India, A country well known for its adorable diversity and flourishing culture is equally acknowledged for the quality of its human resource and potential. As a country with 1.2 billion individuals and more than 65% of the population below the age of 35, we have a humongous wealth of sapien potential. Education plays a key role in tapping this potential and transforming the destiny of the individual and the country aswell. Our education system is being regarded as a home for intellectual wealth and capacity. India is home for the worlds earliest first and one of the contemporary best university 'The NALANDA University' which flourished in bihar. With 2000 teachers and around 10000 students it was regarded as a highest peak of learning during the 10th and 11th centuries. But the only flaw during the historic years of our educational system was, the lower classes were deprived from learning as caste system prevailed in india till the 18th and 19th centuries. However years have passed and we live in a world full of opportunities for every individual despite his caste,creed,race,region and religion.
Even in the first half of 20th century education was meant only for who either afford it or belong to an upper creed of the society.The education system was conventional with the students residing in gurukul's learning from the teachings of guru. With the advent of british into india, the culture of western education began to take root in indian education system. 12% literacy rate during the time of independence in 1947 suggests not only the un-availability of education to common man but also deeply rooted nuances of socio-economic differences. But today we produce 2.5 million graduates out of different colleges and various universities. The University grants commission(UGC), the All India council for technical education(AICTE), NAAC, National Board of Accrediton were set-up in the following years after independence to increase the standards of education at the higher levels. Similarly District Education Revitalization Programme (DERP) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA) were launched in the early 90's to stabilize the education at primary level inorder to fulfill the right to education act provided by the constitution to children of age group 6-14.Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is one the world's largest education initiatives in the world targeting at education for all children between the age group of 6-14.Both private as well as government run\aided schools and colleges help in reaching education to the public. The government plays a pivotal role with 80% of learning centers run by the government.Private institutions are regarded as a better place to learn with more commitment and focus from the teacher resulting in better performance from the students which is evident from the results of board as well as competetive exams.
Enough with history and general aspects of our education system, let us dive into the hardcore facts ad facets of it.
In a country where right for education is mandatory for age group of 6-14, we are the largest contigment of bonded child labour across the world under the age of 14. However it might be a casualty of high population and varying economic conditions prevailing in the nation. There are close to 1.27 crores of child labours under the age of 14 in our country where around 13 crores have enrolled in schools at the primary level as per United nations report. However there is a level of diplomatic contraversy here, with Human Resource Development(HRD) ministry's Indian education report stating that 96% of children between the age of 6-14 are enrolled in schools. I am not sure where truth lies between these two statements.The Children Rights and You (CRY), an organisation that makes difference to lives of children in its report produced statistics that showed the standard of primary educational infrastructure in the country.
1,48,696 government schools in India are without a building,
1,65,742 schools without drinking water,
4,55,561 schools without toilets.
1,14,531 primary schools are single-teacher schools.
Primary enrolments (Million) Upper primary enrolments (Million)
1999-2000 113.6 42.1
2000-2001 113.8 42.8
2001-2002 113.9 44.8
2002-2003 122.4 46.9
2003-2004 128.3 48.7
2004-2005 131.7 51.7
A key ratio for assessing the actual extent of access of children is the enrolment ratio. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is defined as the ratio of gross enrolment of students to the proportion of total children in the relevant age group. It is over 100% in some cases on account of cases of repeaters and some children being either over-aged or under-aged. It is clear that the GER for upper primary grades is far less satisfactory than that for primary grades, reflecting yet again the pressing need for capacity creation in the upper primary segment. Overall GERs for the total elementary system have been on the rise, hitting nearly 95% in 2004-05.
Primary Upper Primary
facilities like
2004-05(%) 2005-06(%) 2004-05(%) 2005-06(%)
Building 3.5 3.0 2.8 2.4
Toilets 51.4 44.6 16.8 15.3
Boundary walls 50.4 50.8 15.7 16.5
Drinking water 16.3 15.1 4.7 4.8
If this is the standard of infrastructure the government provides to its future citizens one can understand the standard of teaching systems.
And only 1/3rd of the class 1 enrollments reach class 8.This shows the number of school drop-outs which need to be taken care-of by the concerned authorities. The number of students going to class 11,12(Higher secondary education) from secondary schooling is phenominally low.Government need to understand the gravity of the issue and need to take necessary measures. I don't blame it all on the government, government has been amending constitution, spreading the value of education,providing adequate budjet at the higher level. But buearocratic autocracy blended with corruption, lack of commitment and dedication at the medium and lower levels of hierarchy means that there is no scope for making these issues resolved and take our infrastructure to the next level. So adequate levels of understanding and commitment in various levels of buearocracy is essential.
QUALITY & STANDARDS OF INDIAN EDUCATION :
The government of india plays a crucial part of our education system with around 74% of students being taught in government or government aided schools and colleges.This 74% study in government aided schools or colleges not because completely because of the quality of education they offer, but due to non-availabilty,non-affordability of private institutions where the fee structure is on the higher side and not many can afford it. A study found that 65% of schoolchildren in Hyderabad's slums attend private schools, Isn't this not a fact that describes the standard of the education the schools in their surroundings offer???. With the advent of private institutions the quality of education has reached better levels with the teachers being more focussed and committed towards what is being taught, and this is an un-debatable fact. However during the last decade the number of private institutions that are being set up at all levels of education has been very high which transferred a must-be fun filled learning/Education process into an ever growing industry with investment potential expected to cross $50 billion mark by 2015. This is the reason for exploitation of the industry by lot of organisations and private individuals as well. With these explotations government needs to upgrade its infrastructure at rapid pace to join the lead with private sector in the race in which the government is laps behind. However these numbers resulted in an un-healthy competition making them sprewing out stdents in large numbers. The amount of capitation fee some schools collect and the process of interviewing parents and setting them educational qualifications for sending their children to elite schools has just started a new-era in the history of our ugly turning education system. This makes aam admi run with terror.
Here is a list of institutions and the amount of fee they collect for a kinder garden student. This the total annual fee amount which exludes Bus charges, books, stationary etc.
Institution Fee Collected(INR)
Delhi public school(DPS), New Delhi 55,000 [Day scholars] Note: fee varies from location to location
1,57,000 [Residential]
Birla public schools(BPS),Pilani 1,93,000 [Residential]
Doon School, Deharadun 4,05,000 [Residential]
With all due respect to the standards of these schools,their alumni and the facilities they provide, how many a common man can dream of placing their children in these schools???
However there are centers for excellence where fee structure is affordable by the common man like the KV's and the DAV's. The positive side is that many of the kv's and dav's stand on par in excellence with these reputed elite institutes.
"Our university system is, in many parts, in a state of disrepair...In almost half the districts in the country, higher education enrollments are abysmally low, almost two-third of our universities and 90 per cent of our colleges are rated as below average on quality parameters... 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."
– Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Jairam ramesh honourable minister of cabinet being an IIT bombay alumni himself has thrashed the quality of teaching in the IIT's. How ever controversy his statements may be, there is a ray of truth in his words. India is far behind its contemporaries in terms of reasearch and development. This is an un-arguable, non-debatable fact and our intellectuals won nobel prizes with the help of infrastructure and sheer promotion from various other countries and not their home country is a pitiable fact.
As of 2009 india had 20 central universities,215 state universities,100 deemed universities and 16,000 colleges which sent 2.5 million graduates and more than a half-million engineers like most of us every year, which is double the number America produces. However the standards of the output is par below expected and stated levels in terms of intellectual capability and technical knowledge.
"Mere 25% graduates in India are employable" ---> Mercer Consulting
This fact by the mercer consulting suggests the standard of our own graduates and engineers. Our education has turned out to be just only marks affair, nothing more, nothing less. With percentages determining a students level of intelligence from the very childhood. Lady shriram college, New Delhi which is one of the finest institutes which produced many well placed people in this country mentioned a cut-off of 100% in entrance exam for science students to get admission into b.com course. This does not end here,with many colleges putting a cut-off of 94-95% to secure a seat leads to a wild goose chase in the student community with students leaving out the essence of learning and running behind marks.
To give an easy example, How many of us slept without fear and tension the night before exam, no matter how much we have studied???.How many of us were woried about out CGPA during training at infosys???. Exams must be just an incident but not the sole criteria for adjudging an individual.The system need to take drastic changes to enhance individual creativity and tap the talent of individuals in which they excel rather than imposing on them the nuances of system.
The number of students IIT's take in are about 8000 and 1400 seats in IIm's in a country of millions of aspirants. When one checks the number of seats offered by IVY league the best of the best universities in america and regarded as elite universities in the world, these 8 universities in total have an under-graduate admission of more that 55,000 an academic year and same number of graduates every year. Wharton business school under the university of pennsylvania alone admits 2,306 MBA under-graduates and 1,671 post-graduates. This itself explains the need for expanding our elite institutes. One need to bear in mind that the increase in the infrastructure should not adversely affect the quality of the education they provide. With 1,00,000 students going to US to pursue post graduate education and 57,000 to the Uk, it is a high time that our government enhances infrastrucutre for post-graduate studies, else the brain drain will continue.
I think i have written long-enough.i know i have left out many a topics considering the space[its already huge] and time constraints. i just raised some topics with out discussing the depths of them. Kindly take u'r time not just to read but think about it. Last but not least, thanks for u'r patient reading. Comments and brickbats are most welcome.
References:
www.wikipedia.com
www.education.nic.in
www.economist.com
www.indiancurrentaffairs.org
www.news.bbc.uk
Even in the first half of 20th century education was meant only for who either afford it or belong to an upper creed of the society.The education system was conventional with the students residing in gurukul's learning from the teachings of guru. With the advent of british into india, the culture of western education began to take root in indian education system. 12% literacy rate during the time of independence in 1947 suggests not only the un-availability of education to common man but also deeply rooted nuances of socio-economic differences. But today we produce 2.5 million graduates out of different colleges and various universities. The University grants commission(UGC), the All India council for technical education(AICTE), NAAC, National Board of Accrediton were set-up in the following years after independence to increase the standards of education at the higher levels. Similarly District Education Revitalization Programme (DERP) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA) were launched in the early 90's to stabilize the education at primary level inorder to fulfill the right to education act provided by the constitution to children of age group 6-14.Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is one the world's largest education initiatives in the world targeting at education for all children between the age group of 6-14.Both private as well as government run\aided schools and colleges help in reaching education to the public. The government plays a pivotal role with 80% of learning centers run by the government.Private institutions are regarded as a better place to learn with more commitment and focus from the teacher resulting in better performance from the students which is evident from the results of board as well as competetive exams.
Enough with history and general aspects of our education system, let us dive into the hardcore facts ad facets of it.
In a country where right for education is mandatory for age group of 6-14, we are the largest contigment of bonded child labour across the world under the age of 14. However it might be a casualty of high population and varying economic conditions prevailing in the nation. There are close to 1.27 crores of child labours under the age of 14 in our country where around 13 crores have enrolled in schools at the primary level as per United nations report. However there is a level of diplomatic contraversy here, with Human Resource Development(HRD) ministry's Indian education report stating that 96% of children between the age of 6-14 are enrolled in schools. I am not sure where truth lies between these two statements.The Children Rights and You (CRY), an organisation that makes difference to lives of children in its report produced statistics that showed the standard of primary educational infrastructure in the country.
1,48,696 government schools in India are without a building,
1,65,742 schools without drinking water,
4,55,561 schools without toilets.
1,14,531 primary schools are single-teacher schools.
Primary enrolments (Million) Upper primary enrolments (Million)
1999-2000 113.6 42.1
2000-2001 113.8 42.8
2001-2002 113.9 44.8
2002-2003 122.4 46.9
2003-2004 128.3 48.7
2004-2005 131.7 51.7
A key ratio for assessing the actual extent of access of children is the enrolment ratio. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is defined as the ratio of gross enrolment of students to the proportion of total children in the relevant age group. It is over 100% in some cases on account of cases of repeaters and some children being either over-aged or under-aged. It is clear that the GER for upper primary grades is far less satisfactory than that for primary grades, reflecting yet again the pressing need for capacity creation in the upper primary segment. Overall GERs for the total elementary system have been on the rise, hitting nearly 95% in 2004-05.
Primary Upper Primary
facilities like
2004-05(%) 2005-06(%) 2004-05(%) 2005-06(%)
Building 3.5 3.0 2.8 2.4
Toilets 51.4 44.6 16.8 15.3
Boundary walls 50.4 50.8 15.7 16.5
Drinking water 16.3 15.1 4.7 4.8
If this is the standard of infrastructure the government provides to its future citizens one can understand the standard of teaching systems.
And only 1/3rd of the class 1 enrollments reach class 8.This shows the number of school drop-outs which need to be taken care-of by the concerned authorities. The number of students going to class 11,12(Higher secondary education) from secondary schooling is phenominally low.Government need to understand the gravity of the issue and need to take necessary measures. I don't blame it all on the government, government has been amending constitution, spreading the value of education,providing adequate budjet at the higher level. But buearocratic autocracy blended with corruption, lack of commitment and dedication at the medium and lower levels of hierarchy means that there is no scope for making these issues resolved and take our infrastructure to the next level. So adequate levels of understanding and commitment in various levels of buearocracy is essential.
QUALITY & STANDARDS OF INDIAN EDUCATION :
The government of india plays a crucial part of our education system with around 74% of students being taught in government or government aided schools and colleges.This 74% study in government aided schools or colleges not because completely because of the quality of education they offer, but due to non-availabilty,non-affordability of private institutions where the fee structure is on the higher side and not many can afford it. A study found that 65% of schoolchildren in Hyderabad's slums attend private schools, Isn't this not a fact that describes the standard of the education the schools in their surroundings offer???. With the advent of private institutions the quality of education has reached better levels with the teachers being more focussed and committed towards what is being taught, and this is an un-debatable fact. However during the last decade the number of private institutions that are being set up at all levels of education has been very high which transferred a must-be fun filled learning/Education process into an ever growing industry with investment potential expected to cross $50 billion mark by 2015. This is the reason for exploitation of the industry by lot of organisations and private individuals as well. With these explotations government needs to upgrade its infrastructure at rapid pace to join the lead with private sector in the race in which the government is laps behind. However these numbers resulted in an un-healthy competition making them sprewing out stdents in large numbers. The amount of capitation fee some schools collect and the process of interviewing parents and setting them educational qualifications for sending their children to elite schools has just started a new-era in the history of our ugly turning education system. This makes aam admi run with terror.
Here is a list of institutions and the amount of fee they collect for a kinder garden student. This the total annual fee amount which exludes Bus charges, books, stationary etc.
Institution Fee Collected(INR)
Delhi public school(DPS), New Delhi 55,000 [Day scholars] Note: fee varies from location to location
1,57,000 [Residential]
Birla public schools(BPS),Pilani 1,93,000 [Residential]
Doon School, Deharadun 4,05,000 [Residential]
With all due respect to the standards of these schools,their alumni and the facilities they provide, how many a common man can dream of placing their children in these schools???
However there are centers for excellence where fee structure is affordable by the common man like the KV's and the DAV's. The positive side is that many of the kv's and dav's stand on par in excellence with these reputed elite institutes.
"Our university system is, in many parts, in a state of disrepair...In almost half the districts in the country, higher education enrollments are abysmally low, almost two-third of our universities and 90 per cent of our colleges are rated as below average on quality parameters... 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."
– Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Jairam ramesh honourable minister of cabinet being an IIT bombay alumni himself has thrashed the quality of teaching in the IIT's. How ever controversy his statements may be, there is a ray of truth in his words. India is far behind its contemporaries in terms of reasearch and development. This is an un-arguable, non-debatable fact and our intellectuals won nobel prizes with the help of infrastructure and sheer promotion from various other countries and not their home country is a pitiable fact.
As of 2009 india had 20 central universities,215 state universities,100 deemed universities and 16,000 colleges which sent 2.5 million graduates and more than a half-million engineers like most of us every year, which is double the number America produces. However the standards of the output is par below expected and stated levels in terms of intellectual capability and technical knowledge.
"Mere 25% graduates in India are employable" ---> Mercer Consulting
This fact by the mercer consulting suggests the standard of our own graduates and engineers. Our education has turned out to be just only marks affair, nothing more, nothing less. With percentages determining a students level of intelligence from the very childhood. Lady shriram college, New Delhi which is one of the finest institutes which produced many well placed people in this country mentioned a cut-off of 100% in entrance exam for science students to get admission into b.com course. This does not end here,with many colleges putting a cut-off of 94-95% to secure a seat leads to a wild goose chase in the student community with students leaving out the essence of learning and running behind marks.
To give an easy example, How many of us slept without fear and tension the night before exam, no matter how much we have studied???.How many of us were woried about out CGPA during training at infosys???. Exams must be just an incident but not the sole criteria for adjudging an individual.The system need to take drastic changes to enhance individual creativity and tap the talent of individuals in which they excel rather than imposing on them the nuances of system.
The number of students IIT's take in are about 8000 and 1400 seats in IIm's in a country of millions of aspirants. When one checks the number of seats offered by IVY league the best of the best universities in america and regarded as elite universities in the world, these 8 universities in total have an under-graduate admission of more that 55,000 an academic year and same number of graduates every year. Wharton business school under the university of pennsylvania alone admits 2,306 MBA under-graduates and 1,671 post-graduates. This itself explains the need for expanding our elite institutes. One need to bear in mind that the increase in the infrastructure should not adversely affect the quality of the education they provide. With 1,00,000 students going to US to pursue post graduate education and 57,000 to the Uk, it is a high time that our government enhances infrastrucutre for post-graduate studies, else the brain drain will continue.
I think i have written long-enough.i know i have left out many a topics considering the space[its already huge] and time constraints. i just raised some topics with out discussing the depths of them. Kindly take u'r time not just to read but think about it. Last but not least, thanks for u'r patient reading. Comments and brickbats are most welcome.
References:
www.wikipedia.com
www.education.nic.in
www.economist.com
www.indiancurrentaffairs.org
www.news.bbc.uk
