The education system in India is broadly divided into primary, upper primary, secondary and upper secondary. Overall schooling lasts 12 years, following the 10 + 2 model. However, different states organise the first 10 years of education differently and even within schools, there are different schooling standards that are followed.
The main standards governing schools are as follows:
Let's take a look at the main stages of the Indian education system.
Pre-primary: Pre-primary education in India is not a fundamental right, with a very low percentage of children receiving preschool educational facilities. This has led to a rush in the private sector to fill in this void. The private sector which caters to the relatively richer section of society has opened a number of kindergartens and schools. Provisions in these kindergartens are divided into two stages - lower kindergarten (LKG) and upper kindergarten (UKG). Typically, an LKG class would comprise children 3 to 4 years of age, and the UKG class would comprise children 4 to 5 years of age.
Primary school: This includes children in the age group of 6 to 11 years studying in classes from first to fifth standard.
Middle school: This generally refers to children studying in classes between fifth and eighth standard.
Secondary: This constitutes students in their ninth and tenth grade.
Higher secondary: Sometimes known as Pre-University (PUC), this refers to students in the 11th and 12th standard. Here, students choose a particular stream they wish to pursue upon entering an undergraduate programme.
Undergraduate: The next step in the education system, students specialise in a certain stream. Depending on their choice of subjects, undergraduate programmes can vary in duration from three to six years. For e.g., a Bachelor is Arts (B.A) will take three years to complete while a medical student can expect to attend classes for 4.5 years and an internship of another one year.
Postgraduate: Upon completion of an undergraduate programme, students can opt to specialise in a post graduate programme of their choice to further add to their qualifications.
Sources:
25/07/2019