Primary education system in India

Friday 18 October 2013

The Indian government lays emphasis on primary education up to the age of fourteen years, referred to as elementary education in India.[15] The Indian government has also banned child labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions.[15] However, both free education and the ban on child labour are difficult to enforce due to economic disparity and social conditions.[15] 80% of all recognized schools at the elementary stage are government run or supported, making it the largest provider of education in the country.

School children, Mumbai

However, due to a shortage of resources and lack of political will, this system suffers from massive gaps including high pupil to teacher ratios, shortage of infrastructure and poor levels of teacher training. Figures released by the Indian government in 2011 show that there were 5,816,673 elementary school teachers in India.[17] As of March 2012 there were 2,127,000 secondary school teachers in India.[18] Education has also been made free[15] for children for 6 to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009.[19]

There have been several efforts to enhance quality made by the government. The District Education Revitalization Programme (DERP) was launched in 1994 with an aim to universalize primary education in India by reforming and vitalizing the existing primary education system.[20] 85% of the DERP was funded by the central government and the remaining 15 percent was funded by the states.[20] The DERP, which had opened 160000 new schools including 84000 alternative education schools delivering alternative education to approximately 3.5 million children, was also supported by UNICEF and other international programmes.[20]

This primary education scheme has also shown a high Gross Enrollment Ratio of 93–95% for the last three years in some states.[20] Significant improvement in staffing and enrollment of girls has also been made as a part of this scheme.[20] The current scheme for universalization of Education for All is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan which is one of the largest education initiatives in the world. Enrollment has been enhanced, but the levels of quality remain low.

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Education in India is provided by the public sector

Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: central, state, and local. Takshasila was the earliest recorded centre of higher learning in India from at least 5th century BCE and it is debatable whether it could be regarded a university or not. The Nalanda University was the oldest university-system of education in the world in the modern sense of university.[3] Western education became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British Raj.

Education in India falls under the control of both the Union Government and the State Governments, with some responsibilities lying with the Union a

nd the states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian Constitution provide for education as a fundamental right. Most universities in India are controlled by the Union or the State Government.

India has made progress in terms of increasing the primary education attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately three quarters of the population.[4] India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to the economic rise of India.[5] Much of the progress, especially in higher education and scientific research, has been credited to various public institutions. The private education market in India was 5%[citation needed] and in terms of value was estimated to be worth US$40 billion in 2008 but had increased to US$68–70 billion by 2012.[6]

As per the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2012, 96.5% of all rural children between the ages of 6-14 were enrolled in school. This is the fourth annual survey to report enrollment above 96%. 83% of all rural 15-16 year olds were enrolled in school. However, going forward, India will need to focus more on quality.

Gross enrollment at the tertiary level has crossed 20% (as per an Ernst & Young Report cited in Jan 2013 in Education News/minglebox.com)

As per the latest (2013) report issued by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), there are more than 3524 diploma and post-diploma offering institutions in the country with an annual intake capacity of over 1.2 million.

The AICTE also reported 3495 degree-granting engineering colleges in India with an annual student intake capacity of over 1.76 million with actual enrollment crossing 1.2 million..

Capacity for Management Education crossed 385000, and post graduate degree slots in Computer Science crossed 100,000. Pharmacy slots reached over 121,000.

Total annual intake capacity for technical diplomas and degrees exceeded 3.4 million in 2012.

According to the University Grants Commission (UGC) total enrollment in Science, Medicine, Agriculture and Engineering crossed 6.5 million in 2010.

Charu Sudan Kasturi reported in the Hindustan Times (New Delhi, 10 January 2011) that the number of women choosing engineering has more than doubled since 2001.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_India

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