41

2.3.1 Secondary education serves as a bridge

between elementary and higher education and
prepares young persons between the age group of
14-18 for entry into higher education.
2.3.2 The population of children in the 14-18 age
group (the age for secondary and senior secondary
level education) has been estimated at 96.6 million,
as projected by the National Sample Survey
Organisation in 1996-97. However, enrolment
figures show that only 27 million children were
attending secondary schools, which means that two-
thirds of the eligible population remains out of the
secondary school system.
2.3.3 The number of secondary schools in India
increased from 7,416 in 1950-51 to 1,16,820 in
1999-2000. However, this number is not adequate
to accommodate the out-of-school children and the
growing number of upper primary school pass-outs.
The impact of recent initiatives undertaken for the
Universalisation of Elementary Education is
resulting in an increased demand for the expansion
of secondary education. (Table 2.3.1)
2.3.4 There has been no fundamental change
in the structure and organisation of the secondary
and higher secondary education system during the
Ninth Plan period since the initiation of the National
Policy on Education (NPE), 1986. In the wake of
the Policy, several centrally-sponsored schemes
were launched and national level institutions for
school education were established/strengthened.
Ten centrally-sponsored schemes are in operation
in the secondary education sector. The experience
of the implementation of the programmes as well
as various reviews and evaluation studies have
highlighted the need to modify and strengthen these
schemes. Against a budgetary allocation of Rs.
2,603.49 crore for the sector in the Ninth Plan, the
expenditure incurred has been to the tune of Rs.
2,322.68 crore.
2.3.5 The focus in the Ninth Plan was on
reducing disparities, renewal of curricula with
emphasis on vocationalisation and employment-
oriented courses, expansion and diversification of
the open learning system, reorganisation of teacher
training and the greater use of information and
communication technology. Hostel facilities for girls,
integrated education for the disabled, free education
for girls etc. have also received attention. During
this period the various Central institutes/organi-
sations like National Council of Educational
Research & Training (NCERT), National Open
School (NOS), Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya
Vidyalayas were further strengthened.
2.3.6 The Table 2.3.1 below gives details of the
growth of the Secondary Education Sector over the
Plan periods.
CHAPTER 2.3
SECONDARY EDUCATION
2.3.7 While, in terms of absolute numbers, state
financing of secondary education continued to grow
Table 2.3.1
Number of High/Higher Secondary institutions,
Students and Teachers (1950-2000)
Year High/Higher Students Teachers
Secondary (in lakh) (in lakh)
Schools/Inter/
Pre-degree/
Junior Colleges
1950-51 7416 15.0 1.27
1990-91 79796 191.0 13.34
1995-96 90134 249.0 14.93
1998-99 112438 277.6 17.47
1999-2000 116820 282.1 17.20
Source: Selected Educational Statistics, MHRD, 1999-2000
TENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN 2002-07
42
(though it is still inadequate), financing of secondary
and higher education has shown a declining trend
in terms of percentage spending on education from
the Sixth Plan onwards (Table 2.3.2). The share of
elementary education in total spending has been
increasing, reflecting the priority to implement free
and compulsory elementary education.
2.3.8 Participation of the private sector (inclu-
ding non-governmental organisations or NGOs) in
the management of secondary schools with official
recognition and, in many cases, with financial assis-
tance, has also increased. Private organisations
currently manage around 51 per cent of secondary
schools and 58 per of higher secondary schools.
In order to meet the educational needs of those
who have not been able to enroll themselves in the
formal system, opportunities have been provided
through the National and State Open Schools,
utilising contact centres and multi-media packages.
Distance education in the school sector also got a
fillip with the National Open School was started in
1989, identifying new vocational areas and providing
on-demand examination. Improvements in the con-
tent, process and quality of education, particularly
environment education, science, mathematics and
computer literacy have been emphasised with
central financial support available for schemes
related to this. New initiatives taken after the
National Policy on Education was revised in 1992
include the revision of the curriculum, setting up of
resource centres for value education and a National
Centre for Computer-aided Education etc. Several
measures taken to enrich the school curriculum are
being continued with added thrust. However, the
scheme of vocationalisation of education has not
appealed to the stakeholders because lack of
industry-institute linkages, manpower demand
surveys and various academic constraints. At
present, only 10 per cent of the students are opting
for the vocational stream, against a target of 25 per
cent by 2000.
2.3.9 Educational development of children with
special needs received an impetus with the
enactment of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Partici-
pation) Act, 1995. The Act entrusts the appropriate
governments and the local authorities to provide
children with disabilities access to education,
employment, preferential allotment of land for
certain purposes, non-discrimination in transport,
financial incentives to Universities to enable them
to undertake research etc. Programmes for
Table 2.3.2
Expenditure on Education in the Five Year Plans
(Rs. lakh)
Five Year Elementary (%) Secondary (%) Higher (%) Total
Plans Expenditure
I 85(56) 20(13) 14(9) 15,300
II 95(35) 51(19) 48(18) 27,300
III 201(34) 103(18) 87(15) 58,900
IV 239(30) 140(18) 195(25) 78,600
V 317(35) 156(17) 205(22) 91,200
VI 803(30) 736(25) 530(18) 2,04,300
VII 2,849(34) 1,829(22) 1,201(14) 8,50,000
VIII 4,006.6(47) 1,538(18) 1,055.8(12.4) 8,52,190
I X 16,364.88(65.7) 2,603.5(10.5) 2500.0(10.0) 24,90,850
Note: The figures in parenthesis indicate % to total allocation.
Source: Five-Year Plans, Annual Plans and MHRD Reports.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
43
attitudinal changes, capacity building among
teachers and training institutions to educate children
with special needs have been taken up.
2.3.10 Along with providing opportunities for
equal access and ensuring a minimum level of
learning achievement for all, it is equally important
to nurture talented children especially those from
the rural areas and those belonging to lower income
group. There are several programmes for the
development of talent. Residential Jawahar
Navodaya Vidyalayas from Class VI to XII are esta-
blished in the Seventh Plan as model schools and
to provide quality education to talented children from
rural areas selected on the basis of a common
admission test. Each district is supposed to have
one such school. Currently, there are 462 Jawahar
Navodaya Vidyalayas with about 1,25,000 students
on their rolls.
2.3.11 The National Council of Educational
Research & Training (NCERT), New Delhi, conducts
a National Talent Search Examination to identify
talent. International Chemistry, Mathematics and
Physics Olympiads are held every year to identify
talent in these subjects. India has been participating
regularly in these Olympiads.
2.3.12 Talented students from rural areas are
provided scholarships at the secondary stage in
order to develop their potential by providing them
access to good schools. A total of 38,000 scholar-
ships have been awarded to students.
2.3.13 Internal compulsions and international
commitments are forcing the secondary education
system to gear up to meet the ever-increasing
demand for education. Initiatives such as the
externally-aided District Primary Education
Programme (DPEP), the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan,
increasing number of schools in the private sector
and the drive for elimination of the gender gap in
line with the Dakar Declaration on Education for All
in 2000. Concerted efforts, backed by national
consensus, are called for to meet these daunting
challenges.
2.3.14 The major thrust in the Tenth Plan, thus,
is to meet the increased demand for secondary
education. The Government has to play a greater
role to the encourage opening of new secondary
schools, expansion of capacity of the existing
schools including double shifts, upgrading of upper
primary schools in backward, unserved and under-
served areas, as also expansion and diversification
of open schooling and distance education system.
One of the many options being considered during
the Tenth Plan is for the Kendriya Vidyalaya
Sangathan to establish schools in partnership with
voluntary agencies. It is proposed to set up 150
Kendriya Vidyalayas (fully funded by the Govern-
ment) in addition to the present network of 854
schools. Another option is to provide a one-time
grant/ seed money to societies, trusts and not-for-
profit organisations like the R.K. Mission, the
Jesuits, the DAV Trust, which already run reputed
schools to encourage them to set up more schools.
2.3.15 It is proposed to establish more Navodaya
Vidyalayas to cover the districts which do not have
one right now and also to strengthen these existing
schools by providing them facilities for cultural
activities, computers and sports facilities. It is also
proposed to help the Central Tibetan School
Box 2.3.1
Tenth Plan Objectives, Key Issues and Focus
The key issues during the Tenth Plan would be a greater focus on improving access and reducing
disparities by emphasising the Common School System in which it is mandatory for schools in a
particular area to take students from low-income families in the neighbourhood. The Plan will also
focus on revision of curricula with emphasis on vocationalisation and employment-oriented courses,
expansion and diversification of the open learning system, reorganisation of teacher training and
greater use of new information and communication technologies, particularly computers.
TENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN 2002-07
44
Administration (CTSA), which runs about 70 schools
for children of Tibetan refugees, to set up more
schools.
2.3.16 During the Tenth Plan, the National Open
School (NOS) would intensify efforts to ensure that
the open school system is to the under-privileged
groups. A scheme to reimburse to the NOS the fees
incurred on scheduled castes/scheduled tribe (SC/
ST) students, girls and physically challenged
students is also on the anvil. The NOS will also be
restructured to affiliate regular schools/centres,
which offer NOS curriculum as an alternative to the
curricula of other school Boards. The nearly 1,200
study centres are proposed to be increased by
around 15 per cent per year. New admissions,
which are around 200,000 students a year, is likely
to increase at 20 per cent per year. The NOS
proposes to implement the schemes of On-Demand
Admissions and On-Demand Examinations, which
give flexibility to the students to take admissions
and examinations during mid-session.
2.3.17 The scheme of providing boarding and
hostel facilities for girls, initiated in 1993, has already
been revised in order to increase the enrolment of
girls at the secondary level. The scheme provides
for financial assistance to eligible voluntary organi-
sations to improve the enrolment of adolescent girls
belonging to the rural areas and weaker sections.
2.3.18 In order to make secondary education
more relevant in the current context, the NCERT
will continue to emphasise modernisation and
revision of curriculum, updating of courses and
vocationalisation of education. The Council would
operationalise the fifth Regional Institute of
Education for the North-Eastern Region at Shillong.
The NCERT is starting the nation-wide Seventh All
India Educational Survey in order to strengthen the
database during the Plan period.
2.3.19 The Central Board of Secondary Edu-
cation (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School
Certificate Examination (CISCE) conduct public
examinations at the end of Classes X and XII. Both
are self-financing bodies, which do not receive any
assistance from the government. A total of 5,850
schools are affiliated to the CBSE as on 15 April
2001 and 1,119 schools to the CISCE as on 31
August 2001. The NOS is the third national-level
body conducting equivalent examination at the
secondary and senior secondary level.
2.3.20 As part of the zero-based budgeting
exercise and in order to bring in greater effective-
ness in the implementation of the central sector and
the centrally sponsored schemes, the schemes of
secondary sector have been grouped under
following four broad heads :
2.3.21 Quality Improvement in Schools: This
comprises the centrally sponsored schemes of
Promotion of Sciences Laboratories, Environmental
Orientation to School Education, Promotion of Yoga,
as well as the central sector schemes of Population
Education Project, International Mathematics/
Science Olympiad. The state governments would
develop training modules for in-service training of
teachers and provide infrastructure and research
inputs for quality improvement in schools.
2.3.22 Information and Communication Tech-
nologies (ICT): This will include the reworked
centrally sponsored schemes Computer
Education and Literacy in Schools (CLASS) and
Educational Technology (ET) which seek to
familiarise students with IT. Keeping in view the
current demand for IT, a major thrust is to be given
to this scheme. State governments would prepare
Computer Education Plans (CEP) for computer
literacy and education. The components of the
merged scheme ICT in Schools would include (a)
funding support for CEPs; (b) strengthening and
reorientation of the staff of the State Institutes of
Education and Training (SIETs); (c) Digitalisation
of SIETs video and audio cassettes in partnership
with NGOs; (d) web/internet-based education to be
managed by the SIETs.
2.3.23 Access and Equity: This scheme will
comprise, among other components yet to be
designed, the ongoing scheme of Strengthening of
Hostel/Boarding Facilities for Girl students.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
45
2.3.24 Integrated Education for Disabled
Children (IEDC): In the Tenth Plan, greater efforts
will be made to expand inclusive education to cater
to the needs of mentally and physically challenged
students. The scheme will continue as a separate
centrally sponsored scheme and will be redesigned.
It will now focus on the following elements:
convergence with the Integrated Child Development
Services (ICDS) scheme for early interventions; with
the DPEP and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for education
of the mentally and physically challenged up to the
elementary level; with the special schools under the
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Other
components of the scheme will be inclusive
pedagogy and curriculum, training of teachers and
preparation of teaching learning material; research
and development (R&D), advocacy and evaluation;
and funding through the PTAs/VECs/ management
committees of the schools.
THE PATH AHEAD
2.3.25 The impact of recent initiatives undertaken
for the universalisation of elementary education is
resulting in increased demand for expansion of
secondary education. Unless steps are taken to
expand the secondary education system, it would
be difficult to accommodate the increasing number
of upper primary pass-outs. While there has been
an increase in the number of secondary schools,
the spread has been uneven; there are regional
disparities and variations in the socio-economic
status of various states and Union Territories. The
significant gender gap also has to be narrowed
down.
2.3.26 The key theme in the Tenth Plan is
imparting quality education at all stages of education
and the pursuit of excellence. The on-going efforts
in revision of curricula at the secondary education
level, so as to make it more relevant, would continue
in the Tenth Plan. The convergence of centrally-
sponsored schemes will help in imparting science,
mathematics and, computer education as well as
environmental and value education in a more
focused manner. There is a line of thinking which
believes that subsidising students through a
voucher system, as is the practice in some of the
Latin American countries, is more effective than
subsidising institutions. The students will enroll
themselves in reputed schools, letting the market
forces weed out the inefficient and poor quality
institutions.
TENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN 2002-07
46