID tests around the house in case you start to  feel sick. Testing—whether at home or in a health care setting—will make sure you know what you're infected with, which can inform the best treatment plan if you are in a high risk group or your symptoms progress to more severe illness.

If you do feel sick, follow the CDC’s  simplified guidance for respiratory illnesses . This is especially important if you plan to spend time with friends or family who are at higher risk of severe illness.

Aliza Rosen is a digital content strategist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

• Understanding the CDC’s Updated COVID Isolation Guidance
• COVID Rebound Can Happen Whether or Not You Take Paxlovid
• More Americans Could Benefit from Paxlovid for COVID Infection

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