School Education in India – an Overview
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LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT PARLIAMENT LIBRARY AND REFERENCE, RESEARCH, DOCUMENTATION AND INFORMATION SERVICE (LARRDIS) MEMBERS’ REFERENCE SERVICE REFERENCE NOTE . No. 24 /RN/Ref./August/2013 For the use of Members of Parliament Not for Publication School Education in India – An Overview .------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The reference material is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is not for publication. This Service is not to be quoted as the source of the information as it is based on the sources indicated at the end/in the text. This Service does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy or veracity of the information or views contained in the note/collection. Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Indian School System 2 i) Elementary Education 3 ii) Secondary Education 3 3. Various Centrally Sponsored Schemes 4 4. Institutions in School Education 13 5. Enrolment in School Education 17 6. Expenditure on School Education 19 th 7. Achievement of 11 Plan in Education 21 th 8. 12 Five Year Plan : Targets 22 9. Conclusion 23 SCHOOL EDUCATION IN INDIA – An Overview 1. Introduction Education is the most important lever for social, economic and political transformation. A well-educated population, equipped with the relevant knowledge, attitudes and skills is essential for economic and social development in the twenty-first century. Education is the most potent tool for socio-economic mobility and a key instrument for building an equitable and just society. Education provides skills and competencies for economic well-being. Education strengthens democracy by imparting to citizens the tools needed to fully participate in the governance process. Education also acts as an integrative force in society, imparting values that foster social cohesion and national identity1. Before 1976, education was the exclusive responsibility of the States. The Constitutional Amendment of 1976, which included education in the concurrent List, was a far-reaching step. The substantive, financial and administrative implication required a new sharing of responsibility between the Union Government and the States. While the role and responsibility of the States in education remained largely unchanged, the Union Government accepted a larger responsibility of reinforcing the national and integrated character of education, maintaining quality and standard including those of the teaching profession at all levels, and the study and monitoring of the educational requirements of the country. The Central Government plays a leading role in the evolution and monitoring of educational policies and programmes, the most notable of which are the National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 and the Programme of Action (POA), 1986 as updated in 1992. The Government has taken a number of major initiatives during the 11th Five Year Plan. Some of the new initiatives in the School and literacy sector include: Enactment of Right to Education, Launching of Saakshar Bharat, Evolving a National 1 India, Planning Commission, Draft Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) Volume-III, p. 48 3 The pre-primary education as a part of the education ladder is not compulsory. Governmental intervention in the pre-primary sector is through the Early Child Care and Education (ECCE) programme which includes universalizing the programme of Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) to provide a functional Anganwadi in every settlement and ensure full coverage for all children4. i) Elementary Education: Free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of fourteen is a constitutional commitment in India5. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008 The Constitutional (Eighty Six) Amendment Act, 2002, notified on 13th December 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution, which provides that ‘the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 6-14 years in such manner as the State, may, by law, determine’. Article 21-A of the Constitution of India and its consequent legislation, the right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009, become operative in the country on 1st April 2010. This development has far reaching implications for elementary education and for the implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, in the years to come. This development implies that every child has a right to elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards. The reform processes initiated in 2010-11 perusal to this important development, were continued during the year 2011-12. The provision also includes admission of 25 per cent children from disadvantaged groups and weaker sections in class I in private unaided schools6. ii) Secondary Education: Secondary Education is a crucial stage in the educational hierarchy as it prepares the young persons for higher education and also for the world of work. The Government of India’s intervention in secondary education 4 Ibid, p. 14 5 Ibid, p. 18 6 India. Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education & Literacy Department of Higher Education, Annual Report, 2011-12, pp. 22 & 186 4 is at two levels: (i) Through apex national level bodies like National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangthan (KVS), and Central Tibetan School Administration (CTSA); and (ii) Through centrally sponsored schemes, such as (a) Scheme of Boarding and Hostel Facilities for Girl Students of secondary and Higher Secondary Schools, (b) Integrated Education for Disabled Children, (c) Information and Communication Technology in Schools, and (d) Quality Improvement in Schools7. With a dramatic growth in elementary education enrolments and improvements in retention and transition rates in recent years, particularly amongst the more disadvantaged groups, there is an increasing pressure on the secondary schools to admit more students. With the enforcement of RTE Act and further improvement in retention and transition rates, demand for secondary schooling will grow rapidly in the coming years. Meeting this demand is critical for three reasons. First, the secondary education fulfils large manpower needs of the semi-organised and the organised sectors of the economy. Second, it is the supply chain for higher education. And, finally, it caters to the needs of teachers for primary schooling. Low participation rates and poor quality at the secondary stage are a bottleneck in improving both the higher education participation and the schooling at the elementary stage8. 3. Various Centrally Sponsored Schemes In order to achieve UEE (Universalisation of Elementary Education, the Government of India has initiated a number of programmes and projects9. The Government adopts an integrated approach in the implementation of the various centrally sponsored schemes, in keeping with principles of the National Policy on Education, to ensure that the education of equitable quality for all to fully harness the 7 op.cit., Status of Education in India, p. 20 8 op.cit., Draft Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017), p. 67 9 op.cit., Status of Education in India, p. 18 5 nation’s human resource potential. The common objectives are to enhance access through the expansion of quality school education; to promote equity through the inclusion of disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, and to improve the quality of education. Following is the list of Centrally sponsored programmes being implemented in the Education Sector under Ministry of Human Resource Development10: Sl. No. Name of the Scheme 1. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA) 2. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya 3. National Programme for Education of Girls at elementary Level (NPEGEL) 4. Mid Day Meal Scheme(MDMS) 5. Mahila Samakhya 6. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan(RMSA) 7. Scheme for setting up of 6000 Model Schools at Block level as Benchmark of Excellence 8. Scheme for construction and running of Girl’s Hostel for Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools 9. Scheme of Vocationalisation of Secondary Education at +2 level 10. Scheme of ICT @ School 11. Inclusive Education for the Disabled at Secondary School (IEDSS) 12. Quality Improvement in School 13. Strengthening of Teachers’ Training Institutions 14. Adult Education and Skill Development Scheme 15. Scheme for providing a Quality Education in Madarsas (SPQEM) 16. National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme 17. Scheme for Infrastructure Development in Minority Institutions (IDMI) 18. National Scheme for Incentive to the Girl Child for Secondary Education 19. Appointment of Language Teachers 20. Setting up of New Polytechnics and Strengthening of Existing Polytechnics 21. Pre-matric Scholarship Scheme 22. Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) 10 Rajya Sabha Starred Question no.2886 dated 22.3.2013 6 Some of the above schemes are discussed below: i) 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. SSA is being implemented in partnership with the State Governments and reaches out to 192 million children