IASSI-Quarterly

Secondary education is considered as a critical stage of the formal education system, which has a pivotal role in human development. In view of this, education at this stage is free in some countries and attendance is mandatory for all children of eligible age group. India also had low GER and NER in earlier decades but now the country is experiencing an increase in the demand for secondary education which is a crucial link between basic and higher education as well as the world of work. In view of the importance of secondary education in human development as well as overall development of India, the 11th fiveyear plan has proposed a road map to achieve Universal Secondary Education and targeted to increase GER from 52 in 2004–05 to 75 by 2011–12. As part of 11th FYP the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) was initiated to achieve USE. Further, the 12th five year plan proposes to achieve near universal-enrolment in secondary education with the GER exceeding 90 per cent by 2017. Because of increased attention, a considerable improvement has been recorded for both elementary and secondary enrolment which can be attributed to the implementation of RTE Act, 2009 and also the implementation of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyan. However, despite such initiatives by the government, India has achieved nearly universal elementary education but the GER stands at 80 for secondary and 56 for higher secondary in 2015–16. The NER is still much lower and stands at 51.26 for secondary and 32.3 for Higher Secondary in 2015–16.

It is necessary to pay serious attention to the expansion of secondary educational facilities and also to improve its quality as around 54 per cent of India's population is below 25 years of age and without developing their education and skill, India won't be able to reap this demographic dividend. Based on secondary data and various reports, the paper focuses not only on access situation of secondary education but also on equity and quality issues pertaining to secondary education.