Education in India Today

India is committed to providing basic education to its citizens, the framework of which is defined in the National Policy on Education. Elementary education is now compulsory in India. At the time of Independence only 14% of India's population was literate. Today, fifty years later, the number of literates have increased by five fold. Emphasis has been on educating the rural population and the socially & financially backward communities in the country. Operation Blackboard is a project aimed at increasing the literacy rate by providing the basic amenities required by schools to educate children and adults. There are various scholarships offered by the government to encourage education. Popular among the school going children are the National Talent Scholarship Exams, Scholarships for Talented Children from Rural Areas, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship. The government has been encouraging adult education over the last two decades. The Indira Gandhi National Open University and the Annamalai University are among the many which offer distance education. Among the special programmes for eradication of literacy among adults are those conducted by the Mass Programme of Functional Literacy, Rural Functioning Literacy Programme, Shramik Vidyapeeth and the National Institute of Adult Education. Technical education in India is regarded as one of the best in the world. Every year, India churns out a good number of engineers. Primere among the training institutes offering technical education are the Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Science, Regional Engineering Colleges, School of Planning & Architecture, and the International Centre for Science & Technology. Among the various schemes which encourage technical education are the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute for Computer & Allied Schemes, University Grants Commission Schemes, and schemes at National Institute of Foundry & Forge Technology. At present there are about 130 schemes in the Department of Education. Out of these 18 are centrally sponsored. Popular among them being Operation Blackboard, Mid-Day-Meal scheme, Teacher Education, Vocation Education and Post literacy & Continuing Education. For the year 1996-1997 the total plan outlay with the Education Department was Rs. 33,827 million. Various organizations in India offer exchange programmes that encourage foreign students to live and study in India. Indian Universities offer education subsidies to economically backward students, sports persons, exceptionally meritorious students, children of defence personnel & ex-servicemen and handicapped students. There are also schools dedicated to the physically handicapped, blind, deaf & dumb, mentally retarded and spastics students.