Page 180 - DEDU501_DEVELOPMENT_OF_EDUCATION_SYSTEM_ENGLISH

Development of Education System Dinesh Kumar, Lovely Professional University

Notes Unit 20: Secondary Education: Concept and Need

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
20.1 Universal Secondary Education
20.2 Need for Secondary Education in India
20.3 Summary
20.4 Keywords
20.5 Review Questions
20.6 Further Readings

Objectives
The Objectives of this unit can be summarized as below:
• to discuss about the concept of secondary education.
• to explain about the need of secondary education in India.
Introduction

The Constitution of India, under the original Article 45, directed the State to “endeavor to
provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and
compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years.” This
provision implicitly covered Early Childhood Care and Education (including pre-primary
education) for children below six years of age and eight years of elementary education (Class I
to VIII) for the 6-14 year age group. The priority given by the Constitution to this provision
was clearly evident from the time-frame specified therein; no other clause in the Constitution
carries this sense of urgency.
20.1 Universal Secondary Education

Technically speaking secondary education definition is the formal education for children between
ages 13 to 18. It is after middle school, during junior high and high school or can also be
referred to as grade 9 to 12. In other countries secondary education commences on high school
which is between the ages of 13 to 16.
The concept of secondary education is not to only depart the knowledge or not to complete the
text book and become the most intelligent people. It is all about the complete training as a
human being the values which the person has imbibed during their lifetime. It is such a phase
in the life when the person is not completely an adult nor is the person can be put in the
category of children. This is the time, teenage when the students are the most delicate and also
the most difficult to handle because it becomes very difficult to handle them. At this phase
nobody tends to listen but they want to have their own say and prove whatever they think or
say is right but that is not the case. Advices by elders are always needed in all the phases of life
and that should always be remembered. From the knowledge point of view, the number of
subjects increases as in comparison to the primary education. The knowledge of each subject
increases as each subject goes in the depth. Vocational education or any other education such as
studying a foreign language or arts are also important and can be chosen according to the
choice of the student and the option that the school offers and then the best combination can be
selected. The better the grades in the exams the better it is for the students as it becomes easy

174 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY