Secondary education
Students of a High School in Hyderabad, India
Senior School students in Punjab
Secondary education covers children aged 14 to 18, a group comprising 88.5 million children according to the 2001 Census of India. The final two years of secondary is often called Higher Secondary (HS), Senior Secondary, or simply the "+2" stage. The two halves of secondary education are each an important stage for which a pass certificate is needed, and thus are affiliated by central boards of education under HDR ministry, before one can pursue higher education, including college or professional courses.
UGC, NCERT and CBSE directives state qualifying ages for candidates who wish to take board exams. Those at least fifteen years old by the 30th of May for a given academic year are eligible to appear for Secondary board exams, and those seventeen by the same date are eligible to appear for Higher Secondary certificate board exams. It further states that upon successful completion of Higher Secondary, one can apply to higher education under UGC control such as Engineering, Medical, and Business Administration.
A significant feature of India's secondary school system is the emphasis on inclusion of the disadvantaged sections of the society. Professionals from established institutes are often called to support in vocational training. Another feature of India's secondary school system is its emphasis on profession based vocational training to help students attain skills for finding a vocation of his/her choosing.[25] A significant new feature has been the extension of SSA to secondary education in the form of theRashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.[26]
A special Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) programme was started in 1974 with a focus on primary education.[15] but which was converted into Inclusive Education at Secondary Stage[27] Another notable special programme, the Kendriya Vidyalaya project, was started for the employees of the central government of India, who are distributed throughout the country. The government started theKendriya Vidyalaya project in 1965 to provide uniform education in institutions following the same syllabus at the same pace regardless of the location to which the employee's family has been transferred.[15]
Private schools
According to current estimates, 29% of Indian children are privately educated.[6]With more than 50% children enrolling in private schools in urban areas, the balance has already tilted towards private schooling in cities; and, even in rural areas, nearly 20% of the children in 2004-5 were enrolled in private schools.[29]
Most middle-class families send their children to private schools,[29] which might be in their own city or at distant boarding schools such as Rajkumar College, Rajkot, the oldest private school in India. At such schools, the medium of education is often English, but Hindiand/or the state's official language is also taught as a compulsory subject.[citation needed] Preschool education is mostly limited to organised neighbourhood nursery schools with some organised chains.[citation needed]
Delhi Public School, Azaad Nagar
Many privately owned and managed schools carry the appellation "Public", such as the Delhi Public Schools, orFrank Anthony Public Schools. These are modeled after British public schools, which are a group of older, expensive and exclusive fee-paying private independent schools in England.
According to some research, private schools often provide superior results at a multiple of the unit cost of government schools.[30][31][32] However, others have suggested that private schools fail to provide education to the poorest families, a selective being only a fifth of the schools and have in the past ignored Court orders for their regulation.[citation needed]
The Doon School
In their favour, it has been pointed out that private schools cover the entire curriculum and offer extra-curricular activities such as science fairs, general knowledge, sports, music and drama.[33]The pupil teacher ratios are much better in private schools (1:31 to 1:37 for government schools) and more teachers in private schools are female.[citation needed] There is some disagreement over which system has better educated teachers. According to the latest DISE survey, the percentage of untrained teachers (parateachers) is 54.91% in private, compared to 44.88% in government schools and only 2.32% teachers in unaided schools receive inservice training compared to 43.44% for government schools. The competition in the school market is intense, yet most schools make profit.[33] However, the number of private schools in India is still low - the share of private institutions is 7% (with upper primary being 21% and secondary 32% -source : fortress team research). Even the poorest often go to private schools despite the fact that government schools are free. A study found that 65% of schoolchildren in Hyderabad's slums attend private schools.[32]
International schools
As of January 2015, the International Schools Consultancy (ISC)[34] listed India as having 410 international schools.[35] ISC defines an 'international school' in the following terms "ISC includes an international school if the school delivers a curriculum to any combination of pre-school, primary or secondary students, wholly or partly in English outside an English-speaking country, or if a school in a country where English is one of the official languages, offers an English-medium curriculum other than the country’s national curriculum and is international in its orientation."[35] This definition is used by publications including The Economist.[36]
Homeschooling
Homeschooling is legal in India, though it is the less explored option. The Indian Government's stance on the issue is that parents are free to teach their children at home, if they wish to and have the means. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has stated that despite the RTE Act of 2009, if someone decides not to send his/her children to school, the government would not interfere.[37]
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