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Tan Sierra Research 1 Running Head: Sierra Tan’s Research Paper #1 1 Education in India With a population of more than 1.2 billion, India has the second largest education system in the world (after China). According to a 2011 Census conducted by the United Nations Population Division, half of its population is under the age of 25, depicting an image of a youthful engine for economic growth. However, this growth can only be achieved if the many problems in its education system can be resolved. For example, India is one of the countries with a high illiteracy rate with a quarter of its population un-educated; there is a large gap between male and female literacy rate; and the teaching quality is very low, especially in public sectors. This research paper aims to help our readers understand education in India, and identify what factors have contributed to its current status. I will start with an overview of India’s education system and its major characteristics; then I will explore the causal factors from cultural, historical, and philosophical perspectives respectively; and conclude with some recommendations for its future development. Overview of India’s Education System Structure India is divided into 29 states and 7 “Union Territories”. Education in India is provided by the public as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels – central, state, and local, and it falls under the control of both the Union Government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. The apex body for curriculum related matters for school education in India is the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which plays a central role in developing policies and programs. Each state has its counterpart called the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT). The essential responsibility of these bodies is to Sierra Tan’s Research Paper #1 2 propose educational strategies, curricula, pedagogical schemes and evaluation methodologies to the states’ departments of education. In general, NCERT provides guidelines for SCERTs, but the states have significant freedom in implementing their own education system. Major Streams The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), and the state boards are the three major streams in India, responsible for deciding on things such as curriculum, textbooks and examination system for all schools affiliated to them. Apart from these three streams, a few schools, represented by the Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh, are trying to adopt innovative systems such as the Montessori method, aiming to break away from the normal education system that promotes rote learning (Kumar, 2013). Characteristics of Indian Education Today, the Indian government attaches great importance to its education, aiming to improve the nation’s human capital and enhance the nation’s global competitiveness. A close examination of its education system reveals some special features inherent to this system, which I will discuss respectively in the following sector. First, India has the largest number of illiterate people in the world (Cheney et al, 2006) and education is only accessible to a small portion of the population. Through the National Policy on Education (1986) and the Program of Action (POA) (1992), the government established a goal to provide free and compulsory education for all children under 14 before the 21st Century. Investment was made with a focus on primary education. In addition, the government has banned child labor in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions. Despite these efforts, one out of four Indians remains illiterate. As Cheney 2 Sierra Tan’s Research Paper #1 3 et al puts it, this education system is “geared to preserving the position of the more privileged classes. Education served as a ‘gatekeeper,’ permitting an avenue of upward mobility only to those with resources” (2006, p. ). Second, higher education has been at the top of the agenda for the Indian government in recent years, and a myriad of engineering colleges and technology institutes have been flourishing. Since India’s independence from British rule in 1947, the government has placed great emphasis on engineering, science and technology. As early as the 1950’s, the government established six Indian institutes of technology based on the MIT model. According to Wikipedia, as of 2011, there are 1,522 degree-granting engineering colleges in India with an annual student intake of 582,000, plus 1,244 polytechnics with an annual intake of 265,000. These educational institutions produce a large number of engineers and software workers many of whom leave India and work across the globe. Third, English is widely spoken in India, and it is one of the three languages (English, Hindi, and mother tongue) that are mandatory in most schools. Cheney et al cited a 1997 India Today survey, which suggested that a third of the population could communicate in English that year (2005, p. 2). They further noted that given the increased efforts in promoting English learning since 1997, it was estimated there would be 350 million English-speaking Indians in 2006. Today, India has the second most English speakers in the world after the USA. According to the article “India: World’s Second Largest English-speaking Country” on Indian Tribune, almost everyone in the upper and upper-middle class in India speaks English fluently, and English fluency is kind of a pre-requisite for upward mobility on the class ladder. English is not only the common language among most educated Indians; it is also the language of all businesses, government and education. For example, like the USA, English is the language of the 3 Sierra Tan’s Research Paper #1 4 entire university system. The fourth aspect worth our attention is the big difference between male and female literacy rate. According to the website of MapsofIndia.com, as of 2011, these figures are 82% & 65% respectively. Many Indian parents do not allow their female children to go to school, and prefer that their daughters get married off at a young age. Nevertheless, we have to note this gap has been reduced thanks to the government’s continuous efforts in promoting female education. One more striking feature is the poor quality of Indian public education, with inadequate infrastructure and pedagogic attention. As Cheney et al pointed out, “While the government has increased its focus on primary education, the highly inefficient state of public service delivery in education, with high teacher absence and low teaching activity even when teachers are present, is likely to keep learning levels low for the foreseeable future” (2006, p. 2). These problems combined with a very high student to teacher ratio (In 2006, Cheney et al identified the teacher to student ratio in primary schools was 1:38), has made improving teaching quality in India a daunting task. Now that we have the big picture of India’s education system with its five salient features in mind – high illiteracy rate and inequality in education, thriving higher education versus underdeveloped primary education, wide-spread English proficiency, big gap between male and female literacy rate, and poor quality in education, we can move on to examine what roles culture, history, and philosophy have played respectively and collectively in shaping this system into its being. Cultural Factors Caste System India is a very religious country, which fosters a caste system. Historically, there are four 4 Sierra Tan’s Research Paper #1 5 major classes in India, The priest class, the Brahmin, was imparted knowledge of religion, philosophy, and other ancillary branches; while the warrior class, the Kshatriya, was trained in the various aspects of warfare. The business class, the Vaishya, was taught their trade; and the working class of the Shudras was generally deprived of educational advantages. This caste system has contributed to India’s inequality in education; as mentioned previously, education served as a “gatekeeper”, providing upward mobility only to people from higher classes or those with resources. Linguistic and Cultural Diversity India is often called a land of diversity, and it is similar to the entire European continent. As the Indian Tribune has observed, “Each state of India, almost the size of a European country, has its own culture and its own language. Each Indian language is distinctly different from another. Most Indian languages have their own script — the scripts are distinctly different as well. As a matter of fact, out of total of 25 scripts invented on this planet by the mankind, 10 are from India. For an Indian person traveling to another state in India, it is like going to a foreign country — the local language is not yours”. The linguistic and cultural diversity have made it difficult for the central government to provide uniformed primary education across the country. As such, the central government has focused more on higher education, while granting states considerable freedom to manage their own education on primary level. Although states' authority on education has its historical reasons; which we will look at in more details next. Historical Legacy Governance In the past, school education was a state subject under the constitution: states had complete authority on deciding policies and implementing them. The role of the central 5 Sierra Tan’s Research Paper #1 6 government was only to coordinate with states and provide them with standards of education. However, this was changed in 1976 with a constitutional amendment, which stipulated that education is now on the concurrent list; that is, the government is to devise education policies and programs, although states still have a lot of freedom in implementing them. Elite Education and British Colony Historically, India has pursued elite education.
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