Important Materials on Socio Economic Development in
India for IPS LCE Examination
Education in Indian Economy: An Overview
Courtesy: Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting publication division
Education in Indian Economy: An Overview
Education, as Swami Vivekanand had remarked long back, is
‘the manifestation of perfection already in the child ’. Children’s young minds
are not clean slates (‘tabula rasa’) on which teachers are to write their
knowledge, attitudes, wishes, biases and values. When a child enters a school’s
classroom, his social milieu also accompanies him/her. Primary socialisation in
the family and neighbourhood has already taken place, and thereby certain basic
letters, terms, behaviour and values are already inculcated in him. Obviously
the child knows something and desires to know more and more about his
surroundings and environment. The individual goals of education are cognitive
(knowledge), affective (values) and skill formation while the collective goals
are employability, socio-economic development, better quality of life, peace and
social harmony, well-informed citizens’ participation in governance, national
character and prosperity. For any productive activity, labour and
entrepreneurship are as much required as land, capital and organisation. Labour
is mainly of two types – manual and mental - though both are complementary to
each other. However, one can do manual labour without specific skills but mental
labour (skilled jobs) requires specific skills and training. Hence for getting
skilled and semi- skilled jobs, one is to be educated and trained in a
particular area and direction of knowledge.
Primary Education: India joined the club of
developed/developing countries with compulsory education on 1st April, 2010 when
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009) became effective
though Article 21A was inserted in Indian constitution through 86th amendment in
2002. Thus all children of 6-14 years are to get free education up to 8th
standard (elementary education) and at the same time through Article 51A (K) it
is the fundamental duty of all parents and guardians to send their children to
schools. It also provides for better teacher-pupil ratio, opening of more
schools, more buildings, more classrooms, toilets, trained teachers, improvement
in curriculum and library / lab and, on the other hand, it prohibits a) physical
punishment and mental harassment, b) screening procedures for admission, c)
capitation fees, d) private tuition by teachers, and e) running of schools
without recognition.
Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for all) following
progress have been made in India :
-
99 percent of rural population has a primary school
within one Km- 3,66,559 schools were opened till September, 2010;
-
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at primary level (5th)
increased from 96.3 in 2001-2 to 114.37 in 2008-09;
-
GER at upper primary level (8th) increased from 60.2 in
2001-2 to 76.23 in 2008-09;
-
Gender Parity Index (GPI) improved from 0.3 in 2001-2 to
1.00 in 2008-09 at primary level;
-
GPI improved from 0.77 in 2001-2 to 0.96 in 2008-09 at
upper primary level;
