Trends in the Growth of School Education in India

Abstract

Primary education constitutes a very important part of the entire structure of education. It is at this stage, the child starts going to a formal institution and formal education starts. Primary education in India has been under the control of a number of agencies. It is still under the management of the private agencies, though, the state is increasingly taking the responsibility of providing free and compulsory elementary education to all. Article 45 of the constitution provides for free and compulsory education for all children in the age-group 6-14 years, up to a minimum level. The whole idea has been woven into the concept of Universalization of Elementary Education (UGC). The level of compulsory education as envisaged in this Article corresponds to the elementary education of eight year's duration from class I to class VIII for the children aged 6-14 years. The universalization of Elementary Education has been recognized as a constitutional obligation in India by the year 1960 but the target has not been achieved even after 54 years of the target year. Secondary education occupies a critical position in the entire educational structure and is described by many as the lintel of the entire educational edifice. It has been observed that secondary education takes place at the critical stage of adolescence; when attitudes to life and work are being shaped. In this paper we examined the growth in the enrollment of students by sex and the corresponding increase in the number of schools and also examined the trends in number of teachers by sex employed in primary, upper primary and secondary schools and to estimate the student-teacher ratio. The enrollment of girls has grown at a higher rate than that of boys during the entire period of the study. The significance of women teachers has been increasing over time and this should contribute positively to the growth and development of students. One important reason of the downfall in the quality and standard of school education during the recent decades may be the uneven growth of enrollment, number of teachers and number of schools, the enrollment growing faster than the other two