Education and Educational Policies | Crash Course for UGC NET Education PDF Download

Education and Educational Policies

Policies and Education

In a democratic society, the goal lies in the various aspects of the welfare of the people. For the well being of the people, definite stress must be given on education. In order to achieve education for all, many attempts and initiatives are taken by the Government of India. A nation's progress and development depends on the availability of the basic civil rights of education to all its citizens.

A policy is a deliberate system of principles to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. Policies are important because they help an educational department to establish rules and procedures and to create standards of quality for learning. Ultimately, policies are necessary for

the success of educational goals. On the other hand, the education sector also suggests a scheme or series of steps through which sound and workable policies can be formulated and then effective planning, put into effect, evaluated and re-designed.

Education is the basic foundation of awakening to any society and nation. Therefore, the main purpose of education should be qualitative education and its usefulness to life. For the development of a nation or society, the formulation of good educational policies is essential. The education policy implies a lot of good work in education, it is related to the future generation.

Relationship Between Policies and Education

There is a direct relationship between policies and education. The effective improvement in education can be made through effective policies as this would benefit the future generation. Our government has always valued the importance of education and this is reflected in our policies. After independence, various types of commissions and committees were formed and through these great success was achieved. In this context, the basic education vision of Mahatma Gandhi proved to be more effective and important. As a result of these policies of Gandhiji, the basic schools were started in India. In 1953-54, the Government of India considered the education system seriously and constituted the Secondary Education Committee. It is also called the Mudaliar Committee. Accordingly, primary education was increased from fourth to fifth grade. Similarly, in 1964, 1966, 1968 and 1975 several Committees were set up to determine education related policies. Policies are attached to the basic improvement in the education process. The consequences of the policies are made by the changes made at the basic level of education. Under this, in the education sector various types of specific tools and applications are applied. The use of modern resources in the education sector, effective changes in uniformity reflect the effect of the policies. Therefore, there is an interdependence of relationship between policies and education.

Linkage Between Educational Policy and National Development

An organized education has a long history in our country. Famous Gurukul system of India is one of the oldest educational systems of Earth, which is dedicated to the highest level of all round human development. Although, at that time, an education was often limited to the higher castes, students stayed at teacher's house or monastery for their education.

After the completion of their study, they paid Gurudakshina to their teacher which was a voluntary contribution. At the Gurukul, the student learned religion, philosophy, warfare, medicine, scripture, literature, statecraft, astrology and history. There was an intimate relationship between the teacher and the disciple or student.

In the modern period, the European missionaries first started schools and later introduced teacher training institutions in India. In the beginning, the East India Company felt no responsibility for an education in India. Only some British intellectuals felt the need. Later, Christian

Ł---------------------------·······-·······-·······----------Ł missionaries made attempts to revive an outdated system of education by introducing Christian religion and Western literature through the English medium.

Gradually, Indians wanted a system of education which could help them to earn their livelihood. Progressive Indians favored the spread of Western learning and English education. The British government encouraged the study of an oriental language as well as English. Various committees which looked into the system of teacher education and training were instituted.

The beginning of the 20th century, under the colonial supremacy of the British in India witnessed numerous changes and initiatives in terms of an educational administration. From the grassroot level of policy-making, everywhere an infrastructure based and policy based decisions were taken which made an education progressive.

After independence, education became the responsibility of the states. The central government's only obligation was to coordinate in technical and higher education to specify standards. The Government of India introduced some important commissions like University Education Commission (1948), Mudaliar Commission Of Secondary Education Commission (1952-53), Kothari Commission (1964-66), etc.

Education is a vital investment for human and economic development of a country. Tradition, culture and faith, all reflect upon the education system and at the same time are also affected by the education system. Changes in technology, labor market, general global environment, all are changing rapidly in the 21st century. To prepare the youth and the children to cope with the present scenario, modem education is utmost needed.

Educational policy plays an extremely crucial role in long term growth and productivity of a nation. It brings positivity in our lives. It teaches us not only theoretical material but also the practical and successful way to lead lives as a responsible citizen.

The social and economical development of a nation is fundamentally an education process in which people learn to, create new institutions, utilize new technologies, cope with their environment, and alter their patterns of behavior. Education in a broad sense improves the capabilities of an individual and the capacity of institutions, and becomes a catalyst for the closely interrelated economical, social, cultural, and demographic changes that become defined as national development.

The greatest need of the hour is to redesign curriculum, textbooks, teaching methodology and children's literature, formal and non-formal education systems. Curriculum plays a crucial role in national integration and harmony. It should enable the learners to learn knowledge, develop conceptual and intellectual skills, attitudes, values and amplitudes conducive to the all round development. Thus, education policy plays a very important role in the national development of a country.

Determinants of Educational Policy

The determinants of educational policy depend upon the qualitative policy framed by the government during its policy planning. Qualitative education. New Education Policy, new development and innovative ideas are the base of good education policy. There are other factors, like social, economical, political and religion that also affect the educational policy of a country.

Following are the important determinants of educational policy

Parental Education Levels of parental education is an important determinant of children completing their education. The importance of parental education prompts questions about how policy makers can support parents with lower levels of education to support their children and help them through school.

Socio-Economic Problems The socio-economic problems of a country is also a significant determinant of educational policy and it also determines the aims of education. For instance, the Indian Education Commission (1964-66) put emphasis on "increasing productivity as of the national objectives of education". one

Cultural Differentiation Another determinant is cultural differentiation which affects the educational policies in Indian education system. Existing cultural differences should be taken into account in the structure for education or training programmes.

Physical Facilities Education and training should take place in a specific physical space. When we plan an educational policy, attention should be given to the availability of the necessary facilities, distribution of facilities and the use of available facilities with the costs of the capital.

Process of Policy formulation

Policy formation is the development of an effective and acceptable courses of action for addressing what has been placed on the policy agenda. It involves discussion among scholars about possible solutions followed by adoption of a new policy or an amendment of an existing policy. It is an integral part of the process of planning and a comprehensive process is involved in creating the most suitable policies.

Every policy formulation process involves different kinds of phases.

•

Selecting the desired objective.

•

Identifying the target of the objective.

•

Determining the pathway to reach that objective.

•

Designing the specific programme or measures in respect of that goal.

•

Implementing the measures and assessing its impact on the target subjects.

Analysis of the Existing Educational Policy

Educational policy consists of the principles and governmental policies in an educational sphere. An educational policy consists of the analysis of the requirements of the contemporary educational field. Every country has a different social and economical structure, thus, the requirement of an education is also different.

Government of the relevant country appoints scholars or eminent personalities to make an educational policy. Educational policy seeks to answer questions about the purpose of education, objectives, aims and the required methods for attaining them. It also makes tools for measuring the success and failures of the process. Research on educational policies is carried on several academic disciplines or different fields like, psychology, economics, sociology and human development.

Thus, it is necessary to understand our existing educational policy mainly with the RTE Act, 2009. India's main educational policy is Right to Education (RTE) under article 21A (2002) of the Indian Constitution. which covers the Right to Education Act. 2009. This act describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children between 6 to 14 years. India became one of the 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child, when the Act came into force on 1 April, 2010.

The title of the RTE Act, incorporates the words 'free and compulsory'. Free education means that no child, other than a child who has been admitted by his or her parents to a school which is not supported by an appropriate government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fees or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing an elementary education.

India has moved forward to the rights based framework that casts a legal obligation on the central and state governments to implement this fundamental right.

Main Features of Right to Education (RTE) Act (2009)

•

Free and compulsory education to all children of India of the age group of 6 to 14 years.

•

No child shall be held back, expelled or required to pass a board examination, until he/she completes an elementary education.

•

Proof of age for the purpose of an admission to an elementary education, the age of a child shall be determined on the basis of the birth certificate. But no child shall be denied to an admission in a school for lack of age proof

•

A child who completes an elementary education shall be awarded a certificate.

•

25% reservation for economically disadvantaged communities in all private schools should be done.

•

Improvement in the quality of an education is important.

•

School teachers should have an adequate professional degree within five years or else will lose his/her job.

•

School infrastructure needs to be improved every 3 years.

•

Financial burden of responsibilities will be shared between the state and the central governments.

Implications of the Right to Education Act (2009)

The Right to Education Act has various positive, social and economical implications. They are

•

It resulted in an increase in the enrollment of students. Free uniforms, textbooks and writing materials encouraged the students to attend school and has also encouraged parents to send their children to school, rather than making them to work as child labour.

•

An educational policy also tends to look at reducing the gap between different communities by giving reservation for socially and economically deprived classes.

•

The purpose of the Mid-Day Meal is to make sure that the students who are enrolled are able to attain a basic amount of nutritions in their meals during school hours. The act also ensures that no person availing the mid-day meal shall be discriminated against.

Challenges to RTE in India

According to Amartya Sen, the basic problem with education in India exists in the education setup of the country. Here, the importance is given to higher education and the neglect of primary education has been intolerably large. This is the main reason for not being able to develop a proper base that would help students to cope with higher educational standards. Thus, it cannot give the expected result.

This leads to following developments

•

Students, who do not receive sufficient education, fail to cope up, they end up by dropping out. The dropout rates in government schools are very high.

•

The dropout rates for students coming from reserved Categories is more, as compared to general categories. This reveals inequality between various communities while availing an education. The dropout rates are high among SCs, STs and OBCs, as most of them come from low income backgrounds.

•

Lack of teachers or lack of good teachers results in an inequality of educational attainments. The person who has attained education from a government school, is in a disadvantaged position, in comparison to that person who has attained an education from private school.

•

Mid-Day Meal Scheme has faced a certain flaws in its implementation

•

The automatic promotion of students in the Right to Education Act, hampers a very high quality of education. There is no formal form of examination, which is mandatory to clear in order to reach the next grade.

Ł---------------------------·······-·······-·······----------Ł lnfact, the educational policy of India does not lack anything. It satisfies all the objectives that any educational policy would want to achieve. This also matches global standards. The unsuccessful outcomes, reveals an ugly depiction of its faulty implementation.

Generation of Policy Options

The policy process is a crucial element in educational planning. It is essential to clarify the concepts of policy and 'policy-making' before proceeding further. Policymaking is the first step in any planning cycle. Policies differ in terms of their scope, complexity, decision environment, range of choices and decision criteria. New policies are usually generated when the present situation of the sector and its context is disturbed by a problem, a political decision or a reorganization scheme.

Types of Policies

Issue Specific Policies These policies are short-term decisions involving day-to-day management or as the term implies, a particular issue.

Multi-Programme Policies These policies are conce. with different fields like general education, vocation. education, diversified education, etc.

Large Scale Policies These policies are made for a large number of peoples. These policies mainly cover the general or basic requirement in the field of an education.

Evaluation of Policy Options

Evaluation is a systematic and an impartial assessment of activity, project, programme, policy, topic, etc.

When we evaluate a policy, it suggests the following steps

•

It focuses on expected and achieved accomplishment, examines the result, processes in order to understand achievements.

•

It aims at determining the relevance, impact, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the interventions and contributions of the policies.

•

It provides evidence based information that is credible, reliable and useful.

•

It is an integral part of each stage of the programming cycle.

Thus, policy options can be evaluated only if alternative scenarios are developed to allow estimations of the likely implications of the options considered. The 'imaginary' situation that would be created if the policy options were implemented is compared with the present situation and the scenario of transition from the existing to the imaginary case is evaluated in terms of desirability, affordability and feasibility.

Decision Making Policy

It is the conclusion of a process during which all information relevant to the decision was gathered and carefully analyzed, so that a total optimal policy might be designed and selected.

Being a welfare state, all the policies in India relate to the benefit of the citizens and the development of our society and an economy. The process of policy formation starts policy with identifying the problems and coming up with the solutions. Poverty and illiteracy are the main hindrance of progress in our society. Thus, the government has taken many important steps to promote education in our country.

Policies are a collection of ideas. Decisions initiates the actions to be taken to implement the policy. The government insists that the policy framework is clear and unambiguous and it requires proper implementation. Maximum members of the committee should express the same opinion and then only important decision-making takes place.

Decision-making is an integral part of our everyday life. It is sometimes difficult to tell where decision-making starts and ends. Policies are plans, courses of action or procedures that are intended to influence decisions. As such, they form a part of the context for decision-making. A policy decision tells us how to make choices in order to act in an alignment with our own purposes and goals.

Planning of policy implementation

Policy implementation is a purposeful and multi-directional change process, aiming to put a specific policy into practice which may affect an educational system on several levels.

Policy's decisions are made with the consent of the people who will put the policy into operation. Requiring consent ensures equal consideration of each member of the group. Each member's objection to a policy must be resolved before the policy can be adopted. But the implementation of policy is not an easy job. There are many local level problems in our society. To implement national level policies on education is a tough task. Studies show that what has happened in an implementation stage, influences the actual outcome of the policy. It cannot be anticipated early.

Conversely, the livelihood of a successful outcome will be increased, if thought is given at the policy design stage to potential the problems of the society, instead of facing problems. Later, through an evaluation research, attempts can be made to modify the policy prior. It is regarded as a good alternative.

The policy implementation process theoretically includes an attempt to assess as many areas of potential policy impact as possible, to lessen the chances that a given will have unexpected consequences.

Applications or implementation of the Educational Policy

Policy implementation is what happens after a law is passed. Educational policy implementation is the transformation of an educational policy into action. Here, are some important facts about the implementation of the

•

While applying the policy, we must observe who is the beneficiary and who are negatively affected.

•

Time required to completely implement the policy is also observed.

•

Calculating the associated cost and financing of the policy is a mostly needed phenomenon.

•

We should examine the political complexities of a federal structure while applying the new policy.

Rules for Educational Policy Implementation

•

Planning related to implementation of new policy must include policy assessment.

•

Feedback should be obtained during implementation, reassessment of aspects of policy's decisions and modification by policy's makers.

•

Concrete implementation policies reassessment of the policies. of causes

Strategies for Implementation of Educational Policy

•

Involving those who play some roles or supporting roles in the process of providing certain necessities and services.

•

Using community leaders, religious leaders, political leaders, academicians for mobilizing people around it.

•

Using people and various groups that are beneficiaries.

•

The mass media is the greatest means of reaching the far and near people.

Policy Impact Assessment

The ability to evaluate which project or policy will have the most impact is truly commendable. These policy impact assessments are formal, evidence-based procedures that assess economical, social and environmental effects of public policy.

The policy impact assessment can be improved, if we follow these steps:

•

Informing policy's makers about potential, economical, social and environmental ramifications.

•

Increasing public participation in order to reflect a range of considerations.

•

Improving transparency and special interest lobbying is discouraged.

•

Clarifying how public policy helps to achieve its goals.

•

Contributing to continuous learning in policy development.

Today, many methods are accepted for the policy impact assessment. These include scoping, aggregation, comparison of options, analyzing coherence, data presentation, involvement, monitoring, evaluation, etc.

Subsequent Policy Cycle

Policy is considered as a deliberate system of principles to guide decisions and to achieve rational outcomes. The policy cycle is a tool used for analyzing the development of a policy item. It is also referred to as 'Stages Approach'.

James E Anderson suggests the following stages in policy cycle Agenda setting

•

Policy formulation

•

Decision-making

•

Implementation

•

Evaluation

It was later developed by Peter Bridgman and Glyn David According to them, the policy cycle includes eight steps. They are

•

Issue identification

•

Policy analysis

•

Consultation

•

Policy instrument development

•

Building coordination and coalitions

•

Program design or decision-making

•

Policy implementation and

•

Policy evaluation