INTRODUCTORY
1.01. Following the mid-term Lok Sabha elections, 1971, Shri Siddharta Shankar Ray assumed charge of the Ministry of Education & Youth Services as the Union Minister for Education and Social Welfare on March 18, 1971. Prof. V. K. R. V. Rao, erstwhile Union Minister of Education & Youth Services who had assumed charge on February 14, 1969, relinquished it on the morning of March 18, 1971.
A. THE BACKDROP 1.02. Scope and Responsibilities of the Ministry: Under the Constitution of India, education is essentially a State subject. But the Centre is vested with certain specific responsibilities which have been mentioned in Lists I and III of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. Article 351 of the Constitution has made the promotion and enrichment of Hindi the responsibility of the Government of India which is discharged through the Ministry of Education & Youth Services. By a Parliamentary Resolution, the Ministry of Education & Youth Services have also been made responsible for the development of all Indian languages.
Matters relating to Unesco concern the Ministry of Education & Youth Services. This Ministry also share with the State Governments the responsibility for promotion of youth programmes in all its aspects.
1.03. Administration : The secretariat of the Ministry is headed by a Secretary to the Government of India, helped by an Additional Secretary. The secretariat consists of 17 divisions and 6 exclusive units (including Central Secretariat Library),
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the divisions being grouped into 7 bureaux, six of which are headed by officers of the rank of Joint Secretary and one by that of Director. There are 23 subordinate offices and one attached office and in addition, 46 autonomous organisations that are financed and supported by the Ministry. They execute directly the Ministry's policies and programmes in the field. An administrative chart is appended to this report. A list of attached and subordinate offices and autonomous organisations is given at Annexure A.
1.04. The Ministry no longer holds charge of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (at present with the Cabinet Secretariat) and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (at present attached to the Ministry of External Affairs). The other important changes in administration during the period have been the following:
(i) In pursuance of a directive from the Cabinet Secretariat, a Career Management Unit has been set up in the Ministry secretariat in October, 1970 for the purpose of carrying out career management programmes.
(ii) A Directorate of Adult Education has come into being from March 1, 1971, as a subordinate office, converting the erstwhile Department of Adult Education of the National Council' of Educational Research and Training, an autonomous body, following a recommendation of the Review Committee of the NCERT, 1968.
(iii) It has been decided to set up a National Staff College for Educational Planners and Administrators as an autonomous institution in place of the present Asian Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi, run by the Ministry in conjunction with UNESCO.
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1.05. Fourth Five-Year Plan: In the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1969-74), as finalised now. the allocation for education stands at Rs, 823 crore which is 5.2 per cent of the total outlay in, the public sector. Though this indicates a slight step-up from 4.8 per cent spent on education during the Annual Plans period of 1966-69, this is still lower than the percentage of 6.9 for the Third Five-Year Plan. The distribution of Rs. 823 between the State sector and the Central and Centrally sponsored sector is Rs. 552 crore and Rs. 271 crore respectively.
1.06. Budget: As against the budget estimate of Rs. 116.19 lakh for 1970-71 relating to the secretariat proper, the revised estimates for 1970-71 are Rs. 119.10 lakh and the budget estimates for 1971-72 are Rs. 124.99 lakh.
1.07. As against the total budget estimates of Rs. 86.62 crore for 1970-71 for the Ministry as a whole (excluding Provisions made for the CSIR and also excluding, the provisions made for this Ministry in the Demands operated by the Ministries of Home Affairs and Finance), the revised estimates for 1970-71 are Rs. 85.93 crore and the budget estimates for 1971-72 are Rs. 89.12 crore (provisional).
B. GENERAL REVIEW 1.08. International Education Year 1970: The most important event of the year has been the observance, of the International Education Year 1970 as part of a world-wide programme in accordance with UN General Assembly and UNESCO General Conference resolutions. The key-note of the Indian programme is: "Education in the Seventies: the Challenges of the Future and How to Meet Them". Inaugurated on July 18, 1970 by the President of India, V. V. Giri, at a special function held at the capital, the national year-long programme will end on July 18, 1971, synchronising with the academic year in the country and unlike the pattern in other countries. The programme comprises a number of special seminars and experts' meetings on various areas of
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current interest. Thus, an All-India Seminar, on Montessori Methods of Education, a National Seminar on Adult Education, a Seminar on Primary and Work-oriented Education, a Regional Seminar on Application of Modern Management Techniques to Educational Systems, a, Regional Training Seminar on Educational Statistics, a Seminar on Open University, a National Seminar on the Reorientation of Technical Education System to Industrial Development in the Second Development Decade, a National Seminar on Mass Media in Education and a UNESCO Regional Seminar for Leaders of Youth Science Activities have already been held under various auspices. Two, more seminars, one on Cultural Content in Education and the other on Education in the Seventies will be held shortly. The lust one will mark the culmination of the series and the Indian programme of the IEY where the reports of all the seminars will be considered and an attempt will be, made to evolve a synthesis of ideas and thinking for planning specific programmes of educational development in the seventies. Besides the seminars, other activities included broadcasting, discussions on various educational themes in AIR, observing the birth centenary of Dr. Maria Montessori, observing the 75th birthday of Acharya Vinoba Bhave and Tri-centenary of John, Amos Komensky (Comenius), the great Czech humanist. Details are given in Chapter X.
1.09. Compulsory Primary Education: Primary education has received comparatively less support in the Fourth Plan. A committee under the chairmanship of the Union Minister for Education and Youth Services has been engaged in reviewing the position afresh and formulating concrete proposals towards the realisation of the Constitutional directive on compulsory primary. education by 1985 at the latest. The committee is yet to submit its report. Meanwhile, pilot projects are either in the offing or already on, with regard to both the expansion and improvement of primary education. The NCERT for example, was engaged in a pilot project in 10 schools in Uttar Pradesh to study the impact of the ungraded school system on reducing wastage
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and stagnation. A programme is already afoot to conduct pilot projects in school education in a district in each of the States, of which four are intensive educational district development projects. In these pilot projects priority is being given to compulsory primary education emphasising four major aspects, namely, promoting girls' education, reducing wastage and stagnation, education of scheduled castes/tribes, backward classes, landless labourers, etc., and part- time and continuation education the projects, among others, will also be engaged in work-oriented education. A National Seminar on Primary and Work-Oriented Education was held at New Delhi in November, 1970, as part of IEY programme, to consider trends of development in the sixties and formulate programmes and policies for the improvement of primary education in the seventies. The details of these programmes are given in chapters II and XV.
1.10. School Science: The project on the expansion and improvement of science education in schools in accordance with the agreement entered into with UNESCO and UNICEF in April 1967, has made considerable progress during the year. In the 1970 academic session a pilot project was launched to enable the States to try out the new science courses and the newly developed science kits. 1,200 schools participating in this projects, were provided with science kits. UNICEF equipment has been made available to 79 key institutions comprising State Institutes of Education, State Institutes of Science Education and selected teacher training colleges and schools. The NCERT has continued to play its due role in the project and in the strengthening of school science. Under the project all States have agreed to introduce new science curricula in classes I-IV. Necessary instructional materials including textbooks, science kits, etc., de- veloped and produced by the NCERT are also being supplied to the States. Details will be found in chapter II.
1.11. School Textbooks: Programmes relating to school textbooks and literature for children have received considerable attention and support both at the Centre and in the states. Al most all the State Governments have nationalised production of
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school textbooks, while at the national level the NCERT has been making worthwhile and effective contribution in the. preparation of model textbooks, textual materials and related literature. To coordinate and guide all activities in this regard the National, Board of School Textbooks has been functioning at the national level since December, 1968. Among other programmes, mention may be made of the progress achieved in establishing the Textbook Printing Press at Chandigarh under central auspices. Chandigarh's is one, of the three such presses gifted by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, the other two being located at Bhubaneswar and Mysore. The first consignment of machinery having arrived and the press building nearing completion, the Chandigarh Press is likely to go into production shortly. The NCERT has been engaged in a crash programme of evaluation of school textbooks in all states at all stages with the cooperation of the State Governments with a view to locating passages liable to incite fissiparous and divisive tendencies in young minds. The programme has recorded substantial progress. Another scheme of importance is 'Nehru Bal Pustakalaya', designed to produce in all major Indian languages supplementary reading material for children with a view to promoting national integration. Implemented by the National Book Trust since 1968-69, seven titles were brought out during the year, all being uniformly priced at Rs. 1.50 per copy. Details of such programmes are in chapter II.
1.12. Higher Education: In the field of higher education, the most notable feature has been the strides made by the newly set up fourth Central University, viz., 'Jawaharlal Nehru University'. All the major authorities of the University have been constituted. Six schools of studies have come into being, among which one, namely, the School of Social Sciences has seven centres. In the School of Foreign Languages, a Centre for French Studies has been started. In the School of International Studies, two more centres, viz., Centre for Disarmament Studies and Centre for Studies in Diplomacy have been created. In addition to augmenting its various useful programmes, the UGC has initiated a new programme for the improvement of college
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science teaching at the under-graduate level. Special grants for specified science subjects are provided to selected colleges or selected university departments for the purpose. The UGC has also decided to initiate an extensive programme of improving student amenities, at the instance of the erstwhile Union Minister of Education and Youth Services, comprising textbook centres, book banks, students clubs and societies and travel grants for students. An important event of the year has been the convening of a seminar on 'Open University' under the joint auspices of the Ministry and the UGC in December, 1970, as part of IEY programme. It was of the view that time was ripe for India to venture on such an experiment. Meanwhile, the correspondence courses offered at present by Delhi University, Punjabi University at Patiala, Mysore University and Meerut University, besides the Central Institute of Education and the Regional Colleges of Education (under NCERT) have continued to grow in popularity. Delhi University has introduced correspondence course in B.Sc. (general: physics, chemistry and mathematics). Details are given in chapters III and X.
1.13. Technical Education: The Government and the other agencies concerned have been grappling with the problem of un- employment among engineering graduates and diploma-holders for the last few years, particularly since 1968 due to recession in industry. As a result of concerted measures followed by the Union Government and its industrial and financial institutions, State Governments and also private sector industry, this trend has by now been contained and increasing employment opportunities are becoming available. Significantly, the efforts have resulted in self-employment and the emergence of a new class of engineer-entrepreneurs. The next important activity in this field related to curricular improvement in tune with technological change and the needs of growing industry. Seven expert groups have been set up for the curriculum development of engineering degree courses and five for polytechnic diploma courses. Besides, to remove the deficiency arising out of the lack of practical content in degree and diploma courses, sandwich courses have been introduced, on an experimental basis, in 28 selected
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institutions, in cooperation with the industry. To reorganise and develop polytechnic education with a view to improving its standards in relation to the needs of industry an expert committee has been set up by the All-India Council for Technical Education. Experts from more advanced countries like the UK the USA Germany and Japan have been invited to help the work of this committee which is likely to submit its report shortly. The details of this and other related programmes are in chapter IV.
1.14. Development of Languages: The most significant development in the field of languages has be-en the setting up of four Regional Language Centres at Mysore, Bhubaneswar, Poona and Patiala, under the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, during the year. Designed to meet the practical needs for the implementation of the three-language formula on an even basis, these centres are meant to provide 2-language teachers in all schools. Each centre has started its training programme which comprises a group of languages, namely, (i) Mysore: Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam; (ii) Bhubaneswar: Bengali, Oriya and Assamese; (iii) Poona: Marathi, Gujarati and Sindhi; and (iv) Patiala: Punjabi, Urdu and Kashmiri. For teacher- trainees deputed by the State Governments, quite a few incentives are offered by the Government of India including their salaries during the training period. The institutes for training Hindi teachers were already functioning in the country. The Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, set up in July, 1969, expanded its multifaceted programmes during the year. Mention may be made of its project on bilingualism under which the various kinds of Hindi spoken and/or written by non-Hindi speakers of Hindi will be studied, and its programme of surveying and making a linguistic study of the border and tribal languages of India. Another experimental project on study skills for college entrants in Kannada, designed to help students opting for instruction in regional languages deserves mention. With regard to the promotion of Hindi, a new scheme has been initiated during the period. It relates to the establishment of Hindi-medium colleges or sections in colleges
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in non-Hindi-speaking States. It is proposed to set up at least one such college or section in each non-Hindi-speaking State during the Fourth Plan.
1.15. Book Promotion: By far the most extensive as well as intensive programme in the field of book promotion is the production of university-level books in Indian Languages, initiated in 1968-69 to help introduce the regional language-medium in higher education without eroding standards. This is a one-crore rupee programme for each state and for Urdu, financed entirely by the Centre. During the third year of the initiation of the ,scheme, not only the basic machinery has been set up at every level-state and Centre-involving the universities in each state or field including coordinating bodies for implementing the programmes according to the guidelines prepared by the Ministry but also quite a few states have already made marked progress in bringing out the needed books. The Ministry has undertaken at the central level two supporting programmes, viz., programme of bringing out core books in major disciplines which will be brought out in all major Indian languages, and giving fellowships to outstanding students in sciences, humanities and social sciences after their master's degree to associate themselves with distinguished teachers for undertaking writing/translation of quality books. The details of these programmes and other schemes are given in chapter VIII.
1.16. Adult Education: Constituted in December, 1969 by a government resolution, the National Board of Adult Education met at its inaugural meeting on May 4, 1970, under the chairmanship of the Union Minister of Education and Youth Services. The Board marks an important milestone in the history of adult education in the country. Attended by the concerned Ministers of the Union Government and quite a few State Education Ministers, among others, the Board adopted a set of 14 comprehensive resolutions that may as well be styled as a blue print for a massive drive for the eradication of illiteracy in the country. Another important event of the year has been the National Seminar on Adult Education in September, 1970 at Bangalore
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under the chairmanship of the Union Minister of Education and inaugurated by the Education Minister of Mysore. This seminar was a part of the IEY programme. The Farmers Training and Functional Literacy Project, operated jointly by the Union Ministries of Food & Agriculture, Information & Broadcasting and Education & Youth Services registered further progress during the year. Against the target of covering 100 districts under the functional literacy project synchronising with the 100 high-yielding varieties programme districts, the total number of districts covered rose to 60, adding 35 more, during 1970-71. As supported by the National Seminar on Adult Education referred to earlier, a scheme of pilot projects on adult literacy in various parts of the country with emphasis on mobilising public and popular support has been drawn up. It envisages complete eradication of illiteracy in about 10 per cent of the districts covering about 10 million illiterate adults during the Fourth Plan. The details are given in chapter XIII.