The education sector or education system is a group of institutions (ministries of education, local educational authorities, teacher training institutions, schools, universities, etc.) whose primary purpose is to provide education to children and young people in educational settings.

Education in India is provided by public schools (controlled and funded by three levels: central, state and local) and private schools. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution, free and compulsory education is provided as a fundamental right to children between the ages of 6 and 14.

If we were to go back to the ancient history of the Indian education system, we would realize that it was founded based on the gurukula system wherein the emphasis was laid down on the direct relationship between the guru or what we call in modern times the teacher and his sisya or pupil. This form of education system laid stress on living an austere life and the study revolved around gaining the knowledge of Vedic literature. It was largely dedicated to the teaching of philosophy, theology and philology. It was an all-inclusive education system branching out from spirituality and philosophy to the study of the art of war and stressing on good moral values and a healthy lifestyle.

Education was imparted on the basis of Varna. Both the women folk and sudras were deprived of the education system and vocational courses, if any, were meant for the old members of the community and families. During the medieval period, the ‘madarsa’ system prevailed which much dominated the educational system at that time. The schools were largely madarsas and pathshalas, which were functional, under the supervision of the maulvis, chiefly for the Muslim students and under the supervision of the Brahmin priests for Hindu students respectively.