The book gives a panoramic view of Indian Education in the post-independence period taking cognizance of certain developments of the pre-independence era. Besides giving progress and perspectives of the various sectors of education, it also discusses some of the developments that have impacted Indian education. It also examines the rationale of some schemes that were initially considered to be the raison d’etre of reform in Indian education but were subsequently allowed to fade out. The volume also includes RTE, financing of higher education and teacher education through distance mode and new Education Policy. Further, it examines NITI Aayog and Planning Commission’s role in education, the impact of globalisation on educational development; criteria based funding of education; education under a democratic set-up as also the role of education in promoting international understanding. In fact, the present situation of Indian Education has been built upon the edifice of the position in the past. The book would be found useful by all the stakeholders in education. Contents: A Prayer Foreword by Prof. G.D. Sharma ix Acknowledgements Introduction Section 1 Agenda for Education in the Twenty First Century 1. School Education and Right to Education Life Long Learning; Policy Framework; Progress of Education; Needed Reforms; Mental Hygiene of the Child; Meaning of Mental Hygiene; Its Neglect; Child’s Needs; Need for Security; Need for Adventure; A Few Suggestions; The Problem of Sex; Educational Backwardness Among Children; Distribution of Intelligence; Responsibility of the Teacher; Responsibility of the Parents; Right to Education Act 2009–10; Some Observations; No Detention Policy; Arguments against No Detention Policy; Conclusion 2. Higher Education: Progress and Perspectives 26 Quantitative Dimensions; Declining Growth Rates; Static Enrolment at the Post-graduate and Research Stages; Women Rising Proportionate Enrolment; Scheduled Castes Enrolment; Quality of Higher Education; Employment Potential of Higher Education; Restructuring University Level Courses; New Economic Policy 1991; Restructuring of Courses; Skill Development Courses; Role of Industrial and Commercial Houses; Conclusion 3. Changing Complexion of Higher Education Impact of Emerging Socio-economic Dispensations on Higher Education; Implications for Education; Alternative Strategies; International Scenario; Implications of Privatisation; Marketisation of Education; The Way Out; Need for Autonomy; xiv Indian Education Since Independence Quality and Excellence in Higher Education; Management of Higher Education; Autonomy of Universities; Checks and Balances; Power of Purse; Not Isolation; Academic Freedom; Choice of Chancellors Section 2 Educational Finance 4. Financing of Education in India Significant Trends in Overall Educational Finance; Role of Centre and States in Educational Investment; Emerging Problems of Educational Finance; Resource Mobilisation – Need for and Modalities of; Conclusion 5. Financing of Secondary Education 75 Behaviour of Educational Finance—All India; School Education; Plan Outlays; Problems of Educational Finance; Rising Expenditure on Staff Salaries; Resource Mobilisation; Conclusion 6. Financing of Higher Education in India: Resource Mobilisation Behaviour of Higher Education Finance – Overall Expenditure; Emerging Problems of University Finances; The New Education Policy 1986 (Review 1992); Resources Mobilisation; Institutional Proliferation; Academic Accountability; Conclusion; Privatise .... and Perish (?); The Resource Crunch; The Way Out; Redesigning of Economic Policies; Implications for Education; Alternative Strategies 7. Criteria Based Funding of Higher Education Funding Mechanisms; British Experience; Modalities of Input Funding; Types of Costs; Some Problem Areas; Input Funding System based on Unit Costs 8. Financing of Higher Education: India and Great Britain — A Comparative Study Indian and British Systems; University Development: Problems and Perspectives; Magnitudes of Financial Inputs; India and Britain; Educational Expenditure as a Proportion of GDP; Source of Finance; Relative Position of the Universities under Study; Financial Management; Funding Bodies; India; Britain; General Reactions to the New System; Some Significant Problems; Financial Support for Students; Precautions to be Taken by the Developing Countries; Student Fees; Mobilising Resources; Policy Implications; Resources Constraints; Financial Management 9. Researches in Educational Finance: Past, Present and Future Brief Review; Equity-Efficiency Nexus; Efficiency in Education; Socio-Economic Status of Students; Financial Management; An Appraisal; The Future; Conclusion Section 3 All About Teachers and Teacher Education 10. Mental Adjustment of an Indian Teacher Degree of Adjustment; Causes of Maladjustment; Conclusion 11. Professional Commitments and Accountability of Teachers Foremost Problems; Role of Teacher; Teacher’s Commitment; Professional Accountability; Enhancing Teachers’ Accountability; Measuring Teachers Accountability; Role of Teacher’s Organisation; An Unforgettable Teacher 12. Teacher Education through Correspondence Suggestions; Conclusion 13. Teacher Education through Distance Mode: A Comparative Study of Financing of the Programme under Conventional and Distance Mode Concept of Distance Education; Distance Teacher Education; Rationale for Teacher Education through Distance Mode; Expenditure on Teacher Education; Comparative Costs Effectiveness; Cost Analysis of Teacher Education through Distance Mode; Thus Spoke the Students; Main Conclusions and Recommendations Section 4 Game Changers in Educational System 14. Globalisation and its Impact on Indian Education Impact of Reforms; Impact of Globalisation on Education; Content of Education; Equity, Excellence Syndrome; Internationalisation of Education; Finance Related Reforms; Conclusion 15. NITI Aayog: Replacing the Planning Commission Planning Commission: Role in Educational Development; Historical Perspective; Concept of Educational Planning; Machinery of Educational Planning; Planning Commission: Joint Responsibility Concept; Educational Management; NITI Aayog; Parameters of Effective Governance; Composition of the Aayog; Modus Operandi; Strategy of Development 16. Education in a Democracy: A Conceptual Framework Education under Totalitarianism; Education under Democracy; Democracy and the Educator; Democracy and the Educand; Indian Conditions Section 5 Missed Opportunities in the Educational System (Lest We Forget) 17. Ravages of the Retrenchment Committee: Pre-Independence Period Abolition of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE); Closing Down of the Delhi University 18. Basic Education: Post-Independence Period The Demise of an Ideology; Gandhiji’s Educational Philosophy; Two Components; Gandhian Educational Philosophy Takes a Concrete Shape; The Virtual Abandonments of the Scheme 19. Multi-Purpose Schools Need of Multipurpose Schools; Main Features of Multipurpose Schools 20. The Oases and the Desert: Major Universities – The Still Born Proposal of the Education Commission (1964–66) Appendices: And the Life Goes On…. Some Interesting Events; A Personal Note Post Script: National Policy on Education (NEP) 2020 268 Index