On November 11 each year, India celebrates National Education Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, India’s first education minister after independence.
Abul Kalam Azad once said, “Education imparted by heart can bring revolution in the society.” And truly, he laid the foundations of a strong and educated India.
Here are some key facts about India’s education system.
Literacy rate
India’s literacy rate grew from 40.76% in 1981 to 76.32% in 2022, with women’s literacy rising to 69.1% from 25.68% in 1981. Similarly, men’s literacy rate grew to 85.45% in 2022 from 54.84%.
Data: ezyschooling.com
New Education Policy
The New Education Policy aims at revamping the Indian education system. It replaces the 10+2 structure with a 5+3+3+4 structure, in line with the cognitive development stages of children.
Primary & secondary education
As of 2022, India has 14.08 lakh schools comprising 12.34 lakh schools in rural areas and 2.54 lakh in urban zones.
Data: ezyschooling.com
Higher education system
As of 2021-22, India has the second-largest higher education system with 58,000 institutions, of which 2,400 were added in 2021-22.
Data: aishe.gov.in
Higher education enrollment
As of 2021-22, 43.3 million Indians are pursuing higher education, with nearly 79% enrolled in an undergraduate program, 12% in postgrad, 0.5% studying for a PhD and the rest in a diploma course.
Data: aishe.gov.in
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