EDUCATION AND PROGRESS

“No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nurture and education. If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life. The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life.” Plato

In India Education continues to face stern challenges. Despite growing investment in education, 25% of its population is still illiterate; only 15% of Indian students reach high school, and just 7% graduate. Women have a much lower literacy rate than men. Far fewer girls are enrolled in the schools, and many of them drop out. Concerted efforts led to improvement from 15.3% in 1961 to 28.5% in 1981. As of 2008, India's post-secondary high schools offer only enough seats for 7% of India's total college-age population. 25% of teaching positions nationwide are vacant, and 57% of college professors do not have either a Masters or PhD degree. World Bank statistics found that fewer than 40 percent of adolescents in India attend secondary schools. The Economist reports that half of 10-year-old rural children could not read at a basic level, and half dropped out by the age 14. Another estimate shows that only one in five job-seekers in India has ever had any sort of vocational training. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), India has the lowest public expenditure on higher education per student in the world.

The central government of India formulated the National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1986 and also reinforced the Programme of Action (POA) in 1986.The government initiated several measures the launching of DPEP (District Primary Education Programme) and SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan i.e. Education for All) and setting up of Navodaya Vidyalaya and other selective schools in every district, advances in female education, inter-disciplinary research and establishment of open universities. India's NPE also contains the National System of Education, which ensures some uniformity while taking into account regional education needs. The NPE also stresses on higher spending on education, envisaging a budget of more than 6% of the Gross Domestic Product. While the need for wider reform in the primary and secondary sectors is recognized as an issue, the emphasis is also on the development of science and technology education infrastructure.

It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of economic growth. Empirical analyses tend to support the theoretical prediction that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich countries. However, technology transfer requires knowledgeable managers and engineers who are able to operate new machines or production practices borrowed from the leader in order to close the gap through imitation. Therefore, a country's ability to learn from the leader is a function of its stock of "human capital". Recent study of the determinants of aggregate economic growth have stressed the importance of fundamental economic institutions and the role of cognitive skills. India has made progress in terms of increasing primary education attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately two thirds of the population. India's improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to the economic rise of India.

Knowledge capital is a concept which asserts that ideas have intrinsic value which can be shared and leveraged within and between organizations. It is an essential component of human capital. Knowledge capital connotes that sharing skills and information is a means of sharing power. Knowledge capital is the ‘know how’ that results from the experience and education of the employees or individuals of an organization or group. Of all the factors of production, knowledge capital creates the longest lasting competitive advantage.

Education is important for every individual in a nation. It plays a vital role to change the status of a country. No country could bring a revolution in it unless its people are educated enough to meet the challenges. Education makes a man realize his own self and his goals and also how to achieve those goals. Basically, education is divided into three groups. The Education which teaches the concerns of a society is called Social Education. The Education which develops the personality of a man is called Spiritual Education. The Education that is concerned with developing professionalism is called Vocational Education. So it helps in creating a balanced individual who becomes a responsible and productive citizen of the nation.

Education in every sense is one of the fundamental factors of development. No country can achieve sustainable economic development without substantial investment in human capital. It enriches people's understanding of themselves and world. It improves the quality of their lives and leads to broad social benefits to individuals and society. Education raises people's productivity and creativity and promotes entrepreneurship and technological advances. Thus, education plays a very crucial role in securing economic and social progress and improving income distribution.



REFERENCES

WEBSITES:

1) http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/economic-development.html

2) http://www.unesco.org/education/poverty/news.shtml

3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

4) www.google.co.in/

ARTICLES:

1) Education as Investment by J.L. Azad

2) Reforming education financing, N.V. VARGHESE

3) Globalization: Impact on Education by Satish Tandon,

4) Financing of Education in India since Independence by J.L. Azad

NEWSPAPERS:

1) The Times of India

2) The Economic Times