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DR. RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

FINAL DRAFT

ECONOMICS

EDUCATION SCENARIO IN INDIA

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Dr. Mitali Tiwari Shivani Chauhan

Asst. Prof. (Economics) Roll no. - 127

B.A. LL.B (1st Semester)

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CHAPTERISATION(1) INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………...3

(2) BACKGROUND……………………………………………………………………….3

(3) RESEARCH PROBLEM…………………………………………………………….....3

(4) OBJECTIVE…………………………………………………………………………….3

(5) RESEARCH ANALYSIS………………………………………………………………4

(6) CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………4

(7) EDUCATION SCENARIO IN 20th CENTURY……………………………………….5

(8) DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION AND EDUCATION SCENARIO IN 21st

CENTURY……………………………………………………………………………...6

(9) HURDLES……………………………………………………………………………...8

(10) GOVERNMENT SCHEMES………………………………………………………...11

(11) PRIMARY EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT…………………………………13

(12) SECONDARY EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT……………………………..14

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INTRODUCTIONThe project is on Education Scenario in India. Education is very important for any country to

develop. An educated and literate population can improve the economy of any country whereas

an uneducated and illiterate one can bring the negative impact. This project contains education

system in 20th century and its development in India. It also contains the schemes and efforts

made by the government to improve it. Also the hurdles in this sector and failures of the

government schemes are also highlighted.

BACKGROUND Education is one of the most important factors that lead to development in any country. Every

country lays special emphasis on improving their education sector and so does India. In India,

the government has been introducing many schemes to empower the sector and to educate even

the most underprivileged one. But still there are many hurdles which hamper the result and are

needed to be eliminated or atleast minimized.

RESEARCH PROBLEM(1) What was education scenario in 20th century? How education developed and what is the

scenario in 21st century?

(2) What is primary and secondary education and what development took place in these?

(3) What are the efforts by government to improve this sector?

(4) What are the hurdles and failures in this effort of development?

OBJECTIVE The project would contain a comparison between the education scenario in 20th century

and that in 21st century and development of education.

How it developed by the steps taken by the government and the problems the

government faced during the process and failures in the results.

Researcher’s analysis of the topic and certain suggestions and ideas to improve the same.

RESEARCH ANALYSIS

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The present research study is mainly doctrinal. Keeping this view in mind the researcher utilized

the conventional method of using of library consisting of primary sources like books, journals, e-

journals, reports and it also deals with secondary sources like surveys and data collections. As

the study is comparative, academic in nature, historical and doctrinal methods are adopted

because it is not possible to study purely by experimental method.

CONCLUSIONThe government of India makes its full effort to improve education scenario of India but it is not

so successful in doing so because of many reasons like unaware society, lack of foresight,

corruption etc. though there is improvement in this sector but at a very slow rate. This problem

can be sorted out if we, the citizens welcome the schemes launched by the government and use

the schemes in an honest way and realize the importance of education.

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EDUCATION SCENARIO IN 20 th CENTURY This project explores the provision of schooling in colonial India when British administrators

dictated education policy. Although public and private funds were used to expand and improve

the public education system, there were fewer than 3 primary schools for every 10 villages as

late as 1911. Districts with higher levels of caste and religious diversity had fewer privately

managed primary schools and fewer total primary schools. Heterogeneous preferences across

groups, unequal political power in more diverse districts and low demand for education by

lower castes are all potential explanations for this pattern. Broadly, the results highlight the

challenges involved in the provision of primary education in the presence of numerous and

perhaps unequal groups.

In the 19th century, the East India Company and later the British Crown introduced a new state

system of education in British India. Beginning in 1858 the Crown controlled education policy

until 1919 when education was transferred to the control of Indian ministers at the province-

level. Over this period, numerous acts were passed, various recommendations were made and

both public and private funds were used to expand and improve the public education system.

However, the new system was unable to achieve mass literacy.

Although British India was among the largest colonies of the British Empire, public investments

on human capital were among the lowest in the world and lagged behind other colonies of the

British Empire and even the Indian Princely States that were not under direct colonial authority.

Moreover, less than 40% of public education expenditures were targeted to primary education.

Due to the low level of public funding, private revenues became critical for the development of

schooling and local district characteristics such as population shares of different social groups,

the level of diversity and income strongly influenced private provision. Districts with higher

levels of caste and religious diversity had fewer total primary schools and fewer privately

managed primary schools controlling for other economic and social factors. Public provisions of

local services by rural district boards were heavily dominated by upper caste board members

and finds that elites had stronger preferences for public investments on local infrastructure

relative to primary schooling. Although these interpretations emphasize supply-side constraints,

low demand for education by lower castes can also account for fewer primary schools in more

diverse areas given the strong reliance on private funding.

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DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION AND EDUCATION SCENARIO IN

21 st CENTURY The education policy of Government of India in the post-independent era has been to provide

free and compulsory education to all the children at least upto the elementary stage.

Recognizing the need for a literate population and provision of Elementary Education as a

crucial input for nation building, the Government’s stand was reiterated in the National Policy

on Education (NPE 1986) and the Programme of Action 1992, to work towards provision of

education of a satisfactory quality to all children upto 14 years of age before the commencement

of the 21st century.

In accordance with the priority accorded to vocationalisation of education in the National Policy

on Education, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Vocationalisation of Secondary Education was

introduced in February 1988. The main objective of the scheme are to enhance individual

employability, reduce the mismatch between demand and supply of skilled manpower and

provide an alternative for those pursuing higher education without particular interest or purpose.

A Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Pre-Vocational Education at Lower Secondary Stage has also

been introduced from the year 19932-94 primarily to impart training in simple marketable skills

to the students of classes IX and X, to develop vocational interests and to facilitate students in

making a choice of vocational courses at the higher secondary level.

In order to provide expert inputs in policy formulation and implementation on a continuing

basis, a Joint Council of Vocational Education (JCVE) has been set up at the national level

under the Chairmanship of Minister of Human Resource Development, with counterpart

organizations at the State level. To ensure that the tasks laid down by JCVE are performed

effectively, a Standing Committee of JCVE has been constituted under the Chairmanship of

Education Secretary.

Pt. Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE) was set up at

Bhopal on July 1, 1993 under the overall umbrella of NCERT. The Institute acts as an apex

level research and development organization in the field of vocational education and provides

technical and academic support to the programme. The CIVE has now been entrusted with the

task of standardizing the curricula/textbooks/instructional material for vocational courses. The

CIVE is also inter alia engaged in conducting programmes for training of teachers and

orientation of key functionaries.

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The courses are selected by the State Government on the basis of assessment of manpower

requirement through district vocational surveys. About 150 vocational courses have been

introduced at the +2 level at the six major areas, viz., Agriculture, Business and Commerce,

Engineering and Technology, Health and Para-Medical Services, Home Science Services and

others. It has been recommended that 70% of the total instructional time be devoted to

vocational theory and practice, and the remaining to the study of general foundation courses and

language course. On-the-job training forms an integral part of the curricula.

The Scheme at the +2 level ensivages setting up of administrative structure at the Centre, State,

District and School levels. The Bureau of Vocational Education is operating at the Central level

to oversee the implementation of the programme. In the major states/UTs separate structures at

the State level have been created. The scheme lays considerable emphasis on practical training

of students both during the course of study as well as after completion of the course.

A computerised Management Information System (MIS) has been developed for vocational

education to obtain necessary information on differenet aspects of programme implementation.

The national Informatics Centre (NIC) in collaboration with Department of Education and

NCERT has prepared two guidelines-one for fillingbup the format and the other for feeding the

data through Computer Software prepared for the purpose.

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HURDLES

India’s education system turns out millions of graduates each year, many skilled in IT and

engineering. This manpower advantage underpins India’s recent economic advances, but masks

deep-seated problems within India’s education system. While India’s demographics are

generally perceived to give it an edge over other countries’ economies, if this advantage is

restricted to a small, highly educated elite, the domestic political ramifications could be severe.

Despite efforts to incorporate all sections of the population into the Indian education system,

through mechanisms such as positive discrimination and non-formal education, large numbers

of young people are still without schooling. Although enrolment in primary education has

increased, it is estimated that at least 35 million, and possibly as many as 60 million, children

aged 6–14 years are not in school. Severe gender, regional, and caste disparities also exist. The

main problems are the high drop-out rate, especially after Class 10, low levels of learning and

achievement, inadequate school infrastructure, poorly functioning schools, high teacher

absenteeism, the large number of teacher vacancies, poor quality of education and inadequate

funds. Other groups of children ‘at risk’, such as orphans, child-labourers, street children and

victims of riots and natural disasters, do not necessarily have access to schools.

Furthermore, there is no common school system; instead children are channeled into private,

government-aided and government schools on the basis of ability to pay and social class. At

the top end are English-language schools affiliated to the upscale CBSE (Central Board of

Secondary Education), CISCE (Council for the Indian Schools Certificates Examination) and

IB (International Baccalaureate) examination boards, offering globally recognized syllabuses

and curricula. Those who cannot afford private schooling attend English-language

government-aided schools, affiliated to state-level examination boards. And on the bottom

rung is poorly managed government or municipal schools, which cater for the children of the

poor majority. Therefore, while education for all is safeguarded by the Constitution, and a

majority of people can now access educational resources, the quality of the education that

young people in Indian receive varies widely according to their means and background, which

is a worrying and problematic trend.

The thrust on elementary education over the last two decades and the growing aspirations of

poor communities resulting from their participation in a political democracy have already led to

a situation where most children at age six are enrolling in schools/learning centers and

residential bridge courses. However, the poor quality of these schools and their rudimentary

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physical and human infrastructure often lead to children dropping out of the school system

without learning or continuing in it with limited learning. An emphasis on food, livelihood and

health guarantees is therefore simultaneously required to level out the initial disadvantages of

the poor in the educational sphere stemming from malnourishment, poverty, and health-related

debility.

India’s aim of providing basic education for all stems from the empowering and redistributive

impact of education. Until recently, literacy, and the related issue of access to schooling, has

taken precedence over curricular content. J. Dreze and A. Sen argue:

Literacy is an essential tool for self-defence in a society where social interactions include the

written media. An illiterate person is significantly less equipped to defend herself in court, to

obtain a bank loan, to enforce inheritance rights, to take advantage of new technology, to

compete for secure employment, to get onto the right bus, to take part in political activity – in

short, to participate successfully in the modern economy and society.

Dreze and Sen argue that the 1991 census indicated that about half of the adult population was

unable to read or write. Unsurprisingly, literacy rates vary widely between states, and between

genders. The northern Hindi-belt states, whose economic performance has been worse than that

of western and southern states, have lower literacy rates. Female literacy varies from around 34

per cent in Bihar to 88 per cent in Kerala; male literacy varies between 60 per cent in Bihar and

94 per cent in Kerala. Rajasthan suffers the widest gender difference: female literacy stands at

44 per cent; male at 77 per cent. One of the main aims of education policy in the 1990s was to

accelerate the progress of literacy and school attendance and to create an equitable system for

girls, as had been planned by the Kothari Commission in 1964.

In recent years, however, attention has shifted away from the provision of basic literacy

skills and towards debates surrounding the content of school curricula. These debates have

been particularly concerned with the traditionally secular emphasis within education, which

has become vulnerable since the successes of avowedly Hindu political parties.

Under the Constitution, responsibility for education is shared between central and state

governments. The central government sets policy, stimulates innovation and plans frameworks.

The state governments are responsible for running the education system on the ground. This

has exacerbated problems since states have differing resources to allocate to education. It is the

inadequacy of resources that has recently become the most pressing and central issue.

Allocation is another issue. When resources are scarce, what are the state’s priorities?

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Negotiating the need to share the burden of funding higher education between the public and

private sectors has been a continual problem for the Indian government. For example, the 1986

reforms reinforced the independent status of higher education institutions, but led to a gradual

decline in government expenditure in this area. The government faced a serious resource crunch

and decided to reduce the subsidization of higher education by around 50 per cent. Two

committees were set up to mobilize additional resources for universities and technical education

institutions. Universities were encouraged to raise fees and to turn to the private sector for

additional funding. Consequently, the balance between the public and private sectors becomes

almost synonymous with a balance between excellence and access. While it is important for

India to produce top-quality graduates, it is equally important that the opportunity to gain a

degree is not restricted to privileged communities.

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GOVERNMENT SCHEMESThe following Centrally sponsored programmes are being implemented in the Education Sector

under Ministry of Human Resource Development:

(1) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: Launched in 2001 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is one of India’s

major flagship programmes for universalisation of elementary education. Its overall goals

include universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in

elementary education, and achieving significant enhancement in learning levels of children.

(2) Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya: KGBVs are residential upper primary schools for

girls from SC, ST, OBC and Muslim communities. KGBVs are set up in areas of scattered

habitations where schools are at great distances and are a challenge to the security of girls. This

often compels girls to discontinue their education. KGBV addresses this through setting up

residential schools, in the block itself.

(3) National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL): NPEGEL

is implemented in educationally backward blocks (EBB) and addresses the needs of girls who

are “in‟ as well as “out‟ of school. NPEGEL also reaches out to girls who are enrolled in

school, but do not attend school regularly.

(4) Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS): In keeping with the Constitutional provisions to raise the

level of nutrition of children and enable them to develop in a healthy manner, the National

Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) was launched as a

Centrally sponsored scheme in 1995. Commonly referred to as MDMS, this was expected to

enhance enrolment, retention, attendance of children in schools apart from improving their

nutritional levels.

(5) The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan: A Centrally sponsored scheme with

a funding pattern of 75:25 between Centre and States. The major objectives of the RMSA

are to:

(a) raise the minimum level of education to class X and universalise access to secondary

education;

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(b) ensure good-quality secondary education with focus on Science, Mathematics and

English; and

(c) reduce the gender, social and regional gaps in enrolments, dropouts and improving

retention.

(6) Scheme of Vocationalisation of Secondary Education at +2 level:

Initiated in 1988, this centrally sponsored scheme of Vocationalisation of Secondary Education

provides for diversification of educational opportunities so as to enhance individual

employability, reduce the mismatch between demand and supply of skilled manpower and

provides an alternative for those pursuing higher education.

(7) Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary stage: The Scheme of Inclusive Education

for Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) has been launched from the year 2009-10. The aim of

the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of IEDSS is to enable all students with disabilities, after

completing eight years of elementary schooling, to pursue further four years of secondary

schooling (classes IX to XII) in an inclusive and enabling environment.

(8) Quality Improvement in Schools: During the 10th Five Year Plan, “Quality Improvement

in Schools” was introduced as a composite centrally sponsored scheme.

(9) Strengthening of Teachers’ Training Institutions: The Right of Children to Free and

Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 poses major challenges for improving the quality of

teachers and for expanding institutional capacity in States to prepare professionally trained

persons for becoming school teachers. Government has initiated steps to revise the existing

Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Restructuring and Reorganisation of Teacher Education.

(10) Adult Education and Skill Development Schemes: Adult Education aims at extending

educational options to those adults, who have lost the opportunity and have crossed the age of

formal education, but now feel a need for learning of any type, including, basis education

(literacy), skill development (Vocational Education) etc.

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PRIMARY EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

The Indian government lays emphasis to primary education up to the age of fourteen years

(referred to as Elementary Education in India). The Indian government has also banned child

labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions. However,

both free education and the ban on child labour are difficult to enforce due to economic

disparity and social conditions. 80% of all recognized schools at the Elementary Stage are

government run or supported, making it the largest provider of education in the Country.

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.

Significant improvement in staffing and enrollment of girls has also been made as a part of this

scheme. 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.

In India, elementary schools provide education from Class 1 to Class 8. The children in these

classes are generally aged between 6 to 14 years. It is the next stage after kindergarten (Pre-

Nursery, Nursery, Prep or Lower Kindergarten and Upper Kindergarten). The next stage after

primary education is Middle School (Class 6th to 8th). In most schools in North India, children

in Classes 1st to 3rd are taught English, Hindi, Mathematics, Environmental Science, and

General Knowledge. In class 4th and 5th the environmental science subject is replaced by

General Science and Social Studies. However some schools may introduce this concept in

Class 3 itself. Some schools may also introduce a third language in Class 5th or even in

Class 4th. Sanskrit and local state language are the most common third languages taught in

Indian schools. At some places, primary education is labeled as the education of Class 3rd to

Class 5th and up to class 2nd as pre-primary education. This is because many new concepts are

introduced in this class.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is the apex body for

school education in India. The NCERT provides support and technical assistance to a number of

schools in India and oversees many aspects of enforcement of education policies.

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SECONDARY EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT

In India, before the Indian Constitutional Amendment 2002, Article 45 (Article 36-51 are on

Directive Principles of State Policy) of the Constitution was- “Article 45- Provision for free and

compulsory education for children- the State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten

years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for

children until they complete the age of 14 years.” But that Constitution Amendment was time

and again deferred, first to 1970, then to 1980, 1990 and 2000. The 10th Five Year Plan

visualizes that India will achieve the Universal Elementary Education by 2007. However, the

Union Human Resource Development Minister announced in 2001 that India will achieve this

target only by 2010. (Ninety-Third Amendment) Bill, renumbered as the Constitution (86th

amendment) Act, 2002, which was passed on 12 December 2002 stated: An act further to

amend Constitution of India. Be it enacted by the Parliament in the Fifty-Third year of the

Republic of India as follows-

(1) Short Title and Commencement. (a) This act may be called the Constitution Act, 2002. (b) It

shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the

Official Gazette, appoint.

(2) Insertion of new Article 21A- After Article 21 of the Constitution, the following articles

shall be inserted, namely Right to Education- “Article 21A- The State shall provide free and

compulsory education to all the children of age six to fourteen years, in such a manner as the

State, by law, determine.”

(3) Substitution of new article for article 45- For Article 45 of the Constitution, the following

article shall be substituted, namely- Provision for early childhood care and education to children

below the age of six years. “Article 45- The state shall endeavour to provide early childhood

care and education to all the children until they complete the age of six years.”

(4) Amendment of Article 51A.

The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986, has provided for environment awareness,

science and technology education, and introduction of traditional elements such as Yoga into

the Indian secondary school system. Secondary education covers children 14–18 which covers

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88.5 million children according to the Census, 2001. However, enrolment figures show that

only 31 million of these children were attending schools in 2001–02, which means that two-

third of the population remained out of school.

A significant feature of India's secondary school system is the emphasis on inclusion of the

disadvantaged sections of the society. Professionals from established institutes are often called

to support in vocational training. Another feature of India's secondary school system is its

emphasis on profession based vocational training to help students attain skills for finding a

vocation of his/her choosing. A significant new feature has been the extension of SSA to

secondary education in the form of the Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.

A special Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) programme was started in 1974

with a focus on primary education. But which was converted into Inclusive Education at

Secondary Stage. Another notable special programme, the Kendriya Vidyalaya project, was

started for the employees of the central government of India, who are distributed throughout the

country. The government started the Kendriya Vidyalaya project in 1965 to provide uniform

education in institutions following the same syllabus at the same pace regardless of the location

to which the employee's family has been transferred.

A multilingual web portal on Primary Education is available with rich multimedia content for

children and forums to discuss on the Educational issues. India Development Gateway is a

nationwide initiative that seeks to facilitate rural empowerment through provision of responsive

information, products and services in local languages.

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