Educational System in India

Presented by Prof. Dr. R. Venkatram

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

Ancient Educational System - Monastic

Gurukul is a Sanskrit word Guru means Teacher and Kul means Domain

The Learners Fully residential, students-teacher live within the same

premises Sanskrit was the language of teaching Brahmins, were imparted knowledge of religion,

philosophy, and other ancillary branches The warrior class, the Kshatriya, were trained in the

various aspects of warfare The business class, the Vaishya, were taught their trade The Shudras was generally deprived of education The education was focusing mainly on using weaponry,

reciting Vedas, music, art and self-defense

Education Process After a ceremony 'Upanayana the child had to leave home to acquire

knowledge

The academies of higher learning were known as 'Parishads

The education system involved three basic processes, namely 'Sravana', 'Manana' and 'Nidhyasana

In the 'Sravana, students received 'shrutis' (knowledge), which was passed orally from one generation to another

'Manana means that students had to think themselves about what they have heard. They have to make their own inferences and assimilate the lesson taught by their teacher into the life.

The third stage 'Nidhyasana' means complete comprehension of truth and its use in the life.

Institutions of Higher Learning Ancient India

Institutions of higher learning and universities flourished in ancient India

Secular Buddhist institutions were established along with monasteries to impart practical education like medicine.

A number of urban learning Universities like Taxila, Nalanda and Vikramshila were established between 200 BCE to 400 CE.

These institutions systematically imparted knowledge and attracted a number of foreign students to study topics such as logic, grammar, medicine, metaphysics, arts and crafts

During the visit of the Islamic scholar Alberuni (973-1048 CE), India already had a sophisticated system of mathematics and science in place, and had made a number of inventions and discoveries

Universities - Ancient India Taxila University for medical studies. A galaxy of

eminent teachers such as Panini, the well known grammarian, Kautilya, the minister of Chandragupta Maurya, and Charaka, a medical teacher were prominent.

Nalanda was the highest learning center of the entire South Asia. It had around 10,000 students and teachers. The University had eight colleges one of the colleges had four-storied building. It was one of the earliest examples for residential-cum-learning complex.

Vikramshila University, Varanasi was famous for religious teachings

Universities - Ancient India

In the South, Kancheepuram (TN) was famous for studies

Vallabhi University in Gujarat was mentioned by Huan Tsang at par with Nalanda and Vikramshila (Bihar)universities

India had several great minds at work, which contributed in every aspect of life

The concept of zero, decimal and Pythagoras Theorem were all developed here

Education during British Rule The present educational system of India was the

influence of British rulers

Wood's Dispatch of 1854 (Magna Carta of Indian education) laid the foundation of present system of education in India

The main purpose of it was to prepare Indian Clerks for running local administration

At schools the subjects were taught in local languages while the higher education was in English only

British government also started giving funds to indigenous schools in need of help and thus slowly some of the schools became government-aided

Education After Independence In 1901 the literacy rate in India was only about 5% and

nearly 20% during 1947. As per 1951 census only 9 % of women and 27% of men were literates

In 1947, Maulana Azad, India's first Education minister wanted government intervention over education with a uniform educational system

However, given the cultural and linguistic diversity of India, it was only the higher education dealing with science and technology came under the jurisdiction of the central government

The government also held powers to make national policies for educational development and could regulate selected aspects of education through out India

Languages in India

SOURCE : Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India Courtesy :Sowmya Narayanan , Asst. Professor, Academic Staff College (ASC), VIT-U.

School Education: The current system Education is a state subject

General Education at Schools has a duration of 12 years and classified as Primary level, Upper Primary (Middle), Secondary level and Higher Secondary level.

The educational level is also classified as Elementary Education comprising of Primary and Upper Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary.

In most of the states, a student in a Higher Secondary school can complete 12 years of education but in some states up to 11 years in school and one year (Junior college)

School Education: The current system

Primary level First to Fifth Standard

Upper Primary (Middle school) Sixth to Eighth Standard

Secondary Ninth to Tenth (SSLC)

Higher Secondary - Eleventh and Twelfth (+1 and +2)

In some states Eleventh up to School and 12th in Junior college (Pre-University)

School Education

The Governing Bodies

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Main governing body and monitors the central education system. It conducts exam (national level) and controls the functioning of schools accredited to central education system

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) It is a board for Anglo Indian Studies in India. It conducts two examinations 'Indian Certificate of Secondary Education' and 'Indian School Certificate'. Indian Certificate of Secondary education for those Indian students who have just completed 10 years and Indian school certificate is for public examination conducted for those studying in class 12th

Anglo Indian Schools St. Johns Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School School Type : Co-Education Year of Establishment: 1763 Board: Anglo Indian Schools Category: Public Schools Medium: English Second Language: French Average Students per Class: 40

St. John's Secondary School, Pune, Maharashtra School Type : Boys

Board: Anglo Indian Schools Category: Public Schools Medium: English Second Language: Hindi, English Average Students per Class: 52 Year of Establishment: 1948

ICSE Schools Brindavan Vidyalaya, Trichy, Tamil Nadu

Website: http://www.freewebs.com/brindavanschool

School Type : Co-education

Board: ICSE Schools

Category: Private Schools

Medium: English

Second Language: Tamil, Hindi

State Board Schools Avvai Girls Higher Secondary School, Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Type : Girls

Board: State Board

Schools Category: Public Schools

Medium: Tamil, English

Second Language: Tamil, English

Average Students per Class: 40

Year of Establishment: 1955

Governing Bodies contd.. The State Government Boards Each state in India has its own State Board of education, which monitors the overall education system in the State. The state government also runs school (Public Schools). Parallel to these schools, there are Private Schools (Matriculation Schools) following a different syllabus till 10th Standard

The National Open School Board: It is also known as National Institute of Open Schooling. It was established by the Government of India in 1989 for those students who cannot attend formal schools.

The International School: It controls the schools, which are accredited to curriculum of international standards

School Boards and Categories

Board Categories

Anglo Indian Air Force Schools, Army Schools,

CBSE Catholic Schools, International Schools

ICSE Military Schools

Matriculation Montessori Schools, Private schools

State Board Public schools

The Issues

Enrollment Gross Enrollment ratio is the total enrollment in a specific

level of education regardless of age Expressed as percentage of eligible official school-age

population corresponding to the same level of education in a given school year

School Drop-Outs Drop out rate is also measured in percentage the

children leaving the school without aspiring for higher levels in school education

Privatization

Educational Achievement

Country Adult (15 and above) Literacy rate (%)

GER (%)

China 93.3 68.7

Thailand 94.1 78.0

Sri Lanka 90.8 68.7

Indonesia 92.0 68.2

Vietnam 90.3 62.3

India 66.0 61.0

Source: Economic Survey, 2009-10, GOI, p.271

School Enrollment Ratio (%)

Levels Boys Girls Total

Primary 115.90 113.20 114.6

(I to V)

Middle 80.60 74.10 77.50

(VI to VIII)

Secondary and above

49.20 41.40 45.50

(IX to XII)

Source: Annual Report, 2009-10,Ministry of HRD, GOI, p.331

School Drop-Out Rates (%)

Levels Boys Girls Total

Primary 26.2 24.8 25.5

(I to V)

Middle 44.3 41.4 43.0

(VI to VIII)

Secondary and Above

56.4 57.3 56.8

(IX to XII)

Source: Annual Report, 2009-10,Ministry of HRD, GOI, p.345

Institutional Arrangements

Levels No. of schools

No. of teachers

Teacher per school

Pupil per school

Primary 785950 2357213 3 173

Middle 320354 1777433 6 177

Secondary and above

171862 2107411 12 256

Total 1278166 6242057 5 185

Source: Own estimation, data from Annual Report, 2009-10,Ministry of HRD, GOI

Privatization Percentage of schools managed by different agencies

Management 1993-94 2001-02 2004-05

Government 47 42 41

Unaided 15 24 30

Aided 38 34 29

Source: 11th Fiver Year Plan Document, GOI, page 15

Number of schools managed by different agencies (Hundred thousands)

School levels

Govt. Local Bodies

Private Aided

Private Unaided

I to V 3.32 3.60 0.20 0.55

VI to VIII 1.18 0.80 0.18 0.59

I to VIII 4.50 4.40 0.38 1.14

Source: 11th Fiver Year Plan Document, GOI, page 8

To conclude Education in India has a long history

During ancient times India had been the educational hub for many other countries

However the current status in the literacy achievement is not satisfactory as large part of population is illiterate

The country is also worried about the high drop-out rates at higher level of schooling, though education is made compulsory

The sprawling privatization could find a solution

The question is at what cost?. Will the rural benefit from these privatization?

Thanks for your attention

Further Questions?