Education System

Today education system in India can be divided into many stages.

  • Pre- Primary - It consists of children of 3-5 years of age studying in nursery, lower kindergarten and upper kindergarten. At this stage student is given knowledge about school life and is taught to read and write some basic words.
  • Primary - It includes the age group of children of 6-11 years studying in classes from first to fifth.
  • Middle - It consists of children studying in classes from sixth to eighth.
  • Secondary - it includes students studying in classes ninth and tenth.
  • Higher Secondary - Includes students studying in eleventh and twelfth classes.
  • Undergraduate - Here, a student goes through higher education, which is completed in college. This course may vary according to the subject pursued by the student. For medical student this stage is of four and a half years plus one year of compulsory internship, while a simple graduate degree can be attained in three years.
  • Postgraduate - After completing graduation a student may opt for post graduation to further add to his qualifications.


Education Governing Bodies

  • The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE): This is the main governing body of education system in India. It has control over the central education system. It conducts exam and looks after the functioning of schools accredited to central education system.
  • The Council of Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE): It is a board for Anglo Indian Studies in India. It conducts two examinations 'Indian Certificate of Secondary Education' and 'Indian School Certificate'. Indian Certificate of secondary education is a k-10 examination for those Indian students who have just completed class 10th and Indian school certificate is a k-12 public examination conducted for those studying in class 12th.
  • The State Government Boards: Apart from CBSE and CISCE each state in India has its own State Board of education, which looks after the educational issues.
  • The National Open School: It is also known as National Institute of Open Schooling. It was established by the Government Of India in 1989. It is a ray of hope for those students who cannot attend formal schools.
  • The International School: It controls the schools, which are accredited to curriculum of international standard.


College Education System:


The higher education system is principally divided into three levels namely:


Undergraduate or Bachelor’s Level       (e.g. B.Sc., B.A., B.E., M.B.B.S., L.L.B., etc.)

Postgraduate or Master’s Level               (e.g. M.Sc., M.A., M.Tech, M.S., LL.M., etc.)

Doctoral                                                          (Ph.D.)


Bachelor’s degrees in science, arts and commerce take three years of study but in vocational subjects like pharmacy, dentistry, architecture, medicine and technology the duration may vary between four to five and a half years. Many universities and colleges offer `honors’ courses at graduation level, which may not be longer in duration but indicate greater depth in study. Diploma courses are also available at the undergraduate level and the duration of their study may vary from 1 to 3 years.


Master’s degree is normally of two-year duration. It could either be course or research based. Admission to post graduate programs in engineering and technology is done on the basis of GATE.


Those interested in pursuing further studies may either directly register themselves for PhD or do a pre-doctoral program –Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) which is either completely research based or may also include some course work. It takes lesser time to complete PhD for those doing it after M.Phil. Postgraduate level diploma courses are also available which are generally of one-year duration.