Education in India: An Overview

By Mohammad Anas Wahaj; MBA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000, USA; BS in Mechanical Engineering, Aligarh Muslim University, 1993, India
Dated: 01 May 2012

Brief Introduction

Education plays an important role in enhancing human capital and is considered critical in economic and social development of the country. Human capital and economic progress are closely connected, so it is essential that public policy should be build towards expansion, promotion and efficient delivery of education. Moreover education is one of the necessary ingredient to reduce poverty, inequality and injustice from society. Access to basic and secondary education to all segments of the society particularly to the poor and rural population, is central to the socio-economic development of India and will enhance India's competitiveness in the global economy.

In India education is predominantly in the public sector and there is substantial government involvement in policy and delivery of education. Although policy steps have been taken by the government to encourage more private investments in education and creation of quality private institutions, but a lot more is desirable.

India has to find and evolve its own efficient strategy to ensure overall development of the educated and learned society and to develop and provide necessary skilled human resources to continue its growth path. It has to overcome various infrastructure and quality related challenges that it faces in its education sector. Use of educational technologies is to be encouraged to make education more inclusive and affordable.

There is more demand for the educated and employable workforce and to sustain economic growth adequate and consistent supply of skilled workers is to be maintained. India has to work towards building collaborative educational and learning relationships with the world. Also the issue of partnerships with foreign educational instutions and opening of campuses by renowned foreign institutions has to be proactively considered.

History of Education in India

India has a long history of education and learning. In earlier times education was mostly traditional and was closely related to learning and teaching of religion. Education related to Indian religion, Indian mathematics and Indian logic was imparted at early Hindu and Buddhist centers of learning such as Taxila and Nalanda. During medieval times education was influenced by the traditions of ruling Turks, Afghans, Persians and Arabs. Education in India also encountered Islamic influences as well during this time. While in the British colonial time Western, English and Christian education became prevalent and was promoted to develop workforce for the ruling regime.

Ancient India

Education in ancient India was highly advanced and great centers of learning existed. During this time education was imparted through the Guru and Shishya tradition. Concepts of Ashrams was prevalent and they were mostly situated away from the main population and the city centers. As population increased during the Gupta Dynasty, centers of urban learning became increasingly common and cities such as Varanasi and the Buddhist center of Nalanda became prominent. Schools and monasteries that were teaching, propagating and promoting a particular religious and philosophical doctrine also existed during these times.

An interesting caste based education structure was prevalent at the early period. Brahmanas studied religion and traditions, Kshatryas mostly learned the art of war and politics, Vaishyas got training in business and crafts while the Shudras were not allowed to any kind of formal learning and training as they were mostly involved in menial labor.

In earlier times there were also constant interactions between the scholars of India and China. Instances of Chinese scholars visiting India to learn Buddhism are recorded. Moreover Indian scholars also translated Buddhist texts into Chinese.

Medieval India

Medieval times saw the influence of Persians, Afghans, Turks, Arabs and Islam on the education system in India. This period records existence of madarsas and maktabs in addition to the monasteries and ashrams. These learning centers taught grammar, philosophy, mathematics and law, mostly influenced by Greek traditions that were inherited by the Persians and the Arabs quite a while before Islam spread into India.

During Mughal dynasty there was addition of learning subjects like medicine, sanskrit etc in the maktabs and madarsas. Old sanskrit texts were also translated and became part of curriculum. Traditional science influenced by Aristotle, Bhaskara II, Charaka & Ibn Sina were also taught.

Although Persian was the language of the court and Arabic the language of Islamic religion, medieval period also saw the development of a new Indian language termed as Urdu that evolved by the confluence of Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, Sanskrit etc. This became a popular language of the people, mostly in Northern India.

British India

During the British colonial era, Thomas Babington Macaulay introduced English education and intended to built a system that would create a community of Anglicized Indians to facilitate better interactions between the British and the Indians. Later Lord William Bentinck favored English over Persian and replaced it as the official language of the government. British education got solidified with Christian missionary schools during 1820s. New policies in 1835 gave rise to the use of English as the language of instruction for advanced topics.

Earliest universities during the British period were established in 1857 at the big cities of Calcutta, Madras & Mumbai. These pioneer universities were mostly affiliating and examining bodies.They were modeled on University of London, that was established in 1836. They were also designed to serve the economic, political and administrative interests of the British and in particular to consolidate and maintain their dominance in the country. University of Calcutta in 1900 was reportedly the largest university in the world at the time and has about 8000 students. Most wealthy Indians also went to the universities in England to pursue studies particularly British law.

Technical education in India was introduced in 1794. Earlier only certificates and diplomas were provided while in the second half of the 19th century bachelor and post-graduate degree programs were introduced in technical fields.

During 1930s India had 10 institutions offering engineering courses. Most engineering and technical education at that time had a close association with the military. 'War Technician Training Scheme' under Ernest Bevin was initiated at the beginning of WWII in 1939 and it laid the foundation for a modern technical education in India. At the time of independence, India had 100 industrial training institutes, 53 polytechnics and 38 engineering colleges preparing students for certificates, diplomas and bachelor degrees. The modern higher education system was founded by the British colonial regime and was initiated during mid-1850s.

India Education Statistics

Global and Comparative Statistics

• US, UK, Australia, New Zealand are the major exporters of education, while developing countries like India and China are major importers.
• Public expenditure on higher education per student (2003)- India (US$ 406), China (US$ 2728), US (US$ 9629), UK (US$ 8502)
• Enrolment in higher education system (2002)- China (13%), India (11%)
• Indian students abroad (2004-05)- US (80466), UK (15000), Australia (222279), New Zealand (2569)
• Japan has 4000 universities for 127 million people and US have 3650 universities for 301 million people while India has 348 universities for its 1.2 billion people.
• Global trade in higher education is estimated at more than US$ 30 billion per annum.
• Within the past two decades higher education enrollment has escalated from 28 million to 47 million, mainly in Asian universities (World Bank, 2000)
• Education for All Development Index (EDI), UNESCO Report 2004, ranks India at 105 out of 127 countries.

Basic Education Statistics

• According to a survey conducted in 2011, Indian National Literacy Rate is around 74.07%
• 80% of the schools are government schools while 27% of Indian children are privately educated.
• There are 220 million Indians in secondary schools. About 13 million students prepare for higher education but only 10 million have opportunity to go to college.
• There are 14 lakh students enrolled in National Institute for Open Schooling (NIOS).
• According to Census of 2001 there are 88.5 million children in the range of 14-18 years. While only 31 million are attending school as per enrollment figures.
• Nearly 23 million people get added to the Indian population annually. Out of this only 7.7 million people complete secondary school (Class X). While about 4 million complete tertiary education (including graduate or post graduate degrees and various diploma and vocational training programs). A significant part of the population (over 11 million) consists of school dropouts.
• Basic education has reduced out-of-school youth to about 10 million (down from 25 million in 2003), most from marginalized social groups. Net enrollment rate is 85% with social disparities.

Higher Education Statistics

• In 1950-51 there were only 263000 students in all disciplines in 750 colleges affiliated to 30 universities. While in 2005 it has increased to 11 million students in 17000 degree colleges affiliated to 230 universities and non affiliated university level institutions. Moreover there are about 10 million students in over 6500 vocational institutions. The enrollment is growing at the rate of 5.1% per year. Out of the total degree students only 5% are enrolled in engineering, while an overall 20% in sciences.
• At the commencement of the academic year 2009-2010, the overall formal system enrollment in the various universities and colleges was reported at 13.6 million, while the total number of faculty members has been reported at 0.59 million (MHRD Annual Report 2009)
• In 2000-01, of the 13072 higher education institutions, 42% were privately owned and run imparting education to 37% of students enrolled in higher education (approximately 3.1 million out of total 8.4 million).
• In 2004-05 total central and state government budget for higher education, including technical education was Rs 131.4 billion.
• 40% of Indian population is under 18 years. According to the National Knowledge Commission, out of the Indians between the age group of 18-24 years only 7% enter a university. NKC estimates that 160000 Indians are studying abroad, spending an estimated US$ 4 billion a year.
• In 2006, 46% of students majored in arts, 20% in science, 18% in business and management, 7% in engineering, 3% in medicine and law, 1% in farming.
• India HE March 2009- 26500 institutes of higher education; 504 universities and university level institutions and 25951 colleges. State universities- 243, State private universities- 53, Central universities- 40, Deemed universities- 130, Institutions of National importance under the Acts of parliament- 33, Institutions established under the state legislation- 5
• Out of 252 engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu only 14 were run by government. In Andhra Pradesh this figure was 250 and 18. In Karnataka 125 and 1 while in Kerala 220 and 11 respectively. As a result out of 818 engineering colleges in these four southern states only 5% were run by state and the rest were unaided private institutions.
• 15 lakh students are enrolled in Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
• According to McKinsey (2005), only 25% of Indian engineers, 15% of its finance & accounting professionals and 10% of Indian professionals with general degrees are suitable to work for multinational companies.
• Based on a survey of near future by 'The Economist' (2001), 40% of the global workforce will be knowledge workers requiring higher education qualifications by the year 2020.

Vocational Education and Training Statistics

• Since the year 2000 there is continued marginal increase in the intake of diploma courses (1200 polytechnics) while there is reduction in number of institutions offering such courses.
• Certificate level crafts training is imparted through 1895 ITI's (Industrial Training Institutes) and 3219 ITC's (Industrial Training Centers) with 773000 places under the craftsmen training scheme. While the ITI's with about 415000 places are financed and managed by state governments, the ITC's with 358000 places are financed and managed by private or non-governmental organizations.
• Based on a survey conducted in 2003 it was estimated that around 0.8-1.0 million students are enrolled in non-public private training institutions. They impart training in IT related and non engineering trades such as travel & tourism, hospitality, media and journalism, animation, aviation, event management, fitness consultancy, fashion designing, clinical research etc.
• 675 community polytechnics are training about 450000 students per year.
• 172 Jan Shikshan Sansthans (formerly known as Shramik Vidyapiths) for improving vocational skills and quality of life of neo-literates and unskilled and unemployed youth in both rural and urban areas. During 2004-05 around 1.4 million people participated in the JSS activities.
• There are more than 1200 polytechnics in India. Polytechnics are recruiting more than 90% of engineering students and less than 10% of medicine students.

Education Structure in India

Government of India has two ministries at the central level, Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Education. Each state has its own Ministry of Education. CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education) is for coordination and cooperation between the union and the states.

National Planning Commission (NPC) with the Ministry of Education at the central level prepares a national educational development plan in two parts- one dealing with the national government's direct responsibilities in education and a second that is an integrated summary of the state's educational development plans.

University Grants Commission (UGC) is the most important statutory advisory and executive education body in India and is the only grant giving educational agency in the country. Founded in 1945, the UGC originally had no funds of its own; instead, it made recommendations for financing to the education ministry, which submitted them to the finance ministry. The first UGC act in 1956 provided the general organizational status, major duties and basic functioning of the commission. An amendment in 1972 empowered the UGC to aid all universities for any general and specified purpose. National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) comes under UGC.

NCERT (National Council for Education Research & Training) is the apex body for curriculum related matters for school education. In addition there are State education boards, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (ICSE), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), International Schools (International Baccalaureate) or Cambridge International Examinations, Islamic Madarsa System (controlled by local state governments or autonomous organizations) and Autonomous Schools.

National University of Education Planning and Administration (NUEPA) and National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) exist for management of the education system and teacher training.

Indian education spectrum generally includes elementary education, secondary education, higher education, technical education, adult and continuing education, teacher training, vocational training and language development.

The affiliating structure in the Indian education system is advantageous in facilitating quick expansion of colleges while maintaining uniform standards across the system through fewer universities. The role of the universities is to formulate academic standards, organize examinations, and award degrees. While colleges affiliated with them focus on teaching.

The existing structure of Indian higher and professional education system doesn't seem to be totally integrated with the economy and the employment market. It faces variety of challenges. About 82% of students major in arts and humanities and only 18% of students major in technology, engineering and science. On one side there is a shortage in employable technical and professional labor while on the other there is oversupply and unemployment of academically educated Indians. In 2001 about 17% of college graduates in India remain unemployed.

Basic Education

Education has been made free for children between 6 to 14 years of age or upto Class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) initiative headed by the Prime Minister and the 93rd Constitution Amendment makes education for 6 to 14 years a fundamental right and the state is now committed to education for all with an acceptable level of quality. World Bank provides aid of US$ 1 billion for basic universal education (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan I & II). Over 7000 NGOs are participating as partners in SSA.

Elementary education system needed 300,000 new teachers minimum by 2010 as per the figures available while 20% of current work force (4.7 million) does not have training to be teachers. Considering the scenario more efforts should be made at the implementation level to fulfil the requirement.

For secondary education system (grade 9-12) government aims to increase enrollment from 68 million to 105 million by 2015, which will require at least 3 million new teachers, versus an annual production of 160,000. Issues related to access, equity, management and quality are the major challenges faced by the secondary education system and would need major improvements for success. To expand and enhance quality of secondary education government has also initiated Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.

Although home schooling is legal in India but majority of the population prefers formal school education.

Higher Education

In 1986, India's parliament passed the National Policy on Education. It defined that the objective and purpose of higher education is to provide the people with an opportunity to understand and reflect on key social, economic, cultural, moral and spiritual issues.

India has the largest potential target customer base in the world for higher education and the market has witnessed significant growth over the last few years. The inward mobility of foreign students to India is limited to only 18000 while more than 225000 Indian students go abroad for higher studies.

Public expenditure on higher education in India is estimated at 0.6% of GDP, while the US is at 1% and UK is at 0.9%. The gap is more apparent for public expenditure per student- US$ 1162 in India, US$ 10616 in US, US$ 10060 in the UK. In India central government accounts for majority public expenditure (67% in 2007-08, of which 35% was non-plan expenditure).

Higher education system has substantial shortfall of faculty with Ph.D. & masters degree in engineering colleges in India. In 2010 it was about 130000.Just 11% of youth of age 18-23 are enrolled in the higher education programs. There are issues of capacity, quality, relevance and public funding.

There is very limited amount of research that happens in the colleges and universities. Moreover it is very challenging to retain faculty and staff as they are always looking for better opportunities both within and outside the country.

World Bank has provided US$ 250 million for technical education and engineering reforms in 128 competitively selected engineering institutions in 13 states to address skill shortages and US$ 70 million for polytechnics in six remote states.

Higher education in India faces many challenges. These include availability of sufficient number of institutions across regions to fulfil demand, equal opportunity and inclusive participation for all sections of society in higher education, quality of infrastructure, availability of trained faculty and effective teaching and learning methods in higher education institutions for efficient delivery and successful results.

During 1980s higher education sector started to shift from totally public and government owned towards more privatization due to liberal policy steps taken by the government. Over the years number of private institutions has increased. Even public institutions, to overcome their financial limitations and to generate funds, introduced self financing programs and professional courses with higher fee structure.

The National Commission for Higher Education & Research Bill, 2010 aims to provide for the determination, coordination, maintenance of standards in, and promotion of, higher education and research, including university education, technical and professional education other than agricultural (& medical) education, and for that purpose, to establish the National Commission for Higher Education & Research.

Engineering and Medical Education

As the nature of technology and industry changes the education system needs to be responsive and should adapt to the changing demands. There is a need for engineering and medical educators to be conversant with existing practices in the market and industry while also acting as agents to bring in innovation and improvements.

A direct indicator of growth in engineering education is the number and quality of graduates and post-graduates. The measure, benchmark and assessment for quality would be the employability, salary and feedback from industry and society. It is estimated that about 30% of the fresh engineering graduates are unemployed even one year after graduation.

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) provides accreditation to engineering colleges and technical education institutions. The engineering colleges in India can be classified as affiliated colleges, autonomous colleges and deemed university. India has about 1500 engineering institutions with about 67000 faculty. India awarded about 2.37 lakh engineering bachelor degrees, 20000 engineering masters degrees and 1000 engineering PhDs in 2006.

Medical Council of India (MCI) is the statutory body for establishing uniform and high standards of medical education in India. The council grants recognition of medical qualifications, gives accreditation to medical colleges, grants registration to medical practitioners and monitors medical practice in India. MCI was first established in 1934 under the Indian Medical Council Act of 1933. The council was later reconstituted under the Indian Medical Council Act of 1956 that replaced the earlier act.

According to the MCI there are currently 335 medical colleges in India granting MBBS degrees with a total of 40525 seats.

Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Vocational Education & Training (VET) is directed towards fulfilling needs of the labor market and enhancing the employment outcomes of the graduates. The National policy on Education (NPE) 1986 advocated a systematic and well-planned program of vocational education intended to prepare students for identified occupations.

A scheme for vocationalization of education at university and college level was started in the year 1994-95 by the UGC. This was redesigned in the year 2003-04 to bring in greater flexibility. This now allows students to pursue both their regular programs and utility oriented certificate and diploma courses together. Since its inception 2769 colleges and 39 universities have been provided assistance amounting to Rs. 2.44 billion.

VET is handled by 17 ministries. VET system in India has the capacity to train only 3 million youth as against the requirement to train 13 million youth annually (and projected 500 million youth by 2022). There are 7000 public and private providers (ITI's/ITC's/polytechnics). Moreover upgradation of 1600 ITI's is under consideration by the government. In 2007 World Bank provided US$ 280 million for VET to support 400 ITI's for improved quality and relevance.

Private IT education and training sector provides substantial support to fulfil demands for skilled and trained workforce. It can adapt to fluctuating demands of the employment market more effectively and efficiently.

Continuing and Distance Education

Distance Education Council (DEC) coordinates 13 State Open Univerisities and 119 institutions offering correspondence courses in conventional universities.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has 53 regional centers, 1400 study centers and 25000 counselors. IGNOU has 15 lakh students enrolled in its various courses and programs.

National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) facilitates education for about 14 lakh students in a distance education mode.

Public Private Partnerships in Education

Government is working towards formulating a policy framework for PPP in school education. It is trying to evolve a variety of PPP models that would be applied as feasible.

Constitutional provisions limit the scope of PPP arrangements in elementary education. There seems to be potential for PPPs in a range of education services that can be provided to formal higher education like content development, training and infrastructure development. The government should encourage its institutions to outsource provision of these services thus paving the way for expanding the role of private providers in the education system.

There are a variety of PPP models that are currently utilized and experimented in the education sector. According to 'Business Standard- May 21, 2009 Issue' the Planning Commission has identified four PPP models for higher education that are under discussion and consideration.
(1) Basic Infrastructure Model: Private sector will invest in infrastructure while government would run the institution, particularly academic functions and make annualized payments to the private player.
(2) Outsourcing Model: Private participants should invest in infrastructure and also run the academic institution and management while government would pay for specific services.
(3) The Hybrid Model: The private participant and the government would share investment in infrastructure while the private partner would run the institution including the academic functions.
(4) Reverse Outsourcing Model: The government should invest in infrastructure and private participants should run the institution.

Technology in Education

Information Technology can improve performance of students, improve teacher training and can improve the quality of instruction material. It can play an important role in efficient and effective delivery of education to regions where formal education infrastructure doesn't exist.

Education Collaboration Network (ECN) is proposed by the government with new models: for designing relevant curricula, for authoring training material and teaching aids, for providing access to teaching aids, for teaching students. ECN to be highly distributed and capable of taking advantage of existing infrastructure in the country (like EDUSAT, Vidhya Vahini Labs & teacher centers), makes provisions for dealing with different levels of IT maturity and multiple languages, based on standards for encoding and accessing content. ECN should enable distributed content creation and new forms of teaching. Teaching material can be corrected, accumulated and re-used.

Under the 'National Mission on Education through ICT', 5000 colleges/universities departments would be provided with broadband internet connectivity. Online learning is not only inexpensive but also convenient. Students can study at their own pace and anytime according to their need. It also does not demands the presence of student in classroom or give up earning from full time or part time employment that the student may be engaged in. So they can study and earn at the same time.

Future Prospects & Recommendations for Education Sector in India

India's education sector has a huge potential for growth alongwith the overall economy. As the sector grows emphasis should be given to improve access and quality of education. There has to be efficiency and effectiveness of public spending and increase in participation of private organizations in developing education system for the future.

Although primary and secondary education are important segments of education spectrum but it is observed that quality and size of the higher education is more essential to provide adequate dynamism and sustained growth and development to the economy.

Planning Commission estimates that by the end of the Eleventh Plan (2012) almost half the incremental enrolment target will be met through private institutions. To attract quality private participation, it is essential to allow investors a reasonable and legitimate return on their investment.

Regional educational institutions should continue to participate, contribute, build and develop local economies and make it their strategic aim and focus. Foreign education providers can also play an important role in enhancing the capacity in the higher education system.

As nature of education shifts towards more globalization, cross-border research exchange is a rapidly growing preference and need for countries. International collaborations and partnerships in variety of fields is becoming a common strategy for mutual understanding and socio-economic development.

India should develop international partnerships that strengthen student education and prepares them to live in a global economy and multicultural world and encourages mutual understanding and respect among students and academia and assists in obtaining optimal and best solutions for international issues and challenges. These partnerships can also enhance quality of research and enable the extension and application of knowledge to address global needs and potentially generates new revenues in the form of tuition, research and funding.

Indian education system should aim to develop sustainable futures. Emphasis is to be given to develop and educate school teachers and community leaders and build strong links to regional and national development. The importance of life long learning and professional development (continuing education and skills upgradation) needs to be emphasized and promoted. Use of technology at all levels of education delivery should be encouraged.

Efforts to promote entrepreneurship in the education system has to be made. Barriers to start entrepreneurial ventures has to be removed. There should be availability of funds and finances, education and nurturing of entrepreneurial talent.

To maintain and sustain financing for higher education in the future steps should be taken to encourage private sector funding through PPP by creating an enabling regulatory framework as well as fiscal incentives to facilitate its adoption. Performance based funding mechanism should be introduced to enhance impact of public funding.

Research is a crucial tool for effective long term participation in the global knowledge economy. Research capacity is essential if higher education systems are to not just respond but contribute effectively in the global setting. More research oriented programs and centers are to be developed within the existing higher education institutions. Research partnerships with the corporate world are to be encouraged for sustainable funding and mutual benefits. Steps should be taken to monetize intellectual property and research that comes out of educational institutions, academics and researchers.

A lower student to faculty ratio implies more personalized attention to students and would normally result in better quality of teaching and learning. Optimum student to faculty ratio should be achieved and should be comparable with international levels. Curriculum revision efforts have to be a continuous process with scope for optimum experimentation and innovation at the university level. Initiatives should be taken to restructure curricula and incorporate vocational element in the curricula as per the demand of the markets so as to make it job relevant. Strong and efficient student financing system is to be developed so that no student should be deprived of a university education just because he/she can't bear its cost.

India has competitive advantages in its labor force and existence of its exceptionally large consumption market. These can be leveraged to enhance India's economic strength at the global level. Moreover large population size can be chanelized into a huge human capital through continued and sustained investment in education, particularly in the higher and professional education sectors.

List of References

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