Education in India

It is also supported by various stakeholders and partners, such as UNICEF, UNESCO, World Bank, civil society organisations, academic institutions, private sector entities, and media outlets.

Education in India is plagued by issues such as grade inflation,[11] corruption, unaccredited institutions offering fraudulent credentials and lack of employment prospects for graduates.

[55][56] His pioneering historical research, conducted intensively over a decade, provides evidence from extensive early British administrators’ reports of the widespread prevalence of indigenous educational institutions in Bombay, Bengal and Madras Presidencies as well as in the Punjab, teaching a sophisticated curriculum, with daily school attendance by about 30% of children aged 6–15.

Prendergast, a member of the Governor's Council in Bombay Presidency, recorded the following about indigenous schools on 27 June 1821:[59] "I need hardly mention what every member of the Board knows as well as I do, that there is hardly a village, great or small, throughout our territories, in which there is not at least one school, and in larger villages more; many in every town, and in large cities in every division; where young natives are taught reading, writing and arithmetic, upon a system so economical, from a handful or two of grain, to perhaps a rupee per month to the school master, according to the ability of the parents, and at the same time so simple and effectual, that there is hardly a cultivator or petty dealer who is not competent to keep his own accounts with a degree of accuracy, in my opinion, beyond what we meet with amongst the lower orders in our own country.

"[62]According to sociologist Hetukar Jha, this act lead to the decline of indigenous schools which flourished in villages and towns, and simultaneously, the British policy in 1835 skewed in favor of the filtration theory of education, which worked to block to a significant extent the entry of the middle classes and below.

Historian Gauri Viswanathan identifies two major changes to the relation between Britain and India that came about as the result of the Charter Act 1813: first, the assumption by the British of a new responsibility for Indian people's education; and, second, the relaxation of controls on missionary activity.

In addition to the regular academic curriculum, vocational education is offered at various stages to provide specific skills and training in fields such as engineering, information technology, hospitality, healthcare, and more.

I am concerned that in many states university appointments, including that of vice-chancellors, have been politicised and have become subject to caste and communal considerations, there are complaints of favouritism and corruption.The Government of India is aware of the plight of higher education sector and has been trying to bring reforms, however, 15 bills are still awaiting discussion and approval in the Parliament.

[105] One of the approaches to make internationalisation of Indian higher education effective is to develop a coherent and comprehensive policy which aims at infusing excellence, bringing institutional diversity and aids in capacity building.

[116][116] The UGC has inter-university centers at a number of locations throughout India to promote common research, e.g. the Nuclear Science Centre at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

[122] Given the sheer numbers of students seeking education in engineering, science and mathematics, India faces challenges balancing the huge demand for employment with the need to ensure quality graduates.

[142] With the twin objectives of improving health and education of the poor children, India has embarked upon an ambitious scheme of providing mid day meals (MDM) in the government and government-assisted primary schools.

[143] In a welcome move, Government of India made special allocations for Midday Meal Scheme during nationwide lockdown and school closure period of COVID-19 to continue nutrition delivery to children.

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.

[157] In their favour, it has been pointed out that private schools cover the entire curriculum and offer extra-curricular activities such as science fairs, general knowledge, sports, music and drama.

[167] NGO work in Indian education broadly spans four areas – piloting approaches to multigrade teaching, making improvements to learning environments, teacher training and support, and creating stronger school-community links.

[175] The Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation (MVF), established in 1991 to address literacy among child laborers utilised Parent Teacher Associations to disburse seed money for the programme under the supervision of the village Panchayat, which then took issues of staffing shortage and insufficient infrastructure to the State Government.

[176] The Pratham Educational Initiative in Delhi and Mumbai works with the Integrated Child Development Scheme to set up and provide support to community-run pre-school centres or balwadis.

Under the Namma Shaale project in Karnataka, the Azim Premji Foundation identified seven key stakeholders (children, teachers, parents, School Development and Monitoring Committees, Community Based Organizations, Gram Panchayats, and education managers) in their work to establish a framework of school-community leadership.

[193] Due to these challenges and beliefs associated with sign language, education for DHH people in India often focuses on teaching children to hear, speak, and read lips, this is known as an oral approach.

[216][217] Anil K. Rajvanshi writes that Indian education system seems to be producing zombies since in most of the schools students seemed to be spending majority of their time in preparing for competitive exams rather than learning or playing.

[220] The British "essentialist" view of knowledge of the nineteenth century emphasised the individual, scientific, universal, and moral aims of education ahead of the social and cultural.

This, combined with the colonial construction of Indian society, designed to preserve the ideological lead of the Empire post-1857, it helped shape the official nineteenth-century school curriculum.

[222] Setty and Ross elaborate on the role of such programmes, themselves divided further into individual-based, community based, or the Individual-cum-community-based, in which microscopic levels of development are overseen at village level by an appointed worker: The community development programmes comprise agriculture, animal husbandry, cooperation, rural industries, rural engineering (consisting of minor irrigation, roads, buildings), health and sanitation including family welfare, family planning, women welfare, child care and nutrition, education including adult education, social education and literacy, youth welfare and community organisation.

In each of these areas of development there are several programmes, schemes and activities which are additive, expanding and tapering off covering the total community, some segments, or specific target populations such as small and marginal farmers, artisans, women and in general people below the poverty line.

Sita Anantha Raman outlines the progress of women's education in India: Since 1947 the Indian government has tried to provide incentives for girls' school attendance through programmes for midday meals, free books, and uniforms.

[238]Sita Anantha Raman also mentions that while the educated Indian women workforce maintains professionalism, the men outnumber them in most fields and, in some cases, receive higher income for the same positions.

This pressure has been linked to cases of mental health issues and student suicides especially in the city of Kota, Rajasthan, amongst those preparing for competitive exams such as JEE and NEET.

[263][264] Initiatives like the National Level Common Entrance Examination (NLCEE) provide students with exposure to various career paths and institutions, guiding them to make informed decisions about their future.

In recent times, several major announcements have been made for developing the poor state of affairs in the education sector in India, the most notable ones being those of the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.