CHAPTER 7 - The Existing School and Formal Education System

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the existing school and formal education system. Much has been talked about and written about India's education system. University and Secondary Education commissions have often sought the advice of knowledgeable persons in their respective fields while formulating a system of education. In dealing with India, it is important to make clear the distinction between what is meant by primary or junior basic and what used to be called elementary education. In India, the middle stage of school education covers both senior basic schools and the older type of elementary schools with classes VI to VIII as along with the three lowest classes in secondary or high schools, the normal age range in each case being from 11 to 14 years. The higher secondary education stage comprises, in the main, those pupils who are in classes IX, X, and XI in high schools. When one gets beyond the sphere of secondary or high school education, differences of organization and variations of nomenclature make it difficult to present either a coherent picture or really comparable statistics.