In a bid to bolster the internal security of the country, the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur has prepared a blueprint to check militancy.
The Home Ministry has already examined the plan and clarifications have been sought from the researchers of IIT-Kanpur on some technical aspects, Minister of State for Home, Sri Prakash Jaiswal said.
IIT-Kanpur's Director Sanjay Dhande said the inistitute has sent a plan for approval but refused to divulge further details.
The plan is technologically superior and it will be given a go ahead after the objections being raised are being addressed, Jaiswal said.
Dhande said the institute's researchers are studying the objections raised by the officials and they would be soon addressed.
source :- timesofindia
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
University education is cheaper than school education in India
Families in India have to spend more on primary school education of their children, making the fundamental right to basic education for the Indian poor a distant dream, according to a recent UNESCO report. In contrast, university education, which typically helps the better off students, remains subsidised and costs just the half of the primary school spending.
"Households pay for more than one-quarter, 28 per cent, of the costs to send their children to primary and secondary school. These fees pose a very real barrier for the children of poor families," the report 'Global Education Digest 2007', released by UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), said.
"Yet at the same time, households assume just 14 per cent of the costs for university education, which typically benefits better off students," it added.
Mapping latest education statistics from primary to tertiary levels in more than 200 countries, the reports focuses on the financing of education and provides a series of indicators to compare spending patterns across countries and levels of education. The report stressed the need to monitor the balance between public and private expenditure.
"Systems that are overly reliant on private contributions, especially at the primary level of education, raise the risk of excluding students from poorer families," it warns.
Noting that in small number of countries the main flow of funding for primary and secondary education comes directly from governments to public institutions, the report says there are exceptions such as India where "a substantial share" of the public education budget is channelled to private institutions.
"In India, it is the result of a system by which the government contracts private schools to help meet demand for the schools exceeding public systems," it said. As for distribution of educational resources in the country, the UNESCO report said the distribution of funds was "extremely uneven" among the school-age populations.
"In India this is largely because of low participation rates at the higher levels of education. Majority of children do have access to low cost primary education but are largely excluded from higher levels of education where greater resources per student are invested,"it said.
"Equity issues are clearly at play given this uneven distribution of resources," it adds.
In the global scenario, the US emerged as the single greatest investor in education with its public education budget is close to the combined budget of all governments in the six regions: the Arab States, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, South and West Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Governments in sub-Saharan Africa spend only 2.4 per cent of the worlds public education resources. Yet about 15 per cent of the school-age population lives in these countries, according to the report.
source: the economic times
"Households pay for more than one-quarter, 28 per cent, of the costs to send their children to primary and secondary school. These fees pose a very real barrier for the children of poor families," the report 'Global Education Digest 2007', released by UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), said.
"Yet at the same time, households assume just 14 per cent of the costs for university education, which typically benefits better off students," it added.
Mapping latest education statistics from primary to tertiary levels in more than 200 countries, the reports focuses on the financing of education and provides a series of indicators to compare spending patterns across countries and levels of education. The report stressed the need to monitor the balance between public and private expenditure.
"Systems that are overly reliant on private contributions, especially at the primary level of education, raise the risk of excluding students from poorer families," it warns.
Noting that in small number of countries the main flow of funding for primary and secondary education comes directly from governments to public institutions, the report says there are exceptions such as India where "a substantial share" of the public education budget is channelled to private institutions.
"In India, it is the result of a system by which the government contracts private schools to help meet demand for the schools exceeding public systems," it said. As for distribution of educational resources in the country, the UNESCO report said the distribution of funds was "extremely uneven" among the school-age populations.
"In India this is largely because of low participation rates at the higher levels of education. Majority of children do have access to low cost primary education but are largely excluded from higher levels of education where greater resources per student are invested,"it said.
"Equity issues are clearly at play given this uneven distribution of resources," it adds.
In the global scenario, the US emerged as the single greatest investor in education with its public education budget is close to the combined budget of all governments in the six regions: the Arab States, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, South and West Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Governments in sub-Saharan Africa spend only 2.4 per cent of the worlds public education resources. Yet about 15 per cent of the school-age population lives in these countries, according to the report.
source: the economic times
Friday, November 16, 2007
Bengal JEE counselling for 800 more seats
There is some good news for candidates featuring on the merit list of West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination -- the ones who failed to get enrolled in any engineering college this year.
The Central Selection Committee for engineering and technology will hold counselling for an additional 800 engineering seats on September 11, 12 and 13. The counselling for general candidates will start from 26,792 rank.
The committee announced this on September 6 after All India Council for Technical Education granted approval to Camellia Institute of Technology, a new engineering college that has come up recently.
Camellia Institute of Technology will offer 60 seats each in computer science and engineering, information technology, electronics and communication engineering and electrical and electronics engineering.
AICTE has also granted approval to a couple of colleges that started new departments and to some that increased seats. Engineering seats have been added in computer science and engineering department of BP Poddar Institute of Management and Technology, Dr BC Roy Engineering College, Narula Institute of Technology and Bengal College of Engineering and Technology.
Some new departments like textile technology, IT and civil engineering were introduced in Government College of Engineering and Textile, Future Institute of Engineering and Technology and Narula Institute of Engineering and Technology respectively.
“Counselling for engineering candidates ended on 25 June. AICTE’s approval for the additional seats, however reached after June so counselling could not be held for these seats,” said Mr A K Chattopadhyay, convener, Central Selection Committee. In 2006, candidates ranking 75,000 were called at counselling but this year counselling ended at rank 26,791,” he added.
The Central Selection Committee for engineering and technology will hold counselling for an additional 800 engineering seats on September 11, 12 and 13. The counselling for general candidates will start from 26,792 rank.
The committee announced this on September 6 after All India Council for Technical Education granted approval to Camellia Institute of Technology, a new engineering college that has come up recently.
Camellia Institute of Technology will offer 60 seats each in computer science and engineering, information technology, electronics and communication engineering and electrical and electronics engineering.
AICTE has also granted approval to a couple of colleges that started new departments and to some that increased seats. Engineering seats have been added in computer science and engineering department of BP Poddar Institute of Management and Technology, Dr BC Roy Engineering College, Narula Institute of Technology and Bengal College of Engineering and Technology.
Some new departments like textile technology, IT and civil engineering were introduced in Government College of Engineering and Textile, Future Institute of Engineering and Technology and Narula Institute of Engineering and Technology respectively.
“Counselling for engineering candidates ended on 25 June. AICTE’s approval for the additional seats, however reached after June so counselling could not be held for these seats,” said Mr A K Chattopadhyay, convener, Central Selection Committee. In 2006, candidates ranking 75,000 were called at counselling but this year counselling ended at rank 26,791,” he added.
Allocation for higher, tech education to treble
The Budget allocation for higher and technical education in the country is set to treble in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-2012) with the Planning Commission expected to allocate over Rs 26,000 crore (Rs 260 billion), compared to Rs 8,876 crore (Rs 88.76 billion) in the 10th Five-Year Plan.
Increased allocation to the higher and technical education sector would mean more funds to revamp the university education system and lay a thrust on technical education.
With less than 50 per cent of secondary school students in India continuing college education in any form, and almost two-thirds of Indian universities and 90 per cent of the colleges being rated as "below average" on quality parameters, the funds would be utilised to put in place a better system of education.
Also, the synchronisation of the university curricula with employment needs would be taken up. "The commission has put agriculture, education and health among the most important sectors this Five-Year Plan. A substantial amount will be spent on the same. We will also be looking at sponsorships in the education sector through the public-private mode so that education can get substantial funds," said a Planning Commission member.
The commission is targeting a gross enrolment ratio of 15 per cent by 2015. In the 10th Five-Year Plan, the GER was 10 per cent.
This would imply the government is looking at enrolling an additional 8-9 million students in higher education by 2015. The GER in most developed economies is between 40 per cent and 50 per cent.
The Planning Commission move comes in the wake of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's announcement of ambitious plans to revamp the education sector.
Recently, in a convocation address at the Mumbai University, the PM had announced setting up of 30 world-class universities across India that would become "launch pads" for the country's entry into the knowledge economy. Also, the HRD ministry has plans to set up three new IITs and IIMs and over a dozen Indian Institutes of Information Technology.
"If we need to capitalise on our latent human potential, we need a quantum leap in our approach to higher education. We need to revamp the higher education system. Our university system has to be well planned and well funded as we need a massive expansion of higher education opportunities," the PM had said.
"The move to allocate greater funds towards higher and technical education is also to eradicate regional imbalances with regard to education among different states," said a professor close to the development, requesting anonymity.
In India, 340 districts have extremely low college enrolments. The central government plans to work with the states to support the expansion of colleges to these districts. It is also planning to have at least one good college in each of these districts.
source: business-standard
Increased allocation to the higher and technical education sector would mean more funds to revamp the university education system and lay a thrust on technical education.
With less than 50 per cent of secondary school students in India continuing college education in any form, and almost two-thirds of Indian universities and 90 per cent of the colleges being rated as "below average" on quality parameters, the funds would be utilised to put in place a better system of education.
Also, the synchronisation of the university curricula with employment needs would be taken up. "The commission has put agriculture, education and health among the most important sectors this Five-Year Plan. A substantial amount will be spent on the same. We will also be looking at sponsorships in the education sector through the public-private mode so that education can get substantial funds," said a Planning Commission member.
The commission is targeting a gross enrolment ratio of 15 per cent by 2015. In the 10th Five-Year Plan, the GER was 10 per cent.
This would imply the government is looking at enrolling an additional 8-9 million students in higher education by 2015. The GER in most developed economies is between 40 per cent and 50 per cent.
The Planning Commission move comes in the wake of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's announcement of ambitious plans to revamp the education sector.
Recently, in a convocation address at the Mumbai University, the PM had announced setting up of 30 world-class universities across India that would become "launch pads" for the country's entry into the knowledge economy. Also, the HRD ministry has plans to set up three new IITs and IIMs and over a dozen Indian Institutes of Information Technology.
"If we need to capitalise on our latent human potential, we need a quantum leap in our approach to higher education. We need to revamp the higher education system. Our university system has to be well planned and well funded as we need a massive expansion of higher education opportunities," the PM had said.
"The move to allocate greater funds towards higher and technical education is also to eradicate regional imbalances with regard to education among different states," said a professor close to the development, requesting anonymity.
In India, 340 districts have extremely low college enrolments. The central government plans to work with the states to support the expansion of colleges to these districts. It is also planning to have at least one good college in each of these districts.
source: business-standard
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Kharagpur IIT planning campus at Kolkata
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur plans to open its second campus for undergraduate and postgraduate courses at Rajarhat, Koltata from the 2008 academic session. It will admit 600 students to begin with but the number swell to 2,500 in the subsequent four years.”
According to the institute director S K Dube 10 acres of land has been acquired and construction will start just after Durga Puja.
The Kolkata campus will offer most of the disciplines available at the Kharagpur campus but their number will be decided later. The city campus will run advanced research and development programmes and accommodate trainees for various short-term modules. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has released Rs 25 crore for building the IIT’s Rajarhat campus, Dr Dube said.
Announcing the date of the 52nd convocation of IIT Kharagpur, the chairman, Board of Governors of IIT Kharagpur, Mr Sanjeev Goenka, said that a host of research projects had been lined up for execution over the next two years. The institute earned Rs 52 crore from research projects last year. Defining the revenue targeted for this financial year, Mr Goenka said: “We can calculate the worth of research projects but it is not easy to estimate the revenue that they can generate. This year, though, we will earn more than Rs 52 crore. The target for this year is Rs 100 crore.”
The director of IIT, Kharagpur, Prof SK Dube, said the institute accepted 171 research projects worth Rs 41.70 crore last year.
The institute was already busy with projects worth more than Rs 300 crore, he said. “The institute has earned 25 patents, out of which, two are US patents. This year, IIT, Kharagpur has filed 24 fresh applications,” Prof Dube said.
The IIT plans to raise the student intake at its Kharagpur campus from the current 7,000 to 10,000 over the next few years. It is also deploying an extensive policy for retaining its faculty members. The institute had absorbed around 51 new members of the faculty this year, Prof Dube said.
According to the institute director S K Dube 10 acres of land has been acquired and construction will start just after Durga Puja.
The Kolkata campus will offer most of the disciplines available at the Kharagpur campus but their number will be decided later. The city campus will run advanced research and development programmes and accommodate trainees for various short-term modules. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has released Rs 25 crore for building the IIT’s Rajarhat campus, Dr Dube said.
Announcing the date of the 52nd convocation of IIT Kharagpur, the chairman, Board of Governors of IIT Kharagpur, Mr Sanjeev Goenka, said that a host of research projects had been lined up for execution over the next two years. The institute earned Rs 52 crore from research projects last year. Defining the revenue targeted for this financial year, Mr Goenka said: “We can calculate the worth of research projects but it is not easy to estimate the revenue that they can generate. This year, though, we will earn more than Rs 52 crore. The target for this year is Rs 100 crore.”
The director of IIT, Kharagpur, Prof SK Dube, said the institute accepted 171 research projects worth Rs 41.70 crore last year.
The institute was already busy with projects worth more than Rs 300 crore, he said. “The institute has earned 25 patents, out of which, two are US patents. This year, IIT, Kharagpur has filed 24 fresh applications,” Prof Dube said.
The IIT plans to raise the student intake at its Kharagpur campus from the current 7,000 to 10,000 over the next few years. It is also deploying an extensive policy for retaining its faculty members. The institute had absorbed around 51 new members of the faculty this year, Prof Dube said.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
History of Education in India
India has a long history of organized education. The Gurukul system of education is one of the oldest on earth but before that the guru shishya system was extant, in which students were taught orally and the data would be passed from one generation to the next. Gurukuls were traditional Hindu residential schools of learning; typically the teacher's house or a monastery. Education was free (and often limited to the higher castes), but students from well-to-do families paid Gurudakshina, a voluntary contribution after the completion of their studies. 
At the Gurukuls, the teacher imparted knowledge of Religion, Scriptures, Philosophy, Literature, Warfare, Statecraft, mathematics, Medicine Astrology and "History" ("Itihaas"). Only students belonging to Brahmin and Kshatriya communities were taught in these Gurukuls. However, the advent of Buddhism and Jainism brought fundamental changes in access to education with their democratic character. The first millennium and the few centuries preceding it saw the flourishing of higher education at Nalanda, Takshashila University, Ujjain, & Vikramshila Universities. Art, Architecture, Painting, Logic, mathematics, Grammar, Philosophy, Astronomy, Literature, Buddhism, Hinduism, Arthashastra (Economics & Politics), Law, and Medicine were among the subjects taught and each university specialized in a particular field of study. Takshila specialized in the study of medicine, while Ujjain laid emphasis on astronomy. Nalanda, being the biggest centre, handled all branches of knowledge, and housed up to 10,000 students at its peak. British records show that education was widespread in the 18th century, with a school for every temple, mosque or village in most regions of the country. The subjects taught included Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Theology, Law, Astronomy, Metaphysics, Ethics, Medical Science and Religion. The schools were attended by students representative of all classes of society. Traditional structures were not recognized by the British government and have been on the decline since. Gandhi is said to have described the traditional educational system as a beautiful tree that was destroyed during the British rule.
But scholars have questioned the validity of such an argument. The village pathshalas were often housed in shabby dwellings and taught by ill-qualified teachers. Instruction was limited mainly to the three Rs and the native mahajanilzamindari accounts. Printed books were not used, and most writing was done on palm leaf, plantain leaf, or on sand. There was no fixed class routine, timetable, or school calendar. There was no annual examination, pupils being promoted whenever the guru was satisfied of the scholar's attainments. There were no desks, benches,blackboards, or fixed seating arrangements. The decline probably started in the mid- 1700s. By the 1820s neither the village schools nor the tols or madrasas were the vital centers of learning. In 1823, Raja Rammohan Roy wrote to the governor-general, Lord Amherst, requesting that he not spend government funds on starting a Sanskrit College in Calcutta but rather employ "European Gentlemen of talent and education to instruct the natives of India in Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Anatomy and other useful sciences."The current system of education, with its western style and content, was introduced & founded by the British in the 20th century, following recommendations by Macaulay.
Up to the 17th century
The first millennium and the few centuries preceding it saw the flourishing of higher education at Nalanda, Takshila, Ujjain, & Vikramshila Universities. Art, Architecture, Painting, Logic, mathematics, Grammar, Philosophy, Astronomy, Literature, Buddhism, Hinduism, Arthashastra (Economics & Politics), Law, and Medicine were among the subjects taught and each university specialized in a particular field of study. Takshila specialized in the study of medicine, while Ujjain laid emphasis on astronomy. Nalanda, being the biggest centre, handled all branches of knowledge, and housed up to 10,000 students at its peak.this is
Education under British Rule
British records show that indigenous education was widespread in the 18th century, with a school for every temple, mosque or village in most regions of the country. The subjects taught included Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Theology, Law, Astronomy, Metaphysics, Ethics, Medical Science and Religion. The schools were attended by students representative of all classes of society. But scholars have questioned the validity of such an argument. They argue that proponents of indigenous education fail to recognize the importance of the widespread use of printed books in the West since the sixteenth century, which led to a remarkable advancement of knowledge. Printed books were not used in Indian schools till the 1820s or even later. There were institutions such as Gresham's college in London that encouraged scientific learning. In fact, there were a number of such academic and scientific societies in England, often supported by Puritan and non-Conformist merchants, the like of which probably did not exist in India. The entire claim of indigenous education proponents is based on the thesis advocated by Dharampal which says that there was a general decline in Indian society and economy with the coming of British rule. In the process, indigenous education suffered. This, however, is too broad a generalization, and the exact impact of British rule on different regions at different times has to be studied more carefully before we conclude that the curve everywhere steadily declined. He argues that pre-British schools and colleges were maintained by grants of revenue-free land. The East India Company, with its policy of maximizing land revenue, stopped this and thus starved the Indian education system of its financial resources. Again, we need more detailed evidence to show how far inam lands were taken over by the government. More often, military officers, zamindar.~,and talukdars were deprived of revenue-free land rather than temples, mosques, madrasas. Recent research has revealed that inam lands continued to exist well into the nineteenth century, much more than was previously suspected.
The current system of education, with its western style and content, was introduced & funded by the British in the 19th century, following recommendations by Macaulay. Traditional structures were not recognized by the British government and have been on the decline since. Gandhi is said to have described the traditional educational system as a beautiful tree that was destroyed during British rule.
The British established many colleges like St. Xavier's College[disambiguation needed], Sydenham College, Wilson College and Elphinstone College in India.
According to Prof. Emeritus M.G. Sahadevan, F.R.C.P. (London), the first medical college of Kerala was started at Calicut, in 1942-43, during World War II. Due to shortage of doctors to serve the military, the British Government decided to open a branch of Madras Medical College in Malabar, which was under Madras Presidency then. After the war, the medical school at Calicut was closed and the students continued their studies at Madras Medical College.
After Independence
After independence, education became the responsibility of the states. The Central Government's only obligation was to co-ordinate in technical and higher education and specify standards. This continued till 1976, when the education became a joint responsibility of the state and the Centre.
Education Commission
The Education Commission under the Chairmanship of Dr. D. S. Kothari, the then Chairman, University Grants Commission, began its task on October 2,1964. It consisted of sixteen members, eleven being Indians and five foreign experts. In addition, the Commission had the benefit of discussion with a number of internationally known as consultants in the educational as well as scientific field.
After 1976
In 1976, education was made a joint responsibility of the states and the Centre, through a constitutional amendment. The center is represented by Ministry of Human Resource Development's Department of Education and together with the states, it is jointly responsible for the formulation of education policy and planning.
NPE 1986 and revised PoA 1992 envisioned that free and compulsory education should be provided for all children up to 14 years of age before the commencement of 21st century. Government of India made a commitment that by 2000, 6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be spent on education, out of which half would be spent on the Primary education.
The 86th Amendment of the Indian constitution makes education a fundamental right for all children aged 6-14 years. The access to preschool education for children under 6 years of age was excluded from the provisions, and the supporting legislation has not yet been passed.
In November 1998, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee announced setting up of Vidya Vahini Network to link up universities, UGC and CSIR.
Recent developments
The Indian Education System is generally marks-based. However, some experiments have been made to do away with the marks-based system which has led to cases of depression and suicides among students. In 2005, the Kerala government introduced a grades-based system in the hope that it will help students to move away from the cut-throat competition and rote-learning and will be able to focus on creative aspects and personality development as well. iDiscoveri education started by Alumni of Harvard, XLRI is a pioneer in this field. This organization has already developed 5 model schools.
Source : Wikipedia
At the Gurukuls, the teacher imparted knowledge of Religion, Scriptures, Philosophy, Literature, Warfare, Statecraft, mathematics, Medicine Astrology and "History" ("Itihaas"). Only students belonging to Brahmin and Kshatriya communities were taught in these Gurukuls. However, the advent of Buddhism and Jainism brought fundamental changes in access to education with their democratic character. The first millennium and the few centuries preceding it saw the flourishing of higher education at Nalanda, Takshashila University, Ujjain, & Vikramshila Universities. Art, Architecture, Painting, Logic, mathematics, Grammar, Philosophy, Astronomy, Literature, Buddhism, Hinduism, Arthashastra (Economics & Politics), Law, and Medicine were among the subjects taught and each university specialized in a particular field of study. Takshila specialized in the study of medicine, while Ujjain laid emphasis on astronomy. Nalanda, being the biggest centre, handled all branches of knowledge, and housed up to 10,000 students at its peak. British records show that education was widespread in the 18th century, with a school for every temple, mosque or village in most regions of the country. The subjects taught included Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Theology, Law, Astronomy, Metaphysics, Ethics, Medical Science and Religion. The schools were attended by students representative of all classes of society. Traditional structures were not recognized by the British government and have been on the decline since. Gandhi is said to have described the traditional educational system as a beautiful tree that was destroyed during the British rule.But scholars have questioned the validity of such an argument. The village pathshalas were often housed in shabby dwellings and taught by ill-qualified teachers. Instruction was limited mainly to the three Rs and the native mahajanilzamindari accounts. Printed books were not used, and most writing was done on palm leaf, plantain leaf, or on sand. There was no fixed class routine, timetable, or school calendar. There was no annual examination, pupils being promoted whenever the guru was satisfied of the scholar's attainments. There were no desks, benches,blackboards, or fixed seating arrangements. The decline probably started in the mid- 1700s. By the 1820s neither the village schools nor the tols or madrasas were the vital centers of learning. In 1823, Raja Rammohan Roy wrote to the governor-general, Lord Amherst, requesting that he not spend government funds on starting a Sanskrit College in Calcutta but rather employ "European Gentlemen of talent and education to instruct the natives of India in Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Anatomy and other useful sciences."The current system of education, with its western style and content, was introduced & founded by the British in the 20th century, following recommendations by Macaulay.
Up to the 17th century
The first millennium and the few centuries preceding it saw the flourishing of higher education at Nalanda, Takshila, Ujjain, & Vikramshila Universities. Art, Architecture, Painting, Logic, mathematics, Grammar, Philosophy, Astronomy, Literature, Buddhism, Hinduism, Arthashastra (Economics & Politics), Law, and Medicine were among the subjects taught and each university specialized in a particular field of study. Takshila specialized in the study of medicine, while Ujjain laid emphasis on astronomy. Nalanda, being the biggest centre, handled all branches of knowledge, and housed up to 10,000 students at its peak.this is
Education under British Rule
British records show that indigenous education was widespread in the 18th century, with a school for every temple, mosque or village in most regions of the country. The subjects taught included Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Theology, Law, Astronomy, Metaphysics, Ethics, Medical Science and Religion. The schools were attended by students representative of all classes of society. But scholars have questioned the validity of such an argument. They argue that proponents of indigenous education fail to recognize the importance of the widespread use of printed books in the West since the sixteenth century, which led to a remarkable advancement of knowledge. Printed books were not used in Indian schools till the 1820s or even later. There were institutions such as Gresham's college in London that encouraged scientific learning. In fact, there were a number of such academic and scientific societies in England, often supported by Puritan and non-Conformist merchants, the like of which probably did not exist in India. The entire claim of indigenous education proponents is based on the thesis advocated by Dharampal which says that there was a general decline in Indian society and economy with the coming of British rule. In the process, indigenous education suffered. This, however, is too broad a generalization, and the exact impact of British rule on different regions at different times has to be studied more carefully before we conclude that the curve everywhere steadily declined. He argues that pre-British schools and colleges were maintained by grants of revenue-free land. The East India Company, with its policy of maximizing land revenue, stopped this and thus starved the Indian education system of its financial resources. Again, we need more detailed evidence to show how far inam lands were taken over by the government. More often, military officers, zamindar.~,and talukdars were deprived of revenue-free land rather than temples, mosques, madrasas. Recent research has revealed that inam lands continued to exist well into the nineteenth century, much more than was previously suspected.
The current system of education, with its western style and content, was introduced & funded by the British in the 19th century, following recommendations by Macaulay. Traditional structures were not recognized by the British government and have been on the decline since. Gandhi is said to have described the traditional educational system as a beautiful tree that was destroyed during British rule.
The British established many colleges like St. Xavier's College[disambiguation needed], Sydenham College, Wilson College and Elphinstone College in India.
According to Prof. Emeritus M.G. Sahadevan, F.R.C.P. (London), the first medical college of Kerala was started at Calicut, in 1942-43, during World War II. Due to shortage of doctors to serve the military, the British Government decided to open a branch of Madras Medical College in Malabar, which was under Madras Presidency then. After the war, the medical school at Calicut was closed and the students continued their studies at Madras Medical College.
After Independence
After independence, education became the responsibility of the states. The Central Government's only obligation was to co-ordinate in technical and higher education and specify standards. This continued till 1976, when the education became a joint responsibility of the state and the Centre.
Education Commission
The Education Commission under the Chairmanship of Dr. D. S. Kothari, the then Chairman, University Grants Commission, began its task on October 2,1964. It consisted of sixteen members, eleven being Indians and five foreign experts. In addition, the Commission had the benefit of discussion with a number of internationally known as consultants in the educational as well as scientific field.
After 1976
In 1976, education was made a joint responsibility of the states and the Centre, through a constitutional amendment. The center is represented by Ministry of Human Resource Development's Department of Education and together with the states, it is jointly responsible for the formulation of education policy and planning.
NPE 1986 and revised PoA 1992 envisioned that free and compulsory education should be provided for all children up to 14 years of age before the commencement of 21st century. Government of India made a commitment that by 2000, 6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be spent on education, out of which half would be spent on the Primary education.
The 86th Amendment of the Indian constitution makes education a fundamental right for all children aged 6-14 years. The access to preschool education for children under 6 years of age was excluded from the provisions, and the supporting legislation has not yet been passed.
In November 1998, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee announced setting up of Vidya Vahini Network to link up universities, UGC and CSIR.
Recent developments
The Indian Education System is generally marks-based. However, some experiments have been made to do away with the marks-based system which has led to cases of depression and suicides among students. In 2005, the Kerala government introduced a grades-based system in the hope that it will help students to move away from the cut-throat competition and rote-learning and will be able to focus on creative aspects and personality development as well. iDiscoveri education started by Alumni of Harvard, XLRI is a pioneer in this field. This organization has already developed 5 model schools.
Source : Wikipedia
Education structure of India
India has been a major seat of learning for thousands of years. While some of the country's universities (BITS, IITs, NITs, IISc, ISB, TIFR, ISI, IIMs and AIIMS) are among the world's well-renowned, it is also dealing with challenges in its primary education and strives to reach 100% literacy. Universal Compulsory Primary Education, with its challenges of keeping poor children in school and maintaining quality of education in rural areas, has been difficult to achieve (Kerala is the only Indian state to reach this goal so far). All levels of education, from primary to higher education, are overseen by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Higher Education (India) and Department of School Education and Literacy), and heavily subsidized by the Indian government, though there is a move to make higher education partially self-financing. Indian Government is considering to allow 100% foreign direct investment in Higher Education.
There are broadly four stages of school education in India, namely primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary(or high school).
Overall, schooling lasts 12 years, following the "10+2 pattern". However, there are considerable differences between the various states in terms of the organizational patterns within these first 10 years of schooling. The government is committed to ensuring universal elementary education (primary and upper primary) education for all children aged 6-14 years of age. Primary school includes children of ages six to eleven, organized into classes one through five. Upper Primary and Secondary school pupils aged eleven through fifteen are organized into classes six through ten, and higher secondary school students ages sixteen through seventeen are enrolled in classes eleven through twelve. In some places there is a concept called Middle/Upper Primary schools for classes between six to eight. In such cases classes nine to twelve are classified under high school category. Higher Education in India provides an opportunity to specialize in a field and includes technical schools (such as the Indian Institutes of Technology), colleges, and universities.
In India, the main types of schools are those controlled by:
There are broadly four stages of school education in India, namely primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary(or high school).
Overall, schooling lasts 12 years, following the "10+2 pattern". However, there are considerable differences between the various states in terms of the organizational patterns within these first 10 years of schooling. The government is committed to ensuring universal elementary education (primary and upper primary) education for all children aged 6-14 years of age. Primary school includes children of ages six to eleven, organized into classes one through five. Upper Primary and Secondary school pupils aged eleven through fifteen are organized into classes six through ten, and higher secondary school students ages sixteen through seventeen are enrolled in classes eleven through twelve. In some places there is a concept called Middle/Upper Primary schools for classes between six to eight. In such cases classes nine to twelve are classified under high school category. Higher Education in India provides an opportunity to specialize in a field and includes technical schools (such as the Indian Institutes of Technology), colleges, and universities.In India, the main types of schools are those controlled by:
- The state government boards like SSLC, in which the vast majority of Indian school-children are enrolled,
- The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board,
- The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board,
- National Open School and
- "International schools." These schools mimic the schools in the West in pattern and syllabi and are considerably more expensive than regular schools. The exams conducted have the syllabus of anyone of the above-mentioned Councils or Boards.
Overall, according to the latest Government Survey undertaken by NUEPA (DISE, 2005-6), there are 1,124,033 schools.
Source : Wikipedia
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