EDUCATION

Education holds the key to economic growth and social transformation. Though the major indicators of socio-economic development viz., the growth rate of the economy, birth rate, death rate, infant mortality rate (IMR) and literacy rate, are all interconnected, the literacy rate has been the major determinant of the rise or fall in the other indicators. There is enough evidence in India to show that a high literacy rate, especially in the case of women, correlates with low birth rate, low IMR and increase in the rate of life expectancy. The recognition of this fact has created awareness on the need to focus upon literacy and elementary education programmes, not simply as a matter of social justice but more to foster economic growth, social well-being and social stability.

The National Policy on Education formulated in 1986 and modified in 1992 aims to play a positive and interventionist role in correcting social and regional imbalances, empowering women and in securing rightful place for the disadvantaged and the minorities. At the national level there is the commitment under the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) for increasing public expenditure on education to 6 per cent of GDP and for universalising elementary education. There is also an obligation, under the Constitution's 86th Amendment, for making available free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6-14 years.

Budget allocation

Education continues to enjoy primacy in the recent budget of 2007-08 and the allocation for school education has been enhanced by about 35 per cent from Rs.17,133 crore in 2006-07 to Rs.23,142 crore in 2007-08.

Means-Cum-Merit Scholarships

It has also been proposed in the 2007-08 budget to introduce National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme to arrest drop out ratio; selection through a national test from among students who have passed class VIII; each student to be given Rs.6,000 per year; 100,000 scholarships to be awarded every year; a corpus fund of Rs.750 crore to be created this year, and augmented by a like amount annually over the next three years.

Elementary Education

In an effort to improve the performance of the school system and provide education to all children in the 6-14 age group by 2010,the government has implemented a number of programmes. These include
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is an effort to universalise elementary education by community-ownership of the school system. It is a response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country. The SSA programme is also an attempt to provide an opportunity for improving human capabilities to all children, through provision of community-owned quality education in a mission mode.

Objectives of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Implemented in partnership with the States, SSA addresses the needs of 194 million children in the age group of 6-14 years. Under the scheme, 9.72 lakh existing primary and upper primary schools and 36.95 lakh existing teachers have been covered. The achievements of SSA till September 30, 2006 include opening of 1,64,477 new schools, construction of 97,999 School buildings, construction of 2,81,001 additional classrooms, 1,50,202 drinking water facilities, construction of 1,93,608 toilets, supply of free textbooks to 5.78 crore children and appointment of 6,66,840 teachers. About 30 lakh teachers receive in service training each year. There has been a significant reduction in the number of out of school children on account of SSA interventions. Two independent surveys show that 93 per cent of the children in the age group 6-14 years are in school.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) will be provided Rs.10,671 crore. Further there is an increase in the provision for strengthening teachers training institutions from Rs.162 crore to Rs.450 crore. Appointment of 200,000 more teachers and construction of 500,000 more classrooms are expected in the next fiscal year. In addition to this transfer to Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh will increase from Rs.8,746 crore to Rs.10,393 crore from the revenues raised through the education cess.

Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme

Under the MDM scheme, cooked midday meal with a nutritional content of 450 calories and 12 grams protein is served to children studying at primary level in government, government-aided, and local body schools; and in Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS)/Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) Centres. The Scheme is being implemented by all States and Union Territories. About 12 crore children studying in over 9.50 lakh schools are presently covered under the scheme, which is the largest school lunch programme in the world.
In line with its commitment to the Mid-Day Meal scheme, the government has allocated Rs.7, 324 crore for the same in the recent budget (2007-08).

National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Education (NPEGEL)

The NPEGEL scheme was launched in July 2003 with a focused intervention aimed at enhancing girls' education. NPEGEL provides for development of a "model school" in every cluster with more intense community mobilization and supervision of girls' enrolment in schools. Gender-sensitisation of teachers, development of gender-sensitive learning materials and provision of need-based incentives like stationery, workbooks and uniforms are some of the objectives under NPEGEL. The scheme is being implemented in about 3,164 educationally backward blocks in 25 States.

Under NPEGEL scheme, around 31,450 model schools have been developed, 1.97 lakh teachers have been gender-sensitised, skill building provided to girls on diverse trades and life skills; 10,419 additional classrooms constructed for bridge courses; teacher training and skill building activities imparted to girls; and over 51,345 Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) centres are being supported in areas not covered by Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme to help free girls from sibling care responsibilities and attend schools. Free uniforms have been given as a direct educational incentive to about 2 crore girls in educationally backward blocks. About 1.84 crore girls have been benefited under NPEGEL till October 31, 2006.

The fund released by Government of India during the period 2005-06 for NPEGEL was Rs. 296.51 crore. An outlay of Rs.813.36 crore has been approved under NPGEL for 2006-07.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) Scheme

KGBV is a scheme launched in July 2004 for setting up residential schools at upper primary level for girls belonging predominantly to the SC, ST, OBC and minority communities. It is being implemented in educationally backward blocks of the country where female rural literacy is below the national average and gender gap in literacy is above the national average. The scheme provides for a minimum reservation of 75 per cent of the enrolment for girls from SC, ST, OBC or minority communities. For the remaining 25 per cent, priority is accorded to girls from families below poverty line. The KGBV scheme is funded on cost-sharing basis between the Government and the States in the ratio of 75:25, KGVB scheme is being implemented in 24 States and 1 Union Territory. Of the 1,180 KGBVs sanctioned by Government, by September 30, 2006, 782 had been operationalised with 52,186 girls - of whom, 13,779 are SCs and 14,637 are STs enrolled in them.

Secondary Education

Secondary education, which has a 2+2 structure and starts with classes IX-X leading to higher secondary classes XI-XII, prepares young persons in the age group 14-18 for entry into the world of higher education and work. The number of secondary and higher secondary schools has increased from 7,416 in 1950-51 to 1,52,049 in 2004-05. The intervention of the Central Government in secondary education has primarily been in two areas (i) through apex level bodies, and (ii) through various The Commission on Secondary Schools (CSSs).

Central Government supports autonomous organizations like National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) and Navodaya Vidyalaya Sangathan (NVS) and Central Tibetan School Administration (CTSA), the first one for providing research and policy support to the Central and State Governments, CBSE for affiliating Secondary Schools and the remaining three for their own school systems. There are 919 functional Kendriya Vidyalayas and 539 Navodaya Vidyalayas which are pace setting schools in the country.

In the current education scenario, a large number of students are completing the upper primary classes, it is therefore necessary to provide access to the secondary education. In accordance with this, the recent budget (2007-08) has announced to double the provision for secondary education from Rs. 1,837 crore to Rs. 3,794 crore.

University and Higher Education

The main thrust of activities in the higher education sector relates to the following areas:

To achieve the set targets, the following institutions have been created to promote, facilitate and regulate University and Higher education :
The University Grants Commission (UGC) came into existence in 1953, with the objective of coordinating activities for promotion of higher education in the country.
UGC provides accreditation of universities and colleges, promotion of universities of excellence, promotion of centres of area studies, establishment of special cells for SC/ ST, assistance for strengthening infrastructure in science and technology, setting up of inter-university centres, participation in seminars and conferences held within the country and outside, and establishment of computer centres in universities. The UGC has also allocated maintenance and development grants to 17 Central Universities.

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), established by an Act of Parliament in 1985, promotes Open University and Distance Education System in the country. It widened the access of higher education by providing opportunities to larger segments of the population. IGNOU has adopted integrated multimedia instructions strategy.

Significant contributions have also been made by research councils like Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS), Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR) and National Council of Rural Institutes (NCRI). These research councils, which function outside the university system, promote research and creativity in important areas like social science, history, philosophy and interdisciplinary areas.

Bilateral educational relations have been promoted by institutes like the United States Educational Foundation in India (USEFI), Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) and American Institute of Indian Studies by offering fellowships for research on different subjects.

There has been an impressive growth in the area of higher education with an increase in annual student enrolment from 7.26 million in 1997-98 to 10.48 million in 2004-05. Enrolment of women students rose from 2.45 million in 1997-98 to 4.04 million in 2004-05, constituting 40.4 per cent of the total enrolment.

Adult Education

A socially conscious and literate society has a vital role to play in a democracy. Eradication of illiteracy has been one of the major national concerns of the Government of India since Independence. The need for a literate population was recognised as a crucial input for nation building. Due to a number of significant programmes taken up since Independence to eradicate illiteracy among adults, for the first time the absolute number of literates outnumbered the number of illiterates in the Census 2001.

To attain a goal of sustainable growth in education, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the programmes carried out by the government, and to accord a new sense of urgency, seriousness and emphasis with fixed goals, clear time frame and age specific target groups, National Literacy Mission (NLM) was set up in May 1988.

The objective of the National Literacy Mission (NLM) is to impart functional literacy to non-literates in the 15-35 age group. The goal of the mission is to achieve sustainable threshold literacy rate of 75 per cent by 2007. The main programmes of the Mission include Total Literacy Campaign to provide basic literacy to the non-literates, followed by Post-Literacy Programme for the reinforcement of the literacy skills to the neo- literates and the Continuing Education Programme to provide facilities for life-long education to the community at large. At present, 101 districts are implementing Total Literacy Campaigns, 171 districts Post-Literacy Programmes and 325 districts Continuing Education Programmes.

In addition, 194 Jan Shikshan Sansthans have been set up to provide vocational training to the neo-literates and backward sections of the society and 26 State Resource Centres have been established for providing academic and technical resource support for the literacy programmes.

Technical Education

The Technical Education system in the country covers courses and programmes in engineering, technology, management, architecture, town planning, pharmacy, applied arts and crafts. The Ministry of Human Resource Development caters to programmes at undergraduate, postgraduate and research levels. The technical education at the Central level comprises the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which is the statutory body for proper planning and coordinated development of the technical education system; seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) which are Institutions of National Importance; six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), five deemed to-be-universities. Also there are 4 technical institutes in the Central sector; 4 National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTRs); and 4 Boards of Apprenticeship Training (BOATs).

Other schemes at the Central level include Programme for Apprenticeship Training (Scholarships and Stipends); Assistance to universities for Technical Education; Community Polytechnics; World Bank Project for Improvement of Polytechnic Education, Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme of Government of India (TEQIP), Polytechnic for disabled Persons; Payment for Professional and Special Services; Direct Central Assistance to the Central Institutions, namely, Research and Development, Modernisation and Removal of Obsolescence of Engineering Laboratories and Workshops and Thrust Areas of Technical Education; Human Resource Development in Information Technology; Support to distance and web-based education; National Programme for Earthquake Engineering Education (NPEEE), Indian National Digital Library for Science and Technology (INDEST) Consortium; Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok; Expenditure on Foreign Delegations and Foreign Experts; Technology Development Missions. There also exists one public sector undertaking, namely, Educational Consultants India Ltd. (Ed.CIL) under the Technical Education system of the Ministry.

To leverage new information and communication technologies (ICTs), to enhance learning effectiveness and expand access to high quality education, a National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) is being implemented.

Growth in Literacy

Literacy in India has made remarkable strides since Independence. This has been further confirmed by the recently declared provisional results of the literacy rates of census 2001. The literacy rate has increased from 18.33% in 1951 to 65.38% in 2001. This is despite the fact that during the major part of the last five decades there has been exponential growth of the population at nearly 2% per annum. Some of the important highlights of literacy rates of census 2001 are given below:

SOURCE:Minstry of external affairs,Indian chamber of commerce,Minstry of education
Useful Web links
Ministry of Education