OTHER EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
An account of the other educational and cultural activities distinct from the main schemes, pursued during the year, is presented in this chapter.
2. National Awards for Teachers.-The scheme, was instituted during 1958-59 with the object of raising the prestige of teachers and giving public recognition to the meritorious services of outstanding teachers working in the primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools. Each award carried with it a certificate of merit and a cash payment of five hundred rupees.
2.1. To be eligible for the award a teacher should have bad to his credit at least 20 years of recognised teaching service. The selection is made on the basis of the record of work and reputation in the local community of the teachers. University and College teachers, teachers in training colleges and staff of the Inspectorates of schools are not eligible for the awards under the present scheme.
2.2. A budget provision of Rs. 66,000/- (Rs. 48,000 under Non- Plan and Rs. 18,000 under Plan) has been made for the scheme during the current financial year 1964-65.
3. National Foundation for Teachers Welfare.-The Foundation was set up in 1962 under the Charitable Endowments Act, 1890 with the objective of providing relief to teachers and their dependents who may be in indigent circumstances and also to sanction ex-gratia grants to such of the selected teachers, upon their retirement, as may have rendered exceptionally meritorious service. A General Committee has been set up under the chairmanship of the Union Education Minister for the management and administration of the Foundation.
3.1. The funds of the Foundation are made up of the contribution paid by the Union and State Governments and the collections made by the States/Union Territories on the occasion of the Teacher's Day which is celebrated on the 5th September every year. The total amount collected so far is about Rs. 75 lakh.
3.2. The State Governments/Union Territories have been authorised to start the programme of assistance under the scheme of the Foundation with effect from 5th September, 1964-the 1964 Teachers Day.
4. Moral and Religious Instruction.-The Standing Committee on Moral and Religious Instruction has since been wound up. Its recom- mendations have been forwarded to the State Governments, Union Terri- tories and Universities. The publication of certain literature recommended and approved by this Committee has also been undertaken and the manuscript on the life of Swami Vivekananda has since been sent for publication.
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4.1. The other manuscripts are under revision. The likely expenditure on the scheme for the year, 1964-65 is Rs. 30,000.
5. Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust, Amritsar.-The Trust was set up in 1951 by an Act of Parliament-The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act-and is run under the stewardship of the Prime Minister. Grants are given to the Trust every year for construction of the Memorial and for meeting the possible deficit. A sum of Rs. 1,61,583 has been released during 1964-65.
5.1. A budget provision of Rs. 2,79,600 has been made for the year 1965-66 as against the revised estimates of Rs. 1,61,600 for the year 1964-65. The budget estimate for 1964-65 was Rs. 65,000 only.
6. Education For Tibetan Children.-The Government of India set up the Tibetan Schools Society, under the chairmanship of the Education Minister with the object of providing education to Tibetan refugee children. Besides the Government of India's representatives, three nominees of His Holiness Dalai Lama are on the Governing Body of the Society.
6.1. Under the aegis of the Society, 7 residential schools and several day schools have been set up for the education of the Tibetan children. The residential schools are at Dalhousie, Simla, Mussoorie, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Mount Abu and Pachmarhi. The day schools are located in rehabilitation colonies for the Tibetan refugees at Bylakupee, Changlang (Tezu), Manipet (Madhya Pradesh) and Chandiragiri (Orissa). The total enrolment of students in the residential schools is about 3,800 whereas in day schools it is 1,250. The Principal of the school is a Tibetan who is appointed on the nomination of His Holiness. Teaching of religion and Tibetan Language is also done by the Tibetan Teachers. The medium of instruction in the school is English. Trained graduates are appointed even at the lower stage to make teaching of subjects through the medium of English effective.
6.2. The salient features of the school are, preservation of Tibetan culture (including dancing and music) and faith; introduction of arts and crafts; and welfare of Tibetan children by Tibetan Foster Parents. For this purpose, the Tibetan Homes Foundation has started 20 Homes for Small children and receives from the Tibetan Schools Society a grant at the rate of Rs. 50/- per child per month.
6.3. Grants are being given to a few schools at Kalimpong started by private organisations and to Inchey School in Sikkim. During the year 1964-65, expenditure under various headings is as below:-
Rs.
1. Establishments in schools 4,13,400
2. Central establishments 87,000
3. Purchase and rent of buildings 8,50,000
4. Food expenditure and equipment 17,30,000
5. Grant to Homes and others 3,38,000
6. Contigencies etc. 1,95,000
Total 36,13,400
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7. The Ladakh Institute.-The Ladakh Institute of Higher Studies has. been established in New Delhi for the benefit of students of the border areas i.e. Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Spiti, Kulu, NEFA, Bhutan, Sikkim etc., the inhabitants of which belong to one and the same cultural group mainly influenced by the Tibetan form of Buddhism. The Institute has started classes at lower level up to Praman Patriya (equivalent to Higher Secondary stage) course of the Sanskrit University, Varanasi. 88 students from the border areas are at present receiving education at the Institute. All these students are getting Government of India scholarships.
7.1. It has now been decided that Directorate of Education, Delhi should provide necessary assistance and exercise supervision and ins- pection. It has also been decided to give grant on a cent per cent basis to the institution for its maintenance. The grants are being given by the Delhi Administration.
8. Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.-The Government of India. decided to dedicate the Teen Murti House, the residence of the late Sri Jawaharlal Nehru, to the nation as a memorial. The Ministry of Education has been entrusted with the responsibility to establish a Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Museum and a Library at the Teen Murti House.
8.1. The Nehru Memorial Museum. which is at the moment function- ing as a part of the National Museum in the Ministry of Education, was. inaugurated on 14th November, 1964, by the President of India. This. Museum has been conceived primarily as a Personalia Museum. Located in the first floor of the eastern wing of the house are the late Sri Jawaharlal Nehru's study room, bed room and the visitor's room, as they were on the night of 26th May, 1964. On the ground floor in the same wing, Sri Jawaharlal Nehru's office room in the Ministry of External Affairs has been reconstituted. The second part of the museum consists of gifts received by Sri Nehru in India and abroad. An exhibition of photographs from his personal collection and some manuscripts of his writings have also been arranged. All material already on display and still proposed to be, displayed is being catalogued under expert guidance. Changing exhibitions on different aspects of the late Sri Nehru's life and work will also be held at the museum from time to time.
8.2. Housed in the western wing of the same building will be a Library on Modern India, named after the late Sri Nehru. The core of collection in this wing will be the Nehru papers and other archives material concerning the Indian struggle for freedom. The books on and by Nehru will form an adjunct to the archives material, with an emphasis on the Nehru Period.
8.3. A provision of Rs. 3 lakh has been made in the budget for 1965-66 for the establishment and development of these institutions.
9. Clearing House Functions.-One of the major functions of the Union Ministry of Education is to serve as a clearing house of ideas and information in all fields of educational activity. This function is discharged through the agency of three sections, namely, Information, Statistics and Publications, maintained in the Ministry of Education. These provide for the dissemination of educational information relating to statistics and facilities for study at home and abroad and publish reports'. periodicals and other literature pertaining to the fields of education
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and culture. An outline of their activities during the period is given in the three sub-sections that follow.
9.1. Information Section-The Information Section continued to collect, compile and cyclostyle the latest information on educational facilities in India and abroad for dealing with the multifarious enquiries totalling 12,000 during the year and feeding the various Students Advisory Bureaux.
9.2. The library attached to the Section which forms the main repository of the information materials in the form of prospectus/syllabii/ calendar/Handbook/annual reports/statutes etc. catered to the needs of 850 visitors.
9.3. The Section also distributed over 5,000 forms of application for admission to undergraduate courses in the U.K. and four issues of the quarterly journal, `Educational Facilities in India and Abroad' amongst the Students Advisory Bureaux and State Governments in India.
9.4. A Seminar of the Students Advisory Bureaux was organised at Calcutta (i) to advise students more intensively on facilities available for higher studies in India and abroad, (ii) to screen the applications of private students wishing to proceed for study/training abroad and (iii) to evolve methods to make the Bureaux discharge their duties more effectively.
9.5. Statistical Section.-The main functions of the Statistical Section are to collect, maintain and interpret educational statistics, to bring out statistical publications, to disseminate statistical information about education and to undertake all such activities as may be required to improve the quality of the educational data.
9.5.1. Collection of Statistics.-During the year, the collection of statistics for 1962-63 from almost all the State Governments was completed. Collection of statistics for 1963-64 was under way. Statistics for 1962-63 were received from most of the universities. Collection of statistics from Universities for 1963-64 was also taken up.
9.5.2. Statistical Enquiries.-During the year under review, 144 major, enquiries were attended to. The enquiries, apart from having a wide Coverage, were more detailed than the previous year.
9.5.3. Inservice Training Courses in Educational Statistics.- To improve the reliability and timely supply of statistics, the Statistical Section has been giving technical assistance to the States and Union Territories, and Universities to organise short inservice training courses in educational statistics for the benefit of their staff. Financial assistance has also been given to the universities at the rate of 50% and to the States and Union Territories at the rate of 100% of the total expenditure on such courses. Under this scheme, courses were conducted for Marathwada University and the States of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Mysore, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Nagaland and the Union Territories of Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, North East Frontier Agency and Tripura, during 1964-65.
9.5.4. Seminar.-The Third National Seminar on Educational Statistics was held at Hyderabad from 2nd to 7th January, 1965.
9.5.5. Educational Bulletin.-Quarterly Bulletin giving brief accounts of the latest educational developments in the various States of the country
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were issued. This activity will continue in 1965-66 as well. A list of publications brought out during the year is given in Annexure V.
9.6. Publications Section.-This Section is the main publishing agency of the Ministry of Education, although a few publications have also been brought out by other Units. Besides bringing out the administrative report of the Ministry and other ad hoc publications on different. aspects of education, the Section brings out quarterly journals.
9.6.1. Journals.-The Section continued to bring out the three quarterly journals of the Ministry, namely, `The Education Quarterly', `Secondary Education' and `Youth'. These journals have entered in their seventeenth, ninth and eighth years respectively of continuous publication during the period. The two Quarterly journals `Cultural Forum' and its Hindi counterpart `Sanskriti' brought out by the erstwhile Ministry of S.R. & C.A., are also now the concern of the Ministry of Education. `Cultural Forum' entered its seventh year of continuous publication and `Sanskriti' sixth year. While these journals brought out Nehru Special Number, the other journals gave adequate coverage to late Prime Minister's ideas and thinking on different facets of education.
9.6.2. Publications.-A list of the publications-educational and cultural-brought out during the period is given in Annexure-V.
10. Preparation of "Who's Who" of Persons, Who Took Part in the Struggle for Freedom.-A "Who's Who" of persons who took part in, India's struggle for freedom is currently being prepared. The relevant material is being compiled by the respective States under the advice and financial assistance of the Central Government. Under the scheme, financial assistance is being given to the State Government generally at 33-1/3 per cent of the approved expenditure on the entire work subject to a ceiling of Rs. 6,000 per annum for two years or Rs. 12,000 in all. During 1964-65 (up to 31-12-64) the States of Madras, Bihar and Mysore have been paid grants of Rs. 1,140, Rs. 3,386 and Rs. 1,375 respectively. The cases of the States of Punjab, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh are under consideration.
11. History of Freedom Movement.-The final editing of the work on the Second Volume of the History of Freedom Movement is in pro- gress. The volume deals with the Renaissance in India in the 19th century and covers the period 1800-1905. The volume is expected to go to the press shortly.
12. Purchase of Ancient Manuscripts.-The question of formulation of a scheme for purchase of ancient manuscripts lying unattended with various institutions and individuals all over the country has been engaging the attention of the Government of India for the last several years. With a view to save ancient rare manuscripts and other documents of national importance from further destruction, it was decided to purchase such documents in consultation with an ad hoc Committee set up for the purpose. The Committee at its first meeting in October, 1964, examined several offers received from institutions and individuals and has recommended the purchase of various manuscripts. The recommendations of the Committee are under consideration.
13. The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and the Restoration of the Cultural Property, Rome.-India became a member
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of the International Centre for the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, Rome in October 1961. The Centre was set up by Unesco with a view to meeting the increased demands for Scientific and Technical aid for the conservation and safeguarding of the Cultural treasures in countries where the available means are scarcely adequate for tackling the problems involved. Government of India had been taking keen interest in the affairs of the Centre. Early in 1964, Dr. Harold J. Plenderleith, Director, International Centre, Rome visited India and discussed the conservation problems of the country with different organisations.
14. Copyright.-The Copyright Act, 1957, which amended and con- solidated all previous laws on the subject, came into force in January, 1958. It provides for the establishment of a Copyright Board for adjudicating on certain matters specified in the Act. The Government of India also ratified the Universal Copyright Convention and it came into force in respect of India with effect from January 21, 1958. Until December 31, 1964, the copyright of 3,716 works comprising 2,428 literary (including 10 foreign) works, 1,285 artistic works and 3 cinematograph films, were registered by the Copyright office. The Government have also extended the operation of the 1957 Act to the works of more than 40 foreign countries.
15. Activities of the Plan Coordination Unit.-The Plan Coordination Unit of the Ministry continued its activities of coordinating the work of the Ministry with regard to Central and State educational development schemes of general education included in the third Five-Year Plan. As in the previous years, three-fourths of the allocated Central grants on State programmes for 1964-65 are being released by the Ministry of Finance in the form of monthly ways and means advances. These are to be adjusted against the payment sanctions to be issued by the Unit in March, 1965.
16. Central Planning Group Unit.-A Central Planning Group in Education was set up under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister of Education in January, 1964 to prepare the broad outline of a perspective Plan of Educational Development in India to cover the next 15 years (1966-81) and, against its background to work out a detailed programme for inclusion in the fourth Five-Year Plan (1966-71). The Group consists of 14 members.
16.1. The Central Planning Group set up 3 Study Groups on : (1) Teaching of English at School Stage; (2) Production and use of films for Science Education; and (3) Preparing a Model Education Act for Enactment by the State Governments. The first two study groups have completed their work and have submitted their reports.
17. Indo-Pakistan Agreement on the Issue of Educational Certificate to Displaced Persons.-In accordance with the agreement between the Government of India and Pakistan, the Education Ministry of each country is responsible for the clearance of all applications for educational certificates as well as for the verification of educational qualifications. Comparatively, the Government of India have been quite expeditious in disposing of applications received from the nationals of Pakistan. 2283 certificates have been furnished against 2294 applications, the outstanding cases being only 11 fresh applications. The Government of Pakistan, on the other hand, have furnished 3575 against 4208 applications for certificates; 633
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fresh applications from Indian nationals are outstanding with that Government besides 270 old applications sent prior to the Agreement in 1957.
17.1. Recovery and Remission of Educational Loans to Displaced Students.-The work relating to the recovery and remission of educational loans advanced to displaced students whose guardians have settled down in Delhi was continued during the year. In respect of students in other States, this work is the concern of the Ministry of Rehabilitation. The Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Directorate advanced loans to the extent of Rs. 7,26,736 to 1,401 loanees so far and a sum of Rs. 5,54,990 has been recovered/remitted by the Directorate up to 31st November, 1964. Remission is, however, allowed to non-claimant loanees and to those whose claims amounted to less than the loans given and applied for such remission on or before 30th June, 1962.
17.2. Financial Assistance to Displaced Students from Pakistan.Under this Scheme, financial assistance in the form of freeship up to the school stage and stipends up to college stage is given to displaced students from East and West Pakistan through the State Governments, though the entire expenditure is met by the Government of India. However, in the case of such students in Delhi, the assistance is given by the Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Directorate which functions under the administrative control of the Department of Social Security with effect from 1-7-1964, This Scheme was expected to be wound up at the end of the second Plan, but to avoid any undue hardships to such students as were in the midst of their courses, it was decided to continue the Scheme. During the year the total financial assistance is expected to amount to Rs. 6,26,500.
18. Raising of NCC Troops in Public, Residential and Regimental Schools.-A scheme of raising new N.C.C. Troops in Public, Residential and Regimental Schools was included for the first time in the third Five Year Plan, at a cost of Rs. 7 lakh. As far as the expenditure on maintenance of N.C.C. Units in Public Schools is concerned, the Ministry of Education has agreed to meet the expenditure.
18.1. A budget provision of Rs. 2 lakh has been made during the year 1964-65 and the entire amount has already been sanctioned to the Directorate General, National Cadet Corps, to meet the expenditure for raising 25 troops in Regimental Schools.
19. Grants to Hostels, Institutions and Organisations Outside India.Since 1947, the Government of India have been maintaining the Indian Students' Hostel, Guilford Street, London. It is proposed to acquire a new building for the purpose. $ 2,250 is expected to be spent during 1964-65. Same amount is being provided in the High Commission's budget for 1965-66.
19.1. A provision of Rs. 7,500 exists for giving grant to the Ceylon Estate Workers' Trust for 1964-65. Same amount is being provided for 1965-66.
19.2. (Pound) 750 have been sanctioned to the School of Oriental and African Studies, London for 1964-65; same amount is being provided in the High Commission's budget for 1965-66.
19.3. A provision of Rs. 25,000 exists for financial assistance to educational institutions in Nepal for 1964-65. Same amount has been provided for 1965-66 for the purpose.
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19.4. $ 250 have been sanctioned to the Y.M.C.A. Indian Students' Union and Hostel, London for 1964-65. Same amount is being provided in the High Commission's budget for 1965-66.
19.5. Against the provision of $ 275, the Indian High Commission, London has recommended $ 300 to be sanctioned for Indian Students' Organisations in the United Kingdom for 1964-65. Same amount has been suggested by the High Commission for 1965-66 for the purpose.
20. Financial Provisions.-For the main schemes of educational and cultural, programmes described in this chapter, the following table indicates the financial provisions made in the budget for 1964- 65 and 1965-66.
Provision for 1964-65
Sl. Scheme Provision
No. Original Revised for
1965-66
Rs. Rs. Rs.
1. Preparation of "Who's Who" of
Persons who took part in the
Struggle for Freedom 50,000 32,000 30,700
2. Purchase of Ancient
Manuscripts 1,00,000 50,000 1,00,000
3. The International Centre for
the Study of the Preservation
and Restoration of the
Cultural property, Rome 17,000 17,600 18,000
4. Jallianwala Bagh National
Memorial Trust, Amritsar 65,000 1,61,600 2,79,600
5. Indian Students Hostel,
London 19,000 30,000 30,000