1. Education System in India

2. History of Education in Indian Subcontinent
The "history of education in the Indian subcontinent began with teaching of traditional elements such as
Indian religions,
Indian mathematics,
Indian logic
at early Hindu and Buddhist centres of learning such as
Taxila (in modern-day Pakistan) and
Nalanda (in India) before the common era.
Islamic education became ingrained with the establishment of the Islamic empires in the Indian subcontinent in the Middle Ages while the coming of the Europeans later bought western education to colonial India.

3. Early History
Early education in Indian commenced under the supervision of a guru. Initially, education was open to all and seen as one of the methods to achieve Moksha, or enlightenment. As time progressed, due to superiority complexes, the education was imparted on the basis of caste and the related duties that one had to perform as a member of a specific caste.

4. Early History
The Brahmans learned about scriptures and religion while the Kshatriya were educated in the various aspects of warfare. The Vaishya caste learned commerce and other specific vocational courses while education was largely denied to the Shudras, the lowest caste. The earliest venues of education in India were often secluded from the main population

5. Early History
Students were expected to follow strict monastic guidelines prescribed by the guru and stay away from cities in ashrams. However, as population increased under the Gupta empire centres of urban learning became increasingly common and Cities such as Varanasi and the Buddhist centre at Nalanda became increasingly visible.

6. Early History
Education in India in its traditional form was closely related to religion. Among the Heterodox schools of belief were the Jain and Buddhist schools. Heterodox Buddhist education was more inclusive and aside of the monastic orders the Buddhist education centres were urban institutes of learning such as Taxila and Nalanda where grammar, medicine, philosophy, logic, metaphysics, arts and crafts etc. were also taught.

7. Early History
Early secular Buddhist institutions of higher learning like Taxila and Nalanda continued to function well into the common era and were attended by students from China and Central Asia.

8. Late Middle Ages—Early Modern Era
With the advent of Islam in India the traditional methods of education increasingly came under Islamic influence. Pre-Mughal rulers such as Qutb-ud-din Aybak and other Muslim rulers initiated institutions which imparted religious knowledge.

9. Late Middle Ages—Early Modern Era
Scholars such as Nizamuddin Auliya and Moinuddin Chishti became prominent educators and established Islamic monasteries. Students from Bukhara and Afghanistan visited India to study humanities and science.

10. Late Middle Ages—Early Modern Era
Islamic institution of education in India included traditional madrassas and maktabs which taught grammar, philosophy, mathematics, and law influenced by the Greek traditions inherited by Persia and the Middle East before Islam spread from these regions into India. A feature of this traditional Islamic education was its emphasis on the connection between science and humanities.

11. Colonial Era
Thomas Babington Macaulay introduced English education in India, especially through his famous minute of February He called an educational system that would create a class of anglicised Indians who would serve as cultural intermediaries between the British and the Indians.

12. Colonial Era
Macaulay succeeded in implementing ideas previously put forward by Lord William Bentinck, the governor general since Bentinck favored the replacement of Persian by English as the official language, the use of English as the medium of instruction, and the training of English-speaking Indians as teachers.

13. Colonial Era
He was inspired by utilitarian ideas and called for "useful learning." However, Bentinck's ideas were rejected by the Court of Directors of the East India Company and he retired as governor general.

14. Colonial Era
With the arrival of the British Raj in India the modern European education came to India. British Raj was reluctant to introduce mass education system as it was not their interest. The colonial educational policy was deliberately one of reducing indigenous culture and religion, an approach which became known as Macaulayism. With this the whole educational as well as government system went through changes. Educated people failed to get a job because the language in which they got their education had become redundant.

15. Colonial Era
Adapted from a speech given to the Vivekananda Study Circle, IIT-Madras, January The system soon became solidified in India as a number of primary, secondary, and tertiary centers for education cropped up during the colonial era.Between 1867 and 1941 the British increased the percentage of the population in Primary and Secondary Education from around 0.6% of the population in 1867 to over 3.5% of the population in However this was much lower than the equivalent figures for Europe where in 1911 between 8 and 18% of the population were in Primary and Secondary education.

16. Colonial Era
British education became solidified into India as missionary schools were established during the 1820s.New policies in gave rise to the use of English as the language of instruction for advanced topics.

17. Colonial Era
India established a dense educational network (very largely for males) with a Western curriculum based on instruction in English. To further advance their careers many ambitious upper class men with money, including Gandhi, Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah went to England, especially to obtain a legal education at the Inns of Court. By 1890 some 60,000 Indians had matriculated, chiefly in the liberal arts or law. About a third entered public administration, and another third became lawyers. The result was a very well educated professional state bureaucracy

18. Colonial Era
. By 1887 of 21,000 mid-level civil service appointments, 45% were held by Hindus, 7% by Muslims, 19% by Eurasians (European father and Indian mother), and 29% by Europeans. Of the 1000 top -level positions, almost all were held by Britons, typically with an Oxbridge degree.

19. Present education system
The Indian constitution provides that both the Central and the State Governments can bring laws and frame policies on education or in simpler words the subject education is the responsibly of both the respective State Governments as well as Government of India. Therefore whereas almost every State has its own Secondary Education Board and is responsible for establishing State Universities and maintaining them the Central Government acts as a co-coordinator and helps in determining a uniform standard of education in the country.

20. INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

21. . The government is committed to providing education through mainstream schools for children with disabilities.
The need for inclusive education arises precisely because it is now well understood that most children with disabilities can, with motivation and effort on the part of teaching institutions, become an integral part of those institutions

22. There is a common educational structure(10+2+3) followed all over the country.

23. School education 10+2 Pre primary (FOR 1 YEAR) Primary (GRADE 1-5)
Middle (GRADE 6-8)
Secondary (GRADE 9-10)
Senior Secondary (GRADE11-12)

24. SECONDARY EDUCATION
Significant feature of India's secondary school system is the emphasis on inclusion of the disadvantaged sections of the society.
Another feature of India's secondary school system is its emphasis on profession based vocational training to help students attain skills for finding a vocation of his/her choosing.

25. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
The Secondary education is supported by the following organisations under the administrative control of the Union Department of Education:
Some of the institutes are:-   
National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)

26. The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986, has provided for environment awareness, science and technology education, and introduction of traditional elements such as yoga into the Indian secondary school system

27. CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
The CBSE was set up by a special resolution of the Government of India in 1929 at Ajmer  with a view to play a useful role in the field of Secondary Education and to raise its standard.

28. . The Main functions of the board are: to conduct Class X and XII examinations and grant certificates, to prescribe courses of instructions, prescribe conditions for examinations, and to affiliate institutions for the purpose of examinations. The CBSE also conducts all India entrance examinations at the under graduate level for pre-medical/pre-dental, engineering and architecture courses.

29. The CBSE has constantly been engaged in process of curriculum design, in-service teacher empowerment programmes and development of textual material.

30. CBSE has introduced CONTINUOUS AND COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION (CCE) at the secondary level.
The scheme of CCE discourages mechanical testing. It envisages employment of variety of tools and techniques for assessment in informal and formal settings which are more interesting, relevant and meaningful and involve learners for greater participation and learning.

31. It is a system of school based assessment that covers all aspects of student’s development. It emphasizes two fold objectives. Continuity in evaluation and assessment of broad based learning. CCE will cover the scholastic and co scholastic areas of school education.

32. NCERT is an autonomous body fully funded by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD)
The NCERT was established in It functions as a resource centre in the field of school education and teacher education. Publication of school textbooks and other educational material like teachers’ guides/manuals etc. are its major functions.
It aims at making environmental education an integral part of curriculum in school education.

33. Present education system
Basic info :
Primary languages of Education: Hindi, English, or State language.
System type: Federal [State and Private]
Established Compulsory Education: April 1, 2010

34. Literacy (2011)
Total - 74% Male - 82% Female - 65% The National Education Budget (US$ billion)

35. Present education system
Participation in education. According to the available data until 2012, as mentioned in UNESCO statistical Report. Let’s have a look of Pre- Primary, Primary, and Tertiary Enrolment.

36. 55% of children are enrolled in pre-primary school

37. Primary Enrolment

38. 18% of the population of tertiary age are in tertiary education

39. Progression and completion in education

40. Resources for education

41. Literacy rates

42. Source: equity.blogspot.com

43. IITs in India

44. Islamic Education in India
India also has a system of Islamic education. Several different sects have their own schools where they teach Islamic subjects and Arabic to mainly (but not only) Muslim children. A Madarsa Modernization Programme was introduced in the National Policy on Education of 1986 and in the updated plan of 1992.

45. Islamic Education in India
Some Indian states have established government Madrasas Education Boards with which madrasas can be affiliated. Selected madrasas receive government support to teach secular “modern” subjects such as science, mathematics, English and social sciences. A number of Indian universities recognize credentials from certain madrasas thus enabling their graduates to continue to higher education. Students typically go on to study Arabic, Urdu, Persian and Islamic subjects but also other subjects.

46. Creating a country imbued with a scientific culture was Jawaharlal Nehru's aim. One such initiative was the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences as an institution of national importance by an Act of Parliament and has set the pace for medical education and research in Southeast Asia .

48. Some institutions of India, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), have been globally acclaimed for their standard of education. 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.

49. Higher education in India has evolved in divergent streams with each stream monitored by an apex body(UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISION- organisation set up by Union government in 1956, for the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education )indirectly controlled by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Most universities are administered by the States, but there are 18 important universities called Central Universities, which are maintained by the Union Government.

50. The National Law School of India University is highly regarded, with its students being awarded Rhodes Scholarships to Oxford University, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences is consistently rated the top medical school in the country . Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are the top management institutes in India .

51. Vocational education is imparted through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics.

52. India which has always been a centre for the textile and garment trade
India which has always been a centre for the textile and garment trade. Now the fashion industry has become so specialized that it encompasses a vast field of studies in design, concept management, design production management, quality control, planning, fabric design, printing, fashion accessory design, fashion merchandising, textile science, colour mixing, marketing and so on. 

53. The Right to Free Education Act
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act (2009), which came into effect on 1 April 2010, enshrines in law for the first time the rights of all Indian children aged between six and 14 years to free and compulsory elementary education. Under the Act the state is liable for all direct and indirect costs of education, including tuition and the provision of uniforms and textbooks, as well as ensuring access to a place at a neighbourhood school, or alternatively free transport to the nearest school. The government is also responsible for students’ ongoing attendance and completion of their studies.

54. The Right to Free Education Act
Enforcement of the Act is to be monitored by central and state government child protection commissions. However, to encourage parent and broader community participation in school monitoring and decision-making, schools are required to form a School Management Committee (SMC) with at least three quarters parents and at least half women. SMC’s are empowered to monitor the performance of schools and the use of government grants, to prepare school development plans and to fulfil other functions prescribed by state governments.

55. The Right to Free Education Act
To increase choice and to promote an inclusive education system and classroom diversity, the Act requires all private schools to allocate at least 25% of places in first grade to government-funded students from officially-defined minority groups and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Schools will be required to ensure that education is provided freely to those pupils until the completion of grade eight and will be reimbursed directly according to whichever is lower of the cost borne by the private school or the equivalent cost in a public school.

56. Challenges
India’s education system turns out millions of graduates each year, many skilled in IT and engineering. This manpower advantage underpins India’s recent economic advances, but masks deep seated problems within India’s education system. While India’s demographics are generally perceived to give it an edge over other countries’ economies (India will have a youthful population when other countries have ageing populations), if this advantage is restricted to a small, highly educated elite, the domestic political ramifications could be severe.

57. Challenges
With 35 per cent of the population under the age of 15, India’s education system faces numerous challenges. Successive governments have pledged to increase spending on education to 6 per cent of GDP, but actual spending has hovered around 4 per cent for the last few years. While, at the top end, India’s business schools, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and universities produce globally competitive graduates, primary and secondary schools, particularly in rural areas, struggle to find staff.

58. Improving access and quality
The education sector in India is experiencing rapid expansion and change. Governments have implemented new initiatives and increased spending to encourage greater enrolment and attendance at the school level. In higher education they are seeking to implement wide-ranging changes to the regulatory framework. At the same time the rising affluence and aspirations of households is spurring strong demand for education at all levels and the traditional dominance of the public sector as a provider of education is receding.

59. Improving access and quality
The dual challenge now is to build on the considerable progress made in lifting participation and, equally importantly, improve the quality of education outcomes. To meet these objectives reform momentum needs to be maintained and broadened. This is especially so given the pace of development in the Indian economy, the changing needs of households and businesses, and the considerable lags between changes in education policies and outcomes.