India has been a major seat of learning for thousands of years. The organized Indian education system from the ancient Guru Shisya & Gurukul days to modern times is a testimony to this fact. However it is a paradox that while some of the country’s universities are among the world’s well-renowned, it is also dealing with challenges in its primary education. Universal Compulsory Primary Education with its challenges of keeping poor children in school and maintaining quality of education in rural areas has been difficult to achieve. The Indian Education Department dates back to pre-Independence days when for the first time a separate Department was created in 1910 to look after education. The Ministry of Education was established on 29th August 1947. Before 1976, education was the exclusive responsibility of the States. The Constitutional Amendment of 1976, which included Education in the Concurrent List was indeed a far-reaching step, as the Union Government accepted a larger responsibility of reinforcing the national and integrated character of education, maintaining quality and standards including those of the teaching profession at all levels, and the study and monitoring of the educational requirements of the country.
National Policy on Education 1986 and revised Programme of Action 1992 envisioned that free & compulsory education should be provided for all children upto 14 years of age before the end of 21st century. The 86th Constitutional Amendment Act passed by the Parliament made the Right to Elementary Education a Fundamental Right & Duty. The Government of India aims for cent per cent enrolment in the age group of 6-14 by the end of this decade and has therefore, launched the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. On 26th September 1985, the Ministry was merged with the Ministry of Human Resource Department and presently has following two departments:
1. Department of School Education and Literacy
2. Department of Higher Education
The Department of School Education and Literacy is related to the provision of primary formal and non-formal education to realize the goal of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE). Some of the basic objectives of the department are to look after the primary education of the country as well as the massive literacy programmes. The Department aims to meet the universal access & enrolment; universal retention of children upto 14 years of age and; substantial improvement in the quality of education to enable all children to achieve essential levels of learning.
Department of Higher Education wields power over all the secondary and higher education aspects of the country. It aims to laying down of National Policy on Education and overseeing its implementation; planned development of university & higher education and technical education; development of Indian languages; scholarships to deserving students; promotion of books and administration of Copyrights Act and International Cooperation in the field of Education.