Introduction 

The Indian Education System that exists today in India is influenced mainly by the British System of Education. The history of Indian education has been very rich with world-class universities like Nalanda, Takshila and Vikramshila where the likes of Aryabhatta, Kabir Das have studied. These universities were way ahead of the time with modern facilities.

Graduation:

3 years v/s 4 years graduation − The system that is followed in India is [10+2+3] years for streams like commerce, science, social sciences, humanities, management, and media (Engineering degree is an exception which is a 4-year long course). However, in the US, the system followed is [10+2+4] years.

Entrance exams for graduation − The students in the US appear for SAT and ACT to get admissions into the Universities and Colleges after their High School. In India, there are national-level examinations for Medical and Engineering courses and the criteria for other streams is mostly based on the percentage that the student obtains in the Higher Secondary Certificate Examination.

The teacher-student ratio − In the US the teacher-student ratio does not exceed 1:30 in a majority of the classes. However, in India even with the provisions highlighted in the RTE Act, the teacher-student ratio goes as high as 1:80 and sometimes even 1:100.

Rigid v/s Flexible − In India, there is rigidity where the student has to study all the subjects in the schooling period. There is no chance to skip these subjects. The extracurricular activities and Physical Education is not given much priority in India. Whereas, the system in the US is more flexible where the students get more subjects to explore with each subject given equal importance. The system in India also tends to be science-students centric which is not the case in the US.

The position of the teacher − The position of the teacher in terms of social status differs massively in both countries. The teacher is given a lot of respect for the profession by the people in India. This is mainly due to the rich cultural heritage that has revered the teacher as ‘Guru’. It is not similar in terms of US society.

American pedagogy allows students to become aware of the different forms of managerial leadership that exist within organizations. 

In American students are positioned as the main actors of their learning. The teacher-student relationship is almost friendly. The teacher makes himself very accessible for his students and is identified as a source of advice and support. Students feel confident, gain motivation and give their best. The impact on the results is considerable!

American schools do not use the personal work requested by teachers to validate student learning, but to develop their research and analytical skills. Particular emphasis is placed on practice and personal development. The students’ work is mainly carried out outside the school, encouraging them to develop their independence, curiosity and love of discovery.

They believe that each student has a say and that he or she should be allowed to express himself or herself and bring his or her point of view to a classroom discussion, even when this opinion is contrary to that of the teacher. It is therefore not uncommon to attend in-depth debates during the sessions, as the objective is to encourage students to reflect and express their ideas freely.