Education System of India
INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
India today has one of the largest higher education networks in the world. It comprises 48 central universities, 399 state universities, 126 Deemed universities, 330 private universities along with several institutes of national importance and educational councils. Universities in India are set up by the Central or State Governments by means of legislation, while colleges are established by the State Governments or private bodies / trusts. All colleges are affiliated to some university.
The different types of universities are:
Central or State Universities -- while the former are funded directly by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the latter are set up and funded by the various state governments.
Deemed Universities -- enjoy the same academic status and privileges as a university. Examples are the Deccan College of Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune; Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai; Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore; etc.
Institutions of National Importance -- are university-level institutions that are established or designated by Acts of Parliament and funded by the Central Government. These include the Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, etc.
Classification of Colleges
Colleges in India come under four different categories. This categorization is done on the basis of the kind of courses offered by them (professional/ vocational) / their ownership status( Private/ Government) or their relationship with the university (affiliated/university owned).
University Colleges
These colleges are managed by the university itself and situated mostly in the university campus.
Government Colleges
Government colleges are managed by state governments. As in case of other colleges, the university to which these colleges are affiliated, conducts their examination, lays down the courses of studies and awards the degrees.
Professional Colleges
The professional colleges are mostly in the disciplines of medicine, engineering and management. They are sponsored and managed either by the government or by private initiative.
Privately Managed colleges
About 70% of the colleges are founded by the privately owned trusts or societies. But these institutes are also governed by the rules and regulations of the university they are affiliated to.
Courses offered at Higher Education Level
- Engineering and Technology
- Computer Sciences, Information Technology, Biotechnology and Bio-informatics.
- Medical, Dental, Nursing, Pharmacy and Paramedical.
- Agriculture / Veterinary Sciences, Dairy Technology and Fisheries.
- Arts & Fine Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Commerce, Science and Management.
- Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Travel and Tourism.
- Fashion Design & Technology.
The academic programmes are offered at Vocational Diploma, Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Doctoral levels.
Distance Education
In India, there are 66 distance education institutions functioning in 60 universities besides 11 open universities offering distance education programmes. India Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi is one of the largest open universities in the world and caters to around 1 million students around the world.
Vocational Education
Vocational Education at Certificate level are offered by 1500 vocational institutions in the country in the areas of agriculture, business, commerce, health and para-medical, home science and humanities in addition to engineering trades.
Courses and Degrees
Undergraduate Courses:-
Undergraduate courses, in general, are of three years leading to Bachelor degrees. The universities and higher education institutes award Bachelor's degree in Arts, Science, Commerce, etc. However, undergraduate courses leading to a first degree in professional subjects like Engineering, Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy are of a longer duration ranging from four to five and a half years. Most of the engineering courses are for duration of four years, while the medical courses are for duration of about five and a half years.
Postgraduate Courses:-
Postgraduate Courses in Arts, Science, Engineering and Medicine are usually for two years ending with the award of a Master's degree. In some specialized fields for instance, for a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree, the possession of a Bachelor's degree in any discipline is required before admission can be obtained.
Some universities and higher institutes offer a diploma or a certificate course of shorter duration courses in disciplines like Engineering, Agricultural Sciences and Computer Technology. However the duration of these courses varies from university to university.
Doctoral Courses:-
Doctoral courses like M Phil and PhD are available only at the university colleges. These courses involve research work under a chosen/allotted guide, leading to thesis submission and viva-voce.
Successful completion of PhD course designates the title of 'Doctor' to the individual.