1 Economy, society and education in India 1947-1991

1. Introduction

Education is described as the ‘Lever of Social Change’ by sociologists (Moore 1963). This is not an exaggeration, considering the importance of education in bringing about social change and social transformation in a society, particularly in tradition-bound societies, like India. In particular, formal education is recognised for the expanding knowledge base that it creates in a community, acting as a prerequisite for achieving integrated and holistic social and economic development (Schultz 1961).

The word ‘education’ originated from the Latin word ‘educare ’, meaning ’to bring up’ or ‘to nourish’. It is expected to draw out the hidden talents, potentialities and qualities among people and pave the way for their advancement. It also prepares individuals through complex learning in formal (in the school) and informal education (at home) modes, through a comprehensive process of socialisation that teaches by inculcating in them and thereby preparing them for the twin roles of leading their lives in society as well as enabling their adjustment with the environment – both natural and social.

2. Education and Society

Education is the key to human social development. It enhances a person ’s adaptability to natural and social environments, by providing the ways and means for younger members to grow up in a society, be it agricultural, industrial, traditional or modern, rural, tribal or urban and in the East or the West. Many social scientists (Durkheim) have defined education as the ‘means to’ ‘achieve’ the above end, of enabling an individual to develop one’s multi- dimensional personality. It is the instrument that prepares the individual to face ‘life in all its dimensions’ (Aikara 2004).

This presupposes that (as sociologist Emile Durkheim has stressed upon) there is a strong link and ‘compatibility’ between the educational system and the social system, the latter comprised of its multiple primary, secondary and tertiary institutions such as the family, school, religion, work organisations, polity and so on. These subsystems are interdependent and interrelated, thereby influencing each other in their structure and functions. For example, the subsystem of education prepares the younger members of society to understand the various societal roles properly and efficiently. As a result, it is guided by, and in turn guides, the other institutions in a society to transfer the required life skills to the child through familial, kin and various group actions.

Society, Economy and Education in India

There is an inextricable relation between education as a subsystem in society with the broader economic system (Psacharopoulos 1984; 1994). For Durkheim, education was learning of the social values in society, necessary for the division of labour based on interdependence for producing and sharing economic goods and services (Durkheim 1897).

Therefore, it is presupposed that the socio-economic conditions prevailing in a society tend to have a bearing on the nature and progress of the educational subsystem (Basu 2013). In any country, education is a state subject and hence tends to be structured by the political system based on an ideology and course of action. As a society transforms itself, its educational functions not only undergo change, but in most cases, influence and decide the path and pace of such changes. For example, in ancient India, educational system was based on spiritual and religious norms and acquired scientific character, as years went by. Religion played an important role in guiding the Indian society and especially its educational system emphasising upon self realisation. Gradually, the surrounding economic and political systems underwent changes due to many historical reasons and happenings (Bayly 1999).

Education in Ancient India

The society in ancient India rested much upon religious dictates and writings. The Vedas and Upanishads were in themselves religious texts said to have a divine origin and established education on epistemological and philosophical grounds. The system also had a number of omissions such as discrimination against some citizens on grounds of caste and gender. The urge to search for the ‘Ultimate Truth’ reigned over other pursuits of education in this age where the students stayed with the teacher offering devoted service to Him, who was considered an epitome of all knowledge, ideals, tradition and ritualistic practices. But the pupils received knowledge and skills based on their birth (into caste and subcaste groups) that determined their occupation and life itself. Economy was innate in this form of educational learning where social values gained over materialistic accomplishments and where spiritualism led human life towards greater achievements. The Rig Veda insisted upon Brahmacharya, Yagna and Daana. Through these, the proper ways and means of materialistic attainments were further taught in the Atharva and Yajur Vedas.

Buddhist education that came next also placed importance upon monastic life and achieving true and Ultimate knowledge with truth and sacrifice of personal comforts as guiding principles to attain good education. The monasteries succeeded in going beyond caste based inequalities and even set out to preach secular education under religious and philosophical instructions.

The Muslim invasions in the 8th century AD and much later the Mughal Rule was characterised by propagation of Islamic education.

Education under the British: The Scenario prior to 1947

The policies of the British during the years before independence are generally blamed for the poor state of affairs of India’s economy and society after the country gained independence. Having arrived in the late seventeenth century, the British through their East India Company took complete hold over the rural economy led by agriculture and allied occupations. Historians have argued that India on the eve of arrival of the British was self sufficient, and what is more, due to the Mughals, it had reached relatively better political stability. There was a uniform revenue policy and a well developed country-wide trade network. But its agriculture was still predominantly traditional, leading to a conventional and caste based social system, with hierarchy of occupations, and therefore, a hierarchy or stratification of individuals or groups. Caste was cut across by class distinctions leading to a complex social organisation where economic, political and other attributes were defined strongly by social (caste) considerations. Literacy, obviously, was absent or unaffordable to low castes, in particular to castes in the lower rungs of the hierarchy, indigenous communities, dalits and women.

Yet, the country was described by travelers as contributing up to 60 to 70 per cent of the global GDP (along with China) (stated in Dreze & Saran 1993). Such was its economy based on barter where the servicing, artistic and professional castes received, annually, food grains in return for the products they manufactured and sold to the other communities, or for their services to the latter. The administration was by the British and they received a share of the agricultural produce as revenue, produced by tenant cultivators for their zamindars under an economy that was predominantly subsistence agriculture, where primitive technology was used. The Marathas, who succeeded the Moghuls, brought in an integrated India, bringing together its northern, western, central and some of the southern parts under one rule, soon to be disintegrated into several petty kingdoms, some prosperous and others basically conflict and poverty ridden.

Early decades of British rule did not bring any solace to the masses as the government had embarked upon commercialising agriculture and expanding trade by exporting Indian goods and commodities. The farmers suffered under both the continued zamindari system and the localised jajmani system where the low and middle castes worked for the upper (dominant) castes offering customary services for an annual payment. The system was oppressive and highly discriminatory in that it encouraged caste based exploitation, deprivation and exclusion from benefits of economic development (Beteille 1978). Payment was in inverse proportion where the maximum hard work was compensated by paltry sums as wages, while those who hardly worked, were well paid. Added to this was the inhuman bonded labour system where the labourers were mostly from the former untouchable castes, landless and highly poverty stricken. Against this background, the British’s Charter of 1698 insisted that all factories in India should have Ministers of Religion and that schools must be established in all towns supported by liberal grants. The charity schools became numerous by the 18th century, but they catered to only a small section of the population until the Calcutta Madrassah and the Benares Sanskrit College were established in the last part of that century.

The real boost to education during the British Rule began with the announcement of the Charter Act of 1813 when the Christian missionaries insisted upon undertaking and popularising mass literacy although it was characterised by dual opinions: by Charles Grant that such education must be in English and contain lessons on the principles of Christian religion verses those of Minto who felt that education for Indians should be in their own culture and classics.

The vagueness of the Charter and lack of enthusiasm among both the schools of thought led to several debates and suggestions culminating in the announcement of a modern system of education in India. Lord Macaulay being a staunch proponent of the English language was able to win the support of the then Governor General, Lord William Benthic, and later in 1835 it was passed as a resolution promoting European literature and sciences in the schools and colleges of India. The feeling of understanding between the missionaries and the British officials which viewed education in India as an act of charity (of the English to the natives) subsequently led to the Woods Educational Despatch, 1854.

Several steps followed with the Despatch, such as formation of departments of public instruction in the five provinces (Bengal, Madras, Bombay, North-Western Province and Punjab), initiating the process for setting up of universities (in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay), grading system, grants to educational institutions, private education, training to teachers, absorbing meritorious Indians into teaching positions, primary, secondary and female education and a new education policy.

Profile of Society and Economy on the eve of withdrawal of British Rule

Extreme poverty, misery and destitution of farmers and workers were the order of the day. Frequent famines rooted out landless families, which were more affected by the policies of the rulers to curb rural arts, crafts, cottage industries and handlooms till they were put in place by the Charter of 1813. But this only resulted in and benefited the colonial rulers and their country because large sums of capital reached England leading to severe revenue drain in the domestic economy.

The net result was an economy that was sluggish, poorest in the world, weak agriculture, largely illiterate population, inadequate, commercial infrastructure and large scale unskilled labour force. While this is what we inherited on the eve of our independence, the impact of the Second World War was also not less.

We all know that historically India opened the doors of its Gurukulas (ancient centres of learning) to only upper caste children, in particular to Brahmin boys. This was the traditional Hindu practice, tailored to meet the needs of a group that was expected to preach and instruct others. The colonial administration did little or nothing to alter this discriminatory system where only upper class, upper caste and elitist families were able to provide education to their boys through the European schools. Education was not accessible to all sections of society due to the operation of both caste and within each because of class.

In course of time, this practice became or turned out to be a strategy for seeking upward mobility by those low in the caste ladder. Those with the required economic resources tried to get into these expensive schools. The beneficiaries were largely the upper castes and Brahmins, who were enabled by this education to seek jobs in the British administration and westernise their lifestyles (Srinivas 1966).

This ‘gatekeeper ’ character of education under the British led to class formation in a strong manner adding to the already existing strong caste-based inequality. Education not only was an instrument of achieving growth and improvement in the quality of life by the various aspirant caste groups, but it was also used as an instrument to segregate one caste or subcaste from the other. It became not only a lever of social change but also of social mobility of one caste over another. The value and use of education (English education) as a passport to economic (government jobs) and political (seats in the legislature) power came to be clearly established with the Constitution of India guaranteeing access to education to all irrespective of caste, creed, sex, religion or region. What is more: the depressed castes/classes and Adivasis (as they were addressed in the pre-independence days) came to avail of reservation of seats in educational institutions on the basis of the quota system or what is also known as the system of protective discrimination or positive discrimination and affirmative action (Beteille 1992). This happened largely during the mid-twentieth century.

Efforts to Popularise Education after Independence

India’s socio-economic profile is deeply historical and unfolds from being an impoverished country to being the most competent global economy standing as a model for many growing societies. It has a complex political and economic history, particularly preceding independence, under the British Raj that extended to a little more than 200 years, culminating in the country’s independence in the year 1947. After becoming a sovereign democratic nation, it was confronted by several problems, prominent being (besides its shattered economy) its mass illiteracy. Poverty compounded both and resulted from not only class inequalities, but from traditional, caste based social inequality due to hierarchy of occupations grouping individuals, based on their birth, into specific caste groups.

Hence the planners set out to establish a socialistic pattern of society through economic growth focused upon achieving self-reliance, justice for all and eradication of the most pressing of its problems, viz., poverty (Chalam 2007). The challenge was to accomplish these under a clear democratic framework of political system in a society that was extremely heterogeneous in terms of religion, caste, region, language and culture, to mention a few (Dewey 1916, 1919). Thus, the new government aimed to go ahead with a mixed economy where both public and private sectors could co-exist and work together. The first four and a half decades of independence were marked by a small section of private enterprises and a large government owned public sector. The private sector was also protected by the government, which took charge of transportation services (airlines, railroads, local transportation) communication services such as postal, telephone and telegraph, radio and television broadcasting; and importantly social services such as education and health care.

When India stood at the threshold of attaining its independence from colonial rule, it was faced with a multitude of challenges. The early planners were influenced both by the social democracy of the British and USA and the Planned Economy of the USSR (the then). It adopted a five year development plan almost influenced by Soviet Russia and set out to improve infrastructure, agricultural production, health care and education. The planning process came under the latter’s influence and tended to be protective of its citizens and believed in a centralised planning process. The Mahalanobis Model (put forth by noted statistician Prashanta Chandra Mahalanobis) was acceptable to the then Prime Minister Pandit Nehru as it emphasised upon capital and technology intensive heavy industrialisation, criticised by Milton Friedman, noted economist, for the low emphasis placed on participation by small scale industrialists or entrepreneurs by the Model.

In a bid to encourage the other, but traditional predominant economic sector, viz., agriculture, and to give it a facelift, Green Revolution was introduced in 1965 to increase agricultural production with both quality and quantity as its focus. This was an ambitious programme coupled with introduction of mechanisation, modern inputs and change in cropping patterns. Though it brought much fame and prosperity to a few and in certain specific states/regions of the country, it further impoverished the poor kisans and dislodged and displaced the rural landless labourers from their wage employment, besides proving costly for the small and marginal farmers to adopt modern cultivation practices.

At the end of colonial rule, India was still one of the poorest in the world and grouped one among the third World countries or known as an underdeveloped country. Its poor economy was also characterised by mass illiteracy and a migrant rural population that was largely unskilled and impoverished. Nearly 92% of its population lived in villages. It was industrialisation and growing trade and markets that initiated a slow process of urban expansion and development of towns and cities. It was the port cities of Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bombay (Mumbai) and Madras (Chennai) which benefited from such urbanisation and which came to contain one sixth of the nation’s population in 1951 (ibid).

Planning for a free nation with an able economy, polity and equal society was initiated investing deep trust in the nature and content of the plans. The setting up of the Planning Commission and launching of the Five Year Plans were the first steps in this direction. It was believed that basic education, in Amartya Sen’s words, gives way for widespread economic participation and creation of social opportunities for the poor helping to remove some of the barriers to economic development.

The challenging task of popularising ‘English Education’ was taken up soon after independence through several policies and programmes, implemented at both central and state levels. Needless to emphasise, the push to this move had been received in the pre-independence era itself, by the British, to cater to, mainly, the needs of the administrative staff of the East India Company. This step rather succeeded in laying the foundation for formal education in India. What is more, many in the country began to look forward to access better opportunities for employment using this new education as a passport.

The economy of India has grown steadily in the last 70 years enabling the country to emerge as the 7th largest in nominal GDP and 3rd largest in its purchasing power parity (PPP) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/economy of India). There are many accomplishments on the economic side of the country’s development: new industrialised country, one of the G -20 major economies, a member of the BRICS and a developing economy, to name a few. It is the fastest growing economy of the world from mid 2014, thereby replacing China.

This and many other accomplishments of the nation are attributed to its service sector in a major way, as it has contributed to an annual growth rate of above 9 per cent from 2001 and achieving 57% GDP in 2012-2013. The credit for this goes in a substantial manner to its educated population- especially and notably to its English educated population (ibid). The country is able to offer BPO services, produce and export IT products and IT enabled services (upto US $ 167.0 billion in 2013-2014).

Primary and Middle School Education

The present system of education was introduced by the British in India in the 19th century. It was recommended by Lord Macaulay and was western in style and content.

After independence, education became the responsibility of the states and the central government. It was in 1964 that the Education Commission was set up with 16 members of whom 5 were of foreign origin. As per the recommendations of this Commission, a Constitutional Amendment was brought in for, making education the responsibility of both the state and central governments.

Indian economy suffered severely during the early 1990s due to growing inflation, unemployment, poverty and low foreign exchange reserve. External events like the collapse of the Soviet Union impacted the country’s economy as it lost its major trading partner and more than that its key supplier of oil at low cost. Adding to this, the Gulf War sent back thousands of migrant Indian workers who were contributing through their huge remittances of foreign exchange leading to a high dent on the country’s foreign exchange reserve (to $ 240 million) – so meager to support a fortnight’s imports. Debts from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were raising, and the country took steps towards liberalisation and privatisation that helped to reform the Indian economy.

These reforms affected tariff levels, exchange rate policies, Industrial Licensing Policy, besides relaxing India’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). It was an invitation for multi-national companies (MNCs) to invest in India, which was accompanied by removal of all barriers towards foreign equity ownership and technology transfer. Thus, MNCs made an entry into the country as a result of India’s new economic policies and several reforms. This resulted in three major changes in the country’s overall growth: (a) increased foreign direct investment, (b) increased knowledge base particularly in Information Technology, and (c) heightened domestic consumption due to a growing middle class.

The most outstanding outcome of the above change is noticeable in the expanding opportunities for knowledge seeking through education. The growth of the Information Technology industry is supported by a good and efficient education system from primary to higher education creating a highly talented technical workforce. India has picked up most of the outsourcing from western countries and several of its talented young men and women are Diaspora now residing in these countries as IT professionals. Needless to emphasise, at the base of all this development and expansion is its strong and highly dedicated educational services.

By 1991 a separate department known as the Human Resource Development Department was started as one of the ministries in the centre (Ministry of HRD). Education department of the states came under its administration, but the states were encouraged, rather, assigned, to draft or design the Educational Policy for their respective states/areas. In all these Plans and Plans of Action it was envisaged that primary education must be made free and compulsory to all in the government run educational institutions/schools. It also held that by the dawn of the 21st century all children in the country – male and female- below 14 years’ of age must have obtained this compulsory primary and middle school education. The commitment on the eve of the 21st century was that 6 per cent of the GDP will be spent on education, half of which will be devoted to primary education.

In a bid to popularise education, i.e., primary education, and to enable it to reach all the children irrespective of their rural, tribal or urban residence, the government has undertaken several significant steps or measures right from the time the Constitution came into being in 1950. The First Five Year Plan embarked upon promoting primary education and to revamp the existing structure of such education. The Planning Commission also supported the cause by encouraging teachers’ training to see an improvement in their teaching standards. The net result was an increase both in the number of students enrolled to schools and in the number of villages with educational infrastructure. Universal adult suffrage was adopted and gradually primary and middle school education was made free and universal (children in the age group 5-8 years and upto 14 years).

These and other efforts resulted in a gradual increase in the number of male children attending primary, middle and higher secondary schools. For example, during the end of the decade of the 1950s, the number of boys in schools (of age group 11-14 years) was almost double than what it was in the earlier years; but the number of girls in the same age group did not show much improvement. The disparity based on gender continued – for about 40 per cent of boys in schools the girls measured less than 17 per cent.

The Committee of Members of Parliament on Education brought out two important educational policies at the national level in 1968 and in 1986, keeping the Directives Principles of State Policy and Art. 45 of the Constitution that envisaged free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14 years (GoI 1986).

These led to improvements in the educational scenario with the establishment of more numbers of such schools and rise in the students’ intake in these schools. This referred to the number of students from vulnerable categories of society such as the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, Minorities and Women. Six states in particular emerged as lagging behind in sending children to schools (Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan).

Out of School Children

According to an estimate, one out of every three ‘out of school child’ is from India. Before the commencement of the Fifth Plan the government realised that school enrollment is not reaching the optimum level due to a high rate of dropping out of children from schools. A majority of students drop out even before they reach high school, or worse, before they complete primary school. Poverty of the parents and lack of resources to send children to school are the predominant causes of this malady. Several measures were undertaken to address this situation such as providing free text books, scholarships to deserving students, noon meal programme, enrollment of girls, adult education (to motivate parents to keep their wards in schools) and increasing the ratio of women teachers in those schools with a high rate of girl students.

The Fifth Five Year Plan increased the allocation for education (from Rs. 239 crore to Rs. 743 crores and an additional Rs. 11 crores for the Mid Day Meal Programme). Additional teaching personnel and attention to quality of teaching were its two other features. There was also the Draft National Policy on Education, 1979, which later led to the universalisation of education and the Minimum Needs Programme during the sixth plan (1980-85). Thus from the Kothari Commission (1964-1966) to the New Education Policy of 1986, greater attention was given to education; and the trend continued in the 7th, 8th and 9th plan periods also.

On an estimate, by 2012 India came to boast of more than 600,000 primary schools with 115 million students and a teacher-student ratio of 1:43. There are more than two million upper primary schools serving 45 million students and with a teacher – student ratio of 1:38. There is also a great upsurge in the number of private schools in every city and even in most villages of India today.

Constraints to Education: Caste, Class and Gender

Caste based Discrimination

Although the Constitution has provided equal opportunities to all to access the benefits of schooling and education, owing to social stratification, in reality, there is no equality. Caste based oppression and social exclusion are important in arresting or preventing dalit and children of castes placed in lower social strata from utilising the facilities for schooling.

The most marginalised and deprived citizens of the country are the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and a few backward castes grouped under the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The oppressive caste based Hindu social stratification system has been the cause for their vulnerable status. To liberate them from this state the government initiated several reforms, a major aspect of which was encouraging their educational advancement (Thorat and Newman 2010).

While caste is the basis of exploitation and discrimination for all, as far as women and girls are concerned, it was the patriarchal system of society that was the cause of their inferior status and illiteracy. The Constitution embarked upon providing equality for women on par with men in all walks of life, including access to education and higher/professional education and consequently to employment in the government (Unni 1996). But in reality gender coupled with other inequalities continues to block the educational development of many children.

In 1991, it was estimated that the SCs constituted 13.88 crores (or 16.48%) of the population. The maximum numbers were found in the state of Uttar Pradesh (1.25 crores), followed by 1.07 crores in Tamil Nadu, 1.05 crores in Andhra Pradesh (the then undivided state), Madhya Pradesh with 96 lakhs, Maharashtra with 87 lakhs, Rajasthan with 76 lakhs and the state of Karnataka with 73 lakh SCs. The literacy rate among them increased very slowly. It was 10.27 % in 1961 (as against the country’s literacy of 28.31%); 14.67 % in 1971 (34.45% for India); 21.38 % in 1981 (41.42% for India) and 37.41% in 1991 as against 52.21% for the country.

The Constitution promulgated a number of legislative measures to address this situation. While the practice of untouchability, in any form, was abolished by Art. 17 of the Constitution, Art 46 of the Directive Principles of State Policy mandated special provisions to ‘promote the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of society and in particular the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes’. Under Art.338, a Special Officer was appointed to look after these Acts. Later it was relabeled as the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

It was only by the 1960s that the government’s attention was drawn towards the educational and economic backwardness of the Scheduled Tribes which had gradually increased in their population from nearly 7 % of the total population in 1971 to 8.08% in 1991. Ashram schools, pre and post matric scholarships, hostels, Navodaya schools – are some of the important reforms for STs in improving their educational standards and to bring them on par with the rest of the population (Indira 2013; Velaskar 2013).

Rural-Urban Differences

Despite large-scale influx of urban occupations, modern gadgets and lifestyle, rural areas are still lagging behind in encouraging education of children; particularly of those from the weaker sections (SCs and STs) and of girl children (Seetharamu and Ushadevi 1985).

Girls Education

Girls’ education has still remained a challenge due to social biases against it. Gender bias against sending the daughter to the school begins from home and is supported by the prevailing cultural ethos in the community/society. Large family size caused by the birth of more number of children, often girl children due to ‘son preference’ puts many parents in a situation when they choose to send a son to school in preference to a daughter because they live in an illusion that investment on a son’s education has future rewards. Early marriage of girls is yet another cause of school drop out by girl children, and this practice cuts across the barriers of caste, class, religion and regional boundaries in its strict imposition, particularly in rural areas, where conservatism largely prevails.

It is with the objective of changing the situation that the government made efforts to curb early marriages for girls, encourage parents to enroll daughters also in schools and not to pull them back for household work or wage labour or for early marriage. Kastur Ba Gandhi Balika Vidya Shaalas, and a number of efforts under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan where residential schools, hostels for girl children and tribal children are provisioned are helpful in improving the situation.

Poverty of Parents

Poverty at the household level, women headed families, families of landless labourers (who are often migratory for want of livelihood opportunities), large family size (due to son preference), illiteracy of parents, unemployment and underemployment, very low and inconsistent income, declining agricultural productivity, natural disasters – all these act in a variety of ways in curbing the educational progress of children.

Furthermore, even if children from the households of marginalised sections obtain the facilities of education, their abilities, aspirations and opportunities are not equally based as compared to students from upper classes. Students from lower classes tend to get admitted to less significant institutions in an era of private educational institutions which offer competitive opportunities for employment (World Bank 2000).

Growth of Higher Education in India after Independence

Some of the efforts made by the government during the period 1947-1991 to support and regulate the growth of higher education, through the formation of policies and allocation of resources are discussed in the following section:

The University Grants Commission

The Government of India appointed the University Grants Commission (UGC) as early as in 1952 with a statutory position to develop and expand higher education in the country. It is responsible for distributing financial grants to all central, state and deemed universities after a needs assessment. Today more than 38000 colleges with 28 million students enrolled under 726 universities (as per data of July 2014) come under the UGC’s purview. In recent years, the UGC established the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) as an autonomous body to carry out periodic assessment of volunteering universities and colleges. Based on its self study report (covering curricular aspects, teaching-learning and evaluation, research, consultancy and extension activities, infrastructure, students strength (number), organisational and managerial aspects and healthy practices), suitable accreditation is awarded to the institution. Addressing the impact of the recent mushroom growth of private educational institutions, quality maintenance, tracking unrecognised institutions are also among the chief goals of UGC.

Thus, the UGC is striving to achieve a steady and progressive ‘knowledge Economy’ in the country with equity and sustainability in Human Resource Development. It has travelled long from 1956, when there were about 20 universities and 500 colleges with 0.21 million students. The UGC Act stands amended three times up to 1985 and now under the new government from May 2014, it is being amended further to meet the growing needs of the ambitious knowledge economy.

The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE)

The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) was established in 1948 (and attained statutory status in 1988) in order to improve the status of technical education in the country. All technical training institutions, engineering colleges and even private professional colleges fall under its purview. It also encourages self financing colleges and recently established the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) on the lines of the NAAC to check the quality of technical institutions in the country.

Distance Education Council

In order give vent to the needs of those students who cannot attend a formal school, the government established the IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open University) in 1985 through an Act of Parliament. It was intended to promote quality distance education at the national level and also to set up and coordinate the work of various Open Universities and Distance Education Councils (set up in 1991) across the country.

Besides the few major bodies mentioned above there are many authorities that have been created from time to time to direct the functioning of higher education in India. Some of these are listed below:

1. Bar Council of India (BCI)

2. National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)

3. Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR)

4. Medical Council of India (MCI)

5. Pharmacy Council of India (PCI)

6. Indian Nursing Council (NCI)

7. Dental Council of India (DCI)

8. Central Council of Homeopathy (CCH)

9. Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM)

10. National Council for Rural Institutes (NCRI)

11. Council for Architecture and

12. State Councils for Higher Education

With the growing intake of students over the years, and the demand for specific courses like technical, medical, dental, management, law and commerce – to mention the main ones – private education has crept in and expanded, basically in response to the popular link between such education and openings for employment. Realising the need for regulatory mechanisms, mainly to maintain quality, uniformity, equity and democratic norms, the UGC came up with regulatory mechanisms acting as rules to maintain standards and also to insist on compliance by these private institutions. Task Forces and Committees were set up, particularly in the globalisation era to check irregularity and irrelevant practices. By then education in India had been thoroughly commercialised and the trend or transformation extended to overseas – with foreign universities funding courses/branches by setting up ‘Chairs or Units’ and Indian students increasingly studying abroad. Internationalisation of higher education emerged as one of the stated goals of educational growth and expansion that was expected to take place in the coming period.

In the last decade of the 20th century the nature of economic growth in the country clearly started laying the tracks for the ways in which the educational system was expected to respond. One of the greatest challenges was the entry of the private sector into the field of education and the consequent shifts that started taking place in the nature of courses, student composition and the teaching- learning methodologies. The state was confronted with the task of evolving both policies and programmes to meet the challenge emerging from the entry of new players as well as an expanding network of stakeholders in the field of education.

Conclusion

The system of education introduced by the British was instrumental in paving the way for establishment of a system of formal education in India and for providing opportunities for employment. Prior to the arrival of the British, both learning and teaching were the prerogative of the upper castes and classes. The middle order and lower classes/castes were generally in a state of servitude to these groups and virtually had no opportunities for social mobility. The occupations that they performed did not require educational training and skills. The extremely oppressive social structure with the jajmani system ruling inter-caste relations, on the one hand, and the practice of untouchability, on the other, did not present a positive picture of the society and economy to facilitate introduction and advancement of English Education by the British. Efforts made by the British to introduce a modern system of education reach the marginalised sections of society.

In the years following independence, the Constitution of India promulgated certain Acts to encourage free and compulsory education for all. It also enabled legislative measures to curb caste based deprivation of education to the lower castes, adivasis and women (Jayaram 2013; Nayar 1989, 1992). A number of national and state level educational policies were passed. The Five Year Plans took a proactive to establish schools and vocational educational institutions with many incentives such as scholarships, free hostels, mid day meals, supply of free text books, uniforms and so on (Vasavi 2003).

Under the banner of the New Education Policy (1986) basic education is provided at the elementary level. The emphasis placed upon quality of this education has enabled vulnerable groups to access good education at school level. Education has been identified as one of the chief indicators of women’s empowerment. According to Vaidyanathan (2001) three scenarios are identified in the current educational situation in the country, viz., (a) cutting short of education at the primary and secondary level by most (rural) children, (b) the dominant and strong (economically and politically) communities utilising much of the state-sponsored benefits towards education and thereby consolidating their hold in the respective state’s administrative system and (c) finally some of the lapses in the system that protect the richer classes or indirectly favour them.

The constraints for education included not only household poverty and low income of parents but also loss of schooling to girls due to patriarchal practices, drop out of girls (and boys) due to early marriage, parental inability to send children to school, parental ignorance about the benefits of education, lack of learning skills, shortage of teachers etc (UNESCO 2004). A number of policies and programmes were enunciated particularly in the 7th, 8th and 9th plan periods. Tribal education, non-formal education, girls’ education, education of SCs and STs, education of minorities – all became so vital segments of enhancing education for all in the country (Govinda and Verghese 1991). By 1991, literacy levels of both boys and girls had reached impressive heights, but at the same time, dropout rate had not stopped; instead it had also increased (Kamat 2013).

The next phase 1991 – onwards witnessed massive planning and implementation programmes in education but the one noticeable trend in these initiatives was the thrust they placed on community participation and grassroots vision. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan launched in the beginning of the 21st century was, in a way, a response to the further changes that the post-1991 India witnessed due to the introduction of the processes of globalisation, privatisation and liberalisation, besides decentralising planning and governance from the states to the centre. We shall know more about these developments in the next module.

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