Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world - Nelson Mandela
Education influences subterranean domain of human psyche in a very subtle manner and helps in bring to surface hidden treasure of potentialities and capacities which result into reduction of ignorance, exclusion, injustice and poverty. It is seen as an indispensable force for progress of a country and quality of life of its citizens. Himachal Pradesh has progressed tremendously on the educational front , within the Indian states Himachal Pradesh stands out as one of the educationally developed states.
Himachal Pradesh, after independence, typified the problems of other Indian states in its most extreme form. The people were abysmally poor and backward lacking basic elementary amenities. The state owing to its backwardness and harsh climatic conditions and rugged terrain had a huge number of illiterate people. But due to constant conscious efforts of political will, administrative involvement and the society by large, economic progress and the state has made impressive progress in terms of enlargement of educational infrastructure and resulted in the rise of school enrolments and literacy.
Literacy Rate :
The literacy rate in Himachal Pradesh is increasing with each passing year. Datas show that from 31.96 percentages of 1971, the literacy rate has reached to 76.5 percentage as per the census of 2001 and 82.80 % according to 2011 census.. Thus Himachal Pradesh has higher literacy rate than average of whole nation. The mission and educational march is going ahead with the establishment of various educational Institutes of different faculties. The state is also giving incentives for the maintenance of SCs/STs and OBCs group children to increase the enrolment in education.
Ranking :
Besides education and infrastructure, in which HP has recorded the best performance over the past 12 months, the state has done exceedingly well in seven of the 11 categories included in the India Today State of the States report.
Himachal Pradesh beats Kerala in learning outcomes according to ASER
Furthermore, at national level the achievement is 15.3 per cent, whereas it is 44 per cent in case of Himachal Pradesh and the state ranked fifth in the country.
Details of the report :
• In terms of learning outcomes, students of HP performs better than those of Kerala
• Further, the report founded that enrolment rate of students in the age group six to 14 in Himachal Pradesh was 99.8 per cent
• Also, HP secured first rank in achieving learning outcomes in basic reading and mathematics across the country.
Status of Girl Child Education :
You educate a man, you educate a man. You educate a woman, you educate a generation”
The oveall literacy rate in Himachal is 82.80 and female literacy rate in Himachal is 75.93 % which is highest among many states. Various schemes has been started like Kalpna Chawla Chhattarvrati Yojana, Swami vivekananda Utkrisht Chhatrvrati Yojana, Beti Hai Anmol Yojana. These initiative by govt. empower girls to fulfill their dreams.
Institutional Infrastructure
1. State Education Department :
The State Education Department of Himachal Pradesh is accordingly established in April 1948. At the initial stage it is headed by a Chief Education Officer, who is assisted by four District Inspectors of schools along with a lady supervisor. Subsequently, in 1950, the post of Chief Education Officer is re-designated as Deputy Director of Education. In 1952, the education Department came under the overall charge of the Education Minister.
2. Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education :
The school education board of Himachal Pradesh is a government body that is responsible for preparing and prescribing the courses for study, text books and conducting board examinations of students of secondary schools in Himachal Pradesh. The board has its administrative offices at Dharamshala and was established in 1969. The schools affiliated to the board are nearly 8000. Board, every year conducts examinations of more than 5, 00,000 examinees with 1650 centers of examination
3. Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry :
Nauni University is a state university located in district Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India. It has exclusive mandate of education, research and extension in horticulture and forestry. The university was ranked 71 among universities in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2018[3] and in the 101–150 band overall.
4. Agricultural University :
Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya (renamed as Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya in June, 2001) was established on 1st November, 1978.The College of Agriculture (established in May, 1966) formed the nucleus of the new farm University. It is ICAR accredited and ISO certified institution.
5. NIT Hamirpur :
National Institute of Technology Hamirpur is one of the thirty NITs of the country, established in 1986 as Regional Engineering College, as a joint and cooperative enterprise of the Govt. of India and Govt. of Himachal Pradesh. The goals of the institute as embodied in the logo are truly remarkable in their scope of vision. The college provide Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Doctorate Education in Engineering, Sciences & Humanities; fostering the spirit of national integration among the students, a close interaction with industry and a strong emphasis on research, both basic and applied.
Legal Foundation of Education in Himachal Pradesh
The 42nd constitutional amendment cited education in the concurrent list, making it a joint responsibility of the centre and the states. For the effective implementation of educational policies and plans both the centre and state governments enact laws from time to time. The following Acts and Codes provide the legal foundation in the state: -
The Himachal Pradesh Compulsory Primary Education Act, 1953.
The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education Act, 1968.
The Himachal Pradesh Education Code, 1985.
The Himachal Pradesh University Act, 1970.
The Himachal Pradesh Universities of Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry Act, 1986.
The Himachal Pradesh Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board of Secondary Education or other Specified Examination Act, 1984.
The Himachal Pradesh Compulsory Primary Act, 1997
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4 August 2009, which describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children between the age of 6 to 14 years in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. 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 the appropriate Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. ‘Compulsory education’ casts an obligation on the appropriate Government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission, attendance and completion of elementary education by all children in the 6-14 age group. With this, India has moved forward to a rights based framework that casts a legal obligation on the Central and State Governments to implement this fundamental child right as enshrined in the Article 21A of the Constitution, in accordance with the provisions of the RTE Act.
Suggestions :
There has been a tremendous growth in the availability of educational institutions in Himachal Pradesh in the last few decades, but there is still a shortage of schools and colleges in most of the villages in the state. The distribution of educational institutions was largely based on the population size of an area, which has a high bearing with the physical setting. Therefore the district with high elevations and rugged topographies represented lower population sizes and relatively a higher number of schools, resulting in higher School Population Ratios, more visible in the districts of Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur.. Most of the schools were also located within the habitation at accessible locations for most of the students. Students attending the senior secondary level of schooling covered a longer distance to reach schools followed by those attending the secondary and upper primary levels and a higher number of students in the rural areas walked to school in relation to the students in the urban areas and in many casesparents don't allow girls to go so far for schooling and havong no choice they drop their education . Overall, representing the lower levels of education with higher accessibility and availability to schools in relation to the higher levels, creating a divide in accessibility between the two, which may influence the participation levels. So government need to focus in these area.