‘Education is the most powerful weapon with which you can change the world- Nelson Mandela

Education is the process of acquiring knowledge, data, skills, beliefs, values, and habits.

While talking concerning education people usually confuse it with schooling. When seeing or hearing the word (Education), many peoples imagine places like schools or colleges. Also, they consider specific jobs such as teachers or tutors.

Education means ” To prepare a person to handle the challenges of every day of life.”

The problem with this is that while looking to help people learn, the way a lot of the schools and teachers operate isn’t necessarily something we will properly call education. they need to be chosen or fallen or been pushed into “schooling”- trying to drill learning into people according to some plan often involved by others.

Such ‘schooling’ quickly descends into treating learners like objects, things to be acted upon instead of people to be related to.

The whole purpose of education is to show the mirror to windows. education must help to question, Inquire, act, and rethink.

Education may be a social process- ‘a process of living and not a preparation for future living. The task of educators is to develop potential. Such education is hopeful. it’s a process of inviting truth and possibility. it’s a cooperative and inclusive activity that appears to assist people to live their lives, as well as they can.

Characteristics of Education

• Education as a process
• Education as a product
• Education as a discipline
• Education as growth and development
• Education as direction
• Education as developing mental faculties
• Education is the acquisition of knowledge and skill.

There are many types of education are:-

• Child Education
• Adult Education
• Technical Education
• Health Education
• Physical Education

Education is classified under these three categories:-

1. Formal Education
2. Informal Education
3. Non-Formal Education

Formal Education

o It is an institutionalized process o Everything is systematic and organized o There will be a particular procedure of evaluation o There will be a particular procedure of admission

Characteristics of Formal Education

o Systematically organized and institutionalized o Planned with a particular end in view o Limited to a specific period or stage o It has a well-defined and systematic curriculum o Given by specially qualified teachers o observes strict discipline

Informal Education

o Informal education takes place naturally in the process of living o Learning education from spontaneous or incidents o Not scheduled or deliberate o It is not imparted by any professional organization o It is a life-long process.

Non-Formal Education

• Non-formal education is systematic and organized but does not happen in the realm of formal education. o Does have agencies
• As per the need of the client, there will be; flexibility in teaching and curriculum.

Characteristics of Non-Formal Education

• Organized, Systematic education carried outside the framework of the established formal system
• Outside the realm of formal education o Conscious and deliberate o It is organized for a homogeneous group o It serves the need of the identified group

Education System in Ancient India

• The education system in India during ancient times can be traced back to the 3rd century B.C., at this time, the Gurukul Education system in India existed.
• These gurukuls were primarily residential schools where the Sishyas (student) lived in the same house with their gurus (teachers)
• The rishis imparted education orally. the bark of trees and palm leaves were used for writing. The teaching methods used were reasoning and questioning.
• Character formation and personality development, infusion of spiritual and religious values were mainly imparted by the guru into Sishyas through the Gurukul system of education.
• Education was free, but the students paid “Gurudakshina,” a voluntary contribution after the completion of their studies.
• Through Upanayana, a student was initiated into Brahmacharya. This time period was exclusively allotted for Vedic education. During this pupil, was under complete self-discipline and self-control. all sorts of luxuries and pleasures were to be avoided.
• Herbal medicine, Astronomy, Drama, Philosophy, Astrology, Literature, warfare, Statecraft, and History were the most common subjects.
• Vedic education included: proper pronunciation and recitation of the Veda, the rules of sacrifice, grammar, understanding the secret of nature.
• The Upnishads encouraged an exploratory learning process where teachers and students co-travelers in a search for truth.
• The Mahabharata and Ramayana too were a part of ancient Indian education. these epic poems discussed human goals, explain the duty of the individual to society and the world through the concept of Drama.

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Various Stages in the Education System in India

1. Pre-primary – consist of children of 3-5 years of age.
2. Primary – classes 1st-5th
3. Middle – classes 6th-8th
4. Secondary classes 9th and 10th
5. Higher Secondary – classes 11th and 12th
6. Higher education – college educations which included undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Governing Bodies

1. CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education)- It is the prime most governing body of education in India. It has control over the central education system in India.
2. CISCE ( Council of Indian School Certificate Examination)- It is a board for Anglo Indian Studies in India
3. National Institute of Open Schooling- Governs opens school which as constituted for students who cannot attend formal schools
4. State government Boards- Each state has its own state board of education to look after education issues.

Initiatives by the Ministry of Human Resource Development:

1. National Literacy mission
2. national means cum merit scholarship
3. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
4. Mid-day meal scheme
5. madrasa modernization scheme
6. Mahila Samkhya scheme
7. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan
8. Model school scheme
9. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya scholarship scheme
10. Rashtriya Unchchatar Siksha Abhiyan
11. Saakshar Bharat– Adult Education

Lacunae in the Education System- Challenges

• Despite raising investment in education, 25% of its population is yet illiterate; only 15% of our country’s students reach high school, and just 7 % of the 15% who passed it to high school to graduate.
• India spends approx 3.8% of GDP (Data- World Bank)         on education whereas the US, UK, Germany spend over 5% even when they are highly developed societies and have huge GDP.
• Rote learning marks culture, etc are the most amongst the biggest flaws in the education system in India. Rather than lifelong learning it enables cramming and forgetting. Students only study to get marks on their exams.

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One out of nine children who complete school joins a college. India has one of just 11 percent with the lowest enrollment ratio in higher education. it is 83% in the US.

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• According to the 10th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), only a fourth of all class 3rd children able to read class 2nd text fluently, In fact, 25% of class 8th children could not read the class 2nd level text.
• It is estimated that there is a shortage of more than 5 lakh qualified teachers in elementary schools. The shortage of teachers is endemic with even the IITs reporting a 20-30% shortfall in faculty. RTE norms stipulate a teacher per 30 students and there is a huge lack of teachers, most in UP.
• Teacher absenteeism is very high in many schools. many are not willing to work in rural areas as the incentive is poor.
• If the teacher problem is the structural problem at the qualitative level, teaching is also crippled by absenteeism, a culture of proxy teacher and sub-contracting, appointment of under-trained teachers, long-distance posting, lack of motivation, poor accommodation, and among the most important obstacle is the allotment of non-academic duties and political duties and political pressures.
• There is no such department as the education department where teachers take such a decent salary and refuse to work, says the Magsaysay award winner activist Sandeep Pandey.
• Infrastructure is very poor in many schools. eg: Many don’t have separate toilets for girls which have led to several girls dropping out from schools.
• Corruption and red-tapism plague educational schemes. E.g. mid-day meal scheme, teacher recruitment scheme, scholarship schemes.
• India’s education policy, 1986 is over 3 decades old and not updated to keep with modern developments in the education sector.
• A recent McKinsey study showed that only 1 out of 10 Indian Students with degrees in humanities and 1 out of 4 engineering graduates are employable. So much for India’s demographic dividend.
• The above-mentioned report says that 20% of the teachers do not measure up to the standards of the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE). Also,

due to the absence of a focus on effective skill development, India is one of the least skilled countries.

• Many institutes like IITs, IIMs lack autonomy and work with heavy political influences. this has stifled academic creativity. No Indian university ranks in the top 100 universities in the world. India ranks among the bottom in all innovation indexes with regard to the education system in India.
• Extreme pressure from parents to use education as financial security as people are spending their parent’s life savings and borrowed money on education. This is crushing innovation and students begin a rat race to find the best employment. It also forces students to commit suicide.
• Additional pressure due to limited seats resulting in very intense competition between students.
• Standardized tests determine everything. The aptitude of students is not recognized outside this format.
• The curriculum remains outdated. (Refer- NCERT to review books for 1st time since 2007)
• There is a lack of diversity in subjects one can take in college. e.g. cannot double major in Maths and German like you can in the USA. less flexibility to cross over into different streams of education.

Some suggestions with regard to the Education System in India

Personalize Education

Personalize Education – one size doesn’t fit all. Assembly line education prepares assembly line workers. some kids learn comparatively slower than others. some are visual learners, some are auditory learners, some learn from practical experiences. this encourages creative thinking and innovation.

Implement ICT in Education on a massive scale

Implemented ICT in Education on a massive scale- focus on investing in technology rather than outdated brick and mortar institutions. this will ensure education is cheap and reaches all. The government can distribute smartphones, tablets, and computers with high-speed internet to rural students.

Redefine the purpose of the education system

Redefine the purpose of the education system- instead of aiming at getting jobs and indulging in the rat race and rote learning, our education system should focus on creating entrepreneurs, innovators, scientists, artists, thinkers, writs, etc.

Focus on skill-based education

‘Give a man fish and you feed him one day, teach him to how to catch fishes and you feed him for a lifetime.’ students are rewarded for cramming information rather than practical implementation. Bring Smarter Teachers

Teaching has become the sanctuary of the incompetent. Thousands of terrible teachers all over India are wasting valuable time on young children every day.

Allow the Private Capital in Education

The government cannot afford higher education for all people in the country. It’s too costly for the government to do so. allowing profit-making will encourage serious entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors to take an interest in the Education sector. In other developing countries such as Brazil, private capital is responsible for the majority of higher education.

Reward Creativity and Innovation

Testing and marking systems should be built to recognize original contributions in the form of creativity, research. The education system in India rarely rewards what is actually deserving, Deviance is discouraged, risk-taking is mocked.

Recent Initiatives by the Government

• BRICS ( means-Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Nations adopts New Delhi Declaration on Education
• Interest-free loans for all IIT/Higher education students under the ‘Vidyalakshmi’ scheme
• Higher education study material to be made available for free through e-Paathshaala
• Rajasthan becomes the first state to make student data available online
• HRD Ministry calls for compulsory aptitude tests before JEE to remove coaching needs
• Government to fund ‘pure science’ scholars’ for post-doctoral research
• HRD launches 32 educational channels for students
• CBSE directs schools to drop school bags until class 2
• Kasturirangan committee formed in 2017 to make a draft of the new education policy.

Conclusion

It is said that it will take India six generations or 126 years to catch up with developed countries if we do not change the education system in India dramatically. Thus, urgent reforms in this sector are the need of the hour.

India’s improved education system will act as one of the main contributors to the economic rise of India. It will enable India to reap most of its demographic bulge and deliver an enhanced quality of living to its citizens. it will help the youth to develop to their maximum potential.Now New Education Policy 2020 Is Implemented by Indian Government.