As seen through the recommendations of University Education Commission (1949) and Education Commission (1964), till about National Policy on Education, 1986, as markers of educational discourses, the concern was to resist expansion, to guard against dilution of quality and standards of higher education and excellence and reputation of higher…

This article attempts to dwell on four aspects specific to Mahatma Phule's work in education: (i) Mahatma Phule's own social and educational background which undoubtedly had a fair degree of influence on his subsequent social activism. (ii) The article will also attempt to explore Phule's educational activism in terms of his founding and…

Given that social constructions and deeply embedded cultural misapprehensions about gender, together with conventional views of female intellectual ability, denied women entry into institutional education, Wollstonecraft and Rokeya mounted a literary campaign to promote female education in their respective societies. They argued that female…

This chapter describes the multifaceted history and future trajectory of community colleges in India and considers implications for policy and practice.

Jammu and Kashmir is the only state in India that has made education free to all its citizens at all levels. Nonetheless, literacy at 54% lags behind the all-India level of 65%. The discrepancy is slightly larger from women (42% compared to the national figure of 54%) and for men (66% compared with a national level of 76%). The census figures on…

In the light on the ancient times, there were prominent universities of Nalanda, Takhashila, Vallabhi and Vikramshila which attract the scholars from all over the world in the field of higher education. The first three modern universities were established at Bombay (now Mumbai), Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Madras (now Chennai) in 1857 on the…

Dr. Zakir Husain is known as a self-less nationalist leader and also as an educationist "par excellence." Taking a cue from his educational ideas like the "Nai Talim," this article brings into focus his views on the medium-conundrum. Dr. Husain was very clear about the role of Indian languages and the relevance of mother…

Service Learning, a pedagogy combining formal learning with community service, has recently developed into Intercultural Service Learning (ISL). Intercultural Citizenship Education (ICE) combines foreign-language education and education for (intercultural) citizenship. They have different origins and applications but recent work in ISL is linked…

Social movements for public education challenge neoliberal claims that there is no alternative to the market--to the inevitability of the privatisation of education. This article analyses the ways in which education activists in India deploy critical histories in their struggles for a public and common school system. It is empirically grounded in…

This article introduces a collection of papers comprising the special issue, "Competing interests: Parents, Schools and Nation States." Drawing on the seven papers in the collection, and situating them in recent developments in the sociological field, the article discusses globally shifting relations between families, schools and the…

India now has the second largest higher education system (after China) in the world. After spending most of its energy on simply meeting the needs of expanding participation in recent years, India, under Prime Minister Modi's second administration, is finally turning its attention to boosting quality, increasing research productivity, and for the…

In May 1857, a number of battalions in the Bengal army of the East India Company rebelled against their immediate British officers and the British administration in the North Western Provinces (NWP), Oudh and Bihar. The protracted conflict that stretched over a year was extremely violent, killed thousands of British officers and civilians and…

This article highlights the vibrant role of the Muslim Anjumans in activating the educational revival in the colonial Punjab. The latter half of the 19th century, particularly the decade 1880- 1890, witnessed the birth of several Muslim Anjumans (societies) in the Punjab province. These were, in fact, a product of growing political consciousness…

As the British expanded their dominions in India, political and administrative needs made it imperative for them to acquire more information about their subjects. Hence, systematic and meticulous surveys began to be commissioned by the East India Company as it assumed charge of educating the natives. These surveys were an integral part of what…

Attempts to make free and compulsory education accessible to Indian children began a little more than a century ago. A strong consciousness for the need of free and compulsory Primary Education in India was highly moved by enactment of the Compulsory Education Act in 1870 in England. Education has been formally recognized as a human right since…