Draft:Indian educational system

Introduction

India's education system is one of the largest and most complex globally, spanning primary, secondary, and higher education. The country has made progress in improving access to education but faces challenges in quality, infrastructure, and urban-rural disparities. The government is implementing policies to address these issues and enhance the educational landscape.

Historical milestones

Ancient educational system

Nalanda

Nalanda is famous worldwide for the ancient International Monastic University established in the 5th century BC, which taught Vedas, Logic, Grammar, Medicine, Meta-Physics, Prose Composition, and Rhetoric. Nalanda district is popularly known as Biharsharif.

Gurukuls

Another is the gurukul (“guru's family”) system of education, in which a pupil, after his initiation, lives in the house of his guru, or teacher, and studies the Veda and other subjects under his guru's guidance.

British educational reforms

British education introduced Indians to Western science, literature, philosophy, and technology. This helped to modernize Indian thought and culture. The new system of education produced a growing Indian middle class that was familiar with Western culture and values.

Post-independence reforms

Kothari commission

National Education Commission (1964-1966), popularly known as the Kothari Commission, was an ad hoc commission set up by the Government of India to examine all aspects of the educational sector in India, to develop a general pattern of education, and to recommend guidelines and policies for the development of education in India.

National education policy

1968

Based on the report and recommendations of the Kothari Commission (1964–1966), the government headed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced the first National Policy on Education in 1968, which called for a "radical restructuring" and proposed equal educational opportunities to achieve national integration and greater cultural and economic development.

1986

In 1986, the government led by Rajiv Gandhi introduced a new National Policy on Education. The new policy called for "special emphasis on the removal of disparities and to equalize educational opportunity," especially for Indian women, Scheduled Tribes (ST), and the Scheduled Caste (SC) communities. To achieve such a social integration, the policy called for expanding scholarships, adult education, recruiting more teachers from the SCs, incentives for poor families to send their children to school regularly, development of new institutions, and providing housing and services.

2020

In 2019, the then Ministry of Education released a Draft New Education Policy 2019, which was followed by several public consultations.it discusses reducing curriculum content to enhance essential learning, critical thinking, and more holistic experiential, discussion-based, and analysis-based learning.

Development of

primary education

primary education in India is not a fundamental right. In rural India, pre-primary schools are rarely available in small villages. But in cities and big towns, there are many established players in the pre-primary education sector. The demand for preschools is growing considerably in the smaller towns and cities but still, only 1% of the population under age 6 is enrolled in preschool education.

• Playgroup (pre-nursery): At playschools, children are exposed to a lot of basic learning activities that help them to get independent faster and develop their self-help qualities like eating food themselves, dressing up, and maintaining cleanliness. The age limit for admission into pre-nursery is 2 to 3 years. Anganwadi is a government-funded free rural childcare & Mothercare nutrition and learning program also incorporating the free Midday Meal Scheme.

• Nursery: Nursery-level activities help children unfold their talents, thus enabling them to sharpen their mental and physical abilities. The age limit for admission to the nursery is 3 to 4 years.
• Lower Kindergarten: It is also called the junior kindergarten (Jr. kg) stage. The age limit for admission to LKG is 4 to 5 years.
• Upper Kindergarten: It is also called the senior kindergarten (Sr. kg) stage. The age limit for admission to UKG is 5 to 6 years.

LKG and UKG stages prepare and help children emotionally, mentally, socially, and physically to grasp knowledge easily in the later stages of school and college life. A systematic process of preschool education is followed in India to impart knowledge in the best possible way for a better understanding of young children. By following an easy and interesting curriculum, teachers strive hard to make the entire learning process enjoyable for the children.

Primary education in India is divided into two parts: Lower Primary (Class I-V) and Upper Primary (middle school, Class VI-VIII). The Indian government emphasizes primary education (Class I-VIII) also referred to as elementary education, to children aged 6 to 14 years old.

Secondary education

Secondary education covers children aged 14 to 18, a group comprising 88.5 million children according to the 2001 Census of India. The final two years of secondary are often called Higher Secondary (HS), Senior Secondary, Intermediate, or simply the "+2" stage. The two halves of secondary education are each an important stage for which a pass certificate is needed, and thus are affiliated by boards of education under the education ministry, before one can pursue higher education, including college or professional courses.

UGC, NCERT, CBSE , and ICSE directives state qualifying ages for candidates who wish to take the standardized exams. Those at least 15 years old by 30 May for a given academic year are eligible to appear for Secondary School Certificate exams, and those 17 by the same date are eligible to appear for Higher Secondary certificate exams. It is further stated that upon successful completion of Higher Secondary, one can apply to higher education under UGC control.

Secondary education in India is examination-oriented and not course-based: students register for and take classes primarily to prepare for one of the centrally administered examinations. Secondary school is split into 2 parts (grades 9–10 and grades 11–12) with a standardized nationwide examination at the end of grade 10 and grade 12 (colloquially referred to as "board exams"). Grade 10 examination results can be used for admission into grades 11–12 at a secondary school, pre-university program, or vocational or technical school. Passing the grade 12 board examination leads to the granting of a secondary school completion diploma, which may be used for admission into vocational schools or universities in the country or the world.

Most schools in India do not offer subject and scheduling flexibility due to budgeting constraints (for example, students in India are often not allowed to take Chemistry and History together in grades 11–12 as they are part of different "streams"). Private candidates (that is, not studying in a school) are generally not allowed to register for and take board examinations, but there are some exceptions such as NIOS.

Students taking the grade 10 examination usually take five or six subjects: Two languages (at least one of them being English/Hindi), Mathematics, Science (often taught as three separate disciplines: physics, chemistry, and biology; but assessed as a single subject), Social Sciences (consisting of four components assessed as a single subject: history, geography, economics and political science), and one optional subject depending on the availability of teachers. Elective or optional subjects often include computer applications, information technology, commerce, painting, music, and home science.

Students taking the grade 12 examination usually take five or six subjects with English or the local language being compulsory. Students re-enrolling in most secondary schools after grade 10 have to choose by choosing subjects from a "core stream" in addition to the language: Science (Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Biotechnology, Physical Education), Commerce (Accountancy, Business Studies, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Informatics Practices, Marketing, Retail, Financial Market Management), or Humanities (History, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, Geography, Legal Studies, Fine Arts, Music, Dance) depending on the school. Students with the Science stream study mathematics up to single-variable calculus in grade 12.

Most reputable universities in India require students to pass college-administered admissions tests in addition to passing a final secondary school examination for entry into a college or university. School grades are usually not sufficient for college admissions in India. Popular entrance tests include JEE, NEET , and the recent CUET.

higher education

India has a publicly funded higher education system that is the third largest in the world.The main governing body at the tertiary level is the University Grants Commission, which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate between the center and the state. Accreditation for higher learning is overseen by 15 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants Commission (UGC).Apart from these institutions, there are several parallel, state, and nationally accredited bodies that provide professional and vocational educational programs like the National Skill Development Corporation, Gramin Skill Development Mission, the Himayat, Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, etc.

Impact of globalization

In the realm of education, globalization has brought significant changes, opening up opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and diversity. Today, students have access to a wide range of educational resources, including online courses, virtual classrooms, and international exchange programs.

Current trends and future prospect

One significant change is the shift from traditional textbooks to digital resources. E-books, online libraries, and interactive multimedia platforms have made learning more engaging and accessible. Educational software and applications also cater to diverse learning styles, providing personalised learning experiences.One of the most significant challenges the Indian education system faces is the quality of education. Despite significant improvements in recent years, many schools, colleges, and universities still lack adequate infrastructure, qualified teachers, and an updated curriculum