SCHOOL EDUCATION IN INDIA

PRIMARY EDUCATION
Education can act as a powerful tool for reducing poverty and unemployment, improving health and
nutritional standards, and achieving a sustained human development-led growth.
Overview of Education Priorities in India

 Primary education historically received minimal attention compared to higher education.

 Union Budget allocations for education were skewed towards higher and technical education.
Shift Towards Primary Education:

 Importance of primary education began to rise around the 1970s.

 Policy initiatives, and budget allocations reflected this shift.
 New Education Policy (NEP) of 1986 and its revision in 1992 emphasized universal access to primary
education and improving its quality.
i. NEP aimed at ensuring enrolment and retention of children aged 6-14.
ii. Focus on improving education quality to meet essential living standards.
iii. The enrolment rate of primary is 100%.
SECONDARY EDUCATION

 Gross Enrollment Rate in Secondary Education: 79.56%

 Secondary School Availability: There were far fewer secondary schools than primary schools, likely
contributing to low enrollment.
 Gender Disparity: Traditional gender roles and safety concerns contribute to low participation of
girls in secondary education.
 Household Dynamics: Gender inequality often stems from within households, despite policies
promoting girls' enrollment.
 Economic Factors: Poverty leads to early dropout as parents may prioritize short-term gains over
education
 Regional Disparities: Inequality in household income affects access to education. States like
Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh lag behind, while
Kerala and West Bengal show lower inequality.
 Gender Parity Index: States like Bihar and Rajasthan exhibit extreme gender inequality in secondary
school enrollment, while Kerala and Tamil Nadu show higher gender parity or even pro-female
enrollment rates.
Role of private schooling

 Private Schooling Growth as compared to public schools: Poorly resourced public schools with high
teacher absenteeism led to the rapid growth of private schooling, particularly in urban areas.
 Private Schooling among the Poor: Private schooling is not exclusive to affluent families; even poor
families enroll their children in private schools,
 Growth of Private Schooling: Private schooling has seen dramatic growth over time, particularly in
urban areas. The proportion of total enrollment increase absorbed by private schools has
consistently risen, indicating a significant shift towards private education, especially at the
primary level.
 Growing Inequality in Education: The expansion of private schooling suggests growing inequality in
educational opportunities, as private schools are perceived to offer better quality education than public
 schools. This trend exacerbates existing inequalities in access to quality education, particularly among
different income groups.

 INDIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES

India's literacy rates, both for adults and youth, are compared with its neighbouring countries, as well as
BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China, South Africa). India performs relatively well compared to
Bangladesh and Pakistan in terms of literacy rates however, India lags substantially behind all other BRIC
and Sri Lanka in literacy rates. It's particularly striking that India's overall adult literacy rate is similar to, and
its female adult literacy rate lower than, that of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Comparison :

 India is at a considerable educational disadvantage compared to China.

 In the early 2000s, India's adult literacy rate was 30 percentage points lower than China's.
 Even focusing on youth literacy rates, India's disadvantage compared to China is significant, with a
difference of 22.5 percentage points.
 India faces a considerable disadvantage in secondary school enrollment rates compared to other BRIC
countries.
 Secondary enrollment rates in Brazil and Russia are far above those predicted for countries at their
levels of per-capita GDP.