Education in India

 SECONDARY EDUCATION

  • Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA): The scheme was launched in March, 2009 with the objective to enhance access to secondary education and improve its quality. The scheme envisages to provide a secondary school within a reasonable distance of habitation, with an aim to ensure GER of 100% by 2017 and universal retention by 2020.
  • Vocationalisation of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education: This revised scheme was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Skill Development in February 2014. The specific objectives of the scheme are to enhance the employability of youth through vocational courses and to reduce the dropout rate at the secondary level and decrease the pressure on academic higher education.
  • National Means-cum-merit Scholarship Scheme: This Centrally Sponsored Scheme was launched in May, 2008 with the objective to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue study at secondary and higher secondary stage up to class XII. The selection of students for the scholarships is made through an examination conducted by the State Governments. Scholarships are disbursed by State Bank of India directly by electronic transfer into the accounts of students on quarterly basis.
  • National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education (NSIGSE): This Centrally Sponsored Scheme was launched in May 2008 with the objective to establish an enabling environment to reduce the dropouts and to promote the enrolment of girl children, belonging mainly to SC/ST communities in secondary schools. Canara bank is the implementing agency for the scheme.

 KENDRIYA VIDAYALAYA SANGATHAN

  • The scheme of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) was approved by Government of India in November 1962 to provide uninterrupted education to the wards of the transferable Central Government employees.
  • Initially, 20 regimental schools were taken over as Central Schools during the academic session 1963-64. This number has now gone up to 1094 including 3 abroad (Kathmandu, Moscow and Tehran) as on 31.03.2014.
  • Out of these 103 KVs are functioning in North East 61 KVs are running in double shifts.

 JAWAHAR NAVODAYA VIDYALAYA

  • The National Policy on Education, 1986, envisaged setting up of pace setting residential Navodaya schools, with an aim of providing excellence coupled with equity and social justice.
  • Consequent to this, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti was registered as a Society, under the Society Registration Act XXI of 1860 with the objective to provide good quality modern education to the talented children predominantly from the rural areas.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OPEN SCHOOLING (NIOS)

  • Initiated as a project in 1979 by the CBSE, the Open Schooling programmes have now taken shape as independent system of education in India.
  • The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), formerly National Open School (NOS) with approximately, 259 million learners on roll, over 6500 partnering agencies, 27 subjects in Secondary level, 24 subjects in Senior Secondary level, 103 Vocational Education Programmes with 19 Regional Centres and 2 Sub Centres are emerged as the largest Open Schooling organization in the world.
  • A cell of NIOS has also been set up at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
  • Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA): At Secondary level RMSA is supporting open schooling system to enhance the access, equity, quality in deprived parts of the country and in areas with large underprivileged population.

CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION (CBSE)

  • The CBSE is a National Board of School Education established in 1929 under the aegis of Ministry of Human Resource Development.
  • It is a self-financed autonomous organization with 13,898 affiliated schools in India and abroad which include KVs, Government, independent and INV schools located in India and 24 other countries of the world.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH at TRAINING (NCERT)

  • NCERT was established on September 1, 1961 as an apex national body to lead qualitative changes in school education.
  • NCERT has been playing an advisory role guiding Central and State Governments in formulating Policies, Acts and Government Programmes.
  • NCERT has played a crucial role in the development of National Policies on Education (1968 and 1986) and National Curriculum Frameworks.
  • NCERT has been designing and offering innovative and need-based courses for teachers, teacher educators and counsellors.
  • The major constituent units of the NCERT are:
  • National Institute of Education (NIE), New Delhi.
  • Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET), New Delhi.
  • Pandit Sunder Lal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), Bhopal.
  • Five Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs) at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Mysore and Shillong.

REFORMS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Presently, following legislative proposals for reforms in Higher Education have been initiated which are at various stages of finalization/consideration:

  1. Educational Tribunals Bill, 2010.
  2. The Universities for Research and Innovation Bill, 2012.
  3. The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010
  4. Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011.
  5. The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010.
  6. Prohibition of Unfair practices in Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, 2010.
  7. National Academic Depository Bill, 2011.
  8. Amendment to the Architects Act, 1972.
  9. National Institute of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2012.
  10. Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bill, 2013.
UPSC Prelims 2025 Notes