Education system

Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: central, state, and local. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution, free and compulsory education is provided as a fundamental right to children between the ages of 6 and 14. The ratio of public schools to private schools in India is 7:5.

India has made progress in terms of increasing the primary education attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately three-quarters of the population in the 7-10 age groups, by 2011. India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to its economic development. Much of the progress, especially in higher education and scientific research, has been credited to various public institutions. While enrollment in higher education has increased steadily over the past decade, reaching a Gross Enrollment Ratio of 24% in 2013, there still remains a significant distance to catch up with tertiary education enrollment levels of developed nations, a challenge that will be necessary to overcome in order to continue to reap a demographic dividend from India's comparatively young population.

The central and most state boards uniformly follow the "10+2+3" pattern of education. In this pattern, study of 12 years is done in schools or in colleges, and then 3 years of graduation for a bachelor's degree. The first 10 years is further subdivided into 5 years of primary education, 3 years of upper primary, followed by 2 years of high school. This pattern originated from the recommendation of the Education Commission of 1964–66.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is the apex body for curriculum related matters for school education in India. The NCERT provides support and technical assistance to a number of schools in India and oversees many aspects of enforcement of education policies. Other curriculum bodies governing school education system are:

   

Primary education:-

There have been several efforts to enhance quality made by the government. The District Education Revitalization Programme (DERP) was launched in 1994 with an aim to universalize primary education in India by reforming and vitalizing the existing primary education system. 85% of the DERP was funded by the central government and the remaining 15% was funded by the states. The DERP, which had opened 1.6 lakh new schools including 84,000 alternative education schools delivering alternative education to approximately 35 lakh children, was also supported by UNICEF and other international programmes. In January 2016, Kerala became the 1st Indian state to achieve 100% primary education through its literacy programme Athulyam.However, due to a shortage of resources and lack of political will, this system suffers from massive gaps including high pupil to teacher ratios, shortage of infrastructure and poor levels of teacher training. Figures released by the Indian government in 2011 show that there were 58, 16,673 elementary school teachers in India. As of March 2012 there were 21, 27,000 secondary school teachers in India. Education has also been made free for children for 6 to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009.The Indian government lays emphasis on primary education, also referred to as elementary education, to children aged 6 to 14 years old. The Indian government has also banned child labor in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions. However, both free education and the ban on child labor are difficult to enforce due to economic disparity and social conditions.80% of all recognized schools at the elementary stage are government run or supported, making it the largest provider of education in the country

Secondary education:-

UGC, NCERT and CBSE directives state qualifying ages for candidates who wish to take board exams. Those at least 15 years old by the 30th of May for a given academic year are eligible to appear for Secondary board exams, and those 17 by the same date are eligible to appear for Higher Secondary certificate board exams. It further states that upon successful completion of Higher Secondary, one can apply to higher education under UGC control such as Engineering, Medical, and Business Administration. Secondary education covers children aged 12 to 18, a group comprising 8.85 crore children according to the 2001 Census of India. The final two years of secondary is often called Higher Secondary (HS), Senior Secondary, or simply the "+2" stage. The two halves of secondary education are each an important stage for which a pass certificate is needed, and thus are affiliated by central boards of education under HRD ministry, before one can pursue higher education, including college or professional courses.

A significant feature of India's secondary school system is the emphasis on inclusion of the disadvantaged sections of the society. Professionals from established institutes are often called to support in vocational training. Another feature of India's secondary school system is its emphasis on profession based vocational training to help students attain skills for finding a vocation of his/her choosing. A significant new feature has been the extension of SSA to secondary education in the form of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.

The state government boards: Most of the state governments have one "State board of secondary education". However, some states like Andhra Pradesh have more than one. Also the union territories do not have a board, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Pondicherry, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep; Daman & Diu share the services with a larger state.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) which conducts examinations at the 10th and 12th standards.

The Council of Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE). CISCE conducts three examinations, namely, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE - Class/Grade 10); The Indian School Certificate (ISC - Class/Grade 12) and the Certificate in Vocational Education (CVE - Class/Grade 12).

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) conducts two examinations, namely, Secondary Examination and Senior Secondary Examination (All India) and also some courses in Vocational Education.

International schools affiliated to the International Baccalaureate Programme and/or the Cambridge International Examinations.

Islamic Madras schools, whose boards are controlled by local state governments, or autonomous, or affiliated with Darul Uloom Deoband.

Autonomous schools like Woodstock School, The Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education Puducherry, Auroville,Patha Bhavan and Ananda Marga Gurukula.

International schools, which offer 10th and 12th standard examinations under the International Baccalaureate, or the Cambridge Senior Secondary Examination systems.