Indian Education System

Education Commissions have been appointed since the British era for educational planning and policy formulation. Their views and recommendations are a part of the history of education in India. The various committees that brought reforms in the education system are given below.

Charter Act of 1813

The English East India Company was forced to provide education to the Indian people  in 1813. Due to the pressure of circumstances, the British government had to take it over.  An amendment was added to the Charter Act of  1813 as Section 43.  This amendment became the basic document of English education in India.

Macaulay Minutes

Lord Macaulay was appointed by Lord William Bentinck, the Governor-General of British India, as the President of the General Committee on Education.   The Governor-General asked Lord Macaulay to advise him on the implementation of Section  43 of the Charter Act of  1813.  The Macaulay Minutes were prepared in connection with Section  43. The report was submitted in 1835. This was a policy document that determined the course of education in India  from 1835  onwards. Lord Macaulay is known as an important figure in the history of Indian education.

Wood's Despatch ( 1854)

This is the foundational document known as the ' Magna Carta '  of English education in India. Sir Charles Woods, the President of the Board of Control of the East India Company.  British secondary education was introduced in India as an experiment in 1835 , when Macaulay's Minutes were implemented. Over the next several years,  34 English educational institutions were established in India by  1854.  Woods' Despatch led these activities. Considering the recommendations of Woods' Despatch, a University Act was passed in India for the first time  in 1857. Following this, universities were formed in Calcutta, Bombay and  Madras.

Indian Education Commission/Hunter Commission ( 1882-83)

Lord Ripon, the Viceroy of India,  appointed an Education Commission in  1882 with William Hunter as Chairman. The Commission had 21  members including the Chairman.  The main duties of the Commission were to suggest practical methods for implementing the principles set out in Wood's Despatch of 1854 and  to submit recommendations regarding the implementation of primary education. The Hunter Commission is known as the first Education Commission in India.

Wardha Scheme ( 1937-38)

This was the first study on elementary education conducted at the national level. It is known as  the Zakir Hussain Committee and  the Wardha Scheme. The educational views put forward by Mahatma Gandhi were the basis for this education committee. In 1937, a meeting held at Wardha under the chairmanship of Gandhiji formed a committee headed by Dr. Zakir Hussain.  The report of this committee, published in  1938 , is known as the ' Wardha Scheme of Education'. Based on the report, an All India Board was formed to implement the basic education scheme at the national level.

University Education Commission ( 1948-49)

The Education Commission was formed in 1948 under the chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the President of India. The subject of study of this commission was the objectives of university education in India and its modernization. The Dr. Radhakrishnan Commission was the first education commission in independent India.  The commission submitted its report in 1949.

Recommendations

•  All universities should start vocational education.

•  The examination system should be reformed.

•  Promote research.

•  Establish a University Grants Commission.

•  Establish rural universities.

•  Colleges and universities should be established exclusively for women.

•  University education should be included in the concurrent list

Secondary Education Commission ( 1952-53)

In response to the need to reform school education in India, the Government of India, on the advice of the Central Advisory Board,  constituted the Secondary Education Commission in  1952. Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar was the chairman of the committee. It is also known as the ' Mudaliar Committee '. The Mudaliar Committee was tasked with investigating the existing state of secondary education in India and submitting suggestions for its improvement and reform.  The Commission submitted its report in 1953.

Recommendations:

•  Opportunities for primary education should be provided before secondary education. Lower primary education should be three years and upper primary education should be four years.

•  At the secondary level, there should be a three-year junior secondary or senior basic stage. There should also be a four-year higher secondary stage.

Basic education in 1956

The Union Ministry of Education appointed an Evaluation Committee under the chairmanship of G. Ramachandran to review basic education. The committee travelled across the country and submitted recommendations for improving basic education to the Government of India under seven heads: State Government Universities ,  Public Administration ,  Basic Teacher Training ,  Basic Schools ,  and the General Public.

Kothari Commission ( 1964-66)

The Kothari Commission was appointed by a resolution passed  by the Government of India  in 1964. The Commission, which had a total of 17  members, was chaired by the then UGC Chairman D.S. Kothari. The purpose of the committee was to prepare a National Pattern of Education  and  formulate general  principles and policies for various levels of education. The commission formed 12 task forces and seven working groups to study various problems of education in the country.   The commission submitted its report in June  1966. The name of this three-part report was Education and National Development.

Recommendations

•   Free and compulsory education for children aged six to  14.

•  Implement the three-language formula at the state level.

•  Promote regional languages ,  Sanskrit ,  and international languages ​​(especially English)

•  Education of girls ,  backward classes and  tribals.

•  Science and mathematics should be given importance and made an integral part of education.

•  Reforms to improve education at the university level

Major changes

•  Under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, the National Education Policy Bill was passed in Parliament.

•  The education system  was changed to 10+2+3  pattern. A new National Education Policy was introduced.

•  The education system was divided into two: the Central Board and  the State Board.

National Education Policy -  1968

The National Education Policy of 1968 was India's first education policy, announced by the Indira Gandhi government based on the recommendations of the Kothari Commission Report. The policy proposed radical changes with the goals of national integration ,  cultural and economic development ,  and providing educational opportunities to all. It recommended the implementation of the Three  Language Formula at the secondary level and the teaching of Hindi in addition to English and  the regional language. The education policy also stipulated that six percent of the national income should be allocated for the education sector.

National Education Policy-  1986

The new National Education Policy was introduced during the Rajiv Gandhi government. Its aim was to take steps to provide educational opportunities to the backward classes and women.  ' Education is the only capital of today and tomorrow. '  is the basic principle of the National Education Policy.

Instructions

•  Lifelong Education should  be the motto of the educational process.

•  Minimum Levels of Learning  must be ensured.

•  The position of a teacher should be highly respected in society.

•  Provide special scholarships for backward classes. Recruit teachers from this category.

• ' Operation Black Board was part of this policy. Operation Black Board was a scheme designed to ensure basic facilities for primary education.

Acharya Ramamurthy Committee

A committee was formed in 1990 under the chairmanship of Acharya Ramamurti  to review the National Education Policy of  1986. The commission submitted its report to the government in 1991.

Considerations

• Review the National Education Policy of 1986 and its implementation.

•  Submit proposals for reforming education policy.

•  Propose a roadmap, including a timeline, for implementing the revised proposals.

Janardhana Reddy Committee ( 1991-92)

A committee was formed in July 1991 under the chairmanship of Janardhana Reddy to identify and implement the necessary changes in the recommendations of the Ramamurti Report. The commission examined the recommendations of the Ramamurti Committee and found no need for changes in the education policy. However, it recommended that the Programme of Action be subjected to significant changes.   The report of the commission, submitted in January  1992, is known as the ' National Programme of Action '. 

Yashpal Committee Report

This is a National Advisory Committee appointed by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development in  1993. The Yashpal Committee Report, formally titled ' Learning Without Burden '  , focused on submitting recommendations to reduce the learning burden of all children at the school level (especially young children) and examining the decline in the quality of learning. 

Recommendations

•  Reduce the weight of textbooks.

•  Decentralize the curriculum.

•  Reform teacher training.

•  Create a child-friendly learning environment.

Psychiatry Committee ( 1996-97)

A committee headed by Union Human Resource Development Minister Muhiram Saikia was appointed in  1996 to make recommendations for making primary education a fundamental right. The final report was submitted in January 1977.

Recommendations

•   The Central Government should provide guidelines to the states for enacting legislation under the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution regarding making primary education compulsory.

•  Under Article  350(A)  of the Constitution , States should provide facilities for imparting primary education to linguistic minorities in their mother tongue. The Committee suggested that the responsibility for improving primary education lies with the States.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a scheme designed to provide free and compulsory education to children from the age of six to  14 years.

National Education Policy- 2020

This is the first education policy of the 21st century. The National Education Policy 2020  aims   to increase  the Gross Enrolment Ratio ( GER) in higher education, including vocational education, from 263  percent  to 50 percent  by  2035. The new policy is a restoration of the National Education Policy of 1986. The policy aims to implement  the educational process from pre-primary to research, incorporating the fundamental principles of equality,  quality  , accessibility  and accountability.

Features

• Ensuring universal access to education from pre-school level to secondary level.

•   The school curriculum will be adjusted to 5+3+3+4 instead of  the current  10+2  structure ( 5+2+3+2).

• In addition to 12  years of school education, there will be three years of Anganwadi/pre-school education.

•  A national curriculum and pedagogical framework will be developed with an emphasis on childcare and education.

•  Emphasis is placed on basic learning to become literate and recognize numbers.

•  School curriculum reform to provide students with the opportunity to choose a variety of subjects.

•  Art and science are given importance in the curriculum.

•  Vocational education will begin in schools from the sixth grade.

•  Emphasis should be placed on the mother tongue or regional language as the medium of instruction at least up to class 5.

•  Indian Sign Language ( ISL)  will be made uniform across the country.

•  Opportunity to study Sanskrit, other classical languages, and Indian literature, including a trilingual learning system.

•  NEP-2020  envisages a shift to a regular assessment system based on student ability.

•  Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities ( MERUs)  will be established on par with IITs and  IIMs.

•  The National Research Foundation will emerge as an excellent institution for developing a strong research culture and research capacity.