Ancient India was not a sub-continent of illiteracy although there were geographical differences in the spread of literacy. The rich tradition of acquiring basic education was common even among the masses. The emodern school systemf introduced by the British in 1854 saw an increase in the number of pupils enrolled in it, but the problem of serious drop-outs and shortage of teachers remained unsolved till the end of its rule in 1947. Consequently, emodern school educationf has slowly become irrelevant to the needs of people. Independent India increased the number of teachers not only by establishing new teacher training institutions but also by providing various types of short-term teacher training programs and appointing less trained personnel as school teachers. Despite the rapid expansion of school education there was a continued shortage of teachers which resulted in the persistence of high drop-out rates in schools and low quality of education. Indiafs fabled cultural diversity has made it difficult for the Central Government to establish a consensus in teacher training/education. As such, nearly four decades passed until India announced a uniform system of teacher education for all parts of the country.