Education in India- 2011

Before coming on the topic, “Education in India- 2011”, let us talk about some of the general facts of education scenario in India. India has one of the largest numbers of higher education institutions in the world comprising at least 490 universities and 20,769 colleges. Also, there are at least 100 foreign educational institutions in the country, mostly offering programmes that are vocational or technical. Though the figures of these institutions are good yet the quality of education in India remains poor. Some of the graduate skills are so poor they are unemployable. Every year, more than 160,000 students leave Indian shores to study at universities abroad.

Now, let us talk about the scenario of education in India in 2011. Firstly, 2011 saw a little unconventional trend on the part of students in selecting courses. While medicine and engineering ruled above the other educational sectors in 2010, in 2011 it was previously unheard of- professional courses that the students opted to study was different from their peers.

Other tha this, the year of 2011 saw the revival of the importance of subjects from pure science that had completely lost their value. This can also be seen as an achievement of the education sector in the year 2011. The revival has happened due to the growing popularity of engineering and technology studies.

Not only the subjects of science but there was also a rise in the subjects related to humanities and liberal arts. It was Indian Institute of Technology- Madras (IITM) which first introduced a master’s programme in social sciences in the beginning of the year. After that many others followed IITM’s path. It is a good thing that happened in 2011 as a combination of pure sciences and social sciences not only lead to profitable jobs, they also place students in a field where they can extend a hand of benefit to the society.  

2011 was also a year when talent and creativity captured a higher place rather than merits and ranks. Visual communication as a subject of study was encouraged when renowned designer of cars, Dilip Chhabria opened the Center for Automotive Design in the city of Pune.

With these achievements in the education sector in 2011 there are still many things to do in order to improve the education system of India. A very important bill that seeks to allow foreign university campuses in India is still to be tabled in Parliament. The move will open a huge market for both Indian and foreign universities. By the end of the next year, the education pattern followed in India is expected to become more student friendly and oriented towards rare career choices.