A Comprehensive Overview of Education Reform in India

Posted on Jun 23, 2024 in Law & Jurisprudence

Right to Education Act 2009

Q: Write the salient features of the Right to Education Act 2009.

Ans: The salient features of the Right to Education Act 2009 are:

  1. The right of children to free and compulsory education till the completion of elementary education in a neighborhood school.
  2. It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age-appropriate class.
  3. It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate governments, local authorities, and parents in providing free and compulsory education and sharing financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State governments.
  4. It provides for the appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e., teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications.
  5. It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment, (b) screening procedures for the admission of children, (c) capitation fees, (d) private tuition by teachers, and (e) running schools without recognition.

Recommendations of the Sadler Commission (1917)

Higher Education

Q: Write the recommendations on higher education given by the Sadler Commission of 1917.

Ans: Suggestions of the Sadler Commission on Higher Education; so far as university education is concerned, the commission made the following recommendations:

  1. The intermediate class should be separated from the university. The degree course should be of three years duration.
  2. The universities should be unitary teaching institutes instead of affiliating authorities for the colleges. A university should be established at Dacca as a model.
  3. A teaching university should be started in Calcutta.
  4. The mufassil colleges should be so developed that new universities may gradually develop from them.
  5. The rules and regulations of the Indian Universities should be flexible (less rigid) and free from official control.
  6. Brilliant students should get the facility of studying honors at the university. So, honors courses should be opened at the university.
  7. Professors and readers of the universities should be appointed by a special selection committee, including some external experts.
  8. A director of physical training should be appointed to look after the physical well-being of the students.
  9. A representative court and executive council should be formed. An academic council should be formed to suggest matters of academic importance.
  10. Facilities should be given to Muslim students to continue higher studies.

Secondary Education

Q: Give a short account of the Sadler Commission and mention the recommendations of this commission on Secondary Education.

Ans: Some important clauses were incorporated into the Government of India Resolution of 1913 for the reformation and expansion of universities in India.

  1. There would be an expansion of higher education in India.
  2. The power of recognition of higher schools would be vested in the provincial government instead of the university.
  3. More universities would be established in India.
  4. The activities of the universities pertaining to imparting education should be increased.

But these recommendations were not implemented fully. A University Commission was constituted in 1917 to investigate the conditions and problems of Calcutta University and to suggest measures for its improvement. Dr. Michael Sadler, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, was its Chairman, so this commission is named after him. It is also called the Calcutta University Commission. The Sadler Commission studied all aspects of education in India except for the primary stage. His recommendations on secondary education can be enumerated as follows:

The commission believed that without a dramatic change in secondary education, university education could not be improved. So the commission suggested:

  1. The Intermediate classes should be separated from the university, and intermediate colleges should be established, which would include courses like science, medicine, engineering, commerce, etc.
  2. The Intermediate Board should be an unofficial one and officially constituted from the representation from the university and the public.
  3. Students should be admitted to the university only after passing the Intermediate Examinations.

Mahatma Gandhi’s Basic Education

Q: What is the reason for calling education introduced by Mahatma Gandhi the basic education or Talim? How far can we accept this education as a national system of education?

Ans:

The Reason for Calling it Basic Education

The education system introduced by Gandhi was called basic because of the following reasons:

  1. It will provide the basis for our national life.
  2. It will be the basic recommendation for every Indian citizen.
  3. It will be closely linked with the basic needs of a child’s life, which will be satisfied by the basic craft.
  4. It will be correlated with the basic occupation of the community. According to Gandhi, education is the preparation for life through work experience. He called the basic scheme of education Nai Talim or new education. Basic education starts from the cradle to the grave. It is a lifelong process. The life force of basic education is activity or learning by doing.

Basic Education as a National Education

The main purpose of basic education put forward by Gandhi was to make the child self-reliant. Such education, as visualized by Gandhi, would help not only economically but socially and morally. Besides developing the dormant qualities of the child, it will foster honesty, truth, equality, and friendship in society. Basic education develops a sense of dignity of labor and makes the pupils diligent, developing pride in our national culture. After completing their basic education, the student should be able to take the financial responsibility of the family. Today’s student becomes tomorrow’s brand carrier.