Background: Colonial Period, Constitution, Reservation and Issues

These themes are not separate headings in the Unit X syllabus list, but they underlie many questions in the policy and governance topic. Treat them as supporting knowledge: revise them after the core topics, and use them to explain why Topic 6 looks the way it does.

Narrative. The East India Company at first supported oriental learning, then debated whether to teach English. The Orientalists (H. T. Prinsep, H. H. Wilson) wanted to promote Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian; the Anglicists (T. B. Macaulay, with support from Bentinck) wanted English and western science. Macaulay's Minute (1835) and Bentinck's resolution (1835) decided that government funds would go mainly to English education, and the downward filtration theory held that education would percolate from the upper classes downwards. William Adam's reports (1835 to 38) documented indigenous education in Bengal and Bihar. Wood's Despatch (1854), the "Magna Carta of English education in India", set the structure that lasted for decades: a Department of Public Instruction in each province, universities at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras modelled on the University of London (founded 1857), a grants-in-aid system, vernacular primary schools, teacher training and attention to women's education. The Hunter Commission (1882) reviewed primary and secondary education and recommended that primary education be handed to local bodies. The Indian Universities Commission (1902; Thomas Raleigh) and Indian Universities Act (1904; Lord Curzon) tightened government control over universities. The Calcutta University Commission (1917 to 19; Michael Sadler) examined university reform and recommended that intermediate classes be separated from universities and a three-year degree course; it led to new universities such as Dacca (1921). The Government of India Act 1919 (dyarchy) transferred education to provincial ministers. The Hartog Committee (1929) highlighted wastage and stagnation in primary education. The Abbott-Wood Report (1936 to 37) dealt with vocational education. Gandhi's Wardha Scheme of Basic Education (1937) and the Zakir Husain Committee (1938) advocated learning through productive craft for ages 7 to 14. The Sargent Report (1944) by the Central Advisory Board of Education planned universal, free, compulsory education for ages 6 to 14 over about 40 years.

Key dates.

Landmark cases.

• Champakam Dorairajan (1951): communal reservation in admissions struck down, leading to Article 15(4).

• Mohini Jain v. State of Karnataka (1992): right to education flows from Article 21; capitation fee unconstitutional.

• Unni Krishnan v. State of A.P. (1993): right to free education up to age 14; beyond that subject to economic capacity.

• Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992): upheld 27 per cent OBC reservation; 50 per cent ceiling; creamy layer exclusion.

• TMA Pai Foundation (2002; 11-judge bench): establishing and running educational institutions is an occupation under Article 19(1)(g); minority status determined State-wise; no capitation fee.

• P. A. Inamdar (2005): State cannot impose its reservation policy on unaided private professional institutions.

• Prof. Yash Pal v. State of Chhattisgarh (2005): invalidated provisions of the State's private-universities Act.

• Bharathidasan University v. AICTE (2001): AICTE approval not required for universities' own departments.

• Ashoka Kumar Thakur (2008): upheld 27 per cent OBC quota in central institutions with creamy layer excluded.

• Pramati Educational Trust (2014): RTE Act does not apply to minority institutions.

• Society for Unaided Private Schools of Rajasthan (2012): upheld RTE's 25 per cent reservation in private unaided schools.

• Janhit Abhiyan (2022): upheld the EWS quota (103rd Amendment).

• NALSA v. Union of India (2014): recognised transgender persons as a third gender.

• Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997): guidelines on workplace sexual harassment.

Right to Education Act, 2009. Came into force on 1 April 2010; free and compulsory elementary education for ages 6 to 14; 25 per cent seats for weaker and disadvantaged sections in private unaided schools; pupil-teacher ratio 30:1 at primary level; no capitation fee, no screening at admission; School Management Committees; the 2019 amendment allowed States to hold back children in classes V and VIII after a regular examination and re-examination. Although RTE applies to elementary education, questions on higher education often use it as a contrast.

The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Act 2019 treats the institution as the unit for faculty posts. The First Backward Classes Commission (1953; Kaka Kalelkar) and the Mandal Commission (1980; B. P. Mandal) examined backwardness; the Sachar Committee (2006) reported on Muslims; the National Commission for Backward Classes gained constitutional status through the 102nd Amendment. The UGC (Promotion of Equity in HEIs) Regulations, 2012 require Equal Opportunity Cells and anti-discrimination measures. The All India Quota in state medical colleges is 15 per cent of UG seats.

Access. The GER is about 28 per cent (AISHE 2021 to 22) against the NEP target of 50 per cent by 2035; disparities exist by region, rural-urban location, social group and gender. The digital divide limits online learning.

Equity. Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Muslims, women in some regions, persons with disabilities and first-generation learners have lower participation or higher dropout. Responses: reservation, scholarships, hostels, Equal Opportunity Cells, bridge courses, and the Gender Inclusion Fund and Special Education Zones proposed by NEP.

Quality. Faculty shortages, outdated curricula, rote learning, weak laboratories, low NAAC coverage and uneven research culture. Responses: NAAC and NBA reforms, NIRF ranking, outcome-based curricula (LOCF), IQAC, faculty development (Malaviya Mission), and multidisciplinary universities.

Employability and skills. A gap between graduate competencies and industry needs. Responses: NSQF, B.Voc, apprenticeship-embedded degrees, internships, SWAYAM Plus, start-up incubation and the National Credit Framework.

Funding and privatisation. Public expenditure on education has remained below the 6 per cent of GDP benchmark. Privatisation expanded capacity but raised concerns about capitation fees, commercialisation and unequal access. Responses: HEFA loans, PM-Vidyalaxmi (education loans), fee regulation, Institutions of Eminence, and philanthropic funding.

Research and innovation. India's gross expenditure on R&D is about 0.7 per cent of GDP; research is concentrated in a few institutions and national labs. Responses: ANRF, PMRF (2018), IMPRINT, SPARC, GIAN, innovation councils and incubators, Atal Innovation Mission (2016), and research-intensive universities under NEP.

Gender and inclusion. Female enrolment has risen and gender parity (Gender Parity Index) is now close to or above one in aggregate, but women's share in STEM, research and faculty, and safety on campus remain issues. Schemes: Savitribai Jyotirao Phule Single Girl Child Fellowship (UGC), Pragati (girls in technical education), Saksham (differently-abled in technical education), Ishan Uday (North-East), POSH Act 2013 and Internal Committees. Transgender inclusion rests on NALSA (2014) and the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019. The first women's university, SNDT Women's University, was founded in 1916.