Ministry of Education (MoE)
In line with the goal of nation building, India has been committed to providing free and compulsory education to all children. The Indian Parliament has enacted a legislation making free and compulsory education a Right of every child in the age group 6-14 years which has come into force from 1st April, 2010.
The essence of Human Resource Development is education, which plays a significant and remedial role in balancing the socio-economic fabric of the Country. Since citizens of India are its most valuable resource, our billion-strong nation needs the nurture and care in the form of basic education to achieve a better quality of life. This warrants an all-round development of our citizens, which can be achieved by building strong foundations in education. In pursuance of this mission, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) was created on September 26, 1985, through the 174th amendment to the Government of India. Currently, the MHRD works through two departments: Department of School Education & Literacy; and Department of Higher Education. The Department of School Education & Literacy is responsible for development of school education and literacy in the country, and the Department of Higher Education takes care of what is one of the largest higher education systems of the world, just after the United States and China. The Department of SE&L aims at “universalisation of education” and making better citizens out of our young brigade. Besides, the Dept of HE is engaged in bringing world class opportunities of higher education and research to the country. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) has been launched recently as a step to universalize secondary education and simultaneously, efforts are being made to create a robust and vast system of higher and technical education.
The main objectives of the Ministry are:
- Formulating the National Policy on Education and to ensure that it is implemented in letter and spirit.
- Planned development, including expanding access and improving quality of the educational institutions throughout the country, including in the regions where people do not have easy access to education.
- Paying special attention to disadvantaged groups like the poor, females and the minorities.
- Provide financial help in the form of scholarships, loan subsidy, etc to deserving students from deprived sections of the society.
- Encouraging international cooperation in the field of education, including working closely with the UNESCO and foreign governments as well as universities, to enhance the educational opportunities in the country.