Education System In India

The Indian constitution provides that both the Central and the State Governments can bring laws and frame policies on education or in simpler words the subject education is the responsibly of both the respective State Governments as well as Government of India. Therefore whereas almost every State has its own Secondary Education Board and is responsible for establishing State Universities and maintaining them the Central Government acts as a co-coordinator and helps in determining a uniform standard of education in the country.

School Education System ^ TOP

The Indian education system is based upon 12 years of schooling (10+2), which includes primary and secondary education. Secondary Schools are affiliated with Central or states boards for conduct of examination. Most of the private schools as well as many government schools like the Kendriya Vidyalayas are affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). All the Indian universities and other institutions of higher education recognize the various 10+2 qualifications from different states as well as all India Boards like the CBSE.

Though Class XIIth is the entry-level qualification for pursuing higher education in any field, passing it in itself does not guarantee admission to a particular course. Like for example, some courses specify pre-requisite subjects that the student must have at the qualifying exam (class XIIth); for professional courses other than the pre-requisite subjects a student may also have to sit for an entrance test e.g. IIT-JEE, CPMT etc. Well known colleges specify cut-off marks (i.e. marks or grade obtained in a particular subject or subjects(s) in class XIIth) for admission in various courses, which may be as high as 85-90% for admission in say B.Sc Hons. (Physics). The cut-off marks or overall entry score can vary between courses in the same university/college, between similar courses in different universities/ colleges and from year to year in the same course. Some courses and some universities/institutions/colleges are in greater demand than others and therefore gaining entry into them is correspondingly more tough.

National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT): ^ TOP

In the area of school education the Government of India has set up an apex resource organization ‘The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)’ which assists and advises the Central and State Governments on academic matters related to school education. The NCERT provides academic and technical support for improvement of school education through its various constituents like the National Institute of Education (NIE), Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET) and a number of Regional Institutes of Education (RIE) located at different cities.

Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi - 110 016

Phone: 6567320, 6566245

College Education System ^ TOP

The higher education system is principally divided into three levels namely:

Undergraduate or Bachelor’s Level (e.g. B.Sc., B.A., B.E., M.B.B.S., L.L.B., etc.)

Postgraduate or Master’s Level (e.g. M.Sc., M.A., M.Tech., M.S., LL.M., etc.)

Doctoral (Ph.D.)

Bachelor’s degrees in science, arts and commerce take three years of study but in vocational subjects like pharmacy, dentistry, architecture, medicine and technology the duration may vary between four to five and a half years. Many universities and colleges offer `honors’ courses at graduation level, which may not be longer in duration but indicate greater depth in study. Diploma courses are also available at the undergraduate level and the duration of their study may vary from 1 to 3 years.

Master’s degree is normally of two-year duration. It could either be course or research based. Admission to post graduate programs in engineering and technology is done on the basis of GATE.

Those interested in pursuing further studies may either directly register themselves for PhD or do a pre-doctoral program –Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) which is either completely research based or may also include some course work. It takes lesser time to complete PhD for those doing it after M.Phil. Postgraduate level diploma courses are also available which are generally of one-year duration.

The higher education system, comprising of various universities, colleges, professional institutes etc caters to around 7 million students. Though State Governments are responsible for establishment of State Universities and running them, Government of India is primarily responsible for framing major policies relating to higher education in the country.