Education in India 

is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding

coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory.
TheNalanda University was the oldest university-system of education in the world.
Western education became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of
the British Raj. Education in India falls under the control of both the Union
Government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the
states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian
Constitution provide for education as a fundamental right. Most universities in India are
Union or State Government controlled.

India has made a huge progress in terms of increasing primary education attendance

rate and expanding literacy to approximately two thirds of the population.[2] India's
improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to
the economic rise of India.[3] Much of the progress in education has been credited to
various private institutions.[4] The private education market in India is estimated to be
worth $40 billion in 2008 and will increase to $68 billion by 2012.[4] However, India
continues to face stern challenges. Despite growing investment in education, 35% of its
population is still illiterate; only 15% of Indian students reach high school, and just 7%
graduate.[5]. As of 2008, India's post-secondary high schools offer only enough seats for
7% of India's college-age population, 25% of teaching positions nationwide are vacant,
and 57% of college professors lack either a master's or PhD degree.[6] As of 2007, there
are 1522 degree-granting engineering colleges in India with an annual student intake of
582,000,[7]plus 1,244 polytechnics with an annual intake of 265,000. However, these
institutions face shortage of faculty and concerns have been raised over the quality of
education.[8]
V

Our university system is, in many parts, in a state of disrepair...In almost half the districts in the
country, higher education enrollments are abysmally low, almost two-third of our universities
and 90 per cent of our colleges are rated as below average on quality parameters... I am
concerned that in many states university appointments, including that of vice-chancellors, have
been politicised and have become subject to caste and communal considerations, there are
complaints of favouritism and corruption.

– Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2007[42]

India's higher education system is the third largest in the world, after China and
the United States.[43] The main governing body at the tertiary level is the University
Grants Commission (India), which enforces its standards, advises the government, and
helps coordinate between the centre and the state.[44] Accreditation for higher learning is
overseen by 12 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants
Commission.[45]

As of 2009, India has 20 central universities, 215 state universities, 100 deemed
universities, 5 institutions established and functioning under the State Act, and 13
institutes which are of national importance.[44] Other institutions include 16000 colleges,
including 1800 exclusive women's colleges, functioning under these universities and
institutions.[44] The emphasis in the tertiary level of education lies on science and
technology.[46] Indian educational institutions by 2004 consisted of a large number of
technology institutes.[47] Distance learning is also a feature of the Indian higher
education system.[47]
Some institutions of India, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), have been
globally acclaimed for their standard of education.[47]The IITs enroll about 8000 students
annually and the alumni have contributed to both the growth of the private sector and
the public sectors of India.[48] However, India has failed to produce world class
universities like Harvard or Cambridge.[49]

Besides top rated universities which provide highly competitive world class education to
their pupil, India is also home to many universities which have been founded with the
sole objective of making easy money. Regulatory authorities like UGC and AICTE have
been trying very hard to extirpate the menace of private universities which are running
courses without any affiliation or recognition. Students from rural and semi urban
background often fall prey to these institutes and colleges.[50][dead link]
Three Indian universities were listed in the Times Higher Education list of the world’s top
200 universities — Indian Institutes of Technology,Indian Institutes of Management,
and Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2005 and 2006.[51] Six Indian Institutes of
Technology and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science - Pilani were listed among
the top 20 science and technology schools in Asia by Asiaweek.[52] TheIndian School of
Business situated in Hyderabad was ranked number 12 in global MBA rankings by
the Financial Times of London in 2010[53]while the All India Institute of Medical
Sciences has been recognized as a global leader in medical research and treatment.[54]

Technical education
From the first Five Year Plan onwards India's emphasis was to develop a pool of
scientifically inclined manpower.[55] India's National Policy on Education (NPE)
provisioned for an apex body for regulation and development of higher technical
education, which came into being as theAll India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE) in 1987 through an act of the Indian parliament.[56] At the level of the
centre the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Information
Technology are deemed of national importance.[56] The Indian Institutes of
Management are also among the nation's premier education facilities.[56] Several
Regional Engineering Colleges (REC) have been converted into National Institutes of
Technology.[56] The UGC has inter-university centres at a number of locations
throughout India to promote common research, e.g. the Nuclear Science Centre at
the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.[57]

In addition to above institutes, efforts towards the enhancement of technical education

are supplemented by a number of recognized Professional Engineering Societies like:
(i) the Institution of Engineers (India); (ii) The Institution of Chemical Engineering (India);
(iii) The Institution of Electronics and Tele-Communication Engineers (India); (iv) The
Indian Institute of Metals; (v) The Institution of Industrial Engineers (India); (vi) The
Institute of Town Planners (India); (vii) The Indian Institute of Architects, etc., who
conduct Engineering/Technical Examinations at different levels(Degree and diploma) for
working professionals desirous of improving their technical qualifications

Funding and infrastructure

One study found out that 25% of public sector teachers and 40% of public sector
medical workers were absent during the survey. Among teachers who were paid to
teach, absence rates ranged from 15% in Maharashtra to 71% in Bihar. Only 1 in nearly
3000 public school head teachers had ever dismissed a teacher for repeated absence.
[72]
 A study on teachers by Kremer etc. found that 'only about half were teaching, during
unannounced visits to a nationally representative sample of government primary
schools in India.'.[72]

A study of 188 government-run primary schools found that 59% of the schools had no
drinking water and 89% had no toilets.[73] 2003-04 data by National Institute of
Educational Planning and Administration revealed that only 3.5% of primary schools in
Bihar and Chhattisgarh had toilets for girls. In Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, rates were 12-16%.[74]

Curriculum issues
Modern education in India is often criticized for being based on rote learning rather than
problem solving. BusinessWeek denigrates the Indian curriculum saying it revolves
around rote learning.[75] and ExpressIndia suggests that students are focused on
cramming.[76]
[edit]Controversy
In January 2010, the Government of India decided to withdraw Deemed
university status from as many as 44 rations were not being kept in mind by the
management of these institutions and that "they were being run as family fiefdoms".[77]

Fake degrees are a problem. One raid in Bihar found 100,000 fake certificates.[78] In
February 2009, the University Grant Commission found 19 fake institutions operating in
India.[79]

Only 16% of manufacturers in India offer in-service training to their employees,

compared with over 90% in China.[80]
 Central government involvement

[edit]Budget
As a part of the tenth Five year Plan (2002–2007), the central government of India
outlined an expenditure of 65.6% of its total education budget of    438.25 billion
(US$9.86 billion) i.e.    287.5 billion (US$6.47 billion) on elementary education; 9.9%
i.e.   43.25 billion (US$;973.13 million) on secondary education; 2.9% i.e.   12.5 billion
(US$;281.25 million) on adult education; 9.5% i.e.   41.765 billion (US$;939.71
million) on higher education; 10.7% i.e.    47 billion (US$1.06 billion) on technical
education; and the remaining 1.4% i.e.   6.235 billion (US$;140.29 million) on
miscellaneous education schemes.[88]
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), India has the lowest public expenditure on higher education
per student in the world.[89]
See also: Education in India Five Year Plan Expenditure

[edit]Public Expenditure on Education in India

In recent times, several major announcements were made for developing the poor state
of affairs in education sector in India, the most notable ones being the National
Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government. The announcements are; (a) To progressively increase expenditure on
education to around 6 percent of GDP. (b) To support this increase in expenditure on
education, and to increase the quality of education, there would be an imposition of an
education cess over all central government taxes. (c) To ensure that no one is denied of
education due to economic backwardness and poverty. (d) To make right to education a
fundamental right for all children in the age group 6–14 years. (e) To universalize
education through its flagship programmes such as Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Mid Day
Meal.

However, even after five years of implementation of NCMP, not much progress has
been done on these promises or announcements. The public expenditure on education
has actually declined from around 3.23 percent of GDP in 2000-2001 to 2.88 percent in
the recent times. As a proportion of total government expenditure, it has declined from
around 11.1 percent in 2000-2001 to around 9.98 percent during UPA rule. A policy
brief issued by [Network for Social Accountability (NSA)][90] titled “[NSA Response to
Education Sector Interventions in Union Budget: UPA Rule and the Education Sector]
[91]
” provides significant revelation to this fact. Due to a declining priority of education in
the public policy paradigm in India, there has been an exponential growth in the private
expenditure on education also. [As per the available information, the private out of
pocket expenditure by the working class population for the education of their children in
India has increased by around 1150 percent or around 12.5 times over the last decade].
[92]

[edit]Legislative framework
Article 45, of the Constitution of India originally stated:

The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the
“ commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children
until they complete the age of fourteen years. [17]
”
This article was a directive principle of state policy within India, effectively meaning that
it was within a set of rules that were meant to be followed in spirit and the government
could not be held to court if the actual letter was not followed.[93] However, the
enforcement of this directive principle became a matter of debate since this principle
held obvious emotive and practical value, and was legally the only directive principle
within the Indian constitution to have a time limit.[93]

Following initiatives by the Supreme Court of India during the 1990s the Ninety-third

amendment bill suggested three separate amendments to the Indian constitution:[94]

 The constitution of India was amended to include a new article, 21A, which read:

The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to
“ fourteen years in a such manner as the State may, by law, determine. [95]
”
 Article 45 was proposed to be substituted by the article which read:

Provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years:
“ The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children
until they complete the age of sixteen years. [95]
”
 Another article, 51A, was to additionally have the clause:
 ...a parent or guardian [shall] provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the
“ case may be, [a] ward between the age of six to fourteen years. [95]
”
The bill was passed unanimously in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian
parliament, on November 28, 2001.[96] It was later passed by the upper house—
the Rajya Sabha—on May 14, 2002.[96] After being signed by the President of India the
Indian constitution was amended formally for the eighty sixth time and the bill came into
effect.[96] Since then those between the age of 6–14 have a fundamental right to
education.[97]

Article 46 of the Constitution of India holds that:

The State shall promote, with special care, the education and economic interests of the
“ weaker sections of the people, and in particular of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of social exploitation'. [58]
”
Other provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can be found in
Articles 330, 332, 335, 338–342.[58] Both the 5th and the 6th Schedules of the
Constitution also make special provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes.[58]