Education as a tool of HR development, Universal elementary education, Quality of Higher and Technical, Vocational Education. Issues related to girls education, under privileged classes and differently abled classes.

Education has been accepted as one major agency of socialization, and teachers and educational institutions as socializing agents. In describing education as an instrument of social change, three things are important: the agents of change, the content of change, and the social background of those who are sought to be changed, i.e. students. Educational institutions under the control of different cultural groups reflect the values of those groups which support and control education. In this situation, teachers Impart specific values, aspirations and to the children.

Social reformers, who were educated emphasized values like removal of caste restrictions, equality of women, doing away with social evil social customs and practices, voice in the governance of the country, establishing democratic institutions and so on. They, thus, wanted to teach liberal philosophy through education for changing society. In other words they regarded education as a flame or light of knowledge which dispelled the darkness of ignorance. The use of education for spreading the values of modernization came to be emphasized from the 1960s and 1970s onwards. Highly productive economies, distributive justice, people‟s participation in decision-making bodies, adoption of scientific technology in industry, agriculture and other occupations and professions were accepted as goals for modernizing the Indian society. And these goals were to be achieved through liberal education. Thus, modernization was not accepted as a philosophy or a movement based on rational values system but as a process that was to be confined only to economic field but was to be achieved in social, political, cultural and religious fields too. Education was sought to be utilized as channel for the spread of modernity.
According to the sociological perspective, education does not arise in response of the individual needs of the individual, but it arises out of the needs of the society of which the individual is a member1. The educational system of any society is related to its total social system. It is a sub system performing certain functions for the on-going social system. The goals and needs of the total social system get reflected in the functions it lays down for educational system and the form in which it structures it to fulfill those functions. In a static society, the main function of the educational system is to transmit the cultural heritage to the new generations. But in a changing society, these keep on changing from generation to generation and the educational system in such a society must not only transmit the cultural heritage, but also aid in preparing the young for adjustment to any changes in them that may have occurred or are likely to occur in future.

Thus, the relationship between educational system and society is mutual; sometimes the society influences changes in educational system and at other times the educational system influences changes in the society.

Education of Women :-

The National Policy on Education, 1986 also laid emphasis on education for attaining women‟s equality which will foster the development of new values. The strategies proposed are: encouraging educational institutions to take up active programmes to further women‟s development removal of women‟s illiteracy, removing obstacles inhibiting their access to elementary education, and pursuing policy of non-discrimination to eliminate sex stereotyping in vocational, technical and professional courses.

Education of SCs, STs. And OBCs

Education is directly related to the development of an individual and the community. It is the most important single factor for economic development as well as social emancipation. For the weaker sections of society, education has a special significance because for a number of centuries, their illiteracy and social backwardness have been used for their harassment, humiliation and economic exploitation.

Education and Human resource Development

Education shapes our present actions, our future plans and our past history which also develops in the future . Education is a very crucial to guide anyone to reach their goals through any success with an effort along , and the chance is very high. Example if you compare a person with masters to a person with only a high school diploma salary is totally different and there is huge gap amount between it. Educations helps you to better understand the world and with that being said education plays big role in human development and indeed it is a great to resource us.

Now a days education is very important ,without education the life of a person is just useless .He cannot do any work ,moreover today we cannot easily get a job if we are not educated. It teaches us the basic principles of life without it a person is useless. Education is perfection.
Higher education institutions themselves play a key role in equipping young people with the workforce skills needed by business. But these needs change quickly and often learning institutions are slow to respond. In this regard, stronger links between universities, businesses, trade unions and other stakeholders can help reshape course offerings to stay closely in line with evolving demands for specific skills. Co-operation can also bring other benefits favouring the investment environment, such as fostering an environment conducive to innovation and the quick diffusion of new knowledge.

Major Recent Developments in the Education Sector

  • Foreign Universities Bill, 2010
  • National Accreditation Authority for Higher Education Bill, 2010
  • National Commission for Higher Education and Research Bill, 2010
  • There is a proposal to have a combined medical entrance test at PG level
  • National Council for Human Resources in Health Bill, 2009:- Draft bill says that National Board for Examinations would be replaced by National Board for Health Education
  • Right to Education Act, 2009
  • National Academic Depository Bill, 2011

Policies

Recently, two important reports have been brought out in education in India:
The National Knowledge Commission report
The Committee on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education (Yashpal Committee) Report.
The central concern of these committees has been prevalence of fundamental academic weaknesses such as compartmentalization of knowledge systems, absence of innovation in learning methods, disconnect with the society and emphasis on qualifying tests. Based on this proposal has been made for the establishment of a National Commission on Higher Education and Research (NCHER).
A series of reforms have been proposed in a very short period unlike the earlier piece-meal approach to changes. In April 2010, four major bills relating to education were introduced in the Parliament.
Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operation Bill), 2010
Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill: Lists all the mal-practices that would attract the penalty of hefty fines and jail terms.
Educational Tribunal Bill: to ensure speedy disposal of educational disputes
National Accreditation Authority Bill: Suggests the approach to license competent professional organizations to undertake the accreditation responsibilities, in accordance with the norms and procedures set by a competent authority.

As per the Foreign Educational Institutions bill, every foreign education institution providing education in India must register itself with a designated authority.

Criticism Response
The bill will attract only of commercially motivated educational institutions The act provides against repatriation of surpluses. This would curb the entry of institutions motivated solely by profit
Many fly-by-night institutions may come Act requires the institution to have at least 20 years of record in offering accredited degree programmes. Also, the firms should deposit 50 crores a security for liabilities under the act.

National Education Policy 1986
Was conceived during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure
Political instability during the late 1980s led to delays in the launch of the policy which was reviewed by the Acharya Ramamurty Committee and could be brought into force only after the Congress govt returned to power in 1991 and gave shape to the Action Plan of 1992 for the NPE
NPE 1986 was a major departure from the national policy adopted on the recommendations of the Education Commission under Prof DS Kothari which in 1966 had called for
a common school system as well as for a plus-two stage of schooling beyond class X
strengthening of research in the university system
1986 policy led to the encouragement of emerging sectors like IT, which witnessed an upsurge following the opening up of the technical education sector, particularly in capacity expansion in the private sector.
In the Independence Day speech 2011 PM MMS announced
Setting up a commission ‘to make suggestions for improvements at all levels of education’

Corruption in education
According to the Yashpal committee, the rapid expansion of private institutions has also resulted in deterioration in quality
The concerns over quality led the Centre to review all deemed universities
Several cases of corruption against functionaries of the regulatory authorities such as the All-India Council for Technical Education, the MCI and the Council of Architecture are under CBI investigation
It is against this backdrop that the Education Commission, announced by the PM, is expected to come up with recommendations which could result in the New NEP as well as with directions for the future of all levels of education

Rashtriya Madhyamic Shiksha Yojana for secondary education

What Should be done?
Public expenditure on education should be enhanced to 6% of GDP
Higher education should get 1.5% of GDP
Access is less than desirable. This should be addressed
Drop outs should be removed through mass awareness campaigns, making curricula more student friendly, providing facilities like labs, libraries, toilets, classrooms etc adequately
There should be a paradigm shift from literature type education to productive, job-oriented education as per requirement in public and private sectors after secondary education
There should be regular interface of industry and service sectors with educational institutions
Quality education at all stages should be ensured because if the foundation remains weak, superstructure of higher education cannot sustain for long

Vocationalisation of Secondary Education (Revised)
<Oct 2011>
The scheme has been revised
The revised scheme has been approved for implementation in the remaining period of the 11th FYP
As per the revised guidelines the centre will establish a vocational education cell under the CBSE
Also envisages the strengthening of the 1000 existing vocational schools and establishment of 100 new vocational schools by the state government
Development of 250 competency based modules for each individual vocational courses
A pilot programme under the National Vocational Education Qualification Framework will be initiated in Haryana and West Bengal
Legal Education
The NKC and Yashpal committee found drawbacks in the structure and content of legal education:
Objects of the legal education in the changing socio-economic context are not clear. There are now multiple objects for studying law: demands of trade, commerce, governance etc. This makes structuring the system difficult.
Content of the legal education is decided by the Bar Council of India. Universities have little say in it. Here there is more focus in producing practicing lawyers and not legal researchers.
Recommendation:
Legal education should be made relevant by engagement with social problems. For this, a liberalized, holistic and decentralised curriculum planning is needed, for which each university teaching law should have the responsibility.
Other problems:
In order to increase access and equity, quality of education has been compromised.
Inadequacy of resources and lack of competent teachers in adequate numbers.
Twin problem of promoting competitive excellence in global context and improving mediocre institutions.
Yashpal Committee Report

Report of the National Knowledge Commission

Medical Education
MCI general council was dissolved in May following the corruption charges in Ketan Desai. A board of governors was established.
The proposed National Council of Human Resources in Health (NCHRH) Bill paves the way for substantially curtailing the powers of the Medical Council of India (MCI) leaving it to deal only with licensing, continuing education and ethics. The bill
Provides for setting up independent agencies to perform the functions of MCI
National Committee for Accreditation (NCA) to be setup to register and accredit medical colleges. NCA will work as an accreditation agency proposed under the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Education Bill 2010
National Medical Education and Training Board to be setup to prepare the curriculum for all streams of education in the health sector.

Right to Education Act, 2009
Nearly 1.1 crore children in India are out of school.
Equality and quality in education has been ensured in the act.
85 pc of our schools are in rural areas. Many such schools are one teacher schools.
The act also provides that within 5 years all teachers must be trained.
National commission for protection of children’s rights.
Centre State funding: 55:45 / 90:10 for NE states
Inclusive approach in the act: disabled children can study with normal children
Provisions
Monitoring
The act provides for the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to monitor the act.
This is the first time that the law separates the implementing agency from the monitoring one.
Issues:
Madarasa education has been excluded from the ambit of RTE. This has caused a split in the Muslim community on the issue.
Capability of the states to implement the Act
The reluctance of the private schools to take the 25 pc reserved students from the weaker sections.
About 130 other countries also have RTE.
The issue is implementation. We have started many such revolutionary ideas (say the prohibition of child labour), but the mechanism of implementation have failed us.
Though there is a fundamental duty of the parents to send their children to school, there is no compulsion on them in the act itself.
Assessment after one year of notification
States are hesitating to implement it
The act emphasises quality education. For this purpose a good number of skilled teachers are required. This is an obstacle.
Institutional resources for the implementation of RTE are lacking.

Education, education infrastructure and education policy of Madhya Pradesh

Like in most other states across India, Madhya Pradesh also follows the 10+2+3 tier of education. There is government as well as private education institutes across this Central Indian state. Hindi is the preferred medium of instruction in the government monitored schools and colleges of Madhya Pradesh. English is used as the language of communication between students and teachers in private institutes. The division of education in Madhya Pradesh can be explained through the following chart:

  • Primary Schooling
  • Secondary Schooling
  • College EducationEducation, education infrastructure and education policy of Madhya Pradesh
  • University Studies
  • Research Programs / Professional Degrees and Diplomas

The State literacy rate presently is 70.63% (source: Census 2011), against the national literacy rate of 74.04 %. While the female literacy has considerably improved over the last decade, a great disparity persists in the literacy rates of males and females.

Education infrastructure

The School education in Madhya Pradesh primarily organized in two sectors: Elementary (I to VIII) and Secondary (IX to XII). Each of these two sectors are further sub-divided into two sub-sector where elementary education consists of primary education (I to V) and upper primary education (VI to VIII) while the secondary education comprises of Middle education (IX and X) and higher secondary education (XI and XII).

Elementary level School facilities in Madhya Pradesh

Management Type                                                Numbers

Government Primary schools                                83412

Aided Primary schools (Private)                            852

Unaided Primary schools (Private)                        12533

Total Primary                                                          96797

Government Upper Primary schools                       29282

Aided Upper Primary schools (Private)                   410

Unaided Upper Primary schools (Private)               20040

Total Upper Primary                                                 49732

Secondary and Higher Secondary schools

There are four main types of recognized schools by management and funding pattern in Madhya Pradesh. They are: Government, Local Body, Private Aided and Private Unaided.Out of the total Government schools in Madhya Pradesh, majority are managed by School Education Department. Tribal Welfare Department also manages a significant number of schools.

The distribution of secondary schools between categories shows that out of the total schools about 46.29% have only secondary classes and 53.71% have secondary and higher secondary classes both.

Access to secondary schooling facilities: 72% habitations have high schooling facility within 5 KM radius. But still 28% habitations do not have facility within the norm. Urban area 100% access is available but in rural area 31% habitations don’t have facility within the norms.

Various policies and schemes

Mid Day Meal Scheme

In the year 1995-96 Mid Day Meal Scheme was introduced in the government and aided primary schools of 297 blocks in the state. The school provides food to children. In the year 1997-98, the scheme was implemented in all the blocks of the state. In tribal regions the scheme provides prepared food and in non-tribal regions from September 1997 onwards the scheme of providing prepared food is stopped and now 3 kg. food is distributed for every child every month.

Minorities Welfare

For the welfare of minorities the Government of India launched Madarasa Modernization scheme. 102 Madarasas are assisted under this scheme. Rs. 36.18 Lakhs were disbursed for construction of Madarasas. 1100 posts of order Teachers were sanctioned in the year 1996-97 and post of 1000 “Urdu teachers” were sanctioned in the year 1997-98.

Free Books

The scheme provides free books to the students of class I to IV belonging to SC, ST and OBC category. This scheme of free books is for all girls up to class III and also for the boys of upto III class of families living below the poverty line. Books for the scheme are provided by Madhya Pradesh Text Book Corporation. In the year 1998-97 an amount of Rs. 4.00 crore was provided in the budget of school education for this purpose.

Shishu Shiksha Scheme

Primary Education Mission concentrates on pre-school education of children. To make the children aware about school atmosphere and to develop the habits of learning among children of 3 to 5 years age, the state runs 4056 shishu shiksha kendras.

Education Guarantee Scheme

On January 1, 1997, the Government of Madhya Pradesh pioneered a community centred and rights-based initiative to universalise primary education called ‘Education Guarantee Scheme’ (EGS). Under the scheme, the government guaranteed provision of a teacher, her/his salaries, training of teacher, teachinglearning material and contingencies to start a school within 90 days wherever there was a demand from a community without a primary schooling facility within 1 km. provided this demand came from at least 25 learners in case of tribal areas and 40 learners in case of non-tribal areas. The community that made the demand could also suggest the name of a suitable local resident to be the teacher and be called ‘guruji’. The gram panchayat is empowered to appoint such a “guruji” after the chief executive officer of the Janpad (block) panchayat had verified the bona fides of the demand and the qualifications of the proposed guruji. The training of the guruji would be organised by the district administration which would also credit the amount of annual salaries upfront in the gram panchayat’s bank account.

Rajiv Gandhi Prathmik Shiksha Mission

The Rajiv Gandhi Prathmik Shiksha Mission was set up as an autonomous registered society headed by the Chief Minister of the state to supplement the state government’s efforts to universalize primary education in Madhya Pradesh. The main challenges for the Mission were posed in the form of inadequate outreach of educational facilities specially in the interior, rural or tribal areas, marginalisation of economically or socially deprived children, insufficient support to academic processes and above all a delivery hierarchy that did not factor in the perceptions of its large user community. These challenges influenced the way that defined its objectives, processes and tasks. The objectives of the Mission were to create a positive environment for education, increase enrolment and to improve the quality of teaching-learning processes so as to promote retention and achievement levels.