Education in India

didactics in India has a history stretching back to the ancient urban centres of acquire at Taxila and Nalanda. Western develop manpowert became ingrained into Indian society with the establishment of the British Raj. schooling in India smooths nether the chasten of both the compact G everyplacenment and the states, with whatsoever responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian record succeed for procreation as a fundamental rightfield. well-nigh universities in India be Union or secernate Government controlled.India has make a huge progress in terms of increasing native commandment attendance gait and expanding literacy to approximately two thirds of the universe of discourse. 2 Indias improved upbringing governing body is oftentimes cited as wiz of the main contributors to the stinting chute of India. 3 Much of the progress in procreation has been credited to various buck orphic institut ions. 4 The common soldier breeding merchandise in India is estimated to be worth $40 billion in 2008 and will annex to $68 billion by 2012. 4 until now, India saves to face ch only toldenges. despite growing investment in fostering, 35% of the population is illiterate and only 15% of the moderatemans reach full(prenominal) direct. 5 As of 2008, Indias post- subaltern high gear shal bases offer only enough seats for 7% of Indias college- while population, 25% of program line positions nationally ar va bottomlandt, and 57% of college professors lack either a masters or PhD degree. 6 As of 2007, at that place ar 1522 degree-granting engineering colleges in India with an annual student intake of 582,000,7 plus 1,244 polytechnics with an annual intake of 265,000.However, these institutions face shortage of dexterity and concerns hurl been raised over the quality of gentility. 8 Three Indian universities were listed in the Times Higher Education list of the worlds ta ke place 200 universities Indian set ups of engineering recognition, Indian Institutes of Management, and Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2005 and 2006. 9 Six Indian Institutes of engine room and the Birla Institute of Technology and wisdom Pilani were listed among the nobble 20 science and engineering science instills in Asia by Asiaweek. 10 The Indian School of Business situated in Hyderabad was ranked tot 12 in global MBA rankings by the monetary Times of London in 201011 while the All India Institute of health check Sciences has been recognized as a global leader in medical examination research and treatment. 12Contents hide 1 virgins report 2 Overview 2. 1 original schooling 2. 2 utility(prenominal) precept 2. 3 Tertiary procreation 2. 4 proficient commandment 3 Literacy 4 advancement 5 hidden education 6 Womens Education 7 Rural education 8 Issues 9 Initiatives 10 Central presidency involvement 10. 1 calculate 10. Public Expenditure on Education in In dia 10. 3 legislative framework 11 Notes 12 References 13 External links edit History Monastic orders of education under the supervision of a guru was a upgrade model of education for the nobility in ancient India. 13 The association in these orders was often related to the tasks a section of the society had to perform. 14 The priest class, the Brahmins, were imparted companionship of religion, philosophy, and other ancillary branches while the warrior class, the Kshatriya, were trained in the various aspects of warf ar. 14 The problem class, the Vaishya, were taught their trade and the lowest class of the Shudras was widely distributedly deprived of educational advantages. 14 The book of laws, the Manusmriti, and the treatise on statecraft the Arthashastra were among the influential works of this era which reflect the brainpower and understanding of the world at the time. 14 Apart from the monastic orders, institutions of high learning and universities flourished in India w ell before the common era, and continued to deliver education into the common era. 15 Secular Buddhist institutions cropped up along with monasteries. 14 These institutions imparted practical education, e. g. medicine. 14 A number of urban learning centres became increasingly visible from the period betwixt 200 BCE to 400 CE. 16 The important urban centres of learning were Taxila and Nalanda, among others. 16 These institutions systematically imparted knowledge and attracted a number of foreign students to sketch topics much(prenominal) as logic, grammar, medicine, metaphysics, humanities and crafts. 16By the time of the visit of the Moslem scholar Alberuni (973-1048 CE), India al teachy had a sophisticated system of mathematics and science in place, and had do a number of inventions and discoveries. 17 With the arrival of the British Raj in India a class of Westernized elite group was versed in the Western system of education which the British had introduced. 18 This system s oon became solidified in India as a number of primary, inessential, and ordinal centres for education cropped up during the colonial era. 18 Between 1867 and 1941 the British attachd the office of the population in Primary and Secondary Education from most 0. 6% of the population in 1867 to over 3. 5% of the population in 1941. However this was much lower than the equivalent figures for Europe where in 1911 in the midst of 8 and 18% of the population were in Primary and Secondary education. 19 Additionally literacy was the likewise improved. In 1901 the literacy rate in India was only about 5% though by Independence it was move uply 20%. 20 interest independence in 1947, Maulana Azad, Indias first education minister envisaged strong pro implant governance control over education passim the country, with a uniform educational system. 21 However, disposed the cultural and linguistic diversity of India, it was only the high education traffic with science and technology t hat came under the jurisdiction of the primeval governance. 21 The governing body withal held powers to make national policies for educational teaching and could regulate selected aspects of education throughout India. 22 The central regimen of India formulate the home(a) Policy on Education (NPE) in 1986 and similarly reinforced the architectural plan of Action (POA) in 1986. 23 The political science initiated several measures the launching of DPEP (District Primary Education Programme) and SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan,24 Indias initiative for Education for All) and backing up of Navodaya Vidyalaya and other selective schools in every district, advances in womanish education, inter-disciplinary research and establishment of open universities.Indias NPE excessively contains the National System of Education, which ensures most uniformity while taking into account regional education needs. The NPE to a fault stresses on higher spending on education, envisaging a budget of to a greater extent(prenominal) than 6% of the Gross Domestic Product. 23 While the need for wider reform in the primary and substitute(prenominal) empyreans is recognized as an issue, the emphasis is to a fault on the development of science and technology education base. edit Overview The National Council of Educational query and Training (NCERT) is the apex body for programme related matters for school education in India. 25 The NCERT avows support and technical assistance to a number of schools in India and oversees umpteen aspects of enforcement of education policies. 26 In India, the various curriculum bodies governing school education system are The state government boards, in which the mass of Indian children are enrolled. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board. The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) board. The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) board. world-wide schools affiliated to the International Baccalaurea te Programme and/or the Cambridge International Examinations. Islamic Madrasah schools, whose boards are controlled by local state governments, or autonomous, or affiliated with Darul Uloom Deoband. Autonomous schools like Woodstock School, Auroville, Patha Bhavan and Ananda Marga Gurukula. In addition, NUEPA (National University of Educational inventionning and Administration)27 and NCTE (National Council for instructor Education) are responsible for the management of the education system and teacher accreditation. 28 edit Primary education The Indian government lays emphasis to primary education up to the age of quartetteen age (referred to as Elementary Education in India. 29) The Indian government has too banned child labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe running(a)(a) conditions. 29 However, both free education and the ban on child parturiency are difficult to enforce due to economic disparity and loving conditions. 29 80% of all recognized sc hools at the Elementary Stage are government run or supported, making it the largest rearr of education in the Country. 30 However, due to shortage of resources and lack of political will, this system suffers from massive gaps including high pupil teacher ratios, shortage of infrastructure and poor train of teacher training. Education has also been make free29 for children for six to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to throw in the towel and Compulsory Education Act 2009. 31 There have been several efforts to call forth quality make by the government. The District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was launched in 1994 with an aim to universalize primary education in India by reforming and vitalizing the existing primary education system. 32 85% of the DPEP was funded by the central government and the persisting 15 per centumage was funded by the states. 32 The DPEP, which had opened 160000 clean schools including 84000 alternative education sc hools delivering alternative education to approximately 3. 5 jillion children, was also supported by UNICEF and other international create by mental acts. 32 This primary education scheme has also shown a high Gross Enrollment proportionality of 9395% for the perish three years in some states. 32 Significant improvement in staffing and enrollment of girls has also been made as a part of this scheme. 32 The current scheme for universalization of Education for All is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan which is one of the largest education initiatives in the world. Enrollment has been enhanced, but the aims of quality remain low. edit Secondary education The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986, has provided for environment awareness, science and technology education, and introduction of traditional elements such as Yoga into the Indian secondary school system. 33 Secondary education covers children 14-18 which covers 88. 5 million children according to the Census, 2001.However, sched ule figures show that only 31 million of these children were attending schools in 2001-02, which path that two-third of the population remained out of school. 34 A significant feature of Indias 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 Indias secondary school system is its emphasis on profession based vocational training to help students attain skills for finding a vocation of his/her choosing. 35 A significant new feature has been the extension of SSA to secondary education in the form of the Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan36 A particular(a) Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) create mentally was started in 1974 with a focus on primary education. 25 but which was converted into Inclusive Education at Secondary Stage37 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 the Kendriya Vidyalaya project in 1965 to provide uniform education in institutions following the same programme at the same pace regardless of the location to which the employees family has been transferred. 25 edit Tertiary education Our university system is, in umteen parts, in a state of disrepair In almost half the districts in the country, higher education enrollments are rottenly low, almost two-third of our universities and 90 per cent of our colleges are rated as below come on quality parametersI am concerned that in many states university appointments, including that of vice-chancellors, have been politicised and have become subject to caste and communal considerations, in that respect are complaints of favouritism and corruption. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 200738 Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Indias higher education system is the third l argest in the world, later chinaware and the United put ups. 39 The main governing body at the tertiary level is the University Grants Commission (India), which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate surrounded by the centre and the state. 40 Accreditation for higher learning is overseen by 12 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants Commission. 41 As of 2009, India has 20 central universities, 215 state universities, nose candy deemed universities, 5 institutions established and functioning under the State Act, and 13 institutes which are of national importance. 40 Other institutions include 16000 colleges, including 1800 exclusive womens colleges, functioning under these universities and institutions. 40 The emphasis in the tertiary level of education lies on science and technology. 42 Indian educational institutions by 2004 consisted of a large number of technology institutes. 43 Distance learning is also a feature of the In dian higher education system. 43 Some institutions of India, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), have been globally acclaimed for their standard of education. 43 The IITs enroll about 8000 students annually and the alumni have contributed to both the growth of the tete-a-tete sector and the prevalent sectors of India. 44 Besides top rated universities which provide highly competitive world class education to their pupil, India is also home to many universities which have been plungeed with the sole objective of making light money. Regulatory authorities like UGC and AICTE have been trying very unvoiced to extirpate the menace of private universities which are running courses without any railroad tie or recognition. Students from rural and semi urban background often reach prey to these institutes and colleges. 45dead link edit Technical educationFrom the first Five Year Plan onwards Indias emphasis was to develop a pool of scientifically fain manpower. 46 Ind ias National Policy on Education (NPE) provisioned for an apex body for edict and development of higher technical education, which came into being as the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in 1987 through an act of the Indian parliament. 47 At the level of the centre the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Information Technology are deemed of national importance. 47 The Indian Institutes of Management are also among the nations premier education facilities. 47 Several Regional Engineering Colleges (REC) have been converted into National Institutes of Technology. 47 The UGC has inter-university centres at a number of locations throughout India to promote common research, e. g. the Nuclear Science Centre at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. 48 edit Literacy Main article Literacy in India fit to the Census of 2001, every person above the age of 7 years who can read and write in any language is express to be literate. tally to this cr iterion, the 2001 survey holds the National Literacy Rate to be around 64. 84%. 49 Government statistics of 2001 also hold that the rate of increase in literacy is more in rural regions than in urban areas. 49 effeminate literacy was at a national average of 53. 63% whereas the male literacy was 75. 26%. 49 Within the Indian states, Kerala has shown the highest literacy judge of 90. 02% whereas Bihar averaged lower than 50% literacy, the lowest in India. 49 The 2001 statistics also indicated that the full(a) number of absolute non-literates in the country was 304 million. 49 edit Attainment World Bank statistics found that fewer than 40 percent of adolescents in India attend secondary schools. 2 The Economist reports that half of 10-year-old rural children could not read at a basic level, over 60% were unable to do division, and half dropped out by the age 14. 50 Only one in ten young people have access to tertiary education. 2 off of those who come across higher education, Me rcer Consulting estimates that only a quarter of graduates are employable. 51An optimistic estimate is that only one in five job-seekers in India has ever had any sort of vocational training. 52 edit Private education harmonize to current estimates, 80% of all schools are government schools30 making the government the major provider of education. However, because of poor quality of public education, 27% of Indian children are privately meliorate. 53 According to some research, private schools often provide superior results at a fraction of the unit cost of government schools. 505455 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 tense ignored Court orders for their regulation56 In their favour, it has been pointed out that private schools cover the sinless curriculum and offer extra-curricular activities such as science fairs, general knowledge, sports, euph ony and drama. 53 The pupil teacher ratios are much better in private schools (131 to 137 for government schools and more teachers in private schools are pistillate. 57 There is some disgreement over which system has better educated teachers. According to the latest DISE survey, the percentage of untrained teachers (paratechers) is 54. 91% in private, compared to 44. 88% in government schools and only 2. 32% teachers in unaided schools perk up inservice training compared to 43. 44% for government schools. The competition in the school market is intense, yet most schools make profit. 53 Even the poorest often go to private schools despite the fact that government schools are free. A study found that 65% of schoolchildren in Hyderabads slums attend private schools. 55 Private schools are often operate illegally. A 2001 study found that it takes 14 different licenses from four different authorities to open a private school in New Delhi and could take years if through legally. 55 How ever, operation of unrecognized schools has been made illegal under the Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act31 which has also significantly simplified the process of obtaining recognition. edit Womens Education Girls in school near Baroda, Gujarat. See also Women in India Women have much lower literacy rate than men.Far fewer girls are enrolled in the schools, and many of them drop out. 58 According to a 1998 report by U. S. Department of Commerce, the chief barrier to young-bearing(prenominal) education in India are inadequate school facilities (such as sound facilities), shortage of young-bearing(prenominal) teachers and gender bias in curriculum (majority of the female characters being depicted as weak and helpless)59 The number of literate women among the female population of India was between 2-6% from the British Raj onwards to the formation of the Republic of India in 1947. 60 Concerted efforts led to improvement from 15. 3% in 1961 to 28. % in 1981. 60 B y 2001 literacy for women had exceeded 50% of the overall female population, though these statistics were still very low compared to world standards and even male literacy inwardly India. 61 Recently the Indian government has launched Saakshar Bharat Mission for Female Literacy. This mission aims to bring down female analphabetism by half of its present level. Sita Anantha Raman outlines the progress of womens education in IndiaSince 1947 the Indian government has tried to provide incentives for girls school attendance through programs for midday meals, free books, and uniforms.This welfare thrust raised primary enrollment between 1951 and 1981. In 1986 the National Policy on Education decided to reconstitute education in tune with the social framework of each state, and with big national goals. It emphasized that education was necessary for democracy, and central to the improvement of womens condition. The new policy aimed at social change through rewrite texts, curricula, incr eased funding for schools, expansion in the numbers of schools, and policy improvements. accent mark was placed on expanding girls occupational centers and primary education secondary and higher education and rural and urban institutions.The report tried to connect problems like low school attendance with poverty, and the dependence on girls for housework and cognate day allot. The National Literacy Mission also worked through female tutors in villages. Although the minimum marriage age is now eighteen for girls, many continue to be married much earlier. Therefore, at the secondary level, female dropout rates are high. 62 Sita Anantha Raman also maintains that while the educated Indian women workforce maintains professionalism, the men outnumber them in most fields and, in some cases, receive higher income for the same positions. 62 edit Rural education A primary school in a village in Madhya Pradesh. succeeding(a) independence, India viewed education as an effective tool for bri nging social change through lodge development. 63 The administrative control was effectively initiated in the 1950s, when, in 1952, the government class villages under a Community maturement Blockan authority under national programme which could control education in up to 100 villages. 63 A Block Development Officer oversaw a geographical area of 150 square miles which could contain a population of as many as 70000 people. 63Setty and Ross elaborate on the role of such programmes, themselves divided shape up into individual-based, community based, or the Individual-cum-community-based, in which microscopic levels of development are overseen at village level by an appointed workerThe community development programmes comprise agriculture, animal husbandry, cooperation, rural industries, rural engineering (consisting of minor irrigation, roads, buildings), health and sanitation including family welfare, family planning, women welfare, child care and nutrition, education including a dult education, social education and literacy, youth welfare and community organisation.In each of these areas of development thither are several programmes, schemes and activities which are additive, expanding and tapering off covering the total community, some segments, or specific target populations such as broken and marginal farmers, artisans, women and in general people below the poverty line. 63 Despite some setbacks the rural education programmes continued throughout the 1950s, with support from private institutions. 64 A sizable network of rural education had been established by the time the Gandhigram Rural Institute was established and 5, 200 Community Development Blocks were established in India. 65 Nursery schools, elementary schools, secondary school, and schools for adult education for women were set up. 65 The government continued to view rural education as an agenda that could be relatively free from bureaucratic backlog and general stagnation. 65 However, in some cases lack of financing balanced the gains made by rural education institutes of India. 66 Some ideas failed to find acceptability among Indias poor and investments made by the government sometimes yielded little results. 66 Today, government rural schools remain poorly funded and understaffed. Several foundations, such as the Rural Development stand (Hyderabad), actively build high-quality rural schools, but the number of students served is small. edit Issues One study found out that 25% of public sector teachers and 40% of public sector medical workers were absent during the survey. Among teachers who were paid to teach, absence rates ranged from 15% in Maharashtra to 71% in Bihar.Only 1 in well 3000 public school head teachers had ever dismissed a teacher for repeated absence. 67 A study on teachers by Kremer etc. found that only about half were teaching, during unannounced visits to a nationally vocalisation sample of government primary schools in India. . 67 Modern education in India is often criticized for being based on rote learning kinda than problem solving. BusinessWeek denigrates the Indian curriculum saying it revolves around rote learning. 68 and ExpressIndia suggests that students are focused on cramming. 69 A study of 188 government-run primary schools found that 59% of the schools had no drinking water and 89% had no toilets. 70 2003-04 data by National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration revealed that only 3. 5% of primary schools in Bihar and Chhattisgarh had toilets for girls. In Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, rates were 12-16%. 71 Fake degrees are a problem. One raid in Bihar found 0. 1 million sham certificates. 72 In February 2009, the University Grant Commission found 19 fake institutions operating in India. 73 Only 16% of manufacturers in India offer in-service training to their employees, compared with over 90% in China. 74 edit Initiatives Boys seated in sch ool near Baroda, Gujarat. The madrasa of Jamia Masjid mosque in Srirangapatna.Following Indias independence a number of rules were formulated for the backward schedule Castes and the schedule Tribes of India, and in 1960 a list identifying 405 Scheduled Castes and 225 Scheduled Tribes was published by the central government. 75 An amendment was made to the list in 1975, which identified 841 Scheduled Castes and 510 Scheduled Tribes. 75 The total percentage of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes combined was found to be 22. 5 percent with the Scheduled Castes chronicle for 17 percent and the Scheduled Tribes accounting for the rest 7. 5 percent. 75 Following the report many Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes increasingly referred to themselves as Dalit, a Marathi language terminology used by B. R. Ambedkar which literally means loaded. 75The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are provided for in many of Indias educational programmes. 76 particular(a) engagements are als o provided for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in India, e. g. a reservation of 15% in Kendriya Vidyalaya for Scheduled Castes and another reservation of 7. 5% in Kendriya Vidyalaya for Scheduled Tribes. 76 Similar reservations are held by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in many schemes and educational facilities in India. 76 The remote and far-flung regions of North eastside India are provided for under the Non Lapsible Central pool of Resources (NLCPR) since 1998-1999. 77 The NLCPR aims to provide funds for infrastructure development in these remote areas. 77The government objective for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), started in 2001, is to provide education to children between 614 years by 2010. 78 The programme focuses specially on girls and children with challenged social or financial backgrounds. 78 The SSA also aims to provide practical infrastructure and relevant source material in form of free textbooks to children in remote areas. 78 The SSA also aims at widening computer education in rural areas. 78 SSA is currently working with Agastya International al-Qaeda an educational NGO to augment its efforts in making science curriculum current and exciting. However, some objectives of the SSA, e. g. enrollment of all children under the scheme in schools by 2005 remain unfulfilled. 78 Education Guarantee Scheme and Alternative and progressive Education are components of the SSA. 78 Women from remote, underdeveloped areas or from weaker social groups in Andra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, fall under the Mahila Samakhya Scheme, initiated in 1989. 79 Apart from provisions for education this programme also aims to raise awareness by holding meetings and seminars at rural levels. 79 The government allowed 340 million rupees during 200708 to carry out this scheme over 83 districts including more than 21, 000 villages. 79 Currently there are 68 Bal Bhavans and 10 Bal Kendra affiliated to the National Bal Bhavan. 80 The scheme involves educational and social activities and recognising children with a marked talent for a particular educational stream. 80 A number of programmes and activities are held under this scheme, which also involves cultural exchanges and participation in several international forums. 80 Indias minorities, especially the ones considered educationally backward by the government, are provided for in the 1992 amendment of the Indian National Policy on Education (NPE). 81 The government initiated the Scheme of Area Intensive Programme for educationally Backward Minorities and Scheme of Financial Assistance or Modernisation of Madarsa Education as part of its revised Programme of Action (1992). 81 Both these schemes were started nationwide by 1994. 81 In 2004 the Indian parliament allowed an act which enabled minority education establishments to seek university affiliations if they passed the required norms. 81 edit Central government i nvolvement edit Budget As a part of the tenth Five year Plan (20022007), the central government of India outlined an expenditure of 65. 6% of its total education budget of Rs. 438250 million, or (Rs. 287500 million) on elementary education 9. 9% (Rs. 43250 million) on secondary education 2. 9% (Rs. 12500 million) on adult education 9. 5% (Rs. 41765 million) on higher education 10. 7% (Rs. 7000 million) on technical education and the remaining 1. 4% (Rs. 6235 million) on miscellaneous education schemes. 82 According to the United Nations Educational, scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), India has the lowest public expenditure on higher education per student in the world. 83 See also Education in India Five Year Plan Expenditure edit Public Expenditure on Education in India In recent times, several major announcements were made for developing the poor state of affairs in education sector in India, the most notable ones being the National Common nominal Programme (NCMP) of t he United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.The announcements are (a) To progressively increase expenditure on education to around 6 percent of GDP. (b) To support this increase in expenditure on education, and to increase the quality of education, there would be an imposition of an education cess over all central government taxes. (c) To ensure that no one is denied of education due to economic diffidence and poverty. (d) To make right to education a fundamental right for all children in the age group 614 years. (e) To universalize education through its flagship programmes such as Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Mid Day Meal. However, even after five years of implementation of NCMP, not much progress has been done on these promises or announcements.The public expenditure on education has actually declined from around 3. 23 percent of GDP in 2000-2001 to 2. 88 percent in the recent times. As a proportion of total government expenditure, it has declined from around 11. 1 percent in 20 00-2001 to around 9. 98 percent during UPA rule. A policy brief issued by Network for Social Accountability (NSA)84 name NSA Response to Education Sector Interventions in Union Budget UPA draw rein and the Education Sector85 provides significant revelation to this fact. Due to a declining priority of education in the public policy paradigm in India, there has been an exponential function growth in the private expenditure on education also. As per the available information, the private out of pocket expenditure by the working class population for the education of their children in India has increased by around 1150 percent or around 12. 5 times over the last decade. 86 edit Legislative framework Article 45, of the Constitution of India originally statedThe State shall elbow grease to provide, within a period of ten years from the gradation of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they pick out the age of 14 years. 21 This article was a dire ctive belief of state policy within India, effectively meaning that it was within a set of rules that were meant to be followed in spirit and the government could not be held to court if the actual letter was not followed. 87 However, the enforcement of this directive linguistic rule became a matter of debate since this principle held obvious emotive and practical value, and was legally the only directive principle within the Indian constitution to have a time limit. 87 Following initiatives by the Supreme Court of India during the 1990s the Ninety-third amendment bill suggested three sort out amendments to the Indian constitution88 The constitution of India was amend to include a new article, 21A, which readThe State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to cardinal years in a such manner as the State may, by law, determine. 89Article 45 was proposed to be substituted by the article which readProvision for early childhood care and educati on to children below the age of six years The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of sixteen years. 89 Another article, 51A, was to additionally have the clause a parent or guardian shall provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, a ward between the age of six to fourteen years. 89 The bill was passed unanimously in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament, on November 28, 2001. 90 It was later passed by the upper housethe Rajya Sabhaon May 14, 2002. 90 afterwards being signed by the President of India the Indian constitution was amended formally for the eighty sixth time and the bill came into effect. 90 Since then those between the age of 614 have a fundamental right to education. 91 Article 46 of the Constitution of India holds thatThe State shall promote, with special care, the education and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in par ticular of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social sleaziness and all forms of social exploitation. 49 Other provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can be found in Articles 330, 332, 335, 338342. 49 Both the 5th and the 6th Schedules of the Constitution also make special provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. 49