School Education in Contemporary India offers a comprehensive exploration of India’s evolving school education system in the post-liberalisation era. The book is aligned with the vision of India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and Global Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) which call for universal access to quality school education for all children. The volume examines key dimensions such as Early Childhood Care and Education, elementary to secondary education, teacher education, vocationalisation, and inclusive policies for marginalised communities. It also delves into curriculum reforms, pedagogical innovations, multilingual education, non-formal and distance learning, and decentralised governance. With critical insights and empirical reflections, the book underscores the progress, challenges, and way forward of India's school education landscape. Hope this book serves as an essential resource for the policymakers, researchers, educators, and other stakeholders in their efforts in building an inclusive and equitable school education system in India.
Prof. Dhananjay Joshi, former Vice Chancellor of Delhi Teachers University, is an internationally acclaimed educationist with over two decades of teaching, research, authorship, and policy experience, and is currently serving as Professor of Education at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi.
Dr. Indrajeet Dutta, Assistant Professor at MANUU, has 20 years of experience in teaching, research, and curriculum development. His expertise includes educational evaluation, marginalized education, and ICT. He is actively involved with NGOs promoting girls’ education.
Dr. Reetu Chandra, Professor at NCERT and former Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Education, leads national ECCE and FLN initiatives. She led G20 EdWG for FLN during India presidency. She is also a TEDx speaker.
1. Introduction / 1
2. Early Childhood Care and Education in India: An Outrider to Universalisation of Education / Reetu Chandra
History of ECCE before National Education Policy-2020 / 8; NEP 2020 Embracing ECCE and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy / 13; Conclusion / 20
3. Elementary Education in India: Where do We Stand and What the Future Holds? - Suman Negi /24
School Education in India / 25; How long to attain Universalisation of Elementary Education? / 25; Reforms in Elementary Education / 27; An Overview of Elementary Education in India / 30; Persistent Issues and Future Perspectives / 33; Conclusion / 35
4. Secondary Education in Post-liberalisation Era: A Perspective - Jeena K G / 37
Secondary Education and NPEs 1986 and 1992 / 37; Status of Secondary Education in Post-Liberalisation Era / 39; Secondary Education: Present Scenario / 44; Secondary Education: Future Prospects / 46; Conclusion / 47
5. Vocationalisation of Education: Shaping Tomorrow’s Workforce - Kiran Lata Dangwal/ 49
Key Components Supporting the Vocationalisation of Education / 49; Historical Context of Vocational Education / 51; Objectives of Vocationalisation of Education / 52; Benefits / 54; Drawbacks / 55; Changing Workforce Demands: Vocational Education and NEP 2020 / 57; Intersection of Policy and Practice: Vocational Education in NEP 2020 / 57; Comprehensive Implementation of Vocational Education / 59; Conclusion / 61
6. Transformation of Pre-service Teacher Education align with NEP 2020 - Jitendra Kumar Patidar/ 63
Introduction / 63; Present Pre-service Teacher Education in India / 65; Paradigm Shift in Teacher Education / 66; Teaching as a Profession / 67; Curriculum and Pedagogy of Teacher Education / 69; Teacher Preparation for Holistic Development of Students / 73; Assessment in Teacher Education / 74; Re-conceptualization of the Role of Teacher / 75; Teacher Education in Multidisciplinary Universities and Composite Institutions / 77; Restructuring Institutions for Teacher Education / 79; Alternative Way for Teacher Education / 80; Conclusion / 80
7. Professional Development of In-service Teachers - Sandeep Kumar / 83
Major Concerns and Challenges regarding CPD / 84; NEP 2020 and Perspective on CPD / 87; Expected Objectives of CPD / 88; Possibilities of Improving CPD and Alternatives / 89; Incorporation of Action Research as an Essential Component in Conceptualizing CPD / 89; Grounded Theory Research and Developing Teachers’ (small) Theories: / 90; Mentoring with Equity and Not Hierarchy / 92; Participating in Various Seminars, Conferences, and Workshops for CPD / 94; Writing a Reflective Journal / 96; Gaining Further Qualification / 97; Developing one’s own CPD Scheme / 99; Developing Support Groups and Inter-school Collaboration / 101; Summing up to Begin / 102
8. Post-LPG School Education for the Marginalised in India - Bhanu Pratap Pritam / 104
Universalisation of School Education and Children from Marginalised Communities / 105; Critical Discussions on SC/ST Education at School Level / 113; Conclusive Remarks / 114
9. Girls’ Education: Policy Imperatives and Reality Gap - Ankita Bhattacharjee and Punita Gupta/ 115
Struggles, Gateways and Continued Struggles / 115; Guide for Good Homes / 117; A New Decade, A New Direction / 121; Sustained Efforts and Perseverance / 125; National Education Policy 2020: A New Chapter / 129; Conclusion / 131
10. Muslim Education in India: Deficit Deprivation and Under-Development - Sajjad Ahmad / 134
Background / 134; Muslim Education in Contexts / 137; British Colonial Impact on the Education of Muslims / 137; Development of Muslim Education Post 1857 Revolt / 138; Post Partition Impact / 140; Government of India Initiatives / 141; Sachar Committee Observation / 141; All India Survey on Higher Education: Disappointing Facts / 142; Conclusive Remarks / 145
11. Curricular, Pedagogical Teaching-Learning and Assessment in Schools - Sarita Anand / 148
Evolution of Curricular and Pedagogical Teaching and Learning / 148; Significant Changes in Curricular, Pedagogical, Teaching-learning and Assessment Practices / 153; Teaching and Learning Practices / 156; Curricular Integration / 157; Assessment Practices and NEP 2020 / 158; Conclusion / 161
12. Knowledge as Continuum: Progression from Disciplinary to Multidisciplinary Science and Mathematics Education - Amruth G. Kumar, Krithika Maduvegadde Chidananda and Rajasree Vengayil / 163
Science and Mathematics Education: Complementary and Interdisciplinary / 164; Science and Mathematics Education — Disciplinary to Multidisciplinary / 165; Conclusion / 168
13. Development and Progress of Language Education: Confide India’s Linguistic Pedagogy Path - Tulika Bansal / 172
Constitutional Provisions for Language Education in India / 173; Historical Perspective of Language Policy in Indian Education / 174; Challenges and Debates in Language Education in India / 179; Prospects for Indian Language Education / 181; Conclusion / 183
14. Rethinking and Recreating the ‘Hope’ of Non-formal Education in India - Harpreet Kaur Jass and Saba Yasmeen / 185
Development of Non-formal Education / 186; Non-formal Education as Lifelong Learning / 186; Fundamentals of Non-formal Education Policies / 187; Construing Non-formal Education / 189; Challenges upon Doing Away with NFE / 190; Government Initiative of Non-formal Education in India / 191; Research Methodology / 193; Themes of Non-formal Education in National Education Policies / 193; Conclusion / 196
15. School Education through Open and Distance Learning System - Shyni Duggal / 199
Conceptual Framework of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) / 199; Generations of ODL System / 200; Emergence and Growth of School Education through ODL in India / 201; Need for School Education through ODL / 202; National Institute of Open Schooling / 203; Programmes and Activities of NIOS / 204; New Initiatives of NIOS / 207; Vocational Education through NIOS / 208; Capacity Building / 209; Need for State Open Schooling Boards / 209; Challenges in School Education through ODL Mode / 213; Conclusion / 215
16. Governance in School Education: Central to Local Governance - Vinod Kumar Shanwal / 217
School Governance in Indian Context – Overview of Major Educational Policies / 217; Educational Governance Decentralization in the Indian Context / 219; Effective School Governance under NEP 2020: School Complexes and Clusters / 221; Concept of School Cluster/Complex / 222; Structure and Functioning of School Complexes / 224; Challenges to the Working of School Complexes / 225; Recommendations for Efficient School Governance / 227; Conclusion / 228
Editors and Contributors / 232