Pre-Primary Education :-

Education given before primary education is called

pre-primary education.

In other words, the education that a child receives

before receiving formal education in primary school

is called pre-primary education, elementary

education or nursery education.

o This education gives importance to the fact that

children should have positive attitude, good

values, critical thinking skills, cooperation,

creativity, technology, literacy and social-

emotional development.
Objectives of Pre-Primary Education:-

The objectives of pre-primary education are as

follows -

1) To ensure a safe and strong environment.

2) To develop daily life skills.

To enable all children to learn and develop their

skills according to their ability.

3) To prepare in advance for reading and writing.

4) To help in connecting with the environment.

o To encourage children to promote self-

discovery, exploration and curiosity towards
learning and to feel comfortable. To provide

opportunities for experimentation, exploration

etc. to children for the development of new
 interests and to help them understand the

surrounding environment.

5) To adjust from pre-primary to primary school.

o To adjust children to easily accept the changes

taking place from pre-primary to primary school.

6) Providing opportunities for development to every

child.

o Providing such opportunities to children that can

develop creative skills and aesthetic sense in
them.
7) Strengthening the social and emotional

development of children-

o Strengthening their social and emotional

development by developing desired social

attitudes, etiquette and human values in

children.

Importance of Pre-Primary Education :-

1) A Good Start for Learning-

o Pre-primary education plays a very important

role in a child's life. Pre-school education
provides a rich environment, educational
simulation and many opportunities for

socialization with children of the same age

group.
2) Nurtures Inquisitiveness -

o Children are born with an inherent desire to

understand the world around them. They have

an active imagination and are always eager to

discover new things, make new friends and

explore new environments. Pre-primary

education nurtures this curiosity and imagination

of the child so that they can become effective

students.

3) Improves Child's Concentration-

o Children are curious and playful by nature.

Therefore, their attention span is shorter than

that of adults. The education provided by pre-
 primary schools improves the concentration of

children.

4) Boosts Cognitive Skills -

o Pre-primary education plays an important role in

strengthening the cognitive skills of the child

brain. Since children get an opportunity to

engage in a variety of practical activities in this

education, the joyful learning environment

motivates them to solve problems, observe

objects or facts closely and ask questions to

satisfy their curiosity.
5) Teaches Diversity-

o The multicultural classroom environment in pre-

primary schools teaches children to embrace

and respect diversity in cultures and thoughts so

that they can become good citizens. It helps

them understand the fact that every individual

learns in his own way and is unique in himself.

6) Develops Different Skills-

o Pre-primary education plays an important role in

preparing children emotionally, mentally, socially
and physically for primary and higher primary

education and proper understanding of various

subjects.
7) Develops Interest for Learning-

o Pre-primary school education lays a solid

foundation for children. Pre-schools in India

provide suitable environment and opportunities

for developing the child brain.

8) Boosts Confidence-

o Early childhood education encourages the child

to be confident in the social system. Pre-
primary schools appreciate every big or small
achievement and enable them to understand
their talents and abilities in a positive and

realistic way. This boosts their confidence and

self-esteem.
9) Develops Early Math Skills-

o Pre-primary education enhances the numeracy

and early math skills of children which later

helps them to solve more complex mathematical

problems in high school and intermediate.

10) Encourages Patience-

o Pre-primary schools provide ample opportunities

to the child to learn the art of patience so that
he/she can face challenging situations in life with
patience and perseverance.
Problems of Pre-Primary Education in India:-

At present there are different types of pre-primary

schools available in India and now more children are

going to pre-schools, which shows the increase in

demand for education at this stage. But pre-primary

education is limited to urban areas only. Most of the

pre-primary schools are run by private entities, only

a few pre-primary schools or pre-primary education

centers are run by the state or center.

The current state of pre-primary education is not

satisfactory. Only children of the upper class are

able to get education in these pre-primary schools.

The tuition fees of these schools are also very high

and the programs of the schools are also such that

are often associated with the environment of affluent

families, due to which most Indian children are

deprived of pre-primary education.

Moreover, most of the pre-primary schools have

neither suitable buildings nor the necessary teaching

materials.

The problems of pre-primary education are as

follows -

1) Unsatisfactory Condition of Pre-Primary Schools-

o Most of the schools do not have their own

buildings for pre-primary education. In rural

areas, classes are held under trees or in the

open, and those that have their own buildings

are either dilapidated or about to collapse. Most

of the schools are being run in Anganwadi
 centres. Most of the Anganwadi centres are not

running in their own buildings but in rented

buildings where there is a lack of space for

children to play. Also, it needs to be shifted to a

different building again and again. There is no

proper arrangement for clean air in the building

and the maintenance of the Anganwadi is also

poor. It also does not have proper furniture and

store room.

o In Anganwadi centres, the Anganwadi worker

does not conduct any teaching activities for

children between the ages of 3-6 years. In most

of the Anganwadi centres visited, the play

material is locked in the cupboard.
 o The quality of teaching in public pre-primary

Anganwadi centres and schools is unsatisfactory

due to lack of trained teachers.

2) Problems of Training -

o Training teachers for pre-primary schools is also

another important problem. Generally it happens

that untrained teachers are working in these

schools. Although a lot of changes have taken

place in the field of pre-primary education in the

last few years.

3) Unavailability of Teaching Material –

o Unavailability of teaching material is also one of

the many problems of pre-primary education.

4) Problem of Access to Pre-primary Education -

o Under the Sixth Five Year Plan, a target of 10

years of literacy has been set, but many types of

irregularities still exist regarding the problem of

admission. For admission in schools, registration

has to be done in advance and a request has to

be made to the teachers before the time of

admission. At present, there is a practice of

donation in this regard. Overall, the situation is

that if a person does not have any

recommendation, then his child will face

difficulties in getting admission in any 'convent'

and 'nursery' or he will not be able to get

admission.
5) Problems of Curriculum-

o The problem of how to choose the curriculum in

pre-primary education always remains. If the

right curriculum is not chosen, then it is not

possible to develop the maximum ability, mental

level and cognitive ability of the children

studying in pre-primary, hence the problem of

curriculum selection in pre-primary education

always remains.

Solution to the Problems of Pre-primary Education:-

The following points should be taken into

consideration for solving the problems of pre-primary

education-
1) A suitable coordination and convergence system

should be established for planning, management

and review of implementation of pre-primary school

program at national and state level. All the

concerned ministries (such as Ministry of Human

Resource Development, Ministry of Women and

Child Development, Ministry of Health, Ministry of

Water, Ministry of Urban Development and

Panchayati Raj) should be a part of it.

2) Appropriate planning and timely allocation of

financial resources such as manpower,

infrastructure and teaching learning material should

be ensured at national, state and district level for

implementing the program.

3) Regular inter-departmental meetings should be

held between school education officers and ICDS

officers at state, district and block level and action

points should emerge from these for improvement at

the basic level.

4) A resource group should be formed of agencies

like National Council for Teacher Education

(N.C.T.E.), National Council of Educational

Research and Training (N.C.E.R.T), Non-

Governmental Organisations (N.G.O.) and private

sector, technical support etc. having technical

expertise and experience in elementary education,

which can help in teacher training programmes,

conducting research and preparing resource

materials and curriculum development along with

children.

5) The Head Master of the primary school should be

given the responsibility of pre-primary school

education component.

6) One of the primary school teachers should be

made in-charge to develop strong relationships and

ensure quality and smooth transition (from pre-

primary to primary school).

7) Resources should be shared between pre-primary

schools and primary schools. Activities like annual

day, sports day, morning assembly etc. should be

done jointly.
8) Joint efforts should be made for training pre-

primary teachers, Anganwadi workers, primary

teachers and health workers to understand the

relationship between learning and development of

children at pre-primary and primary level.

9) The quality of teaching in public pre-primary

Anganwadi centres is unsatisfactory due to lack of

trained teachers, hence the government needs to

invest in improving the quality of services.

10) To solve the problem of curriculum, the

curriculum should be simplified and special

emphasis should be given on play-method.
11) To solve the problem of faulty education system,

the environment of pre-primary school should be

free, there should be no restriction on the activities

of children and teachers should try to identify the

psychological moments of children and provide them

knowledge of different experiences accordingly.

National Education Policy (2020) and Pre-primary

Education:-

The National Education Policy (2020) emphasizes

on the following points to improve and increase the

quality of pre-primary education -

1) The goal of NEP, 2020 is to make 100%

enrollment of children from pre-school level to
secondary level by 2030.
2) Universalization of pre-primary education (age

range of 3-6 years) by 2025. So that it can be

ensured that all children admitted in a class (first)

are fully prepared for schooling. For this,

Anganwadis should be strengthened, new pre-

schools should be opened and they should be linked

with primary education and the mid-day meal

program should be expanded.

3) The overall objective of ECCE(Early Childhood

Care and Education) is to achieve optimal outcomes

in physical-mental development, cognitive

development, social-emotional-moral development,

cultural development, early language for

communication, literacy and numeracy.

4) NEP 2020 is closely linked with ECE (Early

Childhood Education), the policy has a section on

development of basic literacy and numeracy [(Early

Childhood Care and Education: Foundations of

Learning)]. In this section, NEP 2020 recommends

introducing 3R(Reading, Writing, And Arithmetic) in

ECE.

Primary Education:-

The general meaning of the word primary is initial or

main. Thus primary education means initial or main

education.

Primary education because it is given to children in

the beginning and main education because it is the

foundation of future education. Its age has been kept

different in different countries.

Primary education is known by many other names,

such as basic education, primary education, main

education and elementary education etc.

o Primary education enables children to adapt to

their environment, develops a sense of goodwill

and cooperation in them and develops children

physically and mentally.

Primary education according to the Indian

Constitution, "The State shall try to make provision

for free and compulsory education to all children till

the end of the age of 14 years within a period of ten

years from the commencement of the Constitution."

Primary Education According to Kothari

Commission:-

Kothari Commission has divided primary education

into two parts-

1) Lower Primary- Kothari Commission said that the

total duration of lower primary education is four

years in which children from 6 to 10 years of age are

included.

2) Higher Primary- Kothari Commission said that the

total duration of higher primary education is three

years in which children from 11 to 14 years of age

are included.
Primary Education According to NEP, 2020 :-

In the new education policy, 2020, the formula of

10+2 (given in the education policy of 1986) has

been completely abolished and it has been molded

into the formula of 5+3+3+4. This means that now

the first five years of school will include three years

of pre-primary school and the basic stage

(foundation stage, first part) including class 1 and

class 2. Then the next three years (+3) have been

divided into education from class 3 to 5 (initial

preparation stage, second part). After this, three

years (+3) have been divided into education from

class 6 to 8 (middle stage, third part).

Thus we can say that primary education is the initial

stage of the child's school in which he receives eight

years of free and compulsory education.

Aims of Primary Education :-

The Indian Education Commission (Hunter

Commission, 1882) was the first to express its views

on the objectives of primary education in India. This

commission determined only two objectives of

primary education – one is the spread of mass

education and the other is education for practical

life.

Kothari Commission (1964-66) has said in its report

regarding the objectives of primary education that
"The aim of modern primary education is to develop
the child in such a way by giving him physical and

mental training to enable him to face the

circumstances of future life so that he can become a

really useful citizen."

According to the National Curriculum Framework for

Primary Education presented by the National

Council of Educational Research and Training

(NCERT) in November, 2000, the objectives of

primary education are as follows :

1) To teach the discovery method of science and

explain the importance of science and technology.

2) To develop a sense of mutual cooperation by

rising above class differences.
3) To develop desirable qualities of character and

personality.

4) To develop the ability of free expression through

creative activities.

5) To generate a sense of respect for national

symbols such as the national flag, national anthem,

etc. and democratic methods and institutions.

6) To introduce the mixed culture of India and teach

to oppose untouchability, communalism and

casteism.

7) To impart knowledge of the first language (mother

tongue) to exchange one's feelings and ideas.

8) To provide the ability to add, subtract, multiply

and divide for solving practical problems and to

develop the habit of self-study.
9) To develop cleanliness and healthy attitude.

10) To make them aware of physical labour and to

develop a healthy attitude towards human labour.

11) To make children familiar with the prophets of

different religions, their teachings and their sermons

so that they can develop an attitude of harmony

towards all religions.

12) To make children aware of environmental

pollution and develop scientific attitude or tendency

in them.

13) To develop the moral and character of children

by developing cultural, social, political, moral and

national values in them and to prepare them to

participate in cultural activities.
14) To develop a sense of collectivism in children to

raise them above class differences and to train them

in the art of life.

15) To make children aware of health-related rules

and train them in health-promoting activities. To

prepare each other to work with respect, love,

sympathy and cooperation.

Need and Importance of Primary Education:-

The need and importance of primary education is

due to the following reasons-

1) Elementary Education is the Foundation of

Education-
 o Primary education is the education that a child

receives first in his educational life. In this,

students are taught language through

communication. They are trained to behave like

humans, their ability to think and understand is

developed and they are trained in study skills.

2) Primary Education is the Basis of Personality

Building-

o Psychological experiments have proved that the

development of human personality takes place

the most during childhood. 3/4th of whatever he

has to become in the future, he becomes during

childhood itself.
3) Development, Channelization and Refinement of

the Child's Innate Powers-

o A child is born with some basic instincts (such

as curiosity, love, imagination, logic, thinking

and decision making etc.). These instincts are

called innate instincts. Education develops all

these basic instincts. When this development is

done keeping in mind the interests of both the

individual and the society, then it is called

refinement of the basic instincts.

4) Primary Education is the Complete Education of

Most of the Children-

 o Even after making education from class 1 to

class 8 compulsory and free in our country, it

has not yet achieved its goal. Not all children

receive this education 100% of the time and

even among those children who are receiving

primary education, most of them do not receive

education after class 8. Therefore, primary

education is the complete education for most of

the students.

5) Knowledge of General life is Gained through

Primary Education-

o It is said that primary education is public

education, education for all. The logic behind

this is that through this everyone is taught to live
 a normal life and the child is made capable of

living a normal life.

6) Helpful in making illiterates literate-

o A child who receives primary education not only

becomes literate himself but also helps in

making the children of his family and illiterate

adults of the local community literate.

7) Meeting the Needs of Daily Life-

o By receiving primary education, the child

becomes self-reliant to fulfill his daily needs. He
becomes capable of keeping daily accounts,
writing and reading letters, buying and selling,

becoming aware of the events of the country

and abroad by reading newspapers, etc.
 Therefore, fulfillment of daily needs is easy and

possible only through primary education.

8) Primary Education is the Foundation Stone of

Education-

o In primary education in every country, children are

trained in general behaviour by imparting them

knowledge of language through communication and

they are trained in study skills by developing their

ability to see and understand. All these are the means

and mediums to obtain secondary and higher

education because further education depends on

them. Thus, if this foundation is strong, then the

child's further education goes on smoothly. Therefore,

primary education is necessary and important for

every society.
Problems of Primary Education in India and their

Remedies:-

Before independence, the condition of education in

our country was very worrisome. There were many

problems in the field of primary education.

Continuous efforts were made to overcome them

and many of those problems were solved but there

are still some problems in the field of primary

education which are yet to be solved. Hence, here

those problems and their solutions are being

presented-

1) Problems of Faulty Administration, Finance and

Control of Education -

o The system of administration, finance and

control of primary schools is in the hands of
 different agencies and all of them work in their

own way. That is why a great diversity is visible

in the structure of primary schools (curriculum,

teachers' salaries, tuition fees etc.). As a result

of this system, defects related to administration,

finance and control of primary education have

arisen.

Reasons - The reasons why this problem has arisen

in primary education are as follows-

i) It is the responsibility of the provincial

governments to arrange primary education. Hence

all local institutions administer primary education

according to their own wishes. As a result, diversity

is seen in the administration of this education in the
country. In fact, in the context of making primary

education compulsory, some institutions have done

commendable work while some have been able to

take only one or two steps in this direction.

ii) The central government does make a national

policy regarding education but cannot force the

provincial governments to comply with it. On the

other hand, their education policy is also so weak

that the provincial governments interpret it in their

own ways.

iii) It is a very big task to arrange primary education

in any province. Hence, the provincial governments

are unable to complete this task with their limited

resources. The central government also provides

relatively very little financial assistance for this task.

iv) The education administration system of the

provincial governments is such that it is not able to

control the entire primary education of its province in

an appropriate manner. On the other hand, almost

all the institutions are also famous for their

incompetence, inefficiency and poverty. Therefore,

in the absence of all these, arbitrariness is natural.

v) To increase their popularity, the members of the

local institutions establish primary schools in their

constituencies but due to lack of funds, they are

unable to increase the number of school inspectors.

As a result, the number of inspectors has not

increased in the same proportion as the number of

schools has increased. hence, it is natural for there

to be laxity and irregularity in their administration.

Solutions-

The following steps should be taken to solve this

problem-

1) The central and provincial governments should

jointly formulate the education policy and at the

same time, the central and all provincial
governments should also compulsorily comply with
the policy.

ii) The policy of the central government should also

be so clear that all the provincial governments

should derive the same meaning from it.

iii) Actually, it is completely true that in this country

with such a large population, making primary

education accessible to all is not a matter of the

government alone. For this, public cooperation is

also very important but public cooperation does not

mean that they should not follow the policy.

Therefore, for public cooperation, they will have to

make arrangements for primary education by

complying with government policies. For this, the

provincial government will also have to keep an eye.

iv) Primary schools run by any agency should be

under the control of the education department of the

provincial governments and the control system

should also be so strong and effective that it can

properly inspect the primary schools run by

everyone.
2) Problems of Establishing Primary School for

Handicapped and Mentally-Retarded Children-

A UNESCO report states that one-fourth of the total

number of handicapped and mentally retarded

children in the world are Indian children. At present,

in our country, about 80 lakh boys and girls aged 6-

14 years are either physically handicapped or

mentally retarded. Therefore, until we make

arrangements for their education, we cannot even

claim to have a system of compulsory and free

primary education.

Reasons -

The reasons for this problem are as follows-

i) This problem arises due to lack of proper nutrition

of the child during pregnancy. The reason for not
getting proper nutrition is often ignorance and lack of

money.

ii) There is often a lack of schools equipped with

resources for the education of mute, deaf, visually

impaired and mentally retarded children.

iii) Often disability and mental backwardness are

caused due to lack of proper care of children during

infancy.

iv) There is also a lack of trained teachers in schools

for the handicapped.

Solutions -

Actually the government is very much trying to solve

this problem. Still there is a need to speed up this

work. The following are the suggestions for solving

the problem-

i) To prevent the child from becoming disabled,

proper nutrition should be given to them during

pregnancy itself, mothers should also be trained for

this.

ii) To prevent the number of disabled from

increasing, parents should also be trained for proper

care of children.

iii) The government is arranging education for

physically normal handicapped and mentally

backward children in normal schools. Teachers

should also behave sympathetically with such

children.
iv) The government is opening separate schools for

physically mute, deaf and visually challenged

children and for mentally extremely backward

children (mental children). There should be one such

school in each district. In these schools, full fees

should be charged from children of the rich class

and poor children should be given free education.

Specially trained teachers should be appointed in

such schools and training institutes should be

expanded for their special training.

3) The problem of the deplorable condition of

primary schools.

Reasons - The main reasons for this problem are as

follows-
i) The central government and the provincial

governments are not spending on education as per

the requirement, rather they are spending much less

than the requirement. Inadequate allocation for

primary education from the education budget is also

the reason for this problem.

ii) 90% to 95% of the primary education budget is

spent on salary payment.

iii) Most of the primary schools run by private

institutions are being run only for economic gain.

Therefore, commercialization of primary education is

also the main reason for this problem.

iv) The biggest reason is the lack of honesty and

dedication. Whatever the government spends to

improve the condition of primary schools, it is not
utilized properly because percentage is used at

every level. It is divided among the officers,

headmasters and suppliers etc., and the schools get

very little benefit from it.

Solutions- Some appropriate steps are necessary to

solve this problem-

1) The central government should increase the

percentage of education in its budget. The provincial

governments should also continuously increase their

education budget and pay special attention to the

expansion of primary education as well as its

improvement and also give priority to improving the

condition of primary schools.

ii) Aided primary schools should be promoted in

place of government primary schools. Corruption in

the administrative structure should be eliminated.

iii) The norms related to infrastructure etc. should be

strictly followed for aided schools.

4) The problem of faulty education policy.

Reasons - The reasons for this problem are as

follows-

i) The government's policy is not based on reality but

on idealism, that is why it is flawed.

ii) After independence, the Indian government

accepted the basic education system as the national

education system and considered basic education

as the basis for children receiving primary education,

but it will take a lot of time to progress towards

running fully developed basic schools. To convert

primary education into basic schools, equipment,

trained teachers and huge amount of money are

required, whereas it is impossible for a poor country

like India to provide all these things in a short time.

iii) The government, under the influence of its ideals,

is clearly ignoring its responsibilities by not taking

active steps to achieve the goal written in the Indian

Constitution.

Solutions - The following step should be taken to

solve this problem-

To solve this problem it is necessary that the

government abandons its current flawed policy and

makes a concrete policy.

5) Problem of Faulty Syllabus-

Education experts have expressed their grief from

time to time about the syllabus of city schools and

have said that their condition is very pathetic and the

condition of the syllabus of village schools is even

more pathetic. The syllabus of primary schools is

also full of various types of defects. These defects

are as follows-

i) It is very narrow, rigid, uninteresting and one-way.

ii) In this syllabus, emphasis is given only on bookish

knowledge and it is also literary because it does not
give any opportunity to children to develop their

creative powers and skills and to learn by doing.

iii) This syllabus does not establish any kind of

relationship between society and school, does not

fulfill the needs of rural children and is also not

related to the local environment.

Solutions-

The suggestions given for improving the syllabus of

primary school are as follows-

i) To make the syllabus of primary education defect-

free and for its qualitative improvement, it should be

given the form of basic education.
ii) Until the Basic Education scheme is implemented

in the entire country, some useful craft or handicraft

should be included in the curriculum of primary

schools according to local needs.

6) Wastage and Stagnation-

The problem of wastage and stagnation is also

widely prevalent in primary schools, which is

described as follows-

Meaning of Wastage:-

In the field of education, it is used in this sense-

"When a child leaves a course midway without

completing it after taking admission, it is called

wastage.
 o Wastage means wasteful expenditure.

According to the Hertag Committee, “By wastage,

we mean the removal of students from school in any

class before completing primary education.”

Measures to Control Problems of Waste:-

The following are the measures to solve the problem

of wastage:

i) Rules for admission and attendance of children

should be strictly followed. For this, inspection

should be done from time to time by the department.

ii) The environment of schools should be created

such that children come to them by themselves.

Sufficient number of teachers should be appointed.

Proper arrangements should be made for sports in

schools.

iii) The curriculum of schools should be made simple

and interesting.

iv) Parents should be made aware to prevent child

marriage. If the law prohibiting child marriage is

followed properly, then the question of children

dropping out of school due to child marriage will not

arise.

v) Teaching methods and examinations should be

improved. Instead of making education bookish,

importance should be given to learning by doing.

vi) Refresher courses should be arranged to

increase the qualification of teachers so that they
can do their work with devotion.
vii) To raise the economic standard, first of all their

income should be increased and their standard of

living should be raised, only then they will give up

the greed of labour and work for their children and

send them to schools.

viii) Schools will have to be run according to the

needs of the people living in that area and the local

conditions, for example, instead of holidays in

summers, holidays can be given on the days when

there is work in the fields.

ix) Arrangements for part-time education should be

made. The benefit of this will be that students will

work during work hours and will be able to study

after that.
Meaning of Stagnation:-

Just as wastage is a big problem in education,

similarly stagnation is also a big obstacle in the path

of education.

The literal meaning of stagnation is obstruction i.e.

when a child completes a syllabus of a fixed time in

more time than that, it is called stagnation.

According to the Hertag Committee, “By stagnation

we mean when a child is held back in any class for
more than one year.”
Measures to Control Problems of Stagnation:-

The problem of stagnation can be solved by the

following suggestions-

i) To prevent stagnation, the curriculum should be

made in accordance with the mental development of

the students. All students in the class should be of

the same age, students should be encouraged to

come to school daily, necessary supporting

materials should be provided, the number of

students in the class should not be too much, proper

examination system should be arranged and

students should be admitted at the beginning of the

academic session.
ii) To prevent stagnation, books and other study

materials should be made available to the students

free of cost.

iii) Parents of students should be encouraged to give

sufficient time to their children for their studies at

home as well.

iv) Primary schools should be established in such a

way that children can get schools as close to their

homes as possible.

v) There should be improvement in the education

policy to reduce stagnation.

vi) Inspection work should be made effective so that

primary schools can progress.

vii) The curriculum and evaluation of primary

education should be improved.
viii) The curriculum should be made more interesting

according to the age of the child.

Note - Wastage and stagnation are the defects of

the education system, in which lack of proper

harmony between education and human life, lack of

ability to attract and retain students in schools are

the main ones. Therefore, to prevent wastage and

stagnation at the primary level, efforts will have to be

made to consider class 1 and 2 and class 3 and 4 as

a complete unit, bring uniformity in primary

education in the entire country, consider adult

education, increase facilities for evaluation and

guidance and bring about improvement in the

economic aspect.
National Education Policy, 2020 and Primary

Education :-

NEP-2020 is the first education policy of the 21st

century Which is built on the fundamental pillars of

equity, quality, affordability and accountability and is

fully in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development, in which some points related to

primary education are as follows-

1) The New Education Policy, 2020 talks about

bringing children from 3 years to 18 years within the

Right to Education Act, 2009.

2) It says that education will be in the mother tongue

till the fifth and as far as possible till the eighth. That

is, the compulsion to study in English will now end.

3) The National Education Policy, 2020 talks about

starting vocational and skill education from class 6.

Therefore, the child will be given the vocational

education necessary for the job in the school itself.

4) From class VI, the child will also be given the

opportunity to learn computer coding. For this, it was

said to create a National Assessment Center which

will test the learning ability of children from time to

time.

5) Coding course will be started for new skill

development in children, which will be included in

the main curriculum and co-curricular curriculum.

6) According to this policy now all the subjects like

art, music, craft, sports, yoga, community service

have also been included in the curriculum.
7) It was said that teachers would be appointed to fill

the vacant posts in primary schools and teachers

already employed would be trained in accordance

with the new system.

8) To evaluate the progress of students in schools,

exams will be conducted in class three, five and

eight. Basic literacy and numeracy exams will be

conducted in class three and the results will be used

only for improving the school education system.

9) Apart from this, National Assessment Centre,

PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and

Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) will

be established under MHRD which will be the

standard setting unit for the evaluation of students.

 Universalisation :-

Meaning of Universalisation :-

This word was first used in England. When primary

education was made compulsory and free in

England, their objective at that time was to make

education accessible to all children of a certain age

group in the country. For this, they used the word

'Universalisation'.

At present, universalisation has become widespread

in the field of education. Article 45 of the Indian

Constitution directs that the state will make

arrangements for compulsory and free education for

children up to the age of 14 years within 10 years

from the time of implementation of the Constitution.

Universalization of education in India means making

education 100% accessible to children from class 1

to class 8 and to ensure that children do not drop out

of school midway, to retain them 100% and to

ensure that 100% children pass class 8. The

process of universalization of education in India can

be made meaningful by achieving these objectives.

According to Dr. Radhakrishnan, “Education is not

only a means of earning livelihood but it is the

birthplace of ideas. It is not only a school of

citizenship but also a way to enter spiritual life. Man

gets training in it to search for his soul and truth.”

 Secondary Education :-

The education given after primary education (from

class 9 to 12) is called secondary education.

o Secondary education means the middle

education, that is, education between primary

education and higher education.

Secondary education is the most important because

it is before higher education. In our country, in

ancient times, Buddhist period and medieval period,

education was divided into two levels, primary and

higher. Secondary education was promoted and

spread by Christian missionaries during the British

rule. Secondary education is such a center point,

which establishes a relationship between primary

education and university education. That is, this
education works as a link between primary

education and higher education.

According to Prof. Humayun Kabir, “Secondary

education is such a link of education which binds

primary and higher education firmly.”

Notes - School education is usually divided into

three parts- pre-primary education, primary

education and secondary education. These three

levels are related to the three stages of a person.
For example, pre-primary education is related to

infancy, primary education to childhood and

secondary education to adolescence. Therefore, the

education that starts after pre-primary education and

primary education is called secondary education.

Secondary education is the education that can be

called the test of intellect. Because university

education depends on it. Generally, secondary

education is the education in which there is provision

for education from class 9 to 12. In some states,

class 11 and 12 are also called higher secondary.

The foundation of secondary education was laid in

the 'Wood Declaration 1854'. He had asked to

arrange two types of courses at the secondary level-

A course and B course. After that, changes took
place in the field of secondary education from time
to time.
o In the National Education Policy, 1986, it was

announced to implement a uniform education

structure 10+2+3 across the country, in which

primary education is from class 1 to 8 and

secondary education is from class 9 to 12.

Secondary schools are controlled by the

education departments of the states and the

Boards of Secondary Education. Currently, with

the introduction of the New Education Policy,

2020, a new educational pattern (5+3+3+4) has
been implemented, in which education from
class 9 to 12 comes under +4 and this is the

final stage.
Aims of Secondary Education:-

During the British rule, the main aim of secondary

education was to prepare English educated clerks.

After independence, our central government

constituted the Secondary Education Commission in

1952 under the chairmanship of Dr. Lakshman

Swami Mudaliar. This commission has given four

main aims of secondary education, which are as

follows-

1) Development of democratic citizenship.

2) Development of professional skills.

3) Development of personality.

4) Development of leadership.
Need and Importance of Secondary Education:-

Secondary education is given after primary

education and before higher education, therefore

secondary education is extremely needed. The need

and importance of secondary education is due to the

following reasons-

1) Secondary education is the basis of the

development of the nation-

o At the primary level, children are introduced to

social behavior by providing them general
knowledge, whereas at the secondary level,

children are made complete human beings. The

power of thinking and understanding and the
ability to complete the work is developed in
 them. Unless the mental development of the

people of any nation is complete, the

development of that nation cannot take place.

2) Knowledge of becoming a good citizen is given

through secondary education-

o Children studying at the secondary level are

teenagers. This is such an age in which if the

children are not given the right education, then

there is a fear of them going on the wrong path.

Secondary education develops in children the

ability to become a good member of the society,

a good citizen of the nation and to fulfill their

duties towards the nation properly.

3) Secondary education prepares children for higher

education-

o Secondary education is the education given

before higher education. After receiving this,

children take admission in higher education and

are prepared to work in various fields in future

life. The intellectual level of children is raised

through secondary education. The habit of self-

study and hard work is developed in them

because without these qualities they cannot

succeed in obtaining higher education.

Secondary education is very necessary from this

point of view also.

4) Secondary education is a complete unit-

o Not all children take admission in higher

education. Therefore, secondary education is

developed as a complete unit so that after

attaining it, children can enter economic life and

earn their livelihood. Therefore, secondary

education is a compulsory part of the education

of all developed nations.

5) Secondary education is a complete education for

children-

o In any nation, secondary education is a

complete education for a very large part of the

population because only qualified and
meritorious students take admission in higher
 education. Therefore, this education is arranged

in such a way that the personality of children can

be developed, they can be made eligible for

professions and they can be prepared as normal

citizens.

Problems of Secondary Education in India :-

Some problems of secondary education are

discussed here-

1) Unbalanced Student-Teacher Ratio-

o Unbalanced student-teacher ratio at the

secondary level is a big problem. There are
many schools where there are not enough

teachers in proportion to the students, while in

some schools there are no children. Due to this,
the studies of children are affected.
2) Exam Pressure-

o Nowadays most of the schools are worried

about giving good results and they emphasize

on the results of the students instead of focusing

on the all-round development of the students.

This pressure creates aversion towards

education instead of refining their natural

interest in it.

3) Teachers' Status in Society-

o Teachers play an important role in imparting

education. In fact, teachers shape the future of

students in the same way as a potter makes his

pot. Like a gardener they fill inspiration and

enthusiasm in the lives of students. Children are

the future of the country, in fact their progress
 and development depends on how they are

taught by teachers. In the present society

teachers are not getting proper respect and

recognition in the teaching profession due to

which many talented and intelligent youth prefer

to take up other professions which give them

high status and proper salary.

4) Lack of trained and dedicated teachers-

o There is lack of proper training on teaching

methods. Many teachers lack dedication and

consider this profession only as a source of

income. To build a better society teachers

should be the embodiment of values and their

lives should be a living example for the students.
 The sole aim of most private schools is to earn

money. They pay very low salaries to the

teachers, which encourages students to take

private tuition in their homes.

5) Inappropriate Course-

o The secondary level curriculum gives more

importance to bookish knowledge than

understanding. Due to this, children are not able

to develop a proper inclination towards studies.

They are studying various subjects without

understanding where they will use them. In such

a situation, there is also a need to make the

courses more practical.

6) More Emphasis on English Language-

o In present times, English language is considered

the passport to success in life and the official

language, i.e., Hindi and other local languages

are neglected, especially in urban areas. Most of

the books are available in English language

only. The medium of instruction in science,

engineering and technology subjects is

essentially English, and there are very few

books on these subjects in Hindi or other local

languages, as a result of which these languages

go into the background. Knowledge of English

has become a pre-requisite for obtaining high

status and suitable and lucrative jobs.
7) No emphasis on Practical Training

8) Lack of facilities to Improve Personality

9) Lack of adequate infrastructure

10) Less Emphasis on Extracurricular

Activities

11) Increasing Dependence on Coaching Centers

12) Lack of Sports Facilities and Motivation

13) Absence of Regular Supervision of Schools by

the Higher Authorities

14) Students' Indiscipline and Lack of Interest

15) Lack of Supervision and Control by Teachers

16) Defective Examination System

Efforts to Upgrade Secondary level Education:-

In India, the post-independence era has witnessed

the government's attitude towards children through

constitutional achievements, policies, programmes

and legislation. In the last decade of this century,

rapid technological development in health, nutrition,

education and related fields has provided new

opportunities to children. Special efforts were made

to enrol more and more boys and girls from

Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories in

schools.

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RSMA):-

The aim of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan

(RSMA) is to expand and improve secondary

education (class 8 to 10). It tries to take secondary
education to every corner of the country by ensuring

availability of secondary school (up to class 10) in an

area of 5 km diameter at every place. Rashtriya

Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RSMA) is the latest

initiative of the Government of India to achieve the

goal of globalization of secondary education (USE).

National Education Policy, 2020 and Secondary

Education:-

The suggestions and points related to secondary

education in the National Education Policy, 2020 are

as follows-

1) The National Education Policy, 2020 focused on

the fact that the current nature of secondary school
examinations and entrance examinations has
promoted the culture of coaching, which has

affected the studies of the students. For this, it

talked about improving the existing system of these

examinations. For this, importance has been given

to the concept and knowledge of the subjects to

reduce the tendency of students to rote learn.

2) It states that board examinations should only test

the basic concepts and many subjects should be

included in it. For this, students can choose their

subjects themselves.

3) Major changes have also been made in the board

examinations of class 10th and 12th. It states that
board examinations will be held, but their importance
will be reduced. There will be board exams on two

occasions during any school year (one for main

exam and one for improvement). So the pressure of

board exams on students will now be reduced as

they are given the option to appear for exams twice

in a year.

4) Board exams have been divided into two parts -

objective and descriptive category. In the coming

time, various boards will prepare practical models of

board exams.

i) Earlier, where students could choose subjects

from class 11, now they will have the freedom to

choose subjects from class 9.

ii) By increasing the deep understanding and

analytical ability of children in studies from class 9 to

12, they will be motivated to set bigger goals in life.

iii) By changing the board exams of class 10th and

12th, now exams will be conducted twice a year

(through semester system) in objective and

subjective format.

HIGHER EDUCATION :-

Higher education in general and higher education in

particular is the specialized study of a subject.
Higher education is the backbone of any society.

The quality of human resources in a country is

determined by the quality of higher education.
Higher education includes the process of college
and university teaching and learning, which students

go to to acquire higher academic qualifications.

o Higher education provides in-depth knowledge

and understanding so that students can advance

to new frontiers of knowledge. Higher education

also provides lifelong learning opportunities,

allowing people to upgrade their knowledge and

skills from time to time based on societal needs.

Meaning of Higher Education:-

Higher education means special, detailed and micro

education in a particular subject or subjects above

the education given to everyone in general. It is the

name of that level of education which is given by
universities, professional universities, community
colleges, liberal arts colleges and technology

institutes etc.

This is the third level of education after primary and

secondary which is usually non-compulsory. It

includes graduation, postgraduate education and

vocational education and training etc. The purpose

of higher education is to ensure multidimensional

development of the personality of the student, make

him capable of reaching the goal and develop

human qualities in his inner self. The stages of

education after secondary education till

postgraduate of research degree level are

considered higher education.

 o Higher education can be called the tertiary level

of education, which is the top of the education

pyramid. Higher education can be general

education or non-technical education as well as

technical and vocational education.

According to Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, "The

responsibility of university education is to develop

humanity, tolerance, reason, ideas and the search

for truth."

The National Policy on Education, 1986 viewed

higher education as- "Higher education provides an

opportunity to people to reflect on important social,
economic, cultural, ethical and spiritual issues facing
humanity. It contributes to national development

through the dissemination of specialized knowledge

and skills. Being at the top of the educational

pyramid, it also has an important role in preparing

teachers for the education system."

Aims of Higher Education:-

Radhakrishnan Commission (1952-53) determined

the following objectives of higher education-

1) To discover the innate or genetic qualities of

students and develop them through appropriate
training.

2) To try to prepare efficient citizens for the success

of democracy.
3) To develop morality, virtue and ideal citizenship in

students.

4) To emphasize on social reform by making

students far-sighted, intelligent, courageous and

capable of leadership.

5) To make students capable of spreading and

preserving civilization and culture.

6) To provide healthy representation in politics,

administration, profession, industry and commerce

in changing political, social and economic

conditions.

7) To develop intellectual approach towards things in

universities and encourage the development of

knowledge among the youth.
8) To develop a sense of national discipline,

international awareness, intellectual development,

justice, freedom, equality and brotherhood in

students.

9) To develop spiritual development and character

building of students.

10) To create physically healthy and mentally

enlightened individuals.

The Kothari Commission (1964-66) has expressed

its views about the objective or ideal of higher
education in the following words-

1) To seek knowledge within the framework of truth

using tradition, knowledge in new situations. To

engage firmly and fearlessly in the spirit of truth and
to interpret old knowledge and beliefs in the light of

new needs and discoveries.

2) To educate and train the society in the field of

arts, science, agriculture, medicine and industry.

3) To develop leadership in every sphere of life.

4) To identify talented youth and help them to

develop their full potential by developing physical

fitness, right interests, attitudes and moral and

intellectual values in them.

5) To promote equality and social justice through the

spread of knowledge and to try to reduce social and
cultural disparities.

6) To foster right values among students and

teachers. That is, to promote attitudes and values

necessary for the development of a good life in
teachers and students and through them in the

society.

7) To work for the development of national

consciousness.

8) Preparing programmes for adult education.

Need and Importance of Higher Education:-

The need and importance of higher education are as

follows-

1) To develop a broad outlook in individuals.

2) To create experts-

o Through higher education, experts (such as

Pandit, philosopher, engineer, teacher, scientist,
doctor, lawyer, technician, administrator and
 organizer) are prepared for various fields such

as religion, philosophy, engineering, teaching,

knowledge-science, medicine, law, organization

and administration etc.

3) Helpful in acquiring higher knowledge and

discovering new knowledge.

4) To bring about multifaceted development of the

nation.

5) To develop efficiency and leadership power.

National Education Policy, 2020 and Higher

Education:-

Many major changes have been made regarding

higher education in the new education policy 2020,

which includes big steps like allowing top foreign

universities to set up in Indian campuses, students

to get professional education. There are also some

other suggestions and things related to higher

education in this, which are as follows-

1) Under the new education policy, 2020, a target

has been set to increase the 'Gross Enrolment Ratio'

in higher education institutions from 26.3% (year

2018) to 50%, along with this, it has been said to

add 3.5 crore new seats in the higher education

institutions of the country.

2) By 2040, all higher education institutions aim to

become multidisciplinary institutions, each of which

will have 3,000 or more students.

3) NEP 2020 states that one of the responsibilities of

the Higher Education Department is to create a new

framework according to the constitutional

requirements for maintaining standards in higher

education.

4) NEP 2020 envisages that special, independent

and empowered institutions will play their different

roles in providing finance.

5) According to this, now students will study a four-

year course in graduation, in which there is also a

scope for leaving the course midway. If students

leave the course midway, they will not be declared

dropouts.

6) It states that students will study a four-year

course in graduation and there is also an option in
this, for students who want to work after graduation

and do not want to go into higher education, a three-

year degree has been kept. At the same time, a

four-year degree has been kept for students going

into research.

7) It adopts a holistic and multidimensional approach

towards education with relaxation of subjects. It has

a provision for multiple entry and exit. Currently, if a

student leaves the 3 or 4 year undergraduate course

midway for any reason, then his studies go waste as

he does not get a degree. But now this has been

changed in NEP 2020.

8) A certificate will be given after completing 1 year

in a discipline subject including vocational and

professional fields, a diploma after 2 years of study

and a bachelor's degree after a 3-year program.

9) An 'Academic Bank of Credit' will be given to

digitally secure the marks or credits obtained from

various higher education institutions, so that degrees

can be awarded to students based on their

performance in different institutions. Under the New

Education Policy, 2020, the M.Phil. program has

been announced to be discontinued.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan :-

Article 45 of our Constitution had a clear instruction

that all states should make arrangements for

compulsory and free education for all students up to
14 years of age within 10 years of the

implementation of this Constitution. In this regard,

suggestions were also given in the Kothari

Commission and the National Policy on Education

and schemes like Operation Blackboard were also

implemented to implement it. The government

implemented many schemes to make primary

education compulsory and free, but the real goal of

education could not be achieved through all these.

Even till the year 2000, we could not achieve the
goal for which a time period of ten years was fixed in
the Constitution. To achieve this goal, the

Government of India approved the "Sarva Shiksha

Abhiyan" in November 2000.

Therefore, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was launched in

the year 2001 to achieve Universalization of

Elementary Education (UEE). It was implemented in

all districts as a national program. Sarva Shiksha

Abhiyan got legal backing when free and

compulsory education for children in the age group

of 6-14 years was made a fundamental right under

Article 21A in the Constitution of India. The aim of

this Abhiyan was to provide compulsory and free

education to all students in the age group of 6 to 14
years by 2010.

Objectives and goals of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan:-

The objectives and goals of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

are as follows-
1) Elementary education- The most important

objective of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is to provide

elementary education to all children of 6-14 years of

age in the country. Through the 86th Amendment,

providing primary education in the form of free and

compulsory education to children of 6-14 years has

been made mandatory as a fundamental right.

2) Community participation in schools- The objective

of Sarva Shiksha is to implement the Constitutional

Amendment (73rd and 74th) under which the

government will ensure community participation in

schools.
3) Natural environment- An important objective of

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is to provide education to

children in a natural environment. A child learns

most effectively in a natural environment and his all-

round development takes place properly only in a

natural environment.

4) Value based education- Education plays an

effective role in the development of truth, friendship,

brotherhood, discipline and spiritual thinking etc.

Therefore, value based education has been given

priority in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. These moral and

spiritual values have a great impact on the lives of

children. It plays an important role in the character

building of the child.

5) Relationship between social-regional and gender

inequality- One of the main goals of Sarva Shiksha

Abhiyan is to eliminate discrimination based on

social, regional and gender inequality among

children.

6) Importance of early childhood care- Children aged

0-4 years are included under this scheme because

under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan it was felt that early

childhood education of a child should start before his

primary education so that the child can be prepared

for primary education. Many efforts have been made

for this, such as the arrangement of the Department

of Women and Child Development for the

development and care of children.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a joint scheme of the

Central and State Governments. In the Ninth Five

Year Plan, the Central and State Governments will

spend on it in the ratio of 85:15. In the Tenth Five

Year Plan, they will spend in the ratio of 75:25 and

then in the Eleventh Five Year Plan, they will spend
in the ratio of 50:50.

Evaluation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan:-

The achievements and shortcomings of Sarva

Shiksha Abhiyan in its evaluation are as follows-

Achievements - The main achievements of this

campaign are as follows-

i) By December 2014, about four lakh schools have

been opened.

ii) By 2014, more than two lakh teachers have been

appointed under this campaign.

iii) Success has been achieved in reducing the

number of students who leave their education
midway.

iv) There has been a great deal of success in

attracting girls towards schools.
v) Arrangements have been made for new buildings,

furniture and necessary teaching material required

by the schools.

vi) Free text books, school dress and mid-day meals

are being provided.

vii) Teaching is being made interesting by improving

teaching methods.

viii) The curriculum is being improved from time to

time to make it suitable. ix) By 2014, primary

education has been made accessible to 99% of

students in the specified age group and higher

primary education to 90% of students.

x) The problem of obstruction has been eliminated

by 95% of the schemes run by the government.
Limitations- The major shortcomings of this

campaign are as follows-

1) School buildings, furniture, teaching material are

useless which are affecting the success of Sarva

Shiksha Abhiyan.

ii) The achievements of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

make it seem as if the goal of free and compulsory

education has been achieved but this is not true.

iii) Still about 4-5 crore children are out of primary

education.

iv) 2 crore students did not take admission in

primary schools and 2 crore students left their

education midway.
Suggestions for Strengthening the Sarva Shiksha

Abhiyan:-

The main objective of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is to

make primary education universal. To achieve this

objective, teachers have to face many difficulties.

Hence, the following suggestions are being given to

strengthen this scheme-

1) The basis of facilities provided to schools under

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan should be balanced, i.e.

facilities should be provided to each school as per

the requirement.

2) Under the scheme, not only girls should be given

free books but boys should also be included in it.

3) Equal facilities should be provided to every

student without any discrimination and their primary

needs (shoes, copy, pencil etc.) should be fulfilled.

4) Under this scheme, a 20-day seminar (annual)

has been arranged for trained teachers, the

objective of which should be to increase the

knowledge of teachers, whereas nowadays this

objective is being completely ignored in seminars.

5) Pre-service training of teachers should be

improved i.e. modern education should be linked

with it in accordance with the changed

circumstances.

6) At present, under the 'Mid-Day-Meal' scheme,

lunch is being provided to children in schools. The

responsibility of cooking the food lies with the
teachers, due to which teachers have become mere

cooks in the school. To improve this, the

government should hand over this scheme to

regional institutions and limit teachers to the work of

teaching only.

7) Teachers face various problems in keeping

records of the grant received from the school

because the training received from the government

has become a process after spending the grant. The

government should appoint record writing officers at

the block level so that the records can be prepared

in a correct manner.

8) The government should make such rules that the

lack of coordination between the Panchayats and
the Rural Education Development Committees at the

rural level can be improved.

9) Generally, there is a predominance of illiterate

persons in the Rural Education Development

Committees. It is futile to expect improvement in

education from a person who is not educated

himself. Therefore, the government should include

educated persons in this committee.

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education

Act, 2009 :-

Providing free and compulsory education to children

was included in the fundamental right by adding

Article 21 (A). To make it effective, the Right of

Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act-
2009 was enacted in the Parliament on 4 August

2009. It was published in the Gazette of India on 27

August 2009 after approval by the President. It has

been legally implemented on 1 April 2010. Through

this, every child of the country has legally acquired

the fundamental right to education.

Objectives of Right of Children For Free and

Compulsory Education Act, 2009 :-

The objectives of Right to Education Act are as

follows-

1) To educate children of economically weaker

sections by providing them free and compulsory

education. To make primary education accessible to

all and to universalize it.

2) To provide basic education to all children between

6 to 14 years of age in the country.

3) To promote children's interest in education.

4) To pay special attention to the education of girls.

5) To improve the level of education in the country.

6) To spread education to rural areas.

7) To provide education by establishing schools in

those areas where education has not been spread

yet.

8) To promote education by providing free

textbooks, uniforms and scholarships to children.

Demerits of the Act:-

Some of the points being raised in the criticism of

this bill are as follows-

1) The Act talks about free and compulsory

education while no attention has been paid to

bringing about equal education.

2) Under free and compulsory education, only 25

percent of the seats will be reserved for students

from weaker sections of the society. The talk of free

education is a fraud because there is no mention of

budget provision for it in the bill.

3) The bill does not mention anything about 17 crore

children up to six years of age. The right to balanced

diet, health and pre-primary education given to

children up to six years of age in the Constitution

has been ignored in this.
4) It is not clear how the implementation of complete

education, starting from free education and teaching

material, will take place.

MINIMUM LEVEL OF LEARNING :-

Minimum learning level is a kind of minimum

knowledge which should be present in a student to a

certain extent according to his level.

For every class and subject a certain minimum

competency is fixed which is expected to be

achieved by the student. There is no limit to

maximum learning. For this it is necessary to provide

appropriate opportunity, environment and study

material to the students.

Only by achieving the minimum learning level will

the students be able to understand the subjects of

the upcoming classes well, otherwise they will face

difficulty in acquiring the basic knowledge of the

syllabus of the upcoming classes. Thus, it is the duty

of every teacher and school to help the child achieve

the minimum learning level for his better future and

nation building.

Note¹: The aim of minimum learning level is to take

all students to the level of proficiency/mastery. This

is the level which every child must achieve.
Note²: Minimum levels of learning should be fixed for

each level of school education so that all students

can achieve the prescribed competencies. This is

called Minimum Level of Learning (MLL). In the

revised National Education Policy 1992, it is called

Essential Level of Learning (ELL).

Objectives of Minimum Level of Learning :-

Primary education is the medium of personality

development and the axis of national development.

Therefore, to ensure quality education at this level,

the concept of minimum learning level was made

through which all classes can have access to

education without any discrimination of gender,

caste and religion. Its main objectives are as follows-
1) To provide quality education to all students

without any discrimination and make them proficient

in the prescribed skills.

2) To ensure the attainment of equal educational

quality among students.

3) To eliminate the disparities in the achievement

level of different students.

4) To give direction to the work of the teacher by

setting clear goals for him, that is, his (teacher's)

work is to take the students to the level of prescribed

abilities and not just to complete the syllabus.

5) To help teachers in choosing the appropriate

method of teaching learning.

6) To help the teacher in choosing the appropriate

method of evaluating the achievement of students.
7) To guide the teacher in resolving the difficulties of

the students.

Consideration points while implementing minimum

learning level:-

The following points should be kept in mind while

implementing minimum learning level:

1) Age of students.

2) Class level of students.

3) Geographical conditions of students.

4) Psychological level of students.

5) Level of other countries of this level in the world.

6) In accordance with mental development of

students.
7) According to the conditions, resources and

facilities of students.

8) A definite objective set for students.

9) Evaluation and monitoring of the set objectives.

10) Presenting solutions on unachieved objectives.

Millennium Development Goals:-

Development is a very broad and multidimensional

concept. Hence it is difficult to measure it. Many

efforts have been made to measure development

and develop policy measures to promote

development. One such effort is the adoption of

Millennium Development Goals.

Generally, even without any unanimous definition,

policy makers require specific goals so that policy

objectives can be achieved. One such set of goals is

called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The United Nations Millennium Declaration and the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) programme

saw the convergence of development agendas of

the United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO), United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations
Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) and other development agencies. A

total of 189 nations adopted the United Nations

Millennium Declaration in September 2000.
The declaration contained a commitment that the

document is committed to "making the right to

development a reality for all and to freeing all

mankind from want." The said declaration has

specified a set of eight goals in line with this

commitment, which include-

Goal 1- Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

Goal 2- Achieve Universal Primary Education

Goal 3- Promote Gender Equality and Empower

Women

Goal 4- Reduce Child Mortality Rates

Goal 5- Improve Maternal Health

Goal 6- Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Other

Diseases
Goal 7- Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Goal 8- Develop a Global Partnership for

Development

Women's Education:-

The role of women in the social and economic

development of any nation cannot be ignored.

Women's education is a concept that essentially

links women and education. One form of it is related
to the inclusion of women in education like men. In
another form, it refers to a special education system
created for women. The concept of giving women a

different kind of education from men developed in

India during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In
the present time, it is universally accepted that it is
as important for women to be educated as men. It is

a proven truth that if the mother is not educated, the

children of the country can never benefit.

According to Napoleon, "The future of a child is

always made by his mother."

Objectives of Women Education:-

The objectives of women education are as follows-

1) Educate women and give them the right to

achieve gender equality in the society.
2) Improve the economic condition of women

through education so that they can increase their

and their family's economic status in the society.

3) Make them aware of the benefits of small and

planned family through education. This will be a big

step towards achieving stable population goals.

4) The most important factor affecting the high total

fertility rate (TFR) is the low status of women in

many societies. Women's education will help in

increasing the age of marriage of women and they

will give birth to fewer and healthier children who will

live longer.

5) Educated women will be able to raise their

children in a better way, due to which their health will

be good and they will get better facilities.
6) The objective of women education is to reduce

social disparities and inequalities. So that there will

be sustainable development automatically.

Need and Importance of Women's Education:-

Education is very important for both men and

women in any society or nation. Without education,

no person, society or nation can develop.

1) To protect human rights- Today every creature in

the world is aware of human rights. From a human

point of view, there should not be any kind of

difference between men and women, they should

get equal rights and equal opportunities for

development. This is possible only when both men
and women are given equal opportunities for

education.

2) For the upliftment of society- When we talk about

society, it includes all the social groups coming

under the society. Family is the smallest and basic

social group. Both men and women have equal role

in its upliftment. We all know that the lifestyle and

food habits and behavior patterns of an educated

society are higher and better than that of an

uneducated society. In our country, women are

suffering from customs, evils, superstitions and fear

due to being uneducated. If we have to uplift the

Indian society, then first of all we have to educate all

the women of our country.

3) For the upliftment of the family- Women are the

pivot of the family. The entire responsibility of raising

children, their education and running the household

rests on women. It is very important to educate them

for the efficient discharge of all these

responsibilities. Mother is the first teacher of the

child. Therefore, education of women means

education of the family. If the mother is educated,

the children will be educated, the entire family will be

educated. The family in which all the members are

educated will prosper.

4) To Protect Democracy- The democracy of our

country India is based on six basic principles-
freedom, equality, fraternity, socialism, secularism

and justice. In the absence of proper education,

people are not able to have a clear knowledge of

these principles. Hence education is the backbone

of democracy, in its absence democracy cannot be

successful.

5) For the Protection and Development of Culture-

Education of culture begins from the birth of a child.

In such a situation, if mothers themselves do not

have a clear knowledge of their culture, then how

can they impart knowledge of culture to their

children. If they cannot protect the basic elements of

culture, then development in them is a far cry. In the

absence of education, they are not able to

differentiate between good and bad, as a result they

are not able to remove the evils and neither are they
able to develop the goodness. Hence, women

education is required for the protection and

development of culture.

6) For the Development of the Nation- The

development of every nation depends on natural

resources and human resources. Natural resources

are provided by nature but the development of

human resources depends on education. Therefore,

education is very important and essential for both

men and women for the development of every

nation. According to Napoleon Bonaparte, give me

100 well-educated mothers and I will build a great

nation.

7) For Economic Development- The results of

research show that the efficiency and work capacity

of an educated person is higher than that of an

uneducated person. The fact is that he is more

successful in the field of business and production.

Hence, from this point of view also, for the economic

development of both men and women, it is

necessary for the nation to educate this female

power today and also to train them in the field of

business and production.

8) To Make Self-reliant- If women are educated, they

will become self-reliant. They will not have to

depend on men (father, son, husband, brother) for

their livelihood. They will be able to earn their

livelihood on their own strength and will also be able

to take important decisions of their life themselves.

9) To Make Aware- When a woman is educated, she

starts knowing her rights and duties. She becomes

aware of her rights. If she is educated, she can raise

her voice if something wrong happens to her.

10) For Increasing the Level of Education- If both

men and women are educated in a country, then the
level of education in this country will increase. This

will also lead to the development of the country.

11) Getting Employment and Increasing the

Standard of Living- If women are educated, then

they are able to help their family in earning a

livelihood. They are also able to get employment.

They are able to bear the expenses of themselves

and their family. When women get educated, their

lifestyle changes and their standard of living also

increases.

Problems of Women Education :-

The following are the main problems related to

Girl/Woman education-

1) Financial Problems

2) Inequality

3) Negative Attitudes towards Co- Education

4) The problem of stereotypes

5) Social Evils and Viewpoints

6) Problem of Barriers and Propouts-

o Girls' education suffers the most from the

problem of wastage and barriers. The problem

of wastage and barriers is more in girls than in

boys. Due to poverty, purdah system, child

marriage and excessive work, many girls have

to leave their studies midway. Many parents are

 in favor of educating their girls only till primary or

middle level.

Suggestions for Promoting Women Education and

Solution to Problems of Women Education:-

Some suggestions for promoting women education

are as follows:

1) Problems related to girl child/women education

should be studied by educational institutions and
research should also be done on it.

2) Girls should be given completely free education.

3) Nursery schools should be opened at pre-primary

level.
4) A woman teacher should be appointed as 'school

mother' in co-education schools established at

primary level.

5) Transport facilities should be available for primary

school girls to travel from school to home and from

home to school.

6) Scholarships should be given to parents of girls

for sending their daughters to school in lieu of not

doing household work.

7) Public interest should be aroused for girl

education. This should be done through TV and

media etc.

8) As per the recommendations of Hansa Mehta

Committee, there should be no difference in the
curriculum of boys and girls.
9) Hostels should be opened as a residential facility

for middle and high school level students.

10) The number of women teachers should be

increased and arrangements should be made for

their residence where they get free food and

accommodation.

11) Facilities for women to study science,

technology and management should be increased.

12) Classes of sewing, embroidery, knitting and

handicraft should be conducted by women.
Efforts Being Implemented for Promotion and Up-

gradation of Women Education:-

The following efforts are being made by the

government for the promotion and up-gradation of

women education:

1) In the districts where the female literacy

percentage is low, 'District Primary Education

Program' is being run.

2) Secondary schools are being opened for girls.

3) 90% grant has been started to be given to girls'

non-formal education centers.

4) 30% seats have been reserved for girls in

Navodaya Vidyalayas.
5) Free hostels are being arranged at secondary and

higher secondary level.

6) Education up to secondary level is free for girls.

7) Financial assistance is being given to poor girl

students.

8) Special scholarships have been arranged for girls.

9) The government started the 'Mahila Samakhya

Program' in April 1989 which is being run in 900

villages of 53 districts. Through this, arrangements

are being made for the education of girls of

backward and rural areas.

National Education Policy, 2020 and Women

Education :-

The new education policy, 2020 promotes girl

education and gender education. It focuses on the

problems and obstacles that hinder women's

education. In this, special provisions have been

made for girls and women at various levels.

Education starts from school level. Therefore, two

facts in this policy, which are very important, are the

safety of girls in schools and such provisions and

schemes that help keep the girl students connected

to the school, give them opportunities.
Problem of Students Unrest:-

Student dissatisfaction means that students are not

satisfied with the current education and education

system. Dissatisfaction among students can be

related to the criteria of a course or examination.

Student dissatisfaction is a problem not only in India

but all over the world. Student dissatisfaction is

visible in front of us in various forms like agitations,

strikes, boycott of classes in schools, colleges,

universities and other educational and training

institutes.

Studies conducted on student dissatisfaction show

that indiscipline among students is defined as

disobedience, disrespect towards teachers and
elders, not agreeing with the norms of the institution,

refusal to accept control and rejection of current

social ideals and norms.

Causes of Students Unrest:-

In our country, there is a feeling of dissatisfaction

prevailing mainly among the youth. The main

reasons responsible for this strong feeling of

dissatisfaction among the students are as follows-

1) Insecure and Aimless Future- Today the future of

students is insecure. In the present times, student
dissatisfaction is a common thing due to the

continuous increase in the number of educated

unemployed.
Saint Vinoba ji said that a student complained about

indiscipline to which Vinoba ji replied that “Yes, I am

also surprised that there is such a bad education

and so little dissatisfaction over it.”

2) Defective Education System- Our education

system is full of defects. It is neither successful in

achieving its set goals nor does it provide practical

knowledge to the students, as a result of which the

all-round development of the students is hindered. It

is worth noting that the aim of the students is only to

pass the examination and obtain a degree.

Therefore, it is natural that dissatisfaction increases

as a result of such an education system.

3) More number of students in the class- The

number of students in schools is constantly

increasing. This number has increased so much that

there is not enough space left for classes in front of

colleges. In such a situation, it is natural that there is

no proper arrangement of facilities like laboratory,

library etc. When the number of students in the class

is more, then in such a situation the teacher is also

not able to pay proper attention to them. Therefore,

it is natural for them to be dissatisfied.

4) Lack of Co-curricular Activities- Co-curricular

activities play a very important role in the

development of self-expression of students. In the

absence of these activities, students resort to

passive means of entertainment. Therefore, lack of

co-curricular activities is also a major reason for

student dissatisfaction.

5) Contaminated Atmosphere of Home and School-

In some families, parents do not pay much attention

to children and in such a situation, they lack proper

affection. In the present times, most of the time,

even in schools, no monitoring is done on their

education. In this way, children get confused in a

polluted family and school environment. It is natural

for such children to have a feeling of dissatisfaction.

6) Defective Examination System- Our examination

system is not incapable of evaluating the real
knowledge of the student. Some students pass the

exams by rote learning, while some are made to

pass on their own to maintain the image of the

school. In this situation, a feeling of dissatisfaction

starts arising among the students.

7) Student Group - Some students have formed their

own groups due to political corruption in schools and

universities. They calm their anger and rebellion

through agitation, sit-in, demonstration, vandalism,

theft, looting, etc.

8) Decreasing Social Status- In the present society,

human values are being lost. Every person
considers ideals worthless. There is competition
among them to increase their material standards.

Spirituality and morality have disappeared. In such a

situation, it is natural for dissatisfaction to arise

among students.

9) Financial Problems- In the present times, the

situation of fast-paced life is such that most of the

parents lack adequate money to spend on the

education of their students. Due to the ever-

increasing inflation, parents are becoming indifferent

to the education of their children, as a result of which

the level of dissatisfaction among students is

increasing.
10) Lack of Guidance- Lack of proper guidance to

save students from corruption is the main reason for

the student dissatisfaction prevailing in our country.

Even if students do any kind of wrongdoing, instead

of stopping and explaining, they are encouraged. In

this way, due to lack of proper guidance, they

become misguided.

VALUES :-

The word value has originated from 'Valure' which is

a Latin word which means importance, usefulness or

desirability.

Only a life with 'values' is meaningful, a life without

values is meaningless. A person who gives

importance to values occupies an important place in
the society. Such a person gives importance to time

and enjoys every moment and uses it to the fullest.

Therefore, every thing which has importance is

called a value. Truth, honesty, goodness, etc. are

'values', while lies, dishonesty, etc. are 'devalued'.

There is no definite definition of value. Every scholar

has given a new definition of value by discussing

and analyzing the subject on the basis of his own

discretion.

According to Dr. Vyas Mani Tripathi, "Values are the

factors that create the discretion of what is

acceptable and what is not."

According to A. K. C. Ottaway, "Values are those

ideas for which humans live."
According to Henderson, “Anything that satisfies the

need of a human being is called value.”

According to Parker, "Value is completely related to

the internal aspect of intelligence. Desire satisfaction

is the real value; the object that fulfills a desire is

only a means. Value is always an experience, not an

object or subject."

Role of School in Developing Values:-

The role of school in the development of values can

be clarified through the following points-

1) Stories related to moral education should be

included in the textbooks.
2) Speech competitions should be organized in

schools on topics related to life values.

3) Various types of activities should be organized

through institutions like National Service Scheme

(NSS).

4) Various types of schemes related to value

education should be started in educational

institutions which should be directed by teachers.

Like running a cooperative shop.

5) Special persons should be invited for speeches

etc. on morality or value education.

6) Books and literature exhibition related to moral

education and value education should be organized

in the institute.
7) Some magazines related to value education can

also be published by the institute.

8) Dramas, one-act plays, group competitions etc.

can be organized by the institute in the context of

various values.

9) Value based education should be made

compulsory in schools.

10) Morning assembly should be made compulsory

in schools so that the message of value education is

conveyed to the students.
National Integration :-

Meaning and Definitions of National Integration:-

National integration or national unity means unity of

thoughts and feelings among all the residents of the

nation.

When a nation talks above religion, politics, caste,

language or culture and a person is emotionally

attached to his country, it is called 'nationalism'.

National unity is the feeling that inspires citizens to

rise above their narrow differences and encourages

them to work together for the development of the

nation.
Prof. Zimmern has expressed his views in his book

‘Nationalism and Government’ and said- "In my

view, the question of nationalism is related to

collective life, collective development and collective

self-respect.

According to Dr. Sampurnanand, “India has

progressed in many areas in the years after

independence, but in these years, a gradual

increase in the tendencies of separatism has also

been observed in national life.”

According to Dr. J.S. Bedi, “National unity means

keeping the economic, social, cultural and linguistic
diversities of the people of different states of the
country within the desirable limits and incorporating

the unity of India in them.”

According to Dorothy Thomson, “National integration

is a feeling that binds the citizens of the country.”

Objectives of Education for National Integration:-

The following should be the objectives of education

for national integration -

1) To eliminate the feeling of narrow casteism from

within the individuals and develop liberal

humanitarian feelings.
2) To develop the feeling of national unity in all the

individuals by removing the obstacles coming in the

way of national unity.

3) To develop the feeling of equality of all religions in

all the individuals by removing the communal ill-will

inherent in the individuals.

4) To develop patriotism and egoistic feelings

towards the country in all the individuals.

5) To develop respect for all religions and cultures.

6) To develop democratic feelings in all the citizens.

Emotional Integration:-

Emotional Integration refers to the development of

that feeling which binds the residents of a nation in

the thread of unity by emotionally coordinating them

despite differences in blood, colour, religion, caste,

place, food habits, lifestyle, customs, conduct,

values, methods of living, economic level, social

level, political thinking, language, literature etc.

o Generally both the words national unity and

emotional unity are used equally but national
unity is more comprehensive and detailed than

emotional unity.

Emotional unity means unity of thoughts and

feelings. Emotional Integration refers to the

development of that feeling which binds the
residents of a nation in the thread of unity by

emotionally coordinating them above all differences.

According to Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, “By emotional

unity I mean suppression of the feeling of separation

and unity of mind and heart.”

LANGUAGE PROBLEM IN EDUCATION :-

Historical aspect of the language problem in

education:-

For the historical aspect of the language problem in

education, it is necessary to highlight the following

points-
1) The Roots of the Problem- The roots of the

language problem in India have been spread since

1835, when on the recommendations of Macaulay,

English was made the main language of study and

medium of education after the primary level. The

main purpose of bringing English to India was to

create an English-knowing minority class which

would be cut off from the rest of India and would

remain loyal to the British for at least a century.

Thus, this was the first experiment of the policy of
'divide and rule' which the British implemented so
successfully.
2) Knowledge of English made Essential for Entry to

Government Service- In 1844, Lord Harding

declared knowledge of English essential for entry

into government service. No wonder the entire

education sector was imbued with the spirit of

anglicism.

3) Linguistic Chaos in 1947- The movement for

freedom awakened a sense of Indianness and a call

was raised for the development of Indian languages,

which resulted in the replacement of English by

Indian vernacular languages. The Swadeshi

movement and Gandhiji's call inspired people to

adopt and enrich native languages and develop

them as much as possible through general contact.

The British left India in 1947 in a linguistic chaos. No

major Indian language, rich in its own way and

spoken by millions, was in a position to stake an

undisputed claim to be the lingua franca. It was only

after long controversies that Hindi was chosen as

the majority federal language.

4) Constitutional Provisions- The main provisions

relating to the official language of the Union

contained in Articles 343 and 344 are as follows-

i) Hindi written in Devanagari script shall be the

official language of the Union.

ii) For a period of fifteen years from the

commencement of the Constitution, however, the
English language shall continue to be used for all
official purposes of the Union. But during this period

the President may authorise the use of Hindi in

addition to English.

iii) Even after fifteen years, Parliament may make

provision for the continued use of English for any

specific purpose.

iv) At the end of 5 years from the commencement of

the Constitution, the President shall appoint a

Commission to make recommendations for the

progressive use of the Hindi language and restriction

on the use of English and other related matters. The

President is bound to appoint such a Commission at

the end of ten years from the commencement of the

Constitution for the same purpose. In making its

recommendations, the Commission should give due

regard to all claims and interests of the people

belonging to the non-Hindi speaking areas in regard

to the industrial, cultural and scientific advancement

of India and the public services.

v) The recommendations of the Commission shall be

examined by a thirty-member Committee of

Parliament (20 members from the Lok Sabha and 10

members from the Rajya Sabha) elected in

accordance with the system of proportional

representation and the Committee shall submit a

report to the President.

vi) Every State Legislature is empowered under

Article 345 to adopt any one or more of the

languages of the State for all or any of the official

purposes of the State concerned. But in so far as

communication between a State and the Union or

between one State and another State is concerned,

the official language of the Union shall be the official

language.

vii) To protect the linguistic interests of minorities in

some States, the Constitution incorporated a special

provision. The President is empowered under Article

347 to direct the State Government to recognise any

particular language for official purposes either for the

whole State or for any part of the State.

viii) Under Article 348, the Constitution makes a

special provision for the retention of the English

language.
5) The Three-Language Formula - In the year 1956,

the Central Education Advisory Board introduced the

three-language formula. This formula was approved

in the conference of Chief Ministers in 1961.

According to this formula, the student has to learn

his mother tongue as a regional language, Hindi as

a national language and English as an international

language.

National Education Policy, 2020 and Language:-

The Government of India has implemented the New

Education Policy, 2020 to take the Indian education

system forward in a systematic and systematic

manner and keeping in mind the current needs. In

this policy, all the questions arising in relation to
language have not only been understood but they

have been made a part of this policy, which is

generally being discussed on every Hindi Day

across the country.

1) Under this policy also, one of the

recommendations of the Official Language

Commission 1955, the recommendation of

knowledge and learning of Indian languages, was

included.

2) The National Education Policy, 2020 focuses on

multilingualism and mother tongue in the education

system. While it is India-centric on one hand, it is

also child-centric on the other.

3) It states that the home language is usually the

mother tongue or the language spoken by local
communities. In such a case, as far as possible, the

medium of instruction, at least till grade five but it

would be better if it is possible till grade eight or

beyond, will be the home language/mother

tongue/local language/regional language. Both

public and private schools will comply with this.

4) It has been said that the highest quality textbooks

in all subjects including science should be made

available in the mother tongue.

5) If there is any gap between the language spoken

by the child and the medium of instruction, it has

been said to be eliminated.

6) Talking about re-incorporating the three-language

formula in language development, it was said that

there will be at least two Indian languages in it.
Along with Sanskrit, Pali, Persian, Prakrit, Tamil,

Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Oriya languages

will also be included as options and made a part of

the curriculum.

Distance Education :-

As the name suggests, distance education means

imparting education from a distance or maintaining

distance.

In other words, distance education is that education

in which there is a distance between the teacher and

the student.
Note: In distance education, there is no direct verbal

communication between the teacher and the

students.

o Distance education is a modern system of

informal education. It is provided through

correspondence courses, contact programmes,

means of mass communication etc. Distance

education includes publicity, home-study, open

education, campus based study etc. Hence,

terms like distance learning, education outside

school etc. are used for distance education.

According to Philip Coombs and Manzoor Ahmad,

"A well-organised educational system running

outside the already established (ongoing traditional)

formal education is called distance education."

According to Pieters, "Distance education is a

method of indirect instruction in which there is

geographical and emotional separation between the

teacher and the learner, whereas in the mainstream

of education, the relationship between the teacher

and the student in the classroom is based on social

rules and in distance education this relationship is

based on technological rules."

CHARACTERISTIC OF DISTANCE EDUCATION:-

To make distance education effective in a smooth

manner, different types of communication means are

used. The main characteristics of education are as

follows-
1. Teacher-student difference- In distance

education, almost all the material is pre-stored. This

material contains complete instructions. The student

prepares himself according to these instructions,

because unlike formal education, the concept of

face-to-face interaction between the Guru and the

disciple is not there in it.

2. Program difference- In distance education, the

structure and preparation of the teaching-learning

material has to be done in such a way that the

working system of formal education and the

difference between the program become clear.

Private study-Teach yourself programs etc. are

examples of this difference.

3. Educational technology- In this, different means of

educational technology; such as both printed and

non-printed media are used. Developed tools of

technology have started being used in the field of

education. Printed material, audio-visual means,

Doordarshan, Akashvani, computer etc. connect the

teacher, curriculum and student.

4. Two-way communication system- In distance

education, the relationship between teacher and

students is not face-to-face. This creates a feeling of

incompleteness. Therefore, two-way communication

system has been made through contact program.

5. Individual study- In distance education, there are

less opportunities for group education and more

opportunities for individual study. The chances of

development of groupness increase in the contact

session.

6. Industrialized feature- The effect of

industrialization is clearly visible in distance

education. Due to this, the person or student is

interested in personal development. Therefore, the

student takes interest in private study.

7. Part-formal education- Distance education is a

part-formal education system which is also called
correspondence education, open education, open

learning, open education, open university etc.

8. Learner-centred- Distance education is learner-

centred. It is centred on the needs and convenience

of the learner. The learner learns according to his

own pace and convenience and he also has

freedom in the selection of subjects. In this, more

emphasis is given on self-study.

9. Flexibility- Distance education is flexible from the

point of view of eligibility for admission. It is also

flexible from the point of view that a course can be

completed in a number of fixed years.
10. Indirect education- Distance education is an

indirect education system, because face-to-face

education is not provided in it. The learner remains

separate from his teachers and classmates. The

teacher and students are in contact only through

post.

11. Distance education- It is a method of mass

education. It takes education to those millions of

people who could not get education regularly in any

institution.

12. Mass media- In this, mass media like radio,

television, video, computer, correspondence etc. are
used to establish a relationship between the teacher

and the student.

Objective of Distance Education:-

At present, distance education is being arranged in

our country in many forms; such as correspondence

education, open education and broadcasting of adult

education, continuing education and mass education

related programs through mass communication.

At present, the following are the objectives of

distance education in our country India-

1. To reach school / college to the students or to

bring useful education to the homes of the students.
2. To pave the way for wider opportunities of

education, especially higher education.

3. To provide efficient and less expensive education

process.

4. To provide education facilities to those people

who want to increase their knowledge and want to

improve their professional skills.

5. To provide opportunities for higher education to all

those qualified and interested people who could not

take regular admission in college / university due to

some personal and financial reasons.

6. To provide opportunities for knowledge

development to educated people without hampering

their current employment.
Open Education:-

The promise of open education is that everyone, at

any stage of their life and career development, has

access to appropriate and meaningful educational

opportunities. These include access to content,

curriculum, support, assessment and certification in

flexible ways that accommodate diverse needs. For

example, barriers related to access and cost are

reduced or eliminated.

National Education Policy, 2020 and Distance and

Open Education:-

In this National Education Policy, the future of open

and distance education has been identified as online
education. Therefore, now a new form of traditional
open and distance education has emerged in the

form of online education. Online education is

providing every student with new opportunities of

education in traditional subjects as well as freedom

and opportunity to complete quality courses.

NEP-2020 also talks about the continuous

professional development of teachers in the field of

open and distance education. There is a provision in

the National Education Policy that "All school

teachers will complete a course of continuous

professional development of 50 or more hours every

year through distance and online education."
EXAMINATION SYSTEM IN INDIA :-

The process of education consists of three major

parts- formulation of objectives, designing of

education to achieve the objectives and assessment

of the results of education.

The function of examinations is to provide such

information which is necessary for accurate

assessment of the results of education. Such

examinations are as old as any system of education.

Examinations are of different types like oral or

written. Written examinations can be classified as

objective type, very short answer type, short answer

type and traditional essay type.
The importance of examinations cannot be ignored

at any level, as they play a very important role in the

academic life of a student at both entry and exit

levels.

Problems of Examination System in India:-

1) Overemphasis on rote learning: The examination

system in India often prioritises memorisation over

understanding, thereby discouraging critical thinking

and creativity in students.

2) Lack of practical assessment: Exams primarily

test theoretical knowledge, neglecting practical skills

and real-world application, leading to a gap between

academia and industry requirements.
3) Pressure and stress: High-stakes exams put

excessive pressure on students, leading to mental

health issues such as anxiety and depression.

4) Inequities in access: Socio-economic inequalities

result in unequal access to resources and coaching

facilities, leading to an uneven playing field in

examinations.

5) Teaching to the exam: Teachers often focus on

covering the exam syllabus rather than promoting

holistic learning experiences, thereby compromising

the overall development of students.

6) Limited assessment methods: The reliance on

standardised written exams limits the assessment of

different skills and talents, thereby ignoring different

learning styles.
7) Lack of feedback: Examinations typically provide

limited feedback to students, hindering their ability to

identify strengths and weaknesses for improvement.

8) Subjectivity in assessment: Subjective marking

schemes can lead to inconsistency and bias in

grading, having an undue impact on students’

academic outcomes.

9) Cramming culture: The prevalence of last-minute

cramming to pass exams promotes short-term

memorization at the expense of in-depth

understanding and retention of knowledge.

10) Neglect of soft skills: The focus on academic

performance often overlooks the development of

essential soft skills such as communication,

problem-solving, and teamwork, which are critical for

success in the modern world.

Need to Improve the Examination System :-

An Examination Reform Commission should be set

up as a permanent body to improve the examination

system to facilitate monitoring of progress in

examination reforms from time to time till the work is

completed in phases. The terms of reference for this

Commission could be-

1) Reviewing the status of examination reforms from

time to time.

2) Phasing of examination reforms, indicating the

time frame within which and at what stage the

reforms are to be implemented.
3) Introduction of fair and objective systems of

grading/scaling.

4) Prescribing norms for continuous comprehensive

internal assessment and suggesting safeguards

against misuse of this assessment system.

5) Advising on minimum levels of learning to be

achieved with internal assessment system.

6) Prescribing modalities for semesterisation and

modernisation.

7) Advising on inter-institutional linkages to secure

comparable standards.

8) Teacher orientation for successful implementation

of examination reforms.
Teacher Education :-
Teacher education is the Hindi version of the English

word Teacher Education, which literally means

education of teachers or education that prepares

teachers. Teacher education includes all those

activities that help a person to take up the
responsibility of the teaching profession.

According to Prof. S.N. Mukherjee, “There is a need

for improvement in various education centres and for
this purpose 'teacher education' is a better term

because it expands the scope of teacher

preparation.”
According to Good, "Teacher education includes all

those experiences and formal and informal activities

that enable any person to take up the responsibility

of the teaching profession."

Objectives of Teacher Education:-

Teacher education or training can be divided into

three levels, knowledge, understanding and skill

based, and the following possible objectives can be

decided -

1) To increase the effectiveness of teachers'

capabilities and work.

2) To provide detailed information about

universalization of primary education and quality

education and to discuss the national and

international efforts being made for this.

3) To identify the prior knowledge, experiences,

competencies and abilities of teachers.

4) To analyze the ways of behaving, thinking and

experiencing of teachers.

5) To develop team spirit, mutual coordination and

leadership qualities in them.

6) To make teachers honest, loyal and sensitive

towards their profession.

7) To define and analyze the place and role of

education and teacher in the society. Along with this,

to provide them training up to the level of importance

and practical proficiency of lesson plan, lesson

presentation, teaching method, teaching support
learning material such as oral and written

expression, evaluation, method etc.

8) To assist teachers in developing and using

various educational tools, equipment, audio-visual

aids and didactic materials.

Diversity in Education :-

Introducing new ideas on racial or cultural

differences in the classroom has many educational
benefits. Ethnicity, cultural differences, racial

differences and more are important to talk about as

part of a student's education.

This can be understood from the following points-

1) Inclusive curriculum: Develop curriculum that

represents diverse perspectives, histories, and

cultures, thereby promoting understanding and

respect among students.

2) Multicultural education: Integrate multiculturalism

into teaching practices to celebrate diversity and

promote cultural awareness.

3) Equity in resources: Ensure that all students have

access to a quality education regardless of

socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or other

factors.

4) Culturally responsive teaching: Implement

teaching strategies that recognize and respect

students’ cultural backgrounds, languages, and

experiences.
5) Diverse faculty and staff: Recruit and retain

teachers from diverse backgrounds so they can

serve as role models and provide a variety of

perspectives in the educational environment.

6) Affirmative action policies: Implement policies to

promote diversity in admissions, hiring, and

promotions to address historical inequities and

increase representation of underrepresented groups.

7) Intersectionality: Recognize individuals’

intersecting identities (e.g., race, gender,

socioeconomic status) and how they impact

educational experiences and opportunities.

8) Intercultural competence: Promote intercultural

communication skills among students and teachers

to effectively navigate diverse environments.
9) Accessible learning materials: Provide materials

in multiple languages and formats to accommodate

diverse learning needs and abilities.

10) Community engagement: Collaborate with

families, communities, and stakeholders to ensure

educational practices reflect and respect the

diversity of the broader society.

Manage Diversity in Classroom/ Maintaining

Harmony in Classroom :-

In the classroom, students from different cultural

backgrounds may feel isolated due to the

differences they bring. In such a situation, it is

important to develop curriculum and practices that
accommodate diverse students (students who have
their own unique cultures, traditions and languages).

Teachers and administrators can ensure and

facilitate all the differences brought by peers in the

classroom learning environment and curriculum.

Strategies will promote each student's sense of

identity and inclusion in the classroom community by

increasing cultural awareness.

There are many ways in which teachers and

administrators, such as principals and instructors,

can ensure that both the classroom environment and

curriculum are responsive to the growing cultural

diversity of society. Will encourage students' cultural

awareness, enhance each student's sense of

identity and promote inclusion in the classroom

community. The following measures can be taken

for this-
1) To benefit students at all levels, we must promote

inclusion and awareness about multicultural

education.

2) For teachers, a Social, Emotional and Behavioral

Well-being certificate program is a great way to

promote diversity in the classroom. Diversity in the

classroom can be promoted by creating a positive

learning environment with multi-cultural peers.

3) Promote cultural awareness in the classroom.

This starts with the teacher understanding each

student. The teacher should take the time to learn

about each student’s cultural background, culture,

and learning style. If students feel appreciated and

comfortable with the teacher, there is a better

chance that they will feel comfortable talking with

and respecting their peers in the classroom.

4) Communication is the core of cultural awareness

and an inclusive classroom. In addition to getting to

know their students, teachers should maintain

constant communication throughout the school year.

Students can talk about how they felt about being

included in the classroom culture. This holistic

experience can help them identify problems or ways

to improve. It is also an opportunity to discuss their

progress in the classroom and provide guidance on

how they can improve based on their individual

needs as a student.

5) It is also important for students to respect their

own diverse backgrounds as well as each other’s

diverse backgrounds. Teachers should encourage

students to research and learn about their ethnic

and cultural backgrounds. This helps them better

understand the differences and nuances within their

own culture as well as those of their peers.

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