Indians place a lot of importance on education. Competition is intense and
begins with enrolling children in the best school and continues as the kid goes
on to university and beyond. India still strives to reach 100% literacy level.
Only one state in the south of the country, Kerala has achieved this distinction
so far. The education system in India is broadly divided into primary, upper
primary, secondary and upper secondary. Overall schooling lasts 12 years, following
the 10 + 2 model. However, different states organise the first 10 years of education
differently and even within schools, there are different schooling standards
that are followed.
The main standards governing schools are as follows:
- State Government Boards where key examinations are et according to state
government standards
- The CBSE or Central Board of Secondary Education where the standard is
set from the Central government for schools in various states
- The Council for the Indian School Certification Exam or CISCE Board
- National Open School and
- International Schools
Let's take a look at the main stages of the Indian education system.
Pre-primary: Pre-primary education
in India is not a fundamental right, with a very low percentage of children
receiving preschool educational facilities. This has led to a rush in the private
sector to fill in this void. The private sector which caters to the relatively
richer section of society has opened a number of kindergartens and schools.
Provisions in these kindergartens are divided into two stages - lower kindergarten
(LKG) and upper kindergarten (UKG). Typically, an LKG class would comprise children
3 to 4 years of age, and the UKG class would comprise children 4 to 5 years
of age.
Primary school: This includes children
in the age group of 6 to 11 years studying in classes from first to fifth standard.
Middle school: This generally refers
to children studying in classes between fifth and eighth standard.
Secondary: This constitutes students
in their ninth and tenth grade.
Higher secondary: Sometimes known as
Pre-University (PUC), this refers to students in the 11th and 12th standard.
Here, students choose a particular stream they wish to pursue upon entering
an undergraduate programme.
Undergraduate: The next step in the
education system, students specialise in a certain stream. Depending on their
choice of subjects, undergraduate programmes can vary in duration from three
to six years. For e.g., a Bachelor is Arts (B.A) will take three years to complete
while a medical student can expect to attend classes for 4.5 years and an internship
of another one year.
Postgraduate: Upon completion of an
undergraduate programme, students can opt to specialise in a post graduate programme
of their choice to further add to their qualifications.
Sources:
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