Education System in India: Everything You Need To Know

Education System in India: The education system in India has evolved over the years and plays an important role in shaping not just the careers of the students but their lives as well. The Indian education system is divided into several levels, including pre-primary, primary level, secondary, higher secondary, graduate and postgraduate levels. In India, the education system is state-run. There are centralised boards as well as state boards to which the schools are affiliated. After the higher secondary level, education is imparted in colleges and universities, where the courses are bifurcated into academic, professional, and vocational courses. An in-depth study of the complete system is crucial for a clearer understanding.

The education system in India that we see today is said to have come down since the Rig Vedic times. In the early period, Mathematics was the only subject through which education was imparted, implying a logical approach to learning. In the latter period, subjects that were included to be taught were Pali grammar, Buddhist literature, social values and logic. Education was free in those times. For the Hindu society, education was imparted in pathshalas or gurukuls where the students had to stay and serve the ‘guru’ or the teacher and learn their lessons. At the same time, in a Muslim society, there were Madrasas and Maqtabs. When India became a British colony, initially the East India Company did not think of working on or improving the education system in India. It was later that the missionaries coming from Europe introduced Western education in the country. The Sergeant Commission and the Hunter Commission are the commissions that were set up by the British to improve the quality of education in India. There was immense improvement in the Indian system of education in the postcolonial period. The modern education system in India can be segmented into four distinctive layers roughly. They are primary, secondary, higher secondary and higher education.

The education system in India is divided into the pre-primary level, the primary or the elementary level, the secondary level, the higher secondary level, the graduate level, the postgraduate level, and the doctoral and postdoctoral levels. The description for each level can be found below. Pre-Primary Level: This stage covers the education of children between 3 and 6 years of age. While terminology may differ for different regions and schools, this stage mostly starts from the playgroup and ends with upper kindergarten. Primary Level: This is a relatively longer stage and covers classes 1 to 8 in school. Classes 1 to 5 constitute the primary level and classes 6 to 8 constitute the upper primary level. Secondary Level: This stage is constituted by classes 9 and 10 in school. Higher Secondary Level: This stage includes classes 11 and 12 in school. Graduate Level: This stage includes 3 years of degree courses which are done in the college. Postgraduate Level: The postgraduate stage can be done in colleges or universities. Doctoral and Postdoctoral Levels: The doctoral and postdoctoral levels require research and are done at the universities.