The education system in India mainly comprises of primary education, secondary education, senior secondary education and higher education. Elementary education consists of eight years of education. Each of secondary and senior secondary education consists of two years of education. Higher education in India starts after passing the higher secondary education or the 12th standard. Depending on the stream, doing graduation in India can take three to five years. Post graduate courses are generally of two to three years of duration. After completing post graduation, scope for doing research in various educational institutes also remains open.
CBSE
Under the present law, 7.5% seats in the higher educational institutes are reserved for the scheduled tribes, 15% for scheduled castes and 27% for the non creamy layers of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Under the Indian constitution, various minority groups can also set up their own educational institutes. Efforts are also being taken to improve the access to higher education among the women of India by setting up various educational institutes exclusively for them or reserving seats in the already existing institutes. The growing acceptance of distance learning courses and expansion of the open university system is also contributing a lot in the democratization of higher education in India.
The CBSE is an autonomous body working under the aegis of the Ministry of HRD. It is the second oldest Board of the country set-up in 1929.
The main objectives of the CBSE are:
· Affiliating institutions in and outside the country.
· Conduct annual examinations at the end of Class X and XII.
· Conducting entrance examinations to professional courses for admission into medical and engineering colleges.
· Updating and designing curriculum
There are approximately 8300 schools affiliated with CBSE as on date which include KVs, Government, Independent and JNV schools located in India and 20 other countries of the world.
Kendriya Vidyalayas
The scheme of Kendriya Vidyalayas was approved by Govt. of India in November, 1962 to provide uninterrupted education to the wards of transferable Central Government employees. Initially, 20 regimental schools were taken over as Central Schools during the academic session 1963-64.. This number has now gone up to 931 including 3 abroad (Kathmandu, Moscow and Tehran). 44 KVs are running in double shift.
Central Tibetan School Administration (CTSA)
Central Tibetan Schools Administration was established as an autonomous organisation under Ministry of Education, Government of India, in 1961 and was registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 with the objectives to run, manage and assist institutions set up for the Education of Tibetan children living in India. In order to provide Modern Education while preserving and promoting Tibetan culture and heritage, schools were set up at the places of concentration of Tibetan population in India.
National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)
The National Open School (NOS) was set up by the Government of India in 1989 with a view to provide education through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode to those who cannot attend regular schools. Since its inception, the NOS discharged the responsibility to promote the entire range of school education through open learning system in the country. It performed a significant role for defining standards in open schooling, experimenting with innovations, assisting State level organizations with professional resource support and expertise, and dissemination of tested innovations, curriculum and materials.
