Education in India: Goals and Achievements

Abstract

The role of education in facilitating social and economic progress is well recognised. It opens up opportunities leading to enhancement of both individual and group potentials. Education, in its broadest sense, is the most crucial input for empowering people with skills and knowledge, giving them access to productive employment opportunities. Improvements in education are not only expected to enhance efficiency but also to augment the overall quality of life. Sustainable development goal SDG-4 aims to ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education for all, including technical and vocational training by providing lifelong learning opportunities. It also aims to build and upgrade education facilities to ensure that all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. The targets to be achieved by 2030 relate to all girls and boys with complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education, access to quality early childhood development, supply of qualified teachers etc. The present paper aims to address the current status of education sector in India with respect to SDG-4 goals. It will assess the performance and progress of India in education sector and state-wise status of education sector at different levels of education, namely, primary, secondary and higher. The proposed variables for assessing the quality of education are enrolment ratio, learning outcomes, pupil-teacher ratio, gender parity index, education expenditure etc. The methodology for constructing the index of education quality for present study is proposed as principal component analysis. The relevant data for this study have been collected from different government reports like ASER, DISE, AISHE and various other government documents. The paper also presents some innovative programmes taken up in India for improving the quality of education.