India

Extract

A summary of work related to astronomy education carried out during the last three years in India is presented here. Since India is a huge country and many educational efforts are made by individuals alone, this report cannot be regarded as complete, but a specific sampling.

India has more than 200 Universities, 8000 colleges, and about 100,000 schools, 33 planetaria, more than 100 museums and about 60 well known amateur astronomers’ clubs. Scores of dedicated astronomy oriented school teachers, act as nuclei of astronomy education for the general public and school children .The astronomical almanac, used in a typical household is in some way related to the stars in the sky and the movements of the Sun, the Moon and the planets. Traditionally, a rudimentary knowledge of the celestial sphere is common. The recent developments in space technology have brought a fascination and glamour to modern astronomy for all age groups, and this is noticeably reflected in the number of media coverages of astronomy.