Education in the Indian Society: The Changing Picture

“Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man”- Swami Vivekananda. Our grandparents used to say that, if we wanted to increase our sphere of knowledge, we needed to be more inclined toward reading books and exploring the world. The world itself is a treasure house of knowledge. Education does not only mean learning to read and write, but its a way of self exploration. It gives us the power of rationality and brightens our lives with new hopes. The education sustains the human values which contribute to individual and collective well-being. With the technological development going on worldwide, the different nations are coming forward to share common economical goals. Along with the other developed and developing countries, India has also proved itself in the world scenario. Different international organizations are setting their offices in India. This has increased the job opportunities for the youth of the country. A good portion of the village population migrates to the metropolises every year in search of jobs. Moreover, the Indian students are also getting good opportunities in the job field in different foreign nations. The IITs and IIMs are famous worldwide for their higher standard of education. The importance of education in India is indeed rising with passing time.

Privatization and globalization are the two major factors that contributed to the development of education sector in the country. In India, school education is basically divided into 5 major parts- pre-primary, primary, middle, secondary and higher secondary. Previously, the Indian populace was not fully aware of the importance of the pre-primary education, but now it has become an important part of the learning process of a child. After the child completes the preprimary part, the child goes for the formal school. In India, students are provided free and compulsory education up to class eight. But this does not cover the preprimary years. The Department of Education, part of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, implements the central government's responsibilities in educational matters. The ministry coordinates planning with the states, provides funding for experimental programs, and acts through the University Grants Commission and the National Council of Educational Research and Training. At all local levels, the non-governmental organizations sometime coordinate with the state government to run education programs for the children dwelling below poverty line.

Central boards like CBSE, ICSE and the state boards are proving to be effective education providers in the country. In 1979, the Indian government had implemented non-formal education programs to support the dropouts and un-enrolled students. This is a major step taken by the government. This non-formal education was implemented for students who could not go to schools because they were employed, either with or without wages. Apart from educating the children, the government has taken special steps to ensure a healthy mental and physical development of the kids. The government started mid-day meal program. Increasing urbanization in India also complicates efforts at monitoring local conditions. Only with the full support and understanding of India's many rural and urban residents will new ways of focusing on India's immense human resources emerge. These can be especially towards developing and conservingrenewable natural resources, limiting the population growth, providing increased health care and achieving education for all are successful.