Educational System in India

Presented by
Prof. Dr. R. Venkatram
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

Ancient Educational System - Monastic

Gurukul is a Sanskrit word

Guru means Teacher and
Kul means Domain

The Learners
Fully residential, students-teacher live within the same
premises
Sanskrit was the language of teaching
Brahmins, were imparted knowledge
philosophy, and other ancillary branches

of

religion,

The warrior class, the Kshatriya, were trained in the

various aspects of warfare
The business class, the Vaishya, were taught their trade
The Shudras was generally deprived of education
The education was focusing mainly on using weaponry,
reciting Vedas, music, art and self-defense

Education Process
After a ceremony 'Upanayana the child had to leave home to acquire
knowledge
The academies of higher learning were known as 'Parishads
The education system involved three basic processes, namely
'Sravana', 'Manana' and 'Nidhyasana
In the 'Sravana, students received 'shrutis' (knowledge), which was
passed orally from one generation to another
'Manana means that students had to think themselves about what
they have heard. They have to make their own inferences and
assimilate the lesson taught by their teacher into the life.
The third stage 'Nidhyasana' means complete comprehension of truth
and its use in the life.

Institutions of Higher Learning Ancient India

Institutions of higher learning and universities flourished in ancient
India
Secular Buddhist institutions were established along
monasteries to impart practical education like medicine.

with

A number of urban learning Universities like Taxila, Nalanda and

Vikramshila were established between 200 BCE to 400 CE.
These institutions systematically imparted knowledge and attracted
a number of foreign students to study topics such as logic,
grammar, medicine, metaphysics, arts and crafts
During the visit of the Islamic scholar Alberuni (973-1048 CE), India
already had a sophisticated system of mathematics and science in
place, and had made a number of inventions and discoveries

Universities - Ancient India

Taxila University for medical studies. A galaxy of
eminent teachers such as Panini, the well known
grammarian, Kautilya, the minister of Chandragupta
Maurya, and Charaka, a medical teacher were
prominent.
Nalanda was the highest learning center of the entire
South Asia. It had around 10,000 students and teachers.
The University had eight colleges one of the colleges
had four-storied building. It was one of the earliest
examples for residential-cum-learning complex.
Vikramshila University,
religious teachings

Varanasi

was

famous

for

Universities - Ancient India

In the South, Kancheepuram (TN)
studies

was famous for

Vallabhi University in Gujarat was mentioned by Huan

Tsang at par with Nalanda and Vikramshila (Bihar)
universities
India had several great minds at work, which contributed
in every aspect of life
The concept of zero, decimal and Pythagoras Theorem
were all developed here

Education during British Rule

The present educational system of India was the
influence of British rulers
Wood's Dispatch of 1854 (Magna Carta of Indian
education) laid the foundation of present system of
education in India
The main purpose of it was to prepare Indian Clerks for
running local administration
At schools the subjects were taught in local languages
while the higher education was in English only
British government also started giving funds to
indigenous schools in need of help and thus slowly
some of the schools became government-aided

Education After Independence

In 1901 the literacy rate in India was only about 5% and
nearly 20% during 1947. As per 1951 census only 9 % of
women and 27% of men were literates
In 1947, Maulana Azad, India's first Education minister
wanted government intervention over education with a
uniform educational system
However, given the cultural and linguistic diversity of
India, it was only the higher education dealing with
science and technology came under the jurisdiction of the
central government
The government also held powers to make national
policies for educational development and could regulate
selected aspects of education through out India

Languages in India

SOURCE : Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India

Courtesy :Sowmya Narayanan , Asst. Professor, Academic Staff College (ASC), VIT-U.

School Education: The current system

Education is a state subject
General Education at Schools has a duration of 12
years and classified as Primary level, Upper Primary
(Middle), Secondary level and Higher Secondary
level.
The educational level is also classified as Elementary
Education comprising of Primary and Upper Primary,
Secondary and Higher Secondary.
In most of the states, a student in a Higher
Secondary school can complete 12 years of
education but in some states up to 11 years in school
and one year (Junior college)

School Education: The current system

Primary level First to Fifth Standard
Upper Primary (Middle school) Sixth to Eighth
Standard
Secondary Ninth to Tenth (SSLC)
Higher Secondary - Eleventh and Twelfth (+1 and +2)
In some states Eleventh up to School and 12th in
Junior college (Pre-University)

School Education

The Governing Bodies

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
Main governing body and monitors the central education
system. It conducts exam (national level) and controls the
functioning of schools accredited to central education system
The Council for Indian School Certificate Examination
(CISCE)
It is a board for Anglo Indian Studies in India. It conducts two
examinations 'Indian Certificate of Secondary Education' and
'Indian School Certificate'. Indian Certificate of Secondary
education for those Indian students who have just completed
10 years and Indian school certificate is for public
examination conducted for those studying in class 12th

Anglo Indian Schools

St. Johns Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School

School Type : Co-Education
Year of Establishment: 1763
Board: Anglo Indian Schools
Category: Public Schools
Medium: English
Second Language: French
Average Students per Class: 40

St. John's Secondary School, Pune, Maharashtra

School Type : Boys
Board: Anglo Indian Schools
Category: Public Schools
Medium: English
Second Language: Hindi, English
Average Students per Class: 52
Year of Establishment: 1948

ICSE Schools
Brindavan Vidyalaya, Trichy, Tamil Nadu
Website: http://www.freewebs.com/brindavanschool
School Type : Co-education
Board: ICSE Schools
Category: Private Schools
Medium: English
Second Language: Tamil, Hindi

State Board Schools

Avvai Girls Higher Secondary School, Madurai, Tamil
Nadu
Type : Girls
Board: State Board
Schools Category: Public Schools
Medium: Tamil, English
Second Language: Tamil, English
Average Students per Class: 40
Year of Establishment: 1955

Governing Bodies contd..

The State Government Boards
Each state in India has its own State Board of education,
which monitors the overall education system in the State.
The state government also runs school (Public Schools).
Parallel to these schools, there are Private Schools
(Matriculation Schools) following a different syllabus till 10th
Standard
The National Open School Board: It is also known as
National Institute of Open Schooling. It was established by
the Government of India in 1989 for those students who
cannot attend formal schools.
The International School: It controls the schools, which are
accredited to curriculum of international standards

School Boards and Categories

Board
Anglo Indian
CBSE
ICSE
Matriculation
State Board

Categories
Air Force Schools, Army Schools,
Catholic Schools, International
Schools
Military Schools
Montessori Schools, Private
schools
Public schools

The Issues
Enrollment
Gross Enrollment ratio is the total enrollment in a specific
level of education regardless of age
Expressed as percentage of eligible official school-age
population corresponding to the same level of education
in a given school year

School Drop-Outs
Drop out rate is also measured in percentage the
children leaving the school without aspiring for higher
levels in school education

Privatization

Educational Achievement
Country

Adult (15 and above)

Literacy rate (%)
93.3

GER (%)

Thailand

94.1

78.0

Sri Lanka

90.8

68.7

Indonesia

92.0

68.2

Vietnam

90.3

62.3

India

66.0

61.0

China

Source: Economic Survey, 2009-10, GOI, p.271

68.7

School Enrollment Ratio (%)

Levels
Primary

Boys

Girls

Total

115.90

113.20

114.6

80.60

74.10

77.50

49.20

41.40

45.50

(I to V)
Middle
(VI to VIII)
Secondary
and above
(IX to XII)
Source: Annual Report, 2009-10,Ministry of HRD, GOI, p.331

School Drop-Out Rates (%)

Levels
Primary

Boys

Girls

Total

26.2

24.8

25.5

44.3

41.4

43.0

56.4

57.3

56.8

(I to V)
Middle
(VI to VIII)
Secondary
and Above
(IX to XII)
Source: Annual Report, 2009-10,Ministry of HRD, GOI, p.345

Institutional Arrangements
Levels

No. of
schools

No. of
Teacher
teachers per school

Pupil per
school

Primary

785950

2357213

173

Middle

320354

1777433

177

Secondary
and above
Total

171862

2107411

12

256

1278166 6242057

185

Source: Own estimation, data from Annual Report, 2009-10,Ministry of HRD, GOI

Privatization Percentage of schools

managed by different agencies
Management

1993-94

2001-02

2004-05

Government

47

42

41

Unaided

15

24

30

Aided

38

34

29

Source: 11th Fiver Year Plan Document, GOI, page 15

Number of schools managed by

different agencies (Hundred thousands)
School
levels

Govt.

Local
Bodies

Private
Aided

Private
Unaided

I to V

3.32

3.60

0.20

0.55

VI to VIII

1.18

0.80

0.18

0.59

I to VIII

4.50

4.40

0.38

1.14

Source: 11th Fiver Year Plan Document, GOI, page 8

To conclude
Education in India has a long history
During ancient times India had been the educational hub
for many other countries
However the current status in the literacy achievement is
not satisfactory as large part of population is illiterate
The country is also worried about the high drop-out rates
at higher level of schooling, though education is made
compulsory
The sprawling privatization could find a solution
The question is at what cost?. Will the rural benefit from
these privatization?

Further Questions?

Thanks for your attention