India

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Theschoolsystemsofthe28statesareunderthedirectcontrolofthestategovernments;thefederal
MinistryofEducationassiststhestatesystems,directseducationinthesevencentrallyadministered
unionterritories,providesfinancialhelpforIndiasinstitutionsofhigherlearning,anddischarges
variousotherresponsibilities.Primaryeducationisfree,butnotcompulsory.Inthe1970sthe
predominantpatternofavailableschoolingincludedeightyearsofprimaryandmiddleschool
education,threeyearsofsecondaryeducationincludingavocationalelement(sothatpupils

completionmightqualifyforentryintoatradeorprofession),andthreeyearsofuniversityeducation
leadingtoadegree.Then,asnow,however,onlyaminorityofpupilswentpasttheprimarylevel.In

1996therewere581,305primaryschools.Implementationofaslightlymodifiedpattern,consistingof

tenyearsofprimary,middle,andsecondaryschooleducation,twoofhighersecondaryeducation,and
threeofuniversity,beganinthe1980s.Thereisalsoanationwideadultliteracyprogramme.

Accordingtothe1991census,about52percentoftheadultpopulationwasliterate,comparedwith
justover43percentadecadeearlier;in2005,56.6percentofadultswereliterate.Literacyvaries
considerablyfromstatetostate.Kerala,inSouthIndia,hasachievedaremarkableliteracylevelof
over90percent,possiblyrelatedtotheimportancegiventotheeducationofwomenandtheir

relativelyhighstatusinsociety.In19992000Indiaspent2.9percentofthegrossnationalproduct
and2.2ofthetotalgovernmentexpenditureoneducation.

G1

Schools,Universities,andColleges

In19981999,135millionpupilswereenrolledinprimaryschoolsand51millioninsecondary
schools.

Indiahad164universities,11institutionsofnationalimportance,38institutionswithuniversity
status,andmorethan8,600technical,arts,andsciencecollegesinthemid-1990s.Thetotal

enrolmentinuniversitiesandcollegesin1996was10.6millionstudents.LargeinstitutionsincludedDr
BhimRaoAmbedkarUniversity(formerlyAgraUniversity,founded1927),theUniversityofBihar

(1952),theUniversityofMumbai(1857),theUniversityofCalcutta(1857),theUniversityofDelhi

(1922),GauhatiUniversity(1948),GujaratUniversity(1950;inAhmadabad),theUniversityofKerala

(1937;inThiruvananthapuram),theUniversityofMadras(1857),theUniversityofMysore(1916),the
UniversityofPune(1949),andtheUniversityofRajasthan(1947;inJaipur).Outstandingcentresof
studyandresearchincludetheIndianInstituteofScienceinBangaloreandtheTataInstituteof
FundamentalResearchinMumbai.

Culture

Indiaisasecularcountrythathastraditionallyabsorbedandgivenbirthtoavarietyofreligionsand

religioussects.Themajorityofpresent-dayIndiansareHindu,however,andthisisreflectedinmany
aspectsofthesharedcultureacrossthecountry.Hinduismitselfhas,overcenturies,absorbedand
evolvedanumberofdifferentphilosophiesandapproaches,fromthephilosophicalAdvaitaof
ShankaratothedevotionoftheBhaktimovement.

ThecoexistenceofsignificantminorityfaithswiththemajorityfaithofHinduismhasbynomeans

alwaysbeenpeaceful;Hindu-MuslimandHindu-Sikhtensions(oftenfannedbymotivesotherthan

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