- Between 2007-08 and 2013-14, according to the DISE (District Information System for Education), total enrolment in primary schools increased from 134 million to 137 million in 2011-12 and then declined to 132 million in 2013-14 while upper primary enrolment grew from 51 million to about 67 million.
- However, the overall standard of education is well below global standards: that PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2009+ results ranked Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh 72 and 73 out of 74 participants, higher only than Kyrgyzstan, exposes the gaps in our education system. PISA, which measures the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds with questions designed to assess their problem-solving capabilities, rates these two states at the bottom, with the scores in mathematics and science falling way behind the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) average.
- Shanghai-China tops the rankings followed by Singapore, while the Russian Federation is ranked at thirty-eighth position. India did not participate in PISA 2012.
- The Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat initiative to create a base for reading, writing, and math fluency is a good step.
- The Indian higher education system is one of the largest in the world in terms of the number of colleges and universities. From 350 universities and 16,982 colleges in 2005-06, the numbers have gone up to 713 universities, 36,739 colleges, and 11,343 diploma-level institutions in 2013-14.
- The gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education has nearly doubled from around 11.6% in 2005-06 to 1% in 2012-13 (Provisional), with 29.6 million students enrolled in 2012-13 as compared to 14.3 million in 2005-06.
- As per the Labour Bureau Report 2014, the current size of India’s formally skilled workforce is small, approximately 2%. This number contrasts poorly with smaller countries like South Korea and Japan that report figures of 96 and 80% respectively. At all-India level around 6.8% persons aged 15 years and above are reported to have received/ be receiving vocational training.
- As per studies conducted by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for the period between 2013 and 2022, there is an incremental requirement of 120 million skilled people in the non-farm sector.
- The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Koushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) is a placement-linked skill development scheme for poor rural youth. A total of 51,956 candidates have been skilled under the DDU-GKY, of which 28,995 have been placed till November during 2014-15.
- Other new programmes that aim at bringing minorities into mainstream development include Nai Manzil for education and skill development of dropouts; USTTAD (Upgrading Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development) to conserve traditional arts/crafts and build capacity of traditional artisans and craftsmen belonging to minority communities; Nai Roshni, a leadership training programme for women; and MANAS for upgrading entrepreneurial skills of minority youths.
