User:Yp1998/sandbox

Selecting New Articles
Area Sector
 * 1) Himachal Pradesh Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himachal_Pradesh#Government
 * 2) Sirmaur district wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirmaur_district
 * 1) Education in HP - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Himachal_Pradesh
 * 2) Economy of HP - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Himachal_Pradesh
 * 3) Education in India
 * 4) Higher education in India

Evaluating Two Articles

 * 1) (Area) Himachal Pradesh - there are some dead links & broken links that can be fixed. Add to the economy section - different government acts as well as general growth off the economy. Add to the Education section - high literacy rates. Add to the Natural Resources section - still need to add more about emerging renewable sources of energy in the state.
 * 2) (Sector) Himachal Pradesh - Change the title of the section that is currently listed as 'University'. Maybe add more divisions in terms of what kind of educational institutions - Govt. universities/Private universities/Technical Institutes. Also more info about the primary & secondary schooling systems. Add more info about current higher education schemes that exist in HP - this would help with my PE too. Where can I look for information about particular universities if their websites don't count as valid sources? or
 * 3) (Sector) Education in India - Add a section titled 'Administration' to the University education part. Restructure it so that the current info about the government sector goes under that section too. Could also add to the sections about 'Rural education' and 'Women's Education', under Issues.
 * 4) (Sector) Higher Education in India - Add a section about the history of higher education in India. Expand on the 'Problems' section - include more issues like Women's education to this section. Perhaps include the administration section in this instead? There is already one section that talks about one particular act. This could be extended so that multiple schemes are covered under one common section titled 'Policy' or 'Government Schemes'. Maybe have some overlap between this article and the Higher Education portion of the previous article.

History
[MOVED]

India is believed to have had a functioning system of higher education as early as 1000 B.C. Unlike present day universities, these ancient learning centers were primarily concerned with dispersing Vedic education. The modern Indian education system finds its roots in colonial legacy. The British Government used the university system as a tool of cultural colonization. Colonial efforts in higher education were carried out initially through the East India Company, followed by the British parliament and later under direct British rule. The first institution of higher learning set up by the British East India Company was the Calcutta Madrasa in 1781. This was followed by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784, Benaras Sanskrit College in 1791 and Fort William College in 1800. With the Charter Act of 1813, the British Parliament officially declared Indian education as one of the duties of the state. The same act also removed restrictions on missionary work in British India, thus leading to the establishment of the evangelist Serampore College in 1818. Thomas Babbington Macaulay’ s famously controversial Minute on Education (1835) reflected the growing support of a Western approach to knowledge over an Oriental one. Soon after, in 1857, the first three official universities were started in Bombay (Mumbai), Calcutta (Kolkata) and Madras (Chennai). These universities were modeled after the University of London and focused on English and the humanities

The British control of the Indian education system continued until the Government of India Act 1935 that transferred more power to provincial politicians and began the "Indianisation" of education. This period witnessed a rise in the importance of physical and vocational education as well as the introduction of basic education schemes. When India gained independence in 1947, the nation had a total of 241,369 students registered across 20 universities and 496 colleges. In 1948, the Indian Government established the University Education Commission to oversee the growth and improvement of higher education. In the 1960s and 1970s, the government increased its efforts to support higher education by not only setting up state-funded universities and colleges, but also providing financial assistance to private institutions, resulting in the creation of private aided/ grant-in-aid institutions.

Despite the leave of the British, Indian higher education continued to give importance to the languages and humanities until the 1980's. Institutes of professional education like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Regional Engineering Colleges (REC) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) were some of the more prominent exceptions to this trend. These institutions drew inspiration from reputed universities in the United States and also received foreign funding. Post 1980s, the changing needs of the economy, a growing middle class and an increased strain on government financial resources, slowed the growth of state-funded higher educational institutions. This led to an increased role of the private sector in the education system.

Challenges
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*(Rename the section currently titled 'Problems') [DONE]

In the last 30 years, higher education in India has witnessed rapid and impressive growth. The increase in the number of institutions is, however, disproportionate to the quality of education that is being dispersed. Unplanned over-expansion is often criticized as one of the biggest downfalls of Indian higher education. A large number of institutions suffer from subpar quality and a lack of funding. As a result, entry into the top institutions is highly competitive and translates into a contest for higher entrance test scores and better private coaching institutes.

Higher education in India faces problems ranging from income and gender disparities in enrolment, to poor quality of faculty and teaching and even to a general lack of motivation and interest amongst students. Industries cite skill shortage as one of the major factors contributing to the mounting number of unemployed graduates.

Some of the challenges faced by the Indian higher education system include:
 * Financing – The inability of the state to fund the expanding higher education system has resulted in the rapid growth of private higher education. In addition, diminished governmental financial support adversely affects small and rural educational institutions. A growing number of public institutions are forced to resort to self-financing courses and high tuition costs. The private sector’s primary modes of financing include donations, capitation fees and exorbitant fee rates. This in turn limits general accessibility to higher education, by catering to only an elite few.
 * Enrolment – As of 2007, only around 11% of the 18 – 23 year old population of India, is enrolled in higher education. On the whole, India has an enrolment rate of 9% which is similar to that of other lower middle income countries. The population that is enrolled in higher education is largely comprised of urban metropolitan dwellers. Rural enrollment in higher education is very low. Moreover, a majority of the recorded enrolment is at the undergraduate level. Over the last 4 years, Indian higher education has maintained a steady female enrolment rate of around 45%. Although the gender gap in enrollment has decreased significantly post-independence, there still exists a disparity amongst different departments. Technology, medicine and commerce are some of the areas of study that are heavily male-dominated while humanities departments show the opposite trend.
 * Politics - Higher education is a high stakes issue in India. It is subject to heavy government involvement. Despite the system's lack of state funding, 15.5% of government expenditure goes toward higher education. Also, many prominent political figures either own or sit on the managerial board of the Universities. This leads to the exertion of intense political pressures on the administration of these institutions. Caste based reservations make Indian higher education an even more contested topic. While some make the case that caste-based quotas are necessary to tackle prevailing socio-economic disparities, others see it as exclusionary to upper-caste individuals.
 * As a result, student activism and political organization of academic staff are widespread and rampant.

The complex socio-political nature of higher education in India makes it difficult to implement social reform. As a result, the overall quality of education suffers.

Administration
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The institutional framework of higher education in India is comprised of Universities and Colleges. As reported in 2015, India has 760 universities and 38,498 colleges. There are three types of universities: Conventional Universities, Deemed Universities and Institutions of National Importance. While Conventional Universities are established through Act of Parliament or State Legislatures, Deemed Universities award degrees through the notification of the central government. Institutes of National Importance are those that have been awarded the status by Parliament.

The education system of India falls broadly under the Ministry of Human Resource Development(MHRD). Amongst the branches of the MHRD, the Department of Higher Education is responsible for overseeing the growth of the higher education sector. The Department aims to improve quality of and access to higher education for all sections of the population. One of the key objectives of the Department is to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education to 30% by 2020. Some of the other objective of the department include: expansion of institutional base, greater inclusion of minorities, removal of regional disparities, infrastructural improvement and increased global participation.

Current government initiatives include:


 * Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan - A total of 316 state public universities and 13,024 colleges will be covered under the Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan, a plan to manage funding for higher education.This is a scheme to develop state university by central govt funding (65%).
 * Scheme of Integrating Persons With Disabilities In The Mainstream Of Technical And Vocational Education - Caters to around 50 polytechnics in the country and provides them with grants-in-aid aimed at facilitating greater integration of disabled individuals into higher education.
 * Scheme of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT) - The purpose of this scheme is to raise the quantity and quality of teaching staff across schools and colleges. It also aims to create better institutional frameworks in order to cultivate change in the positive direction.

Economy
[MOVED]

Himachal Pradesh often ranks as one of the best performing states in the country on human development indicators. One of the Indian government's key initiatives to tackle unemployment, is the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). The participation of women in the NREGA has been observed to vary across different regions of the nation. As of the year 2009-2010, Himachal Pradesh joined the category of high female participation, recording a 46% share of NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) work days to women. This was a drastic increase from the 13% that was recorded in 2006-2007.

Hydropower is also one of the major sources of income generation for the state. The state has an abundance of Hydropower resources because of the presence of various perennial rivers. Many high capacity projects are being constructed to capitalize on this. In addition, the rich hydropower resources of Himachal have resulted in the state becoming almost universally electrified with around 94.8% houses receiving electricity as of 2001, as compared to the national average of 55.9%. The income generated from exporting the electricity to other states is being provided as subsidy to the consumers in the state. ''Himachal's hydro-electric power production is however yet to be fully utilized. The identified Hydroelectric Potential for the state is 27,436 MW in five river basins and the annual hydroelectricity production in 2016 was 10,351 MW.''

Education[MOVED]
At the time of Independence, Himachal Pradesh had a literacy rate of 8% - one of the lowest in the country. Today, with a literacy rate of over 80%, Himachal has one of the highest literacy rates in the country. * There are over 10,000 primary schools, 1,000 secondary schools and more than 1,300 high schools in Himachal, making it 2.23 schools for every thousand people ''. In meeting the constitutional obligation to make primary education compulsory, Himachal became the first state in India to make elementary education accessible to every child .'' Himachal also has comparatively high literacy rates recorded amongst its SC-ST population (78.9% and 73.6% respectively). Although gender bias in education levels is a prominent issue all over India, Himachal Pradesh is one of the exceptions. The state has a female literacy rate of around 76%. In addition, school enrollment and participation rates for girls are almost universal at the primary level. While higher levels of education do reflect a gender based disparity, Himachal is still significantly ahead of other states at bridging the gap. The Hamirpur District in particular stands out for high literacy rates across all metrics of measurement.

The HP government has played an instrumental role in the rise of literacy in the state. They spend a significant percent of their GDSP on education. The initial focus of the state was on quantitative expansion, but after the seventh five-year-plan they switched their focus to the quality of education. Some of the issues that the Himachal education system has been facing are: teacher-pupil ratio, untrained teachers, teacher absenteeism and other infrastructural setbacks. The state has taken various measures to counter the above problems. In an effort to raise the number of teaching staff at primary schools they appointed over 1000 teacher aids through the Vidya Upasak Yojna in 2001. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is another HP government initiative that not only aims for universal elementary education but also encourages communities to engage in the management of schools. The Rashtriya Madhayamic Shiksha Abhiyan launched in 2009, is a similar scheme but focuses on improving access to quality secondary education.

The standard of education in the state has reached a considerably high level as compared to other states in India with several reputed educational institutes for higher studies.

Natural Resources
[Not Relevant will NOT MOVE to the mainspace]

*(Rename to Energy, since that is the focus?)

Himachal Pradesh has the highest rate of energy consumption for cooking, lighting and space heating in northern India. Fuelwood consumption alone accounts for about 52% of the state's total energy consumption. Other conventional sources of energy that are used include, wood, agro and forest waste, electricity, kerosene oil and LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas). Although Himachal has traditionally been recognized for its abundance of natural resources, increased energy consumption has resulted in rapidly depleting forests and water reserves as well as adverse environmental effects. The state government responded to the growing deforestation by imposing a ban on tree felling. This has resulted in an increase in forest cover from 21.16% in 1991 to 25.78% in 2003. Highly subsidized rates of LPG have made it more viable and resulted in a significant increase in the use of LPG in rural areas.

The hydro-power projects in Himachal are also under threat from global warming. These projects are fueled by Himalayan rivers which in turn are affected by the fast shrinking of their source glaciers.

NOTE: Text in Italics - Things that were already on the main space before I started working on it. Basically anything that isn't my personal contribution to the page.

Sector

 * 1) Chitnis, Suma (Feb 3, 2000). "Higher Education in India". Black Issues in Higher Education. 16: 28 – via ProQuest. - The article offers a brief history and review of higher education in India. It gave me a better understanding of the overarching timeline of higher education in India. It also mentions a relatively specific start date for formalized Indian higher education.
 * 2) Datta, Surja. A History of the Indian University System | SpringerLink. . - The article goes into detail about the state and structure of Indian higher education under British rule. From this article I was able to retrieve details about the names of specific colleges set up during colonial times.
 * 3) Sharma, Shaloo (2002). History and Development of Higher Education in India. Sarup & Sons. ISBN 9788176253185. - This article too details the growth of Indian higher education under the British. It expands on specific laws and acts that the British empire introduced as part of their cultural colonization of India.
 * 4) Jayaram, N. (2007). International Handbook of Higher Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Dordrecht. pp. 747–767. . ISBN 9781402040115. - This article provided insight into the state of Indian higher education at the time of Independence and right after. It includes information on the number of colleges and students enrolled during that period.
 * 5) Agarwal, Pawan (2007-04-01). "Higher Education in India: Growth, Concerns and Change Agenda". Higher Education Quarterly. 61 (2): 197–207. . . - The article talks about the general trend of higher education in India but also specifies how the government interacts with the sector. I used it to add information about the evolution of Indian higher education in the 60's, 70's and post-80's.
 * 6) "Higher Education in India - The Need for Change | EABER". www.eaber.org. Retrieved 2018-03-14. - The article talks about the major issues that plague Indian higher education. I used its arguments that detail financial challenges as well as over expansion. This article was also helpful in framing what subpar quality of education leads to.
 * 7) Agarwal, Pawan (2009). Indian higher education : envisioning the future. New Delhi: SAGE. ISBN 9788178299419. . - In this article the author suggests ways in which India can overcome the challenges faced by its higher education system. The beginning portions of the article give an overview of the actual challenges faced and it is this information that I used for my edits.
 * 8) Government of India. Ministry of Human Resource Development.(2016) All India Survey on Higher Education: Higher Education Statistics at a Glance - This is a government report that demographically breaks down statistics concerning higher education in India. I was able to get the female enrollment rate in higher education from this article.
 * 9) Roy, Chowdhury, Sunandan. Politics, policy and higher education in India. Singapore. ISBN 9789811050565. .- This paper discusses the role that politics play in higher education in India. From this article I gained insight into the gender gap that prevails in many departments within higher education in India. I also used it represent the argument that caste-based reservations are exclusionary.
 * 10) Altbach, Philip G. (1993-07-01). "The dilemma of change in Indian higher education". Higher Education. 26 (1): 3–20. . .- From this article, I used information concerning how much the Indian government spends on higher education. I also used this article to summarize how different issues affect the quality of higher education in India.
 * 11) Ahmad Sheikh, Younis (2017). "Higher Education in India: Challenges and Opportunities" (PDF). Journal of Education and Practice. 8. - From this article I added information about how individual political figures wield their power by  influencing the decision-making of higher educational institutions.
 * 12) Ghosh, Jayati (2006). "Case for Caste-Based Quotas in Higher Education". Economic and Political Weekly. 41 (24): 2428–2432. - I used this article to represent the argument that caste-based quotas are necessary.
 * 13) Gupta, Deepti, Navneet Gupta, and Mandir Marg. “Higher Education in India: Structure, Statistics and Challenges.” Journal of Education and Practice 3, no. 2 (2012): 9. - From this article I included a high-level overview of the institutional framework of higher education in India.
 * 14) MHRD, Annual Report on Higher Education in India- 2015-2016.- This report is the annual documentation published by the Ministry of Human Resource Development which manages the education system. From the report I was able to add most recent estimate of the number of colleges and universities in India.
 * 15) Ranjan Ravi, Naveen (2015). ""Structure and Organisation of Higher Education in India : A Macro-Perspective"" (PDF). Indian Journal of Educational Studies : An Interdisciplinary Journal. 2. - From this article I added the different categories of Universities in India.
 * 16) "About Department Of Higher Education | Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development". mhrd.gov.in. Retrieved 2018-03-14.- From the official MHRD website I added information about the ministry's role and functions. I was also able to gain knowledge about the different higher education related schemes and plans that the Indian government currently has in place.

Area

 * 1) Sudarshan.M, Ratna (January 2011). "India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: women's participation and impacts in Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Rajasthan". Center for Social Protection Report. 6. -  Can add a blurb about the rural employment act and how it has been working in HP to the 'Economy' section (As a way to address government involvement in reducing rates of unemployment).
 * 2) "Emerging energy scenario in Western Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh". Energy Policy. 38 (5): 2545–2551. 2010-05-01. .  - The paper talks about energy usage in HP as well a need for renewable energy. It also talks about how the government is interacting with the potential energy crisis. From this article I added information about the contribution of Himachal Pradesh's hydropower resources to its economy and high rate of electrification.
 * 3) Government of India.(2014). Planning Commission. Himachal Pradesh Development Report http://planningcommission.gov.in/plans/stateplan/sdr_hp/sdr_hpch7.pdf - This is the official HP development report for the year 2014. From this article I was able to get the literacy rate of Himachal Pradesh at the time of independence. I also used this article to cite detailed information about how the HP state government is addressing education issues.
 * 4) Government of India. Department of Economics and Statistics.(2016) Statistical Abstract of Himachal Pradesh http://admis.hp.nic.in/himachal/economics/REPORTS/StatisticalAbstract_2015_16.pdf - This is the annual statistical abstract of HP published by the Indian Government in 2016. From this article I was able to retrieve the most recent recording of Himachal's literacy rate.
 * De, Anuradha & Khera, Reetika & Samson, Meera & Shiva Kumar, A. K., 2011. "Probe Revisited: A Report on Elementary Education in India," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780198071570 - From this article I learnt that Himachal has a lower gender gap in education, when compared to other states.
 * 1) Government of India. Census of India (2011) - From this report I used data regarding the literacy rates of minority groups.
 * 2) Dreze, J. (May 1999). "A surprising exception. Himachal's success in promoting female education". Manushi (112): 12–17. . . - Talks about government interventions and other forces that have successfully raised female literacy rates in HP. This would be very useful in expanding on gender specific education related trends. - This article expands on Himachal's success in bridging the gender gap in education. I used this article to cite the fact that Himachal has achieved an almost universal female enrollment rate at the primary level.
 * 3) "Himachal Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan & Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan". www.edumis.hp.gov.in. Retrieved 2018-04-26. - From this website I retrieved information regarding the Himachal government's SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) and RMSA (Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan) schemes.

My Contributions
Sector: Higher education in India


 * 1) Added the 'History' section to the wiki page on higher education in India.
 * 2) Added a section titled 'Administration'.
 * 3) Moved the 'Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan' into the 'Administration' section.
 * 4) Renamed the section titled 'Problems' to 'Challenges'.
 * 5) Removed 2 lines of text that sounded opinionated rather than encyclopedic.
 * 6) Added text to the 'Challenges' section and divided it into 4 sub-topics corresponding to different challenges faced by the Indian higher education system.
 * 7) Moved pre-existing information in the 'Challenges' section under the sub-topic 'Accreditation'.
 * 8) Added links to other relevant Wiki articles.

Area: Himachal Pradesh


 * 1) Added 4 sentences to the 'Flora an Fauna' section.
 * 2) Made some general copyedits.
 * 3) Added 4-5 sentences to the 'Energy' sub-topic under the section on Himachal Pradesh's 'Economy'.
 * 4) Restructured the 'Education' section to be more of a general overview that covers schooling as well as higher education.
 * 5) Removed some of the many colleges/universities listed in the 'Education' section as there is a separate article solely dedicated to listing all higher educational institutions in HP.
 * 6) Added more statistical/census data to the 'Education' section.
 * 7) Added 5 sentences about employment/unemployment to 'Economy'.

In general, the areas that I focused on within my chosen articles either did not exist or were relatively sparse in information. As a result, a lot of what I did was adding large paragraphs of text to entirely new sections of the articles. In the process I learnt I hope my additions are relevant and help shed more light on the respective topics.