India today is the second largest higher education network in the world. Universities in India are set up by the Central or State Governments by means of legislation, while colleges are established by either the State Governments or private bodies / trusts. All colleges are affiliated to some university. The different types of universities are: Central or State Universities — while the former are funded directly by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the latter are set up and funded by the various state governments. Deemed Universities – which enjoy the same academic status and privileges as a university.
Examples are the Deccan College of Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune; Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai; Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore; etc. Institutions of National Importance They are university-level institutions that are established or designated by Acts of Parliament and funded by the Central Government. Most universities are ‘affiliating universities’, which prescribe to the affiliated colleges the admission criteria and courses of study, hold examinations and award degrees. University departments impart postgraduate education and conduct and promote research in a variety of disciplines.
Undergraduate and, to some extent, postgraduate instruction is imparted by the colleges affiliated to a particular university. Classification of Colleges: Colleges in India come under four different categories. This categorization is done on the basis of the kind of courses offered by them (professional/ vocational) / their ownership status (Private/Government) or their relationship with the university (affiliated/university owned). University Colleges These colleges are managed by the university itself and situated mostly in the university campus. Government Colleges
The government colleges are few, only about 15-20 percent of the total. They are managed by state governments. As in case of other colleges, the university to which these colleges are affiliated, conducts their examination, lays down the courses of studies and awards the degrees. Professional Colleges The professional colleges are mostly in the disciplines of medicine, engineering and management. There are few for other disciplines too. They are sponsored and managed either by the government or by private initiative. Courses offered at Higher Education Level:
Indian Universities offer various courses in the following disciplines. Engineering and Technology Computer Sciences, Information Technology, Biotechnology and Bio-informatics. Medical, Dental, Nursing, Pharmacy and Paramedical. Agriculture / Veterinary Sciences, Dairy Technology and Fisheries. Arts & Fine Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Commerce, Science and Management. Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Travel and Tourism. Fashion Design & Technology. The academic programmes are offered at Vocational Diploma, Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Doctoral levels. Distance Education
In India, there are 66 distance education institutions functioning in 60 universities besides, 11 open universities offering distance education programmes. India Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi is one of the mega open universities in the world and caters to around 1 million students around the world. Vocational Education Vocational Education at Certificate level are offered by 1500 vocational institutions in the country in the areas of agriculture, business, commerce, health and Para-medical, home science and humanities in addition to engineering trades.
Privately Managed colleges About 70% of the colleges are founded by the privately owned trusts or societies. But these institutes are also governed by the rules and regulations of the university they are affiliated to. Though initially started up as a private initiative, the state government also funds these colleges. Functions, Drawbacks and Contribution India’s education system is like a stumbling block towards its objectives of achieving inclusive growth.
India is going to experience a paradox of nearly 90 million people joining the workforce but most of them will lack requisite skills and the mindset for productive employment according to a report in DNA. India has about 550 million people under the age of 25 years out of which only 11% are enrolled in tertiary institutions compared to the world average of 23%. I wouldn’t be laying too much emphasis on the drawbacks of India’s public education system because it has been an issue well debated over in the past and the main flaws have already been pointed out before.
Our current focus will be on how the education system’s failure is leading to another social issue of income inequality and hence, suggest certain policies to improve India’s education system and reduce inequality. The really critical aspect of Indian public education system is its low quality. The actual quantity of schooling that children experience and the quality of teaching they receive are extremely insufficient in government schools. A common feature in all government schools is the poor quality of education, with weak infrastructure and inadequate pedagogic attention.
What the government is not realising right now is that education which is a source of human capital can create wide income inequalities. It will be surprising to see how income inequalities are created within the same group of educated people. Let me illustrate this with the help of an example: Let us take P be an individual who has had no primary or higher education. His human capital is zero and hence it bears no returns. Let Q be an individual who completed his MBA from S. P Jain College and let R be an individual who completed his MBA from IIM Ahmadabad.
The average rate of return for an MBA student is 7. 5% (hypothetical). Q gets a rate of return of 5% and R gets a rate of return of 10% due to the difference in the reputation and quality of the management school. Let the income of P, Q and R be 1. In a period of 10 years, P will be having the same income as he does not possess human capital. For the same time period Q will earn an income of (1+0. 05)^10=1. 63 and R will earn an income of (1+0. 10)^10=2. 59. Now let’s see what happens when the rate of return on human capital doubles. Earnings of P will not hange since he does not have any human capital. Now Q is going to earn (1+0. 10)^10=1. 63 and R is going to earn (1+0. 20)^10=6. 19.
Flabbergasting! As soon as return on human capital increases proportionately income inequality increases. With return on human capital doubling, Q’S income increases by 59% and R’s income increases by 139%. The above example just shows the effect of the quality of human capital n income inequality. So if the government does not improve education system particularly in rural areas the rich will become richer and the poor will get poorer.
Hence, it is imperative for the government to correct the blemishes in India’s education system which will also be a step towards reducing income inequality. Certain policy measures need to be taken by the government. The basic thrust of government education spending today must surely be to ensure that all children have access to government schools and to raise the quality of education in those schools. One of the ways in which the problem of poor quality of education can be tackled is through common schooling.
This essentially means sharing of resources between private and public schools. Shift system is one of the ways through which common schooling can be achieved. The private school can use the resources during the first half of the day and the government school can use it during the second half. It is important to remember that the quality of education is directly linked to the resources available and it is important for the government to improve resource allocation to bring about qualitative changes in the field of education.
Common schooling is one of the ways in which government can use limited resources in an efficient way and thus improve resource allocation. Another reason for poor quality of education is the poor quality of teachers in government schools . Government schools are unable to attract good quality teachers due to inadequate teaching facilities and low salaries. The government currently spends only 3% of its GDP on education which is inadequate and insufficient. To improve the quality of education, the government needs to spend more money from its coffers on education.
Most economists feel that the only panacea to the ills of the public schooling system is the voucher scheme. Under the voucher system, parents are allowed to choose a school for their children and they get full or partial reimbursement for the expenses from the government. But however, the voucher system will further aggravate the problem of poor quality of education in government schools. Such a system will shift resources from government schools to private schools. This will worsen the situation of government schools which are already under-funded.
Moreover, if the same amount given as vouchers can be used to build infrastructure in schools then the government can realize economies of scale. For example- The centre for civil society is providing vouchers worth Rs 4000 per annum to 308 girls. This means that the total amount of money given as vouchers is Rs 1232000. If the same amount can be used to construct a school and employ high quality teachers who are paid well then a larger section of the society will enjoy the benefit of education. A school can definitely accommodate a minimum of 1000 students.
I hope government takes certain appropriate policy measures to improve the education system otherwise inequalities are going to be widespread and India’s basic capabilities will remain stunted. Let us strengthen the case for a stronger education system. The present day education system in India has come a long way and the age old traditions have undergone a makeover to produce an ecosystem that is evolving every single day. Initiatives like the Right to Education Act have provided an impetus to growth and progress by laying special emphasis on elementary education in India.
Combined with policy changes like making child labour illegal the being government is working ensure that the seeds of education are planted in both the rural and less privileged sub-urban areas of the country though there are a number of pressing challenges at hand that hamper the proliferation. Key Challenges for the Indian Education System 25% of the Indian population is illiterate. Only 7% of the population that goes to school managed to graduate and only 15% of those who enrol manage to make it to high school and achieve a place in the higher education system.
A few reasons why education in India is given less importance in some areas are as follows: * 80% of schools are managed by the government. Private schools are expensive and out of reach of the poor. * More hands to earn remains the mentality amongst many families and therefore little kids are set out to fend for the family over going to school to garner an adequate education, in the most literal sense of the word. * Infrastructure facilities at schools across rural areas and in slums dispense very poor quality of education.
* The teachers are ot well qualified and therefore not well paid and therefore are not willing to work hard enough. This has been a classical Catch-22 problem that the government has been trying hard to fight against. An Overview Of The Levels of Education in India The type of education systems in India can be classified as: 1) Pre primary education in India: Pre-primary school education in India is not a fundamental right and is divided into two levels – Lower KG (for children between 3 – 4 years) and Upper KG (for children between 4 – 5 years). ) Primary Education in India: This serves as the link between primary school and elementary education. However, not much emphasis is laid on this level by the prevailing education system and policies in this regard continue to exist solely on paper. 3) Elementary Education: The Government has made elementary education compulsory for children between the age group of years 6 and 14.
4) Secondary Education in India: Serves as a link between elementary and higher education in the Indian education setup, which draws a blank again as far as policy is concerned. ) Higher Education in India: Under graduate and post graduate level: After completion of secondary education, students can choose fields of their interest and pursue undergraduate and then post graduate courses. Curriculum Bodies Catering to the largest population in the world is no easy task and as the annals of bureaucracy dictate, there are more than 15 education boards across the country. While some of them are regional, the more interesting ones are listed below: The NCERT – Apex Body for curriculum:
As far as school education and its functions are concerned, the National Council of Educational Research and Training takes care of all curriculum related matters. Various schools in the country seek technical assistance from this body. State Government Boards: Since 80% of the schools in India are managed by the government, this is the board under which the most children in India get enrolled. The Board of Secondary Education across major states has achieved its objectives of developing various systems.
CBSE: The Central Board of Secondary Education which falls under the purview of the Central Government is a board of education for both public and private schools in India. ICSE: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations Board is a non-governmental and private education board for education in India. NIOS: Established by the Government of India and the Ministry for Human Resource Development in 1989, the National Institute of Schooling Board aims at providing quality education in rural areas in an inexpensive manner.
Cambridge International Exams/IB: International Baccalaureate or Cambridge International Examinations offer international qualifications to students. This is a recent phenomenon in various parts of the country and is mostly offered by upmarket schools and the like. Islamic Madrasah Schools: These schools may be either controlled by the state government, run autonomously or may be affiliated with the Darul Uloom Deoband that is in the Saharanpur District of Uttar Pradesh. While there are a number of drawbacks of the education system in India, a number of efforts are being made to create awareness and action for education in India.
Efforts like the Sarva Shisksha Abhiyan aim at making education and good quality of life for today’s children possible by providing community owned school systems. Another indicator of a brighter tomorrow is the Right of Children to free and compulsory education. Large investments in the education system truly make us believe that the children of India will get off the streets and start making education their mainstay for a successful life. Like with most things we are exposed to today, there are two sides to the education system in India – both good & bad which has made it a subject of many essays and a lot many discourses.
