History of Education in India
Education has always played a major role in India and can be traced way back to the 3rd century B.C. the education industry has always been given due importance and acknowledgement as a means to achieve emancipation and greater heights of success.
Way back in the olden days, education was imported by the sages and they served as the gurus. The students went to live with the guru once they were old enough and education was mainly word of mouth with the requisite skills such as archery thrown in. Then came the advent of writing and palm leaves and barks were used. This is when education began to spread and there were community centers that were set up that imparted education which was religious as well as about how to read and write.
The spread of Buddhism marked the advent of the spread of education and the setting up of some of the greatest of universities such as Nalanda, Takshila dn the like. They began as monasteries and then grew into large universities that imparted the best of education of the time. At least 10,000 students studied here at one point in time and there were students from other countries like China, Nepal and the likes too.
Then, in the 11th century, the Muslims started setting up their own educational schools and some universities in Allahabad, Aligarh and Delhi. There was the advent of knowledge in the form of Sufism, Islam, painting and fine art.
The most impactful event that occurred in Indian education was the arrival of the British in india and the advent of a new form of education, the English medium education in India. The British are acknowledged for having given India two legacies that still continue to thrive. One is the railways and anther one is the education system. With the coming of the British to India, came the missionary education system that set up the western mode of study along with the stress on English. This made English the franca media of the local people and scores of new colleges and universities were set up. This was the start of the higher education system in India with several different subjects on offer with a whole lot of emphasis being paid on modern studies.
The education system in India which had started off with the advent of traditional subjects like religion, mathematics and architecture now branched off in to the most modern of ways and subjects. Missionary schools were established way back in the 1920s and the best of western minded schools were set up in big cities like Mumbai and Calcutta. The language used was English and the curriculum followed was completely Western.
At the same time, the elite usually attended university abroad and then returned to serve their country. The likes of Jawaharlal Nehru and even Mahatma Gandhi were educated abroad.
This is how far the education system had come in India from the times of the Gurukuls to now - and with the rise of online diplomas, we are excited about the future too!