CHAPTER 1 Introduction to education culture

Indias education system turns out millions of graduates each year, many skilled in IT and engineering. This manpower advantage underpins Indias recent economic advances, but masks deep- seated problems within Indias education system. While Indias demographics are generally perceived to give it an edge over other countries economies (India will have a youthful population when other countries have ageing populations), if this advantage is restricted to a small, highly educated elite, the domestic political ramifications could be severe. With 35 per cent of the population under the age of 15,Indias Education system faces

numerous challenges. Successive governments have pledged to increase spending on Education to 6 per cent of GDP, but actual spending has hovered around 4 per cent for the last few years. While, at the top end, Indias business schools, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and universities produce globally competitive graduates, primary and secondary schools, particularly in rural areas, struggle to find staff. Indian governments have seen education as a crucial development tool. The first part of provides a historical perspective on the development of the education system in India highlighting the changing emphases within government policy. Since Independence, the Education policies of successive governments have built on the substantial legacies of the Nehruvian period, targeting the core themes of plurality and secularism, with a focus on excellence in higher education, and inclusiveness at all levels. In reaching these goals, the issue of funding has become problematic; governments have promised to increase state spending while realizing the economic potential of bringing in private-sector financial support. The second part examines how recent governments have responded to these challenges, which have remained largely unchanged since Nehrus era, despite the efforts of past governments and commissions to reform the Indian education system. Attention will be paid to more recent policy initiatives, both those of the previous BJP-led administration and the proposals of the current Congress-led United Progressive Alliance. It will become clear that the same difficulties that existed nearly sixty years ago remain largely unsolved today for example, the need
1

to safeguard access to education for the poorest and most disenfranchised communities of India.

CHAPTER 2 Student and education

I. Goals that should be inculcated through education Preserve and advance knowledge and enrich social, cultural and everyday life through teaching, learning, research and knowledge transfer Provide teaching of the highest quality and encourage learning that will meet the personal and occupational needs of each student Stimulate enterprise and creativity and promote awareness of the forces of international management and change Nurture the values of all cultures and respect of diversity

II.

Objectives of education towards student To come as a student, leave as a manager To provide our students with the strongest education qualifications To develop in students a range of skills and techniques, personal qualities and approaches essential for successful performance in the workplace To provide a basis for future studies and career development To provide an educational foundation for a range of management or supervisory positions in the hotel and tourism industries and within an international framework To develop the importance of flexibility and positive attitudes in students behavior To develop the ability to express and communicate ideas clearly and to extend their own capacity for logical thinking, analysis, research and option based solutions to problems To develop students ability to critically appreciate issues, topics and problems To have a flexible attitude towards problems of change and re-engineering To develop the student professional attitude for their future career To increase the capacity of students to be a good team member and team leader To recognize the key place of the customer in transactions To be a good communicator with appropriate presentation skills

III.

Things to be done to face future

3

Develop analytical, developmental, financial, legal, managerial and technical principles for professional developments in the hotel and tourism sectors. Demonstrate an appropriate balance between the vocational skills necessary for immediate employment and the more fundamental principles necessary for further study.

Develop the academic abilities and personal characteristics required to solve problems relevant to hotel and tourism management and critically assess relevant aspects of the industry

Cultivate a professional attitude and develop skills relating to communication, teamwork, project planning and responsibility for individual learning. Acquire knowledge of career opportunities, entrepreneurship and ways for further studies that exist in the area of international Hotel & Tourism Management. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the economic, environmental, political, social and technological influences which relate to the hotel and tourism industry. Initiate and produce research papers. Have the opportunities to put theory into practice via work-based learning.

IV.

Expectation from a student on graduation On graduation we expect all students to have the following knowledge qualities Demonstrate familiarity with theories and concepts used in the course of study; Describe the domestic and international nature and dimensions of the

business/organisation;

Discuss the structure and organization of the public, private and not-for-profits sectors of the industry;

Understand the factors, which influence the development of organizations operating in the business environment and the most appropriate ways to manage this development;

Identify the steps required to carry a piece of research on a topic within business/organisation;

Demonstrate the contribution and impacts of his business/organisation in social, economic, environmental, political and cultural terms; On graduation we expect all student to have the following intellectual qualities

Recognize and apply appropriate theories, principles and concepts relevant to the business;

Critically assess and evaluate the literature within the business/organization; Exercise appropriate judgment in selecting and presenting information using various methods;

Develop a reasoned argument to the solution of familiar and unfamiliar problems; Appraise some of the current and emerging issues within the hotel and tourism industry and debate the potential benefits. On graduation we expect all student to have the following intellectual qualities

Plan, design, record and execute and communicate a piece of independent research using appropriate media and techniques;

Recognize moral, ethical and safety issues which are pertinent to hotel and tourism; Respond to change within the external and internal hotel and tourism environments.

On graduation we expect all student to have the following personal development qualities

Develop appropriate effective written and oral communication skills Demonstrate the ability to work effectively as part of a group, involving leadership, group dynamics and interpersonal skills such as listening, negotiation and persuasion;

Use organization skills (including task and time management) both individually and in a group situation;

Solve problems using ideas and techniques some of which are at the forefront of the discipline;

CHAPTER 3 Evolution of Indian education system

Traditional Hindu education served the needs of Brahmin families: Brahmin teachers would teach boys to read and write. Under the Moguls, education was similarly elitist, favouring the rich rather than those from high-caste backgrounds. These preexisting elitist tendencies were reinforced under British rule. British colonial rule brought with it the concept of a modern state, a modern economy and a modern education system. The education system was first developed in the three presidencies (Bombay, Calcutta and Madras). By linking entrance and advancement in government service to academic education, colonial rule contributed to the legacy of an education system geared to preserving the position and prerogatives of the more privileged. In the early 1900s, the Indian National Congress called for national education, placing an emphasis on technical and vocational training. In 1920 Congress initiated a boycott of government-aided and government-controlled schools and founded several national schools and colleges. These failed, as the rewards of British-style education were so great that the boycott was largely ignored. Local elites benefited from the British education system and eventually used it expel the colonizers. Nehru envisaged India as a secular democracy with a state-led command economy. Education for all and industrial development were seen as crucial tools to unite a country divided on the basis of wealth, caste and religion, and formed the cornerstones of the anti-imperial struggle. Following Independence, school curricula were thus imbued with the twin themes of inclusiveness and national pride, placing emphasis on the fact that Indias different communities could live peacefully side by side as one nation. The legacies of this Nehruvian approach to education are considerable; perhaps most notable is the entrenchment of the pluralist/secularist perspective in the minds of the Indian people. Subsidized quality higher education through institutions such as the IITs and IIMs formed a major contribution to the Nehruvian vision of a self-reliant and modern Indian state, and they now rank amongst the best higher education institutions in the world. In addition, policies of positive discrimination in education and employment furthered the case for access by hitherto unprivileged social groups to quality education. It has been argued that while access for some marginalized
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communities continues to be limited, the upward mobility of a few Dalit and tribal households resulting from positive discrimination in educational institutions and state patronage has created role models that help democracy survive in India.

CHAPTER 4 Stages of Education in India

Stages of Education in India , and an indication regarding corresponding age group of students for each stage, are shown in the table below: S. No Stage Classes Duration (with exceptions, any) 1. School Stages 1.1 Elementary 1.1.1 Primary I-XII I-VIII (I-VII a few States) I V 6 - 18 Years 6 - 14 Years 6 - 11 Years if / Corresponding Age Group of

Students (Indicative)

(I - IV in a few States) 1.1.2 Upper Primary VI VIII 11 - 14 Years

(V - VII in a few States)

1.2

Secondary

IX - XII (VIII XII in States) a few

14 - 18 Years

1.2.1

High School

IX - X (VIII - X in a few States) (I - IV in a few States)

14 - 16 Years

1.1.2

Higher / Senior Sec. School

XI - XII

16 - 18 Years

Higher / University Education 2.1 Non-Professional (e.g.

18 - 24 Years *

Humanities / Pure Sciences / Commerce) Degree

Courses 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.2 Undergraduate Post-graduate Degree / 3 Years 2 Years Depends on the nature of the course *18 - 24 years is usually taken as the age group of students corresponding to university / tertiary education

Professional

Diploma Courses

Education in Post-Independence India: Some Milestones

1947 194849 1950

India achieves Independence University Education Commission constituted; gives Report India becomes a Republic. Free and compulsory education enshrined as one of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the new Constitution

1951

Decennial Census yields a Literacy Rate (5+) of 18.3% (overall), 8.9% (female) First Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) established at Kharagpur Secondary Education Commission constituted; gives Report

195253 1956

University Grants Commission (UGC) established by Act of Parliament Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Act passed by Parliament Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru delivers the first convocation address at the first IIT (Kharagpur)

1958 1959 1961

Second IIT established at Mumbai Third and Fourth IITs established at Kanpur and Chennai, respectively NCERT established Institutes of Technology Act passed by Parliament to provide a common legal framework for all IITs

First two Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) set up at Ahmedabad and Kolkata Fifth IIT established at Delhi Education Commission constituted; gives Report First National Policy on Education (NPE) adopted, in the light of the recommendations of the Education Commission

1963 196466 1968

1963 1975

Third IIM established at Banglore Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme launched to provide for holistic development of children up to the age of six years

1976

Constitution amended to change Education from being a State subject to a Concurrent one

1984 1985 1986 198788

Fourth IIM established at Lucknow Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) established by an Act of Parliament New National Policy on Education (NPE) adopted Many large centrally-assisted schemes like Operation Blackboard, Educational Technology, Vocationalisation of Secondary Education, etc., launched in

pursuance of NPE, 1986 All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) vested with statutory status by an Act of Parliament

National Literacy Mission launched NPE, 1986, revised, based on a review by the Acharya Ramamurti Committee

1992

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1993

National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) vested with statutory status by an Act of Parliament

1994

District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) launched to universalize primary education in selected districts

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) established by UGC (with headquarters at Bangalore ) to assess and accredit institutions of higher education

National Board of Accreditation (NAB) established by AICTE to periodically evaluate technical institutions and programmes

Sixth IIT established at Guwahati Centrally-assisted Mid-Day Meal scheme launched in government and semi-government primary schools all over the country, with central assistance by way of free foodgrains

1995

1996 1998 2001

Fifth IIM established at Kozhikode Sixth IIM established at Indore Decennial Census yields Literacy rate (7+) of 65.4% (overall), 53.7% (female) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) launched to universalize elementary education of good quality all over the country

University of Roorkee converted into (the seventh) IIT Constitution amended to make Free and Compulsory Education, a Fundamental Right (yet to be brought into force)

2002

2003

17 Regional Colleges of Engineering converted into National Institutes of Technology, fully funded by the Central Government

2004

Education Cess levied for raising additional finance needed to fulfill Governments commitment to universalize quality basic education

Mid-Day Meal scheme revised to provide central assistance to meet cooking cost as well

EDUSAT, a satellite dedicated to education, launched National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions established by Act of Parliament

2005

2006

Two Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs) established at

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Kolkata and Pune, respectively 2007

Seventh Indian Institute of Management established at Shillong One Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER) established at Mohali The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) brought under a common statutory framework by establishing NIT Act.

Rashtriya Sanskrit Parishad Constituted The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Ac Notified.

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POLICY FRMEWORK OF INDIAN EDUCATION policy Framework The Constitution The Constitution of India is the ultimate document which guides State policy in all sectors, including Education. Details of provisions contained in the Constitution, which have a bearing on Education, have been listed on this website under the caption Constitutional Provisions. Their more important features are: Provision of free and compulsory education to all children upto the age of fourteen years Education, in general, is the concurrent responsibility of the Union and the States. However, (a) coordination and determination of standards in higher and technical education, and (b) institutions declared by Parliament by law to be institutions of national importance, are the responsibility of the Union . Local authorities (Panchayats and Municipalities) are to be assigned a suitable role in education (especially School, Adult and Non-Formal Education) through individual State legislations. State Governments and Local Authorities are expected to provide facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage of education Important Legislations Next to the Constitution, State Policy is articulated through legislations. Some of the important Central legislations having a bearing on the subjects allotted to the Department of Higher Education are: The University Grants Commission Act, 1956 The All India Council for Technical Education Act, 1987 The National Council for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004 The Copyright Act, 1957 The Apprentices Act, 1961 National Policies on Education There have so far been mainly two comprehensive statements of the National Policy on Education, viz. those of 1968 and 1986. The former contained decisions of the Central Government on the
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recommendations of the National Commission on Education, 1964-66. The latter was a result of the renewed priority assigned to Education by the government of the Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi, who was Prime Minister during 1984-89. The 1986 policy was reviewed by a Committee constituted in 1990 under the chairmanship of Acharya Ramamurti. On the basis of the recommendations of this Committee, certain provisions of the 1986 policy were modified in 1992. Thus, in all, the following three comprehensive national policy statements exist on Education: National Policy on Education, 1968 National Policy on Education, 1986 National Policy on Education, 1986, as modified in 1992 Policy Decisions on individual issues taken from time to time Besides the above comprehensive policy statements, policy decisions on individual issues are taken from time to time, as needed - in the form of Resolutions, Schemes, Guidelines, Orders, etc.

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CHAPTER TRADITIONAL PARADIGM OF EDUCATION: THE DELIVERY MODEL FOR TEACHING OR 'SCHOOLING'
The traditional paradigm for teaching evolved in the context of industrialism and its requirements for discipline, rigidity and authoritarianism. In the traditional paradigm for teaching education is confused with school and learning is confused with 'schooling'. The teaching model for schooling is the 'delivery model'. "The major purpose of schooling until now has been to preserve the hegemony of the established culture to induct each new generation into the dominant worldview... But we can conceive education as a genuine community of learning in which new meanings, new metaphors are generated... sense of reverence toward nature and life - respect for diversity, spontaneity and the inherent wisdom of organic growth - it is essential that we draw on our deepest source of renewal and creativity: the imagination. The holistic critique calls for an integration of rational, empirical, analytical modes of knowing with the imaginative and intuitive... The recent so-called 'holistic education movement' is the manifestation of the concern for an education which 'draws forth' (from the Latin 'educare') the "latent capacities and sensitivities of the individual".

Traditional education as 'schooling' is based on a fallacious mistrust in human nature The paradigm of traditional education as 'schooling' is based on the assumption that the human personality or 'human nature' is basically immoral and antisocial. The mistrust of human nature accounts for the fallacious notion that the indvidual's interests and those of society are mutually exclusive... leads to the notion that the purpose of civilisation is to control human impulses or 'antisocial instincts' (Freud). The supposed dichotomy between individual and society is the basis for confusion about formulation of rational educational theory... Confusion between schooling and learning is relatively recent. "Mass education was the ingenious machine constructed by industrialism to produce the kind of adults it needed. The problem was inordinately complex. How to pre-adapt children for a new world - a world of repetitive indoor toil, smoke, noise, machines, crowded living conditions, collective discipline, a world in which time was to be regulated not by the cycle of the sun and moon but by the factory whistle and the clock.The solution was an educational
15

system that, in its very structure, simulated this new world...The most criticized feature of education today - the regimentation, lack of individualization, the rigid systems of seating, grouping, grading, and marking, the authoritarian role of the teacher - are precisely those that made mass public education so effective an instrument of adaptation for its place and time..."

Schooling as dependency training: 'student-teacher contradiction' "Resistant dependent learning may well be a product of culture, upbringing and the public education system. Students do not naturally arrive at high school, college or adult education programs at once dependent upon teachers and resentful of being taught. They become that way as a result of years of dependency training." (Grow, Gerald. "Teaching Learners to be Self- Directed" Adult Educational Quarterly, 41: 3 (Spring 1991) 142) "The exercise of the role of teacher is a matter of time, place and circumstance. The individual can make no claim to the permament title of 'teacher' since a change of circumstances, an encounter with somenone else, may at any moment reverse the roles." (Goble. The Function of Teaching 53) In the institution of the school, the function of the teacher is measured by the difference in knowledge level with the student and in this way is formalized. On the basis of the asumption that knowledge is "finite and unchanging" the student is expected to memorize and 'possess' the knowledge transmitted by the teacher whose function as a 'monopolist' (making a claim to a monopoly of knowledge) is to concentrate on "artificial and arbitrary kinds of scholarship." (Goble. The Function of Teaching 54) Aims of schooling Educational policies were designed to pre-adapt children for future rigid working environments of industrial society with its social requirements of collective discipline, authoritarianism and regimentation. The aim of schooling was to inculcate the values of 'mental discipline' as the performance of meaningless tasks without questioning, 'obedience to authority', as punctuality and the following of orders. This is the 'hidden curriculum' of the traditional paradigm. Educational methods are justified by principles of behavioural science or 'behaviourism'. They are based on the assumption that education is a matter of conditioned learning or 'conditioning'. School education has become equated with educational institutions with rigid seating and grouping arrangements. Teaching methods are based on policies of teacher authoritarianism and classroom teachers are considered as expert authorities. They emphasize assigned readings to be studied and memorized from textbooks and then tested in terms of isolated factual content by 'performance' on objective tests.
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Evaluation of competence is in the form of a reward/punishment grading system. Recognition of achievement is in the form of diplomas and other 'credentials'. The curriculum is without individualization. Traditional educaton today: dilemma of schooling We know that learning is a natural function of the healthy mind and that learning and thinking are valuable assets for citizens of a free and democratic society. Given that schools are faced with the dilemma of how to motivate students to work, the central problem appears to be the following: how can we teach within the framework of a required curriculum while respecting children's natural motivation for learning? the educator, whether in the administrative or instructional capacities of schools or government, has the very great responsibiliuty of leading students to use and develop their own minds - to learn to think. In the traditional paradigm of education, the aim of education has always been considered in terms of the individual's 'usefulness to society'. Since their beginning, traditional schools have been institutions of education as compulsory learning. Today's fragmented and assembly line approach to education continues the tradition of compulsory education. Traditional education continues to promote values derived from the belief systems of American culture. In this 'cultural context' the traditional teaching paradigm continues to be used to promote the ideals of capitalism and to foster adult 'immaturity'. In the current educational systems, emphasis is placed almost entirely on the acquistion of data. There is little concern for the development of the reasoning mode of learning. Training of the observational and contemplative modes are almost completely lacking. And the affective dimension of learning... the individual's instinctive striving for inner development to maturity or 'self-actualisation' is completely ignored. . Self-actualisation is the aim of education for the whole person i.e. 'holistic education'. 'Passive teaching'- teaching as if information must be poured into childrens' heads - is destructive for children. They are judged on the basis of their ability to learn passively. The passive teacher makes a claim to a monopoly of the knowledge he teaches. (Paul Goodman Growing Up Absurd 77) What would be the implications for education if it were based on trust in the human organism as a social organism with a social brain and without antisocial instincts? ...if human nature is defined in terms of human 'values for living' or 'human needs'? "Ignorance, poverty and crime in society will not be solved by more of the same 'old education' - forcing children to learn under the systematic repression of adult-controlled
17

instruction. Despite the billions of dollars and lip service efforts at 'reform' this type of traditional education remains as ever a part of the problem - not the solution. Instead, we must create a 'new education' to free the human spirit - true education which is based entirely on fundamental principles of nature." Illich "Students who are capable of more individual involvement in learning are often relegated to passive roles in authoritarian classrooms." (Grow, Gerald. "Teaching Learners to be SelfDirected" Adult Educational Quarterly, 41: 3 (Spring 1991) 125-149 the quote is on page 137) "Generally speaking, the good student is not one who is restless or intractable, or one who reveals one's doubts or wants to know the reason behind facts, or one who breaks with preestablished models, or one who denounces a mediocre bureaucracy, or one who refuses to be an object. To the contrary, the so-called 'good student' is one who repeats, who renounces critical thinking, who adjusts to models, and who 'thinks it pretty to be a rhinoceros'" Paulo Freire The Politics of Education South Hadley, MA: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, Inc. 1985 (117)

CHAPTER Five Myths About Public Education

People today tend to deem the public schools the ultimate authority on, and the best place to receive an education. In order to make such an assumption, one would have to believe in several myths, although sometimes (if not usually) unknowingly. In this paper I will present five of these commonly believed myths, along with evidence supporting the fact that public education is not, contrary to popular belief, the ideal form of education.

MYTH #1: "Public schools provide positive, appropriate socialization." Many people assume that because their children are around other children of the same age, they are getting wholesome, proper socialization. They assume that children are best able to socialize each other, that they are the best examples for each other. But by taking a look at reality, we see that children are superficial: they form in cliques, they ridicule children with
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less social standing, charisma, talent or looks, and they degrade anyone who is "different." Dr. Raymond Moore, who has collected and studied much research in education, said:

"Negative, me-first sociability is born from more peer group association and fewer meaningful parental contact and responsibility experiences in the home during the first 8 to 12 years. The early peer influence generally brings an indifference to family values which defy parents' correction. The child does not yet consistently understand the "why" of parental demands... So he does what comes naturally: He adapts to the ways of his agemates because 'everybody's doing it,' and gives parent values the back of his little hand."

Chances are that many children lose their self esteem on the playground at recess from the whole "King of the Mountain" scenario. Adults in authority oftentimes stand by and watch this whole process happen because they think it is only "natural," and helps the children learn to be strong and interact with each other, to "toughen them up" and "prepare them for real life." However, in all actuality, what's really happening is that this is grinding down on their self worth, wounding them, and weighing down on them for many years to come. "Survival of the fittest" is the motto of the children on the playground, benefiting the few stronger ones, but devaluing the weaker ones, the majority. Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, said,

"I have seen kids dismantle one another, while parents and teachers stood passively by and observed the 'socialization' process. I've seen the socialization theory in action, and it doesn't hold much water."

MYTH #2: "Public education is religiously neutral." It is commonly thought that the educational material presented in public schools is nonbiased and is not partial to any certain belief. In truth, the public school could not be any more biased against God or any of His morals or principles. Karl Reed, a writer on moral and education issues, said:

"Public education has taken on the characteristics of a religion, promising answers for all ills of life and nation. ... That 'religion,' or belief system, incorporates into its dogma a faith in 'The Secular State,' which is now carved in the likeness of God. Along with holding to a
19

belief in 'The State' has come a total lack of confidence in God and his foundation for true primary education. State-run schools have taught Americans to put faith in 'The State' instead of in God and His way."

Horace Mann, who lived in the 1800's, was called "the father of public education." Here is what he saw as being appropriate and ideal and for the future of education of America's children:

"What the church has been for medieval man, the public school must become for democratic and rational man. God will be replaced by the concept of the public good. The common (public) schools shall create a more far-seeing intelligence and a pure morality than has ever existed among communities of men."

Mr. Mann, a Unitarian, couldn't be any further from the truth in his anti-Christian beliefs. He established an abhorrently erroneous standard for the future of educating the people of our country! It's like he took the truth, poured it into a blender, and pulverized it. He then added his own seasonings and fed it to our country. Unfortunately, they drank; they bought into it and accepted his philosophy as the way things should be. The results today are quite obviously not the way God intended education to be. Cathy Duffy, author of "Government Nannies", said:

"Public schools were instituted to modify the behavior of children rather than to educate them... Most of the curriculum being used in public schools is designed to meet educational goals that differ radically from [those of Christians']. So I believe that Christian parents should not send their children to public schools if there is any other option available. I believe that when we do so, in many, but not all cases we are handing our children over to the enemy for anti-Christian indoctrination."

MYTH #3: "Traditional schools have the best methods for providing the highest quality in education."

While some students do well in the public school system, many fall through the cracks, only to become another statistic, never fully achieving their potential. They get lost in the system,
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with the blame usually being placed on them, the students. They are labeled "underachievers" or "slackers" when, in fact, it may be the system that is hindering them from succeeding. John Taylor Gatto, New York State Teacher of the Year in 1990, said:

"...I began to wonder, reluctantly, whether it was possible that being in school itself was what was dumbing them down. Was it possible I had been hired not to enlarge children's power, but to diminish it? That seemed crazy on the face of it, but slowly I began to realize that the bells and the confinement, the crazy sequences, the age-segregation, the lack of privacy, the constant surveillance, and all the rest of the national curriculum of schooling were designed exactly as if someone had set out to prevent children from learning how to think and act, to coax them into addiction and dependant behavior."

Many people have memories of only the good times they had during their school experience. For example they remember the new crayons, lunch boxes, recess, pep rallies, sports, extracurricular activities, etc. But on the flip side, they overlook, or have simply forgotten, the sometimes harsh realities of their daily schooling. Ron Thruelsen, a father concerned about the decline of education, said:

"By definition, public schools are supposed to provide a quality education for all children, but this obviously is impossible. Quality education will go to a small group of students whose learning and social style fits the school system. For most of the rest, it will be a dreary marathon to be endured for many years. For the children on the fringe, school is a place of intimidation, frustration, and endless failure to reach someone else's expectations."

MYTH #4: "Better education requires higher spending."

It is obvious every voting year that the public schools think they need more money to be able to give a better education to the children in their care. In reality, more funding is not necessarily what is needed, but instead a better spending of the money they already have. Their money could be better spent if they had more of a concept of what real education is. According to the U.S. Dept. of Education, about $250 billion was spent on public schools for the 1991-92 school year.

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This means that approximately $6000 was spent on each pupil in the public schools for that year. Diane Ravitch, a national leader in the area of education, stated:

"Spending is up and achievement is down. Per-pupil spending has nearly doubled from approximately $3000 to just under $6000 per student. However, the SAT scores continue to decline."

It could be thought that this money is well-spent, going toward improving the facilities and conditions in which our children are educated, but here is a shocking statistic I found in a bookcalled " The Right Choice: Homeschooling":

"Only 60 percent of this money even gets to the classroom. At least 40 percent of the money goes to the bureaucracy. According to Albert Shanker, President of the American Federation of Teachers: 'One of the major differences between American schools and all others in the world is that we spend half of our money on bureaucracy, whereas the other schools in the world don't spend more than 20 percent... You know, we have about one teacher to every twenty-five kids in the country, *but we have one supervisor for every six teachers.*'"

MYTH #5: "Education can be complete without God and the Bible."

It is commonly believed that it is not necessary to include God in the curriculum used to educate. But in actuality, education was originally intended for God to be the center and the driving force behind it. George Washington said: "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." His successor, John Adams, said: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Without God at the helms of education, this country has been in moral decline, and will continue to do so until people begin to wake up to the truth and do something about it. One option would be to pull out of the public school system, with the two alternatives being either to send their children to a private school, or to educate their children themselves at home. Or
22

they can stay in the public school system and try to influence it for the good. Which path they choose would all depend on how they feel God leads them.

In Websters 1828 dictionary, the word "education" is defined as:

"The bringing up, as of a child; instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable, and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties."

With the public schools being in the state they are now in, and with the values they now possess, are they capable of producing God-fearing people or accomplishing what education was really meant to be? It is astounding to think that the institution into which we pour millions of our tax dollars is the same institution which has banned God, and therefore has banned the very principles and morals upon which our country was founded

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CHAPTER Types of learning

Learning is truly a lifelong experience that offers many benefits. It can work to enrich your work life and social life, and can offer you great personal enjoyment and a sense of purpose. If you have been considering heading back to the classroom for some more education, you might first want to take into consideration the different types of learning experiences that are now available. Education isnt just about traditional classroom learning anymore. Nowadays, there are a wide variety of classroom settings available to students of all ages. Traditional Learning

Traditional learning is what we are all most familiar with. It is how most of learned in elementary and secondary school, and this type of learning is still used by most colleges and universities. Traditional learning usually awards credits based on student performance, which is measured through assignments, tests, and exams. These credits can then be put towards a certificate, diploma, or degree, which is to be completed later on. Traditional schools offer a number of different courses, which can satisfy any learners needs. Traditional learning typically takes place in an identifiable classroom space, usually in a school or in an institution dedicated to learning. A traditional classroom usually has a number of specific features, including:

an instructor who delivers information to students a number of students who are all physically present in the classroom and regularly meet at a specific time

student participation in lectures and discussions Many learners favor traditional learning while others find that it is more restrictive and lacks flexibility. If you enjoy learning directly from an instructor and surrounded by classmates, you may enjoy continuing your education through traditional learning.

Distance Learning

Distance learning is also a very popular choice for students who want to complete or continue their education. Distance learning involves an exchange of information over a
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distinct physical space. If you choose to engage in distance learning, you will learn from someone who is not located in a classroom with you. Instead, this person could be located miles away, or even in another country. Distance learning courses are becoming more and more popular and are quite varied. You can choose to complete single courses, or entire degree programs through distance learning. There are a number of different ways to complete distance learning programs. The most popular are:

online learning, in which you learn over the internet print learning, in which materials are sent to you through the mail or by fax video conferencing, in which you communicate with instructors and students through video presentations Distance education is very beneficial for those students who are unable to attend regular classroom courses. If you have a very busy schedule, if you are taking care of a family, or if you are ill or disabled, distance learning may be a great option for you.

Online Learning
Online learning is quickly becoming one of the most popular options when it comes to continuing your education. Also known as e-learning, online learning involves learning materials over the computer, with the help of the internet. In an online course, there is no physical classroom. Instead, all assignments, tests, and exams are completed over the computer. Many secondary schools as well as colleges and universities, now offer online degrees. Online learning courses include:

online tutorials and online class notes chat rooms in which you can discuss class materials with fellow classmates online audio and visual materials online testing Many learners enjoy the opportunities that online learning provides. It offers you the ability to learn at your own pace and according to your schedule. It also enables you to learn in the comfort of your own home.

Night School
Night school has long been an option for those seeking to continue with their education.
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Night school is a form of traditional learning because it takes place in a physical classroom with an instructor that delivers all course materials. But unlike most traditional education, night school only takes place in the evenings on designated days of the week. Night school is often offered by secondary schools to help students complete their high school diplomas. It is also a feature of many college and university schedules. Night school can be very beneficial for those who want to complete courses at a relatively fast pace. Night school semesters are typically shorter than those held by traditional day schools as classes may be held more frequently and for longer durations each session. Night school also offers students the chance for more personal instruction because enrolment tends to be lower than for traditional day learning programs. General Interest Learning

General interest learning is very popular with students of all ages. General interest learning allows you to complete a course or program just for your own personal satisfaction. General interest courses are not usually credit courses, which means that they cannot be applied to a current or future certificate or degree. General interest courses can take place almost anywhere, from a traditional classroom to a community center or recreation center. Popular general interest courses include:

foreign languages yoga, meditation or some other type of fitness computer programming and software applications art classes, including drawing, painting and pottery If you are interested in learning simply in order to obtain new knowledge or make use of some spare time, general interest courses may be perfect for you. They can provide you with some fundamental skills, which are often very helpful if you choose to learn for credit at some point in the future.

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CHAPTER Education System of India: Its Functions, Drawbacks and Its Contribution
Why is India still a developing country and what is stopping it from being a developed country? This particular question strikes me every time when I read something about Indias education system. I see Indias education system as a stumbling block towards its objectives of achieving inclusive growth. Let me inform you about certain startling facts. India is going to experience a paradox of nearly 90 million people joining the workforce but most of them will lack requiste skills and the mindset for productive employment according to a report in DNA. India has about 550 million people under the age of 25 years out of which only 11% are enrolled in tertiary institutions compared to the world average of 23%. I wouldnt be laying too much emphasis on the drawbacks of Indias public education system because it has been an issue well debated over in the past and the main flaws have already been pointed out before. I will be focusing on how the education systems failure is leading to another social issue of income inequality and hence, suggest certain policies to improve Indias education system and reduce inequality. The really critical aspect of Indian public education system is its low quality. The actual quantity of schooling that children experience and the quality of teaching they receive are extremely insufficient in government schools. A common feature in all government schools is the poor quality of education, with weak infrastructure and inadequate pedagogic attention. What the government is not realizing right now is that education which is a source of human capital can create wide income inequalities. It will be surprising to see how income inequalities are created within the same group of educated people.Let me illustrate this with the help of an example: Let us take P be an individual who has had no primary or higher education. His human capital is zero and hence it bears no returns. Let Q be an individual who completed his MBA from S.P Jain college and let R be an individual who completed his MBA from IIM Ahmadabad. The average rate of return for an MBA student is 7.5% (hypothetical). Q gets a rate of return of 5% and R gets a rate of return of 10% due to the difference in the reputation and quality of the management school. Let the income of P, Q and R be 1.In a period of 10 years, P will be
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having the same income as he does not possess human capital. For the same time period Q will earn an income of (1+0.05)10=1.63 and R will earn an income of (1+0.10)10=2.59. Now lets see what happens when the rate of return on human capital doubles. Earnings of P will not change since he does not have any human capital. Now Q is going to earn (1+0.10)10=1.63 and R is going to earn (1+0.20)10=6.19. Flabbergasting! As soon as return on human capital increases proportionately income inequality increases. With return on human capital doubling, QS income increases by 59% and Rs income increases by 139%. The above example just shows the effect of the quality of human capital n income inequality. So if the government does not improve education system particularly in rural areas the rich will become richer and the poor will get poorer. Hence, it is imperative for the government to correct the blemishes in Indias education system which will also be a step towards reducing income inequality. Certain policy measures need to be taken by the government. The basic thrust of government education spending today must surely be to ensure that all children have access to government schools and to raise the quality of education in those schools. One of the ways in which the problem of poor quality of education can be tackled is through common schooling. This essentially means sharing of resources between private and public schools. Shift system is one of the ways through which common schooling can be achieved. The private school can use the resources during the first half of the day and the government school can use it during the second half. It is important to remember that the quality of education is directly linked to the resources available and it is important for the government to improve resource allocation to bring about qualitative changes in the field of education. Common schooling is one of the ways in which government can use limited resources in an efficient way and thus improve resource allocation. Another reason for poor quality of education is the poor quality of teachers in government schools .Government schools are unable to attract good quality teachers due to inadequate teaching facilities and low salaries. The government currently spends only 3% of its GDP on education which is inadequate and insufficient. To improve the quality of education, the government needs to spend more money from its coffers on education. Most economists feel that the only panacea to the ills of the public schooling system is the voucher scheme. Under the voucher system, parents are allowed to choose a school for their
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children and they get full or partial reimbursement for the expenses from the government. But however, the voucher system will further aggravate the problem of poor quality of education in government schools. Such a system will shift resources from government schools to private schools. This will worsen the situation of government schools which are already under-funded. Moreover, if the same amount given as vouchers can be used to build infrastructure in schools then the government can realize economies of scale. For exampleThe centre for civil society is providing vouchers worth Rs 4000 per annum to 308 girls. This means that the total amount of money given as vouchers is Rs 1232000. If the same amount can be used to construct a school and employ high quality teachers who are paid well then a larger section of the society will enjoy the benefit of education. A school can definitely accommodate a minimum of 1000 students.

I hope government takes certain appropriate policy measures to improve the education system otherwise inequalities are going to be widespread and Indias basic capabilities will remain stunted. Let us strengthen the case for a stronger education system.

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CHAPTER PRESENT EDUCATION SYSTEM

The present system of higher education does not serve the purpose for which it has been started. In general education itself has become so profitable a business that quality is lost in the increase of quantity of professional institutions with quota system and politicization adding fuel to the fire of spoil system, thereby increasing unemployment of graduates without quick relief to mitigate their sufferings in the job market of the country. So, the drawbacks of the higher education system underscore the need for reforms to make it worthwhile and beneficial to all concerned. Competition: Next to China, India is the most populated country in the world. Naturally there is too much rush and competition in every field. So, rush to technical and higher education has increased as scope for arts and science has become lesser and lesser due to lack of reforms and up gradation in the course structure and materials according to the developments of the world. Also, qualification in higher education gives added advantage to face successfully competition in the job market. Purpose of Education: All round development of personality is the purpose of education. But the present day education is neither imparting true knowledge of life, world and helping one stand on ones own leg nor improving the talent of a student by which one can achieve laurels in the field one is interested. So, combination of arts subjects and computer science and science and humanities or literature should be introduced so that such courses could be useful for the students to do jobs after recruitment in some companies which would reduce unnecessary rush to higher education. Right Course of Action: In India around 240 Universities controlling somewhere 5000 colleges of various courses churning out millions of graduates seeking jobs in vain due to lack of employability, communication skill and entrepreneurship quality. In Tamil Nadu State of India alone (from 2000 to 2006) more than 600, 000 students are hunting for jobs without hope due to political

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rivalries and lack of investments in job generating manufacturing units and companies. This is one side of the picture. On the other side, all want to become Engineers or Doctors or Computer specialists in IT or Software, which is beyond the reach of many and also, all cannot shine in such a line if not suited later on. So, to overcome disappointments in the working life clear appraisal of ones Self is necessary before pursuing a course of action. For that not specialization but general education covering all subjects (arts, science, literature, technology, agriculture and defense studies) is very essential. After education, tour to all the places in India and world as far as possible with the cooperation of government is necessary so that one can understand about people, culture, arts, literature, religions, technological developments and progress of human society in the world. Basing this knowledge one should have a vision of ones future life and work in the world and decide about the future course of action, i.e. whether to go for higher education or do job suitable to one. Finally, based on knowledge only vision of the future life and work can be had; based on this vision only a broad ambition can be fixed for oneself; and based on this ambition only one can lead interesting life doing satisfying job to do remarkable achievements in some field in the world. Individuality Otherwise, the life of one will not be interesting but rather boring, monotonous and frustrating. This is mainly due to parental interference in the education of the children. Parental guidance is necessary but it should not interfere in the creativity or individuality of the students. Also, in spite of the obsolete type of education system, some are achieving wonderful things in Sports, Music, Dance, Painting, Science and Technology in the world! This is only due to the encouragement of the parents and some dedicated teachers in the educational institutions. Higher Education: Higher education is necessary for one to achieve excellence in the line one is best. But one should be selected for higher education on the basis of merit only. Further, fees for education
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in general should not be high; especially, the fees for higher studies should be within the reach of every class of people in the nation. Standard: In any nation education is the basic necessity for the socio-economic development of the individuals and the society. In reality only 20% of the population is educated in India. Also, only 25% of the Universities are having world class education. So, improved standard of education as first priority should be offered to the majority by the govt. authorities with sincere political will. Also, privatization of higher education is absolutely necessary in a vast country like India as government alone is helpless to do so. Quality: That is the way peoples quality of life can be improved and also, the nation can economically compete with the developed nations of the world. So, private educational institutions can give higher education to all irrespective of economic status of the students. As far as quality of education is concerned it should be under the control of a central institute such as All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the respective Universities concerned. World Class Education: Indian government is not giving priority to the development of Standard in education. India should aspire for the international standard in education. To achieve that goal it should adopt uniform international syllabus in its educational institutions. Many national universities like in the USA, UK, Australia, etc. allow studies in higher education for foreign students in their countries and through correspondence courses as well. In the same way India Universities of world class education can also offer courses of studies to foreign students taking advantage of the globalization process. Personality Development: Finally, education should be for the flowering of personality but not for the suppression of creativity or natural skill. In the globalized world opportunities for the educated people are naturally ample in scope. As a result business process outsourcing (BPO) activities have increased competition in the world trade leading towards the production of quality goods and
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their easy availability everywhere in the world market. That is the way the world can be developed for peace, prosperity and progress by able and skilful men.

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CHAPTER Education and Rural Women

India dreams of becoming a superpower by 2020, but quite ironical is the fact that the country whose population has crossed one billion mark, has literacy rates quite comparable with the underdeveloped countries (and in some cases even less than these countries). The literacy rates for male and female (according to 2001 census) stands at 75.85 percent and 54.16 percent respectively. Various programs initiated by the state like Total Literacy Campaign, the District Primary Education Program and National Program of Nutritional Support to Primary Education have done little to attain the goal. Further, the gap between the rural and urban areas and that between female and their male counterpart is quite substantial. While the male literacy rate in urban areas is about 86 percent, rural female literacy rate is just 46 percent (2001 census). Several plausible reasons explain this difference. The first and foremost of course, is the way the parents perceive the female education. Since the very beginning the role of female is confined to domestic work and looking after children. The tradition of settling at husbands place after marriage, does not offer enough incentive to parents for spending on girls education. A boys education is far more important as it enhances the chances of his being employed. Another reason is the prevalent trend of early marriage in rural areas. In most villages, girls education, rather than being seen as an incentive is seen as a liability. It is difficult to find a groom for an educated girl. These are not the only reasons responsible for the low level of female education. Though one cannot deny that gender inequality is, by and large, responsible for the situation, but several other factors also work in this direction. Very often, the parents who are willing to educate their daughters are discouraged by the absence of school within the surrounding area and it is not considered safe to send girls to another village to study. However, this is not true for most of the villages now. But even in villages where there are schools, the standard of infrastructure is abysmally low, be it management of classes, student-teacher ratio, availability of text books, or even furniture, these schools lack in every sense. This discourages the parents to get their children enrolled in these schools. There are incidences of under qualified staff being employed in educational institutions. The meager salaries that are offered by the government do not provide enough incentive to attract the talent to these schools for employment. Grimmer is the condition of scheduled caste female education. The
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recent figures show that the scheduled caste female literacy rate is dismal 19 percent (2001 census). This shows that the age old discrimination based on caste is still prevalent. This is really disheartening and shows that in spite of numerous schemes being launched by the government, the downtrodden classes still face social stigma and there is a lot to be done for the upliftment of these classes. However, talking of female literacy, one cannot ignore the achievement of southern states in terms of female education. The states performance in terms of social indicators is often proportional to economic growth. But in Indias case rich states like Punjab and Haryana have lower literacy rates as compared to Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Kerala has performed really well since 1990s in fields of health and education, mainly due to the matriarchal pattern of their society. Himachal Pradesh has also managed to do significantly better than other states in relatively shorter span of time. Major credit for this goes to the political action in the state. The success of governments initiatives often depends on the cooperative action of the community. The illiterate people are often unable to put pressure on the state governments and school authorities, and so, they can easily get away with the blame. Huge amount provided in the budget for expenditure on education does not reach to the grass root level due to the endemic corruption. Thus lack of accountability is often responsible for ramshackle infrastructure of government schools. Education, under nutrition, and gender discrimination are all interrelated. For example, infants health depends on the care taken by mother during pregnancy which in turn depends on her education and also the education in the community. Further, an educated mother is better equipped to help her children in studies. So, there is a need for change in the social attitude of rural people towards women. Also, the standard of government schools infrastructure needs to be raised. The salaries of staff should also be raised to make them more committed. Other states should learn from Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu so that the goal of achieving universal education does not remain a distant dream.

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CHAPTER EDUCATION PLANNING IN INDIA

The National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) The National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, is a premier organization dealing with capacity building and research in planning and management of education not only in India but also in South Asia. In recognition of the pioneering work done by the organization in the field of educational planning and administration, the Government of India have empowered it to award its own degrees by way of conferring it the status of Deemed to be University in August, 2006. Like any Central University, NUEPA is fully maintained by the Government of India. The National University has its origin dating back to 1962 when the UNESCO established the Asian Regional Centre for Educational Planners and Administrators which later became the Asian Institute of Educational Planning and Administration in 1965. After 4 years of its existence, it was taken over by the Government of India and renamed as the National Staff College for Educational Planners and Administrators. Subsequently, with the increased roles and functions of the National Staff College, particularly in capacity building, research and professional support services to governments, it was again renamed as the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) in 1979. The National University comprises ten Departments. It has an outstanding multi-disciplinary faculty and a library which is well stocked with a large number of books, national and international journals and official documents in the area of educational planning and administration. In addition to its multifarious activities, the National University offers Fulltime Integrated M.Phil.-Ph.D., Full-time Direct Ph.D. and Part-time Ph.D. programmes in educational policy, planning and administration from a broader inter-disciplinary social science perspective. The research programmes of NUEPA cover all levels and types of education from both national and international development perspectives.

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Vision
Evolving a humane learning society through advancement of knowledge

Mission
To become a centre of excellence in educational policy, planning and management by promoting advanced level teaching, research and capacity building in national and global contexts

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Objectives 1. To organize pre-service and in-service training programmes in the area of educational planning and administration and allied disciplines; 2. To undertake, aid, promote and coordinate research in various aspects of educational planning and administration and allied disciplines, including comparative studies in planning techniques and administrative procedures in the different States of India and in other countries of the world; 3. To provide academic and professional guidance to agencies, institutions and personnel engaged in educational planning and administration; 4. To offer M. Phil, Ph. D. and Post-Doctoral Programmes and award degrees in educational planning, educational administration, educational finance, comparative education, school education, higher education, professional education, policy research, gender in education, discrimination in education, education and globalization, educational management and information system, etc.; 5. To act as a clearing house of ideas and information on research, training and extension in educational planning and administration services and other programmes; 6. To prepare, print and publish papers, periodicals and books in furtherance of these objectives and especially to bring out a Journal on Educational Planning and Administration; 7. To organize training, conferences, workshops, meetings, seminars and briefing sessions for educational personnel of the Central and State Governments and Union Territories; 8. To offer, on request, consultancy service to Governments, including State Governments, educational institutions and institutions/organizations in India & abroad. 9. To organize orientation and training programmes and refresher courses for teachereducators and for University and College Administrators engaged in educational planning and administration; 10. To organize orientation programmes, seminars and discussion groups for persons including legislators in the field of educational planning and administration at the level of policy making in Central and State Governments 11. To award consultancy work/services to other organizations/individuals;

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12. To collaborate with other agencies, institutions and organizations, including the University Grants Commission, the Universities, Institutes of Management and Administration and other allied institutions in India and abroad, in such way as may be considered necessary for the promotion of these objectives; 13. To provide, on request, facilities for training and research in educational planning and administration to other countries, especially of the Asian Region, and collaborate with them in programmes; 14. To offer fellowships, scholarships and academic awards in furtherance of the objects of the National University; 15. To confer honorary fellowships on eminent educationists for their contribution in the field of educational planning and administration; 16. To undertake extra mural studies, extension programme and field outreach activities to contribute to the development of society; 17. To disseminate and advance knowledge by providing instructional, research and extension facilities in such branches of learning as it may deem fit and to provide to students and teachers the necessary facilities and atmosphere for the promotion of innovations in education leading to restructuring of courses, new methods of teaching and learning, and integral development of personality, studies in various disciplines, inter-disciplinary studies, and National integration & International understanding; 18. To conduct the above-mentioned programmes and courses in its off - Campuses, and off-shore campuses; and 19. To do or perform all such other acts, functions and things as may be deemed necessary, desirable or incidental by the National University in furtherance of the above objectives of the National University.

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VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS OF (NUEPA) Department of Educational Planning With the shift of emphasis from centralized to decentralized planning, the main effort of the Department is on integration of inputs, processes and products of planning at institutional, district, state and national levels. With the onset of liberalization of the economy, the focus has also shifted to strategic, indicative rather than comprehensive planning in conventional sense. The Department conducts training programmes, and undertakes research in these areas and also provides consultation to various bodies. Prof. S.M.I.A. Zaidi-Head of the Department Dr. K.K. Biswal Dr. N.K.Mohanty Department of Educational Administration The focus of the Department is on training and research in educational management. It conducts programmes for both institutional heads and area level officers. In view of the capacity building of massive number of institutions, this Department has designed an innovative, multi-channeled distance learning system involving interactive television. Current emphasis is on courses in Total Quality Management in Education delivered through virtual classrooms. Another important focus is on planning and management of Resources in Education. Department of Educational Policy The Department of Educational Policy is committed to the study of educational policy, analyze and evaluate educational programmes, to identify trends, understand outcomes and guide policy and practice, towards finding solutions to current problems in educational governance and management. As t is dedicated to the mission of enhancing the knowledge of critical barriers facing access, equity, quality and relevance throughout the educational pipeline, department stimulates discussions on various policy issues, from time to time, to generate knowledge base, for the use of policy makers, practitioners and other stake holders in the educational and public policy arena that affects educational system in India. The research focus is on studying above issues of policy and
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practice in addition to those pertaining to teaching, learning and performance in educational institutions for creating better linkage between educational research and educational policy. Research outcomes are intended not only to describe the complexities of educational phenomena but also to offer recommendations for action. Keeping in view the recent changes in the society and its influence on education the department will act as a sounding board for the stakeholders at national level for enabling needful actions from time to time. The Department also undertakes training on policy issues for planners, administrators, implementers, and scholars who can act effectively and ethically within the given structures, processes and cultural contexts of organized education in India Department of School & Non-Formal Education The prime focus of the Department is on the critical issues of school education, non-formal and adult literacy providing strong empirical base in order to contribute more meaningful inputs for developing and improving education. The six-month Diploma course in Educational Planning and Administration, a regular contribution of this Department is one of the most prestigious training programmes of the University. The Department maintains close linkage with government, non-government and international agencies with the objective of restructuring educational system at sub-national, national and international levels

Department of Higher & Professional Educational The Department works in the policy, planning and management dimensions of higher and professional education. It encourages research on issues like quality, governance, financing and internationalization of higher and professional education. It undertakes training programmes and workshops for institutional heads and senior university and state officials in the Planning and management of higher and professional education. The department also provides technical and professional consultancy to policy, planning and implementing agencies of higher and professional education. Department of Educational Management Information System The Department of Educational Management Information System (EMIS) is engaged in developing and strengthening the Educational Management Information System
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in India. It has successfully developed District Information System for Education (DISE) which provides information on vital parameters relating to students, teachers and infrastructure at elementary stage. DISE has been made operational in all the districts of the country through which data from all the recognized schools/sections imparting elementary education are being constantly collected and disseminated. The department envisages developing such systems for other sectors of education as well. Besides the department organizes orientation programmes for district and state level officers in the areas of use of indicators in planning elementary education, project planning and monitoring, use of computers as a decision support system, MIS, Educational Development Index, projection and forecasting of educational data and other allied fields

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Campus The University is located in NEW DELHI; the capital city of India situated on the foothills of the Aravalli range and has varied climatic conditions. December and January are chilly, with night-time lows of 4 degree Celsius. The spring season gets in February and the maximum temperature during this month ranges between 15 degrees to 25 degrees celsius. The summer season starts from April when the day time temperature goes up to 40 degree Celsius. The Campus is spread over 3.75 acres. It is located on Sri Aurobindo Marg, in South of New Delhi opposite Qutub Hotel, adjoining to NCERT and Indian Institute of Technology Campuses. The distance from Indira Gandhi International Airport and the domestic Airport is 15 and 10 kms respectively. It is about 20 kms from Old Delhi Railway Station,14 kms from New Delhi Railway Station, and 22 kms from Inter-State Bus Terminal. The University has a seven-storied hostel building with fully furnished 52 double occupancy rooms -AC and non-AC. Besides the participants and guests to NUEPA, the hostel facilities are also extended to educationists visiting Delhi, depending upon availability of space. In addition the campus also has Vice-Chancellor's Bungalow and the residential apartment for the faculty and Staff.

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Training under NUEPA The National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) is the apex national institution of educational planning and administration and is actively engaged in educational research, training and consultancy. Its core activities include: Full-time M.Phil. Programme, Full-time & Part-time Ph.D. Programmes, National level and International level Diploma Programmes, training of educational planners and

administrators; research; consultancy services at national and international levels; clearing house for dissemination of knowledge and information; and providing a forum for exchange of views and experiences between practicing educational administrators, planners and academics. NUEPA also sponsors research in educational planning, policy and management. NUEPA offers, every year, about four dozen professional programmes. It includes long-term and short-term training programmes, seminars, and conferences, meetings with senior national and international education policy-makers, planners and administrators. It offers two (six-month) diploma programmes in educational planning and administration - one each for the national and international participants. On an average, each year, about thousand five hundred senior planners and administrators participate in these programmes. NUEPA uses a combination of modern methodologies in training delivery including structured presentations, practical work, syndicate work, case studies, group discussions and modern audio-visual methods. material. All training programmes are supported by professionally developed training

Objectives of training under NUEPA To organize pre-service and in-service training programmes in the area of educational planning and administration and allied disciplines; To undertake, aid, promote and coordinate research in various aspects of educational planning and administration and allied disciplines, including comparative studies in planning techniques and administrative procedures in the different States/UTs of India and in other countries of the world; To organize orientation and training programmes and refresher courses for University and College administrators connected with educational planning and administration;
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To develop networking of Institutions engaged in identical task as that of this University and to play supportive and collaborative role so that States/UTs and regional level are gradually undertaken by them; To organize orientation programmes, seminars and discussions groups for top level persons, including legislators, in the field of educational planning and administration of policy making level in Central and State Governments; To provide academic and professional guidance to agencies, institutions and personnel engaged in educational planning and administration.

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CHAPTER

Educational Management Information System in India

There are various agencies involved in the collection and dissemination of statistics on school education. At the national level, there are three main agencies that collect statistics on education on regular basis. They are (a) Planning, Monitoring and Statistics Division, Department of Education, MHRD on annual basis for all sectors of school education; (b) University Grants Commission on higher education; and (c) National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on school education through occasional surveys. In addition, there are agencies, which collect information from households. The Census of India publications provides information on levels of educational attainment of population and ageeducation classification of children in the age-group 5-14 years. In addition, the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) also collect statistics on educational variables occasionally through household sample surveys.

Barring Census of India, most of the other agencies generate data with State/UT as a basic unit of consolidation but hardly any data is disseminated at the district level. Only in case of the MHRD, selected district level information was also disseminated on quinquennial basis for a short period. The UGC compiles data according to university area, whereas NCERT collects data at the district level but releases only state-specific information. The latest sixth survey was conducted in 1993 with September 30 as its date of reference. The dissemination of district-specific survey data is left to the discretion of the states. All the states do not bring out publications that contain district-specific data. The Directorate of Education, Bureau of Economics and Statistics, Directorate of Economics etc. in a State/UT also brings out statistical abstracts and other publications but the data that they disseminate is not uniform and the year also varies from state to state. Thus, it can safely be concluded that proper mechanism for dissemination of district-specific information is not in existence in most part of the country.

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Sporadic attempts have been made to develop computerized educational management information system with an aim to collect and disseminate district-specific information among which the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) is the most prominent one. One of the important aims of the recently launched SSA is to develop educational management information system for which data capture formats have been evolved and infrastructure created at the district level in the office of the District Project Coordinator. All the project districts have been provided with adequate hardware and MIS software. The data capture format is divided into nine parts. Through the first part, school location particulars are envisaged to collect which includes village name and ward number, distance from block headquarters, number of non-formal education centers in a village and whether the school is governed by a voluntary organization or it is a Government school. This part also includes information relating to Total Literacy Campaigns and Post Literacy Facilities and whether a Village Education Committee is constituted in the village. The other important items included in the format are school particulars, teachers in position, equipments and facilities in terms of adequacy. So far as the information relating to enrolment and repeaters is concerned, all that required for planning at district level including the age-grade matrix is envisaged to collect. However, rural/urban distribution will not be made available.

By the end of 2003, the coverage of DISE has extended to about 460 of the 593 districts of the country. these districts are spread over 18 DPEP states. It is expected that all the districts of the country would adopt DISE in a year or two. The Government of India decided that the manual collection of information system will gradually be replaced by the DISE and the statistics generated by it will be accorded the status of the Official Statistics. Recently ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN INDIA: WHERE DO WE STAND, ANALYTICAL REPORT 2006 was also launched. Barring a few numeric indicators, most of the indicators required for efficient planning at the district level are now available through the DISE. The number of schools, enrolment, teachers, pupil-teacher ratio, literacy rates etc. is available over a period of time. However, district-wise information is not available from the MHRD sources. But information on school education is available from the All-India Educational Surveys but the same is not properly disseminated and it is latest available for 2002-03.

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The computation of many of the identified indicators need age-specific population which is generally not readily available at the district level and for that propose population projection exercises would have to be initiated. Even though the raw data is available, it is not an easy task to compute indicators especially when the number of districts is more than 600. Because of DPEP and SSA interventions, awareness about indicators and its use in planning elementary education has significantly improved in the recent past. It is happy to note that all the districts across the country now develop annual elementary education plans which are primarily based on the DISE data. More details about the information system is presented in the following components. Please note that many of these articles/reports have become old and need updating.

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CHAPTER Challenges to Indian education

Education is the parameter that separates a man from the beast. Education uplifts the standards, promotes co-operation and maintains harmony in the society. The cognizance it instills makes every individual an intellectual citizen of the nation. Country expects its growth and development on the rock stone called Education. It is possible only if the education system is fair and good enough and that too targeted in a right direction. Though education system in India is one of the finest in the world but yet there are certain impediments that still hinders with its move towards perfection. Filtering our education system of these challenges will definitely refine it. Major challenges faced by the present education system of India are discussed as follows: 1.Inefficiency to Extract Students Interest: A major area where the present Indian education system is lacking is that education here has taken the form of rat race. Each and every student has its own interest in one or the other field. Teachers fail to extract the students interests where they can excel, so that they can be provided better opportunities and guidance in the area of their interest. Instead they are forced to mug up the mandatory subjects and their perspective is made just limited to professions like doctors, engineers, lawyers etcetera. Indian education is thus expanding in quantity not quality. The character of Indian education system has restrained and restricted Indian young right from the school age and continues that way with college and university stage. This harms the potential of human mind for constructing and creating new knowledge. In nutshell, we may say that the actual talent of the students remains concealed and is never let to ooze out. 2.Engineering, Medical & Other Colleges--- All Money Earning Shops: Higher education in the current scenario in India is in an extreme chaos. Entry of private entrepreneur into the education system has led to the deterioration of the quality of higher education. Mushrooming engineering and management colleges, degree and postgraduate colleges, dental and other colleges and last but not the least the deemed universities, with some notable exceptions, have largely become more business entities dispensing very poor quality education. These modern shops of higher education are running their courses on
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temporary and under qualified staff without proper laboratories and libraries. The sole concern of these self-financing institutions is profit maximization. Fee structure of majority of professional institutions is so cumbersome that the ward of an ordinary person has no place in these institutions. 3.Multi-regulatory System: Currently the regulatory framework of higher education in India is under multiple statutory bodies like, University Grant Commission (UGC), All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), Medical Council of India (MCI), and National Council on Teacher Education (NCTE) etcetera. The presence of such a multi-regulatory system has created many hurdles in the growth of our education system. Various colleges get approved and affiliated easily even if they do not meet the required standards completely. Bulk of deemed universities exist in India which do not deserve this status at all. This is all because of lack of coordination and corruption in these multi-regulatory bodies. Often two regulatory bodies can be found on loggerheads and fighting legal cases against each other. Various stages of regulations, such as approval, recognition, affiliation and accreditation have created avenues for bureaucratic intervention, red tapism and last but not least the corruption. 4.Grading System Initiated by CBSE----Not a Good Practice: Recently Central Board of Secondary education (CBSE) initiated a move towards the grading system for matriculation classes and exempting the students from giving the goose bumps causing board exams. Though it may have relieved lakhs of students from the burden of boards but I do not consider it as an intelligent step towards the education development. In this scheme, E grade will be given to the student who has scored below 33% marks. Such a case in case of board exams used to fail a student (33% in two subjects). But in grading system, the fellow will be allowed to sit in XIth standard and given a chance to improve. Such a practice will make the students to take the matriculation exams more lightly. The dedication and sincerity that the students used to have earlier will vanish with the implementation of this grading system. The hidden motive behind this scheme of CBSE is not to relieve the students but to transform all schools into CBSE schools. Students studying in various other boards like ICSE, state board etcetera will definitely find grading system better and less burdened and will tempt them to drift to CBSE schools. As such the ICSE and other schools will become deficit in students and they will ultimately transform to CBSE schools.
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In order to meet and overcome most of the challenges in the present education system in India, The Yash Pal Committee has submitted its report on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher education in India to HRD minister Kapil Sibal on June 24, 2009. This report has recommended the establishment of single regulatory body, National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) discarding all other multi-regulatory bodies. Hope, implementation of this report proves out to be a great help to eradicate these crux from the present education system in India.

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We need a revolution in the education system in India? Education builds the man so it builds the nation. Today we claim to be the biggest human resources supplier for the world, but are we concerned what quality of human capital we are building and for whose needs? We supply bureaucrats to the government, software engineers to the IT companies around the world, highly paid managers to the multinationals, we supply engineers and science graduates as researchers to the foreign universities. What capital are we building for ourselves? India aspires to be powerful, it wants to play a role in the international community, for that to happen, its economy has to grow multifold and for that to happen, it requires a huge force of entrepreneurs who could transform it into a nation which produces, from the one which only consumes. India needs a huge force of innovators who could make it self reliant in all kinds of sciences and technologies. India needs artists who could make its culture the most popular in the world. A culture which is not only saleable itself but also helps in selling Indias products across the world. In a nutshell, India needs Henry Fords, Bill Gateses, Thomas Alva Edisons and Michael Jacksons born and educated in India. One may say we had few. Yes, we had. M. S. Swaminathan who made India self reliant in food grains, Dhiru Bhai Ambani who proved a common man can become a billionaire, Dr. Varghese Kurien who is the father of Amul milk movement, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam who dared to build missiles for India, Pundit Ravishankar who is the ambassador of the Indian music to the world. Such people though in small numbers, were always there. But they are not the products of this education system. This system did not teach them how to become innovators or entrepreneurs or artists. Had it done so, they would have been millions in numbers. These people were inspired themselves. To some of them, their education may have given the technical know-how (though it is hardly conceivable), but not the dream or the inspiration needed. It is the education which should inspire one to become something one really wants to. Education should make you free, should make you experiment and it should make you ask questions. Ultimately, it should make you realize what you are. Youngsters in India, do not have the freedom of selecting there career, it is said. They are forced to become engineers, doctors, MBAs and IAS officers, it is said. Yes, agree. But that is not the problem. The problem is, youngsters in India do not have the vision to think beyond. Neither their parents, nor their grandparents had that vision. This is where

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the root of the problem is. Generations have gone through a system which sucks. Now the beauty is even the law-makers and educators of todays India are products of that age old system. That is why no less than a revolution is needed in the education system in India. What do we expect from such a revolution? A revolution means big changes. We expect the revolution in education to bring lots of changes. These changes will result into: 1. Best talents of the country working in the education sector. Today, education is not the career of choice, but it is the career of compromise. If you are a teacher, people sympathize, they curse the prevalent unemployment in the country. Education is one of the highest profit making industries in the service sector, but its workers are the least paid compared to those working in somewhat glamorous sectors like the IT industry. This has to change. 2. A world class infrastructure. The experience of shopping at malls is better than the old dirty bazaars. The experience of traveling in a metro train is much better than suffering in the city buses. The experience of driving on four or six lane highways is much better the same way. The same way, infrastructure has a meaning in education. World class universities and schools with world class libraries, laboratories and classrooms, in a world class building make a world class infrastructure for education. 3. Greater investments into education, public as well as private. We need world class infrastructure and best talents in all schools and universities of India. These resources should not remain limited to a handful of IITs or IIMs. Each village should have a school with all resources and facilities. Each university should have whatever it needs for a better education. This would require huge money and hence, huge investments. 4. Education which encourages innovation and creativity. When farmers in the villages of Punjab make a vehicle from the diesel engine and name it Maruta (A male version of Maruti), that is innovation. When villagers of the Rajasthan and Gujarat transform the Bike Enfield Bullet into a local auto-rickshaw, that is creativity. How many automobile engineering students could do likewise? The question is, how many? 5. Education which encourages entrepreneurship.

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In a Hindi movie Nayak, the father of the actress refuses to permit for her marriage with the actor because he is not a government servant. At last, he permits, but then the Actor had become the chief minister of the state. This mindset of the society, particularly of the middle class, has to be changed. You are not a respectful person if after education you start a business, as that is seen as a failure in getting a job. It is the task of the education system to change this mindset. It also has to inspire the youth for the necessary courage and vision for entrepreneurship. 6. An education which makes a child sad when the last bell is rung at the end of the day in the school.

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Changes that can take place in our present education system Todays schools function essentially the same as they did when the system was first designed fifty years ago. That is bad. Very, very bad. That school system was designed after the Austrian system and its goal was to produce an industrial workforce. Industry and technology are only tangentially related and the workforce our schools produce today is not equipped to handle a technologically based society. There is also a huge issue with bureaucratic bloat. While the basic system is the same, every year has seen additional restrictions and requirements applied to our schools. Administrators are hamstrung compared to their power and authority a mere two decades ago. They work in an outdated system that they are increasingly unable to support, modify and even effectively administrate.

As administrations lose control they react with increasing stringency. Alternative schools, once a true alternative for youths pursuing vocational studies, have become defacto prisons for troublesome students. Overcrowded prisons, to boot. Zero tolerance policies are put in place to protect administrations from charges of racism and favoritism and to spare them the culpability of increasingly impossible decisions. In too many cases they are damned if they do and damned if they dont. The response is increasingly Damn you too. America spends over $10,000 per year per student to support public education. We are the world leader on spending money for school but we consistently fall at the bottom of the list for performance compared to other first world countries. The system must change. Fortunately it is starting to. There are alternatives that are increasing in popularity and effect. Homeschooling was once thought to be the purview of religious extremists. In the past decade home education has increased from a few hundred thousand students to well over two percent of all K-12 students. As it has grown the stigma and prejudice against it has begun to crumble. Alternative home education, or remote learning, has also grown. With advances in technology allowing any child with a computer to receive quality instruction this can only continue to advance. The cost savings alone for remote learning over institutional learning are phenomenal. A student can be supplied with a computer, cable, television,

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high speed internet access, programs and supplies for a small fraction of that $10,000 per year. The next step needed is for the government to back off enough to allow private education to flourish. No Child Left Behind is an excellent start. Not only has this program exposed schools, districts and even entire states that have been cloaking their poor performance, it is also starting to wean some of them off of the federal teat. Several independent school districts have opted out of NCLB and federal funding. Utah has just passed legislation that will put them in direct violation of NCLB, effectively removing the entire state from federal scholastic monies. As systems fall out of the federal basket they become free from the huge amount of restrictions and regulations attached to those federal funds. States are beginning to support non-institutional learning methods. Georgia recently passed a law allowing homeschoolers as well as enrolled students to participate in online classes. Several states now give homeschoolers the same or similar resources as their enrolled counterparts. Backlash against zero tolerance policy abuses is starting to force changes there. The Texas House of Representatives just signed a bill that will give administrators the ability to administrate in most cases of rules violations. The notable exception is the case of firearms. Those will still carry a mandatory expulsion due to federal laws. That bill is expected to be approved by the state Senate and then signed into law. Other states are looking on and learning from Texas example. Will the system change? Yes. It is inevitable. Industry leaders are now backing education reform. Bill Gates and his contemporaries have picked up the banner and are expending huge amounts of capital to educate legislators about education. The failure of our schools is clear and the fact that wholesale changes are needed is starting to become clear as well. Change is coming but it wont be quick and it wont be painless. The current education system is supported by incredibly powerful lobbies and special interest groups. Teachers unions have proven to be very successful at stymieing reform legislation and protecting the status quo. Niche industries that are effectively parasites to our present scholastic bureaucracy are working to protect themselves. Change itself in any form causes fear of uncertainty. Finally, the education system is simply so huge that effectively changing it will be a massive investment in time, money and resources.

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CHAPTER Education with special reference to literacy

Illiteracy and India Illiterates are simply those who cant learn, read or write. But does that translate into those who cant learn, earn, read, breed; that those who cant write are never right? Why do many poor children not attend school? The response usually heard is that their families are too poor afford the education, and that the Government has been lax in establishing free education facilities at the primary level. Undoubtedly, these are responsible, but a little piece of news doing the rounds is that millions of kids are out of school because the places reserved for them by law were instead given to others like you and me. Although poverty and illiteracy have come down percentage-wise, the number of poor and illiterate people is going up, primarily because of unchecked population growth. Low productivity, ignorance and superstitions are the other causes. Think about what you would miss if you could not decipher what was on the side of your medication; know what television show is coming up on your cable, or even read the daily news. The loss is insurmountable. Poverty and illiteracy are linked to each other. The more the illiteracy, the more will be unemployment, which in turn, would encourage child labor. How many jobs can you think of, that do not require you to read or write? This is like carnaging the mass without any weapons. Effective learning and communication in this computer age is difficult without literacy, so is acquisition and sharing of knowledge and information. Literacy empowers the citizens of the country with weapons of rational thinking, liberty, cohesiveness and mutual understanding. Literacy is a big force in alienating undemocratic forces and social and economic problems like terrorism, communalism etc. Etiquettes are also closely related to literacy. Youre likely to behave in an organized and decent manner if you know when to do what. This creates a distinct line between the illiterate and the literate.

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World Bank studies have established the direct and functional relationship between literacy and productivity on one hand, and literacy and the overall quality of human life on the other. I feel that, Progress = Successful people/Total Population.

So people are the common denominator of progress. In fact, literacy is considered a prerequisite for the physical and mental growth of people and the development of the nation as a whole. It is high time people in power realize the urgency to act now to solve the problems. A certain percentage of seats should be set aside for indigent children and their education should be funded by government. Schools should be allowed to simply buy off the land allotted to them at market rates, and extricate themselves from the burden of having to provide free education. Elementary schooling should be made universal. A new Gurukul scheme needs to be implemented shifting the initiative to single-teacher schools in every street. NGOs can be involved in this project to identify the eligible children and enroll them in schools. Free food and books can be distributed through the NGOs. In conclusion, Literacy is not a luxury; it is a right and a responsibility. If our world is to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century we must harness the energy and creativity of all our citizens. Former US President Bill Clinton

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100 % Literacy in India: A Distant Dream? With Development economics becoming a very important part of study, we have reasons to value many things other than wealth and income which relate to real opportunities to lead the kind of life we would value living. According to Amartya Sen, capability refers to the range of options a person has to choose from in deciding the kind of life he values living. Hence, poverty is essentially a situation of capability deprivation and not just the impoverished state a person is living in. It has been emphasized that education and health are two important tools to achieve the target of a developed society. Unfortunately, where the importance laid upon elementary education and health facilities has been increasing in the contemporary world, it has been neglected in India. Maximum illiteracy seems to be in the Sub Sahara African and Asian countries. Even in western market economies of USA and Germany, about to Government expenditure is on health and education. On the contrary, the expenditure on the same in India has been declining over the years. India fails to recognize and learn about the benefits of education with so many countries playing as important lessons. Countries like China were able to capture mass markets by just imparting basic education and technical skills. Undoubtedly, involving the mass in economic growth by just manufacturing plastic toys is better than producing highly skilled software but not having able to involve the mass. The goalpost of free and compulsory education to all till the age of 14 has been shifting since 1960. Various policies were adapted to reach the goal, but they all failed to provide the effective path that is required to achieve the goal, and still today India is far from achieving this target. Its commonly heard during every poll that youth are the future, they should be empowered etc yet the Indian government. has failed to show any considerable improvement in the child literacy rates. Something more important is that India in itself has contrasting states. While Kerala (90%), Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh have been able to do extremely well on literacy indicators, states of Bihar (47%), Uttar Pradesh have done equally poor. Himachal Pradesh saw a schooling revolution on the twin principles of state action and public initiative. The reasons why literacy rates are so poor include the dismal state of the school building, poor teaching aids, demotivated teachers, reluctant parents, and scared children. The rate of torture in the schools is so high that it acts as a detrimental force towards the child attending schools. Even school enrolment does not necessarily translate into school attendance. There is lack of

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accountability a teacher faces, hence enjoying a soft constraint. There are incentives for inefficiency, as rewards are not result based but based upon the experience. The importance of education is not hidden. An educated person is better equipped to participate in the modern economy and society. He can overcome the vulnerability and marginalization in modern society and makes the citizen more aware of his rights and duties. Even female education is very important. In a patriarchal society as ours, female education has been neglected for ages. However, the female population of southern states has benefitted from its sisters in the north because of the matriarchal values their culture inherits. Even in Himachal Pradesh, women are given a more liberal status, and girl education is regarded as quite important. There are two myths relating to education. Firstly that the parents have little interest in education and secondly child labor reduces school enrolment. However studies such as the PROBE survey shows that even amongst the deprived section of the society, the willingness to send their children to school is as high as 98% for boys and 89% for girls. However, this interest has not translated into practical efforts due to various reasons such as lack of opportunities, and various social constraints such as caste barriers. As for second, the result turns out to quite contrary to the presumption. As D.P. Chaudhry calls it, most of the children are nowhere children because they dont attend schools and neither do they work. Instead, It is because of lack of schooling opportunities that children decide to work. If provided proper opportunities, the children would prefer to study. India seems to be getting caught in a circle, where unaffordability of private schools leaves no option but that of government schools where poor quality of education prevails. As a result, there is a low economic return which in turn fosters low motivation to study. It is important the government learns from its own experiences and improves the literacy scene in India. It can be called the need of the hour as it is important that the country grows and develops by involving the mass.

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Literacy Statistics An understanding of the literacy statistics across the different states of the country, across men and women, across different age groups is vital to embarking on any literacy intervention. Information published by the Indian government is shown here.

The literacy rate in India per 2007 census was 65.38% Male literacy rate 75.85% Female literacy rate 54.16%

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Hope For a Better Future Hi baaji (didi), this was the usual greeting by the students every time we visited Hope. My classmates and I are part of the National Social Service Programme of our college, where we have to participate in community service and complete a stipulated number of hours before we get our bachelors degree. The project, of which we are a part, is known by the name Hope. It is a centre where the slum children come after school, and college students teach there as volunteers. Though we were assigned this task in the beginning of the year itself, we delayed going there the entire year because of sheer laziness. However, when we finally realized how serious this work was, we started going regularly. Although we joined late, the children there soon got used to their new baajis. Going there was plain compulsion in the beginning, but when we actually started working, I realized that how badly these children need help in their studies. When we were taken to the place for the first time by our Project Head, the surroundings immediately put us off. It was difficult for me to believe that now I would have to go and teach these children. It seemed as an uphill task to me. However, when I saw a lot of foreigners coming there willingly and teaching the children, I felt a little bad for myself as to how selfish I was. When we started teaching these children, we realized the quality of education which was given to these children was sub-standard, to be mild. We always read in the newspapers or listened from other people, how the teachers at Government schools didnt teach their students. There, when we saw their note books, we were shocked because the truth was even more horrific. So much so that the children themselves didnt know what they had written in their notebooks. Sometimes we laughed, but then we realized that the very future of these children was at stake. Their basic concepts were not just weak, but they dont exist all together! Class 2 students could write all the alphabets correctly; but when we asked them to identify alphabets individually, we either got wrong answers, stupid guesses or plain silence. Mathematics was a problem since many didnt even know simple addition or subtraction. Many times, I ended up shouting at them and becoming a villain for them, but I couldnt help it. It was tough for all of us as we ended up losing our tempers after sometime when they failed to get the concept right even after much effort from our part. Another shocking example was once, when a class 4 child asked me to correct a letter he had written to his uncle, which his teacher had taught him in class. Though the letter was addressed to his uncle, it concluded as your loving son
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instead of nephew. When I told the child that this was incorrect, he refused to listen and kept on saying that his teacher had taught and corrected it, so it couldnt be wrong. After giving him a half an hour long explanation, he finally understood the problem. Hence, that day I came to know about one more problem, i.e. of unqualified teachers. I may be overexaggerating and using an extremely casual term, but what else can you call these teachers who dont have their own concepts clear? Building a school and getting a big minister to cut the red ribbon is one thing and providing good and qualified teachers is another. In the past, many Government schools have carved a niche for themselves by continuously outshining private schools in various board exams results. However, recently, the results of the children studying in Government-run schools have deteriorated because of illiteracy and poverty. These continue to be the main reasons why the parents of these children remain ignorant about the quality of education given to their wards. Delhi is the capital of India and if, in the capital, the state of Government schools is this, then we can imagine what would be the level of other schools in the rest of the nation. However, we have an exception in the state of Kerala, where the total literacy rate is more than the countrys average and Government schools are the prime mode of dispersing education. Once, while going through an article, I found that there is a school at every nook and corner of the country, and poor families cut down on all the unnecessary expenditures so that their children get access to education without any hindrance. If this is the effort made by parents and their children, the Government must ensure that their efforts dont go in vain. The Constitution guarantees free education to all children up to 14 years of age, but if it is free, it doesnt mean that there has to be a compromise on quality. Every year millions of rupees are spent by the finance ministry on education, but where this money goes is a question to which the answer is unknown to us. In the present scenario, either we can come forward and help these children or sit back on our couches and hope for a better future.

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