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Challenges in Indian Education Sector

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DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4358.5048

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Intl.J.Adv.Res.Comm&Mgmt.Sept.2015;1(3):54-58 Challenges in Indian….

Challenges in Indian Education Sector

Anubhav Singh, Assistant Professor,

Faculty of Commerce and Management, Rama University, Kanpur,
singhanubhav05@gmail.com

Abstract
No doubt, Education has attained a key position in the knowledge society both at national and global
level as well. Over the last two decades, India has remarkably transformed its higher education
landscape. It has created widespread access to low-cost high-quality university education for
students of all levels. With well-planned expansion and a student-centric learning-driven model of
education, India has not only bettered its enrolment numbers but has dramatically enhanced its
learning outcomes. A differentiated three-tiered university system – where each tier has a distinct
strategic objective – has enabled universities to build on their strengths and cater across different
categories of educational needs. Further, with the effective use of technology, India has been able to
resolve the longstanding tension between excellence and equity. India has also undertaken large-
scale reforms to better faculty-student ratios by making teaching an attractive career path, expanding
capacity for doctoral students at research universities and delinking educational qualifications from
teaching eligibility. However, the challenges faced are immense and far-reaching. This paper focus
on to identify the key challenges like demand-supply gap, quality education, research and
development, faculty shortage etc. in India's education sector.
Keywords: Higher Education, Quality Education, Untrained Faculty, Technology, UGC

Introduction
In India, education sector is one of the developing sector as if offers a huge untapped market
in regulated and non-regulated segments due to low literacy rate, high concentration in urban area
and growing per capita income.Higher education is assuming an upward significance for developing
countries, especially countries including India which is experiencing service-led growth. Higher
education is all about generating knowledge encourage critical thinking and imparting skills
relevant to society and determined by its needs. Education general and higher education in
particular, is a highly nation-specific activity, determined by national culture and priorities. The
growth of India's higher educational institutions has indeed been outstandingly rapid should form
the four guiding principles, while planning for There will be four guiding principles i.e. access,
equity, accountability and quality which should consider while planning for higher education
development in India in the twenty-first century.
Demand – supply gap. Indian society puts a premium on knowledge and its acquisition -spending on
education has figured as the single largest outlay fora middle class household after food and
groceries. With itsrapidly expanding middle class, India's private expenditure on education is set to
increase manifold.

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To reduce the demand supply gap in school education, it has been proposed in the 12th FYP (2012-
17) to set up 6,000 schools at block level as model schools to benchmark excellence. Of these, 2500
will be set up under Public Private Partnership. Further, easy availability of education loans to
students it has been proposed in Budget 2012-13 to set up a Credit Guarantee Fund for this purpose.
Quality education: Indian education system, particularly public sector, has delivered with apparent
dichotomy – islands of excellence (IIT and IIM) on one hand, and high proportion of below par
institutions on the other. While there has been a remarkable improvement in indicators such as a)
number of schools/colleges, b) enrolment ratios, c) dropout rates, and d) literacy rates, India needs to
grapple with the problem of educated but unemployable youth.
Excessive regulation results in poor quality education: Excessive government regulation has stifled
participation of private sector in education. The “not for profit” and the “trust structure” results in a)
lower participation of private sector, and b) wrong selection of entrepreneurs, resulting in poor
education quality even within the private sector.
Lack of trained faculties: Faculty shortages and the inability of the state educational system to attract
and retain well-qualified teachers have been posing challenges to quality education for many years.
The quality of teaching is also often poor and there are constraints faced in training the faculty
Developmental disparities and unsolved Indian problems: Many colleges and
universities were started inIndia for removing regional imbalances and for supportingeducation of
weaker and disadvantaged classes, particularlyof women. These institutions and other
developmental programs for weaker classes are still facing resource constraints, which are further
aggravated by ignorance, poverty and disadvantages of the people they serve. This is resulting in
widening divides and in keeping many educated from weaker and disadvantages sections outside the
job and employment markets. The challenge of these marginalized and deprived to the system of
education is enormous.
High cost of higher education: The unit cost of traditional education, particularly of professional
education, is quite high and has gone out of reach of the Indian middle and lower classes. Many
private entrepreneurs have started educational institutions for offering creamy courses with
marketing approach; and have raised fees not affordable to majority. Subsidy to the education by the
state is not the right solution in the present situation, when numbers aspiring for higher education is
large and ever increasing. The deprived are already creating pressure on the state to make education
accessible; and have raised an issue of socioeconomic equity and justice.
Multiple regulators and onerous regulations: Education under the Indian Constitution is
on the concurrent list, which makes it both a Central and a State subject. Over the years, lack of
communication and co-ordination between the two spheres of authority has resulted in creation of
multiple regulators in this sector. The complexity is further compounded due to a number of onerous
regulations governing investment in this sector.
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Primary Education
Primary school enrollment in the 6-14 age range is over 96% in rural India (ASER report,
2012) but dropout rates are persistently high.Access to education has become less of an issue; rather,
the question remains whether school attendance equates learning. The supplementary education
industry, including non-profit reading centers or private tuition classes, is burgeoning but most
children today still face two significant challenges to their education:
Quality of Public Education The reading level of more than half of fifth graders in rural government
primary schools is three grades behind. Most regions in India also show a drop in basic arithmetic
skills. Outdated curricula, inadequate teacher training, and poor infrastructure are to blame here, as
many schools are underfunded. Even an appropriate language of instruction can be unattainable; in
some areas, it is difficult to find trained teachers who teach in either English, which is becoming the
preferred medium of instruction across the country, or other officially recognized languages. For
these reasons, many consider quality of education to be a serious concern.
Family Economics
Though India has made huge economic strides, over one-third of the population still lives
below the poverty line. As a result, children face challenges such as malnutrition, lack of school
supplies, pressure to earn an income, or even arduous daily commutes. A family's economic stability
is the primary driver for successful school attendance, and those who can afford to send their
children to private school are able to avoid many of the problems present in public schools. Further
investments to improve education are critical if India wants to sustain its economic growth and
ensure that its young workforce is employable. Interventions in curriculum development and
standardization, improved infrastructure, and teacher trainings are necessary in order to improve
both the quality of teaching and learning and reduce dropout rates
Higher Education
Enrollment rates for higher education in India still lag far behind that in other countries,
including China, even though India has the world's largest number of higher education institutions,
with nearly one-third of these institutions being less than ten years old. Despite this, India does not
have many world-class universities; only the Indian Institutes of technology consistently make it
into the Times Higher Education University Rankings of the 400 top universities and colleges.
Further, employers state that less than a quarter of engineers and MBA graduates in India are
employable after graduation The major challenges facing India in the higher education sector are a
lack of trained faculty; underfunded research facilities, libraries, and information technology
systems; low quality research; and politicization of staffing appointments. In addition, there are
widespread regional, rural-urban, and gender disparities in student enrollment. In the past few years,
India has announced several initiatives to address these issues, such as:
Privatization
Currently, private educational institutions are required to be non-profit entities. The
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government is considering broadening the presence of for-profit institutions in areas where there is a
shortage of higher education options and easing regulations for private players. As of Mar'15 private
institutions accounted for 73% of the total number of educational institutions, and 65% of
enrollment, an increase of 48% and 79% respectively from just a decade ago.
Conclusion
The over-arching issues affecting each strata of education in India are quality and relevance.
India faces immense challenges in meeting the demands of a growing and young workforce. Quality
teachers, relevant curriculum, financial aid for students, and adequate facilities are some of the needs
that India's education sector faces. Additional challenges include the inability to meet the diverse
linguistic, cultural, regional and local education needs of such a large country. Donors should
consider the growing opportunities, social returns, and local contexts as they make their
philanthropic investment decisions.Recent developments in Indian regulations have made this a
particularly opportune time for corporations to contribute to the development of India's education
system. A new CSR law in India will require particular companies to invest 2% of their earnings into
CSR mandated programs .Individual donors have always played a major role in the education sector
and can continue to support its growth by investing in pilot projects bringing about
positive and significant changes. There is enormous opportunity for creating high impact in the area
of education and, through thoughtful investments, both the public and private sectors can play a
pivotal role.
Reference:
ASER Centre. “Annual status of education report (rural) 2012,” January 2013.
Chamber of Commerce, 2010.
Ernst & Young, FICCI, and Planning Commission of India. “Higher education in india: twelfth five
year plan (2012-2017) and beyond,” November 2012.
Ernst & Young. “KNOWLEDGE PAPER ON SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA: LEARNER
FIRST,” September 2012.
http://www.ugc.ac.in/page/Other-Publications.aspx
International Labour Organisation. “Labour market performance and the challenges of creating
employment in india,” June 2011.
N.Somashekar And Vinodh Kumar G.C. (2012)Globalization and Its Dimensions of Education
Inequalities: With Special Reference to Karnataka accessed on January 20, 2013
http://iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol4-issue6/B0461117.pdf
Nilekani, Nandan. Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation, Penguin India, November 2008.
PWC report on “Emerging opportunities for private and foreign participation in higher education”
Indo-US
PWC report on, “Redefining Higher Education for Inclusive Development in Eastern India”, Indian
Reports ofAICTE, Planning Commission & Ministry of HRD,Government of India
Summit on higher education 2010.
The economist. “india's demographic challenge: wasting time,” may 2013.
Times higher education. “world university rankings 2012-2013,” 2013.
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University grants commission
Yee, amy. “filling india's huge need for vocational training,” the new york times, june 2013.

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