Education in Maharashtra An Introduction
Maharashtra –The land of Shivaji, is located in the western part of the country with Mumbai as its capital. It has a very rich historic and cultural past – the remains of which are even visible today. Mumbai is the financial capital of the country and also the greatest business hub. Maharashtra is the most industrialized state and contributes 25% of the country’s industrial output. As per 2011 census the population of Maharashtra was 112.37 million, of which the male population was 58.24 million and female population was 54.13 million. The literacy rate of Maharashtra was 82.34%, of which the male literacy is 88.38% and female literacy is 69.87%. The sex ratio of Maharashtra was 929 females per 1000 males, which is slightly below the national average of 940.
School Education in Maharashtra
Read about Education in Maharashtra
Maharashtra has always been a pioneer in the field of education. Pune is popularly known as the “Oxford of the East”. In Maharashtra as of 20100-11 there were 97,256 Elementary schools of which of which 49,085 were Primary schools, 48,171 were Upper Primary schools and 5,595 were Secondary and Higher Secondary schools. Of the total number of Elementary schools, 67,241 were Government manager schools and 30, 015 schools were privately managed schools. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has strengthened basic infrastructural facilities in most schools. Pupil Teacher ratio is also less than 1:40 in about 95% schools. However, improving learning achievement level is a greater challenge for the state. Maharashtra follows the 10+2 system of education. The schools offering primary and secondary education are affiliated to Maharashtra State Secondary School Certificate, Central Board of Secondary Education or Indian School Certificate Examination (ICSE). Some of the schools in Maharashtra use Marathi as their medium of instruction. However, most of the ICSE and CBSE schools in the state use English for imparting education to their students. Hindi and Marathi are also treated as second languages in most of the schools in Maharashtra.
Higher Education in Maharashtra
Maharashtra is at the forefront in the matter of higher education in India and offers a number of graduate and post-graduate courses in the disciplines of arts, science and commerce. The colleges also offer professional courses such as medicine, engineering and management. There are specialized courses in subjects like Pharmacy, Veterinary Science, Unani, Law, Hotel Management, Homeopathy, Mass Communication, Fine Arts and many more. Maharashtra has one central university, nineteen state universities and twenty one deemed universities. The various technical and degree colleges in Maharashtra are affiliated to one of the leading universities in the state. These include Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Shivaji University, Kasaba Bavada Amravati University, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University, North Maharashtra University, Umavi Nagar and Shivaji University Vidyanagar, Kolhapur among others. The Directorate of Technical Education which of date has 2,197 institutions under it, regulates the technical education of the state. The prospects of employment and industry interface are excellent as most of the industries and their offices are located within the state.
Education in Maharashtra – Future
Maharashtra has always been in the forefront of education and has since made rapid strides in the direction. The presence of all development catalysts has also accelerated the progress of the state.