SCHOOL EDUCATION
 

2.01. School education is primarily a responsibility of the states. The Government of India are, however, concerned with a few significant programmes of national importance designed to contribute towards the improvement of standard, and those that promote national integration. The Government of India also perform certain essential clearing house functions.

A: SCHOOL EDUCATION AND NATIONAL PROGRAMMES

2.02. Compulsory Primary Education: The present position in regard to free and compulsory primary education was reviewed by the Central Advisory Board of Education at its 35th meeting held on May 2- 3, 1970, at New Delhi and the following resolution was adopted:

"The Board views with concern the progress of primary education in the country. On the basis of the present trends, it appears that no state would be able to realise the goal set in Article 45 of the Constitution earlier than 1980, and several states will be able to do so only in the 21st century. The Board, therefore, feels that the whole situation should be reviewed afresh and concrete proposals put forward, both before the Central and State Governments, so that the goal set down in the Constitution with regard to free and compulsory primary education would be reached in all parts of the country by 1985 at the latest. The Board requests the Chairman to set up a high- level committee to examine the whole issue in all its aspects."

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In pursuance of the above resolution of the CABE, a committee under the chairmanship of the Union Minister for Education and Youth Services was set up. The first meeting of the committee was held on August 5, 1970 at New Delhi. The report of the committee was, however, awaited.

2.03. Facilities for free lower primary education (classes I- V, age-group 6-11) exist in all the states. Education at higher primary stage (classes VI-VIII, age-group 11-14) is free for boys and girls in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mysore, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamilnadu. Education at this stage is free for girls only in Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. In Assam and Meghalaya there is no provision for free education for boys or girls at the higher primary stage.

2.04. Re-organisation and Expansion of Science Teaching at School Stage: The Ministry signed an Agreement with the UNESCO-UNICEF in April, 1967, to launch a project for the strengthening of teaching of science at the school stage. The development of instructional materials such as textbooks, teachers' handbooks and guides, training teacher-educators and selected science teachers and the supply of science equipment to the teacher training institutions constitute the salient features of the project. To start with, a pilot project has been launched in certain selected schools from the academic session of 1970 to enable the states to try out the new science courses and the newly developed science kits. During the first phase of the project, considerable progress has been made in the preparation and translation into regional languages of new syllabi, textbooks, teachers' guides and related materials. A number of teacher-educators and teachers have been trained in new science teaching programmes. 79 key institutions comprising teacher training colleges and schools, state institutes of education and state institutes of science education have been provided with new science equipment. Five hundred more such institutions are to be similarly equipped in the near furture. About 1200 schools selected for the experiments have been provided with science

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kits. In the second phase of the project which would cover the remaining 3 years of the Fourth Plan, it is proposed to complete the work of preparation, translation and printing of new syllabi textbooks, etc., and equip another 500 key institutions. It is, also intended to extend the project to the maximum number of schools in the country and provide science kits both to primary, and middle schools.

2.05. The NCERT has been playing a major role in the successful implementation of this project, since its Department of Science Education was already engaged in the upgrading of science education at school stage in the country. Under the project, all the states and two union territories had agreed to implement the teaching of new science curricula in classes I to III and the first year of the higher primary schools. All the, instructional materials were supplied to non-Hindi-speaking states for adaptation and translation. The Hindi- speaking states were supplied with 18,650 lower primary school textbooks for class III and 27,670 higher primary school textbooks for biology and physics. Besides, 710 lower primary science kits and 760 higher primary physics and biology kits were also supplied to 14 states and 2 union territories which had implemented the project from the current academic year. To, strengthen the teacher training programmes, a set of 47 coloured transparencies accompanied by a manual were prepared on the teaching of primary science. A similar set of 36 coloured transparencies accompanied by a manual were prepared on the teaching of primary science. A similar set of 36 coloured transparencies accompanied by a booklet were prepared for the teaching of elementary physics at the higher primary stage. Work was also completed on a film, "A New Approach to Primary Science Teaching". The film is being edited and-will be supplied to all key institutions of the states after duplication. Under the UNESCO secondary science teaching project, assistance was provided to two states in adapting their materials, and work on the development of new instructional materials for the first year of the high school stage, continued. Prototypes, of a, demonstration science kit for chemistry for higher primary stage, demon-

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stration kit for biology, also for higher primary stage, and a pupils' chemistry kit were finalised and batch production has been planned for supplying them to the states next year. Other activities of the Department of Science Education of the NCERT will be described, later in this chapter.

2.06. Educational Television: A programme for large-scale introduction of educational television in India has been framed for implementation during the Fourth Plan period. The programme envisages the integration of television lessons with the normal classroom lessons and the development of an integrated approach to audio-visual instructions by making full use of films, radio broadcasts and the expanded television coverage of the country both by terrestrial and satellite television broadcast.

To implement the programme, an Educational Technology Unit is proposed to be set up in the NCERT which, besides imparting training to teachers and teacher-educators in the use of television and other audio-visual aids and developing new curriculum to suit the new concepts of integrated audio-visual teaching would also produce materials such as visuals, animations, filmstrips, etc. to, aid the producers of the school programmes. The Unit will also produce high quality teaching films for use in teacher training institutions and schools. Similar units are also proposed to be set up in various states on a smaller scale. In this context, a request for foreign assistance has been made to UNDP in the form of equipment, experts and fellowships. The request has been supported by a Joint UNDP-UNESCO Mission which visited India to make an appraisal of the proposal. The UNDP assistance is estimated at $778,700.

2.07. School Textbooks: At present, almost all the State Governments have nationalised the production of school textbooks. At the national level the NCERT has been playing an effective role in the matter of bringing out model textbooks, textual materials, teachers' manuals, workbooks, and other worth-while literature for children, one of its main objectives being the raising of the quality of school education in the country.

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The nature of organisations/institutions set up by various states to look after the production of nationalised textbooks varies from state to state; in some. they are entirely government institutions, in others they are autonomous organisations like the NCERT or corporations run on commercial lines. To coordinate and guide the activities of such national and state-level organisations/institutions a National Board of School Textbooks was set up by the Ministry in December, 1968, which met so far twice, firstly in April, 1969 and for the second time in May, 1970. The Department of Textbooks of the NCERT serves as the academic secretariat of the Board, more about whose activities will be outlined in the next section.

2.08. Textbooks Printing Presses: The Federal Republic of Germany has offered 3 off-set printing presses for school textbooks as gift to India. These presses under central auspices will be located in Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh and Mysore on a regional basis to serve the needs of the surrounding states and union territories for printing textbooks. The machinery for the Chandigarh Press has arrived and is being installed.. While the Chandigarh Press is likely to go into production shortly, the buildings for Bhubaneswar and Mysore presses are under construction.

2.09. National Prize Competition for Children's Literature: To promote the production of good books for children, the Government of India initiated a scheme for the award of prizes to authors of children's books/manuscripts of outstanding merit in all the modem languages of India. The first prize competition under the scheme was organised during 1954-55. The 15th prize competition was. organised during 1969-70. This scheme has two facets, namely: (a) competition in Hindi, Sindhi and Urdu handled by the Ministry, and (b) competition in regional languages organised by the participating states on behalf of this Ministry on a 100 per cent reimbursement basis. Under the terms of the competition, the author of each prize-winning book is awarded a prize of Rs. 1,000 and the Government of

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India also purchase about 1,000-1,400 copies of prize-winning books. So far fifteen competitions have been organised and 283 books have been awarded prizes under this scheme.

2.10 Nehru Bal Pustakalaya: A scheme for the mass production of supplementary reading material for children was initiated by the Ministry in collaboration with the National Book Trust in 1968-69. Under this scheme, 100 titles on various subjects mainly relating to national integration, will be produced in all the major Indian languages. At least one lakh copies will be produced under each title. The books will be priced at Rs. 1.50 each and the State Governments will be given a rebate of 50% for bulk purchases. Eight titles have been brought out in English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayalam, Kannada and Urdu. In addition, five more titles are either in press or are under preparation.

2.11. Mid-day Meals Programme: This programme is in operation in all the states except Assam, Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir. The total coverage under the programme during the year is estimated to be 108.25 lakh school and pre-school children. The programme is operated under the Indo-CARE Agreement for the supply of gift food.

2.12. Desh Geetanjali: With the object of strengthening the sense of national identity among school children, a Central scheme under the Plan known as 'Desh Geetanjali' has been formulated. It will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will include (1) training teachers and selected students in the correct singing of the National Anthem, (2) use of AIR broad casts for training school children in singing the National Anthem, and (3) the supply of record players and records of National Anthem to 500 institutions. The second phase will comprise (1) collection and publication of existing songs that promote national integration, (2) popularisation of popular tunes and songs such as "Sare Jahan Se Accha" and publishing songs in

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state languages set to the same tunes and with approximately the same meaning, and (3) conducting competition in the correct singing of the National Anthem and award of prizes at state and national levels. The implementation of the first phase was taken up during the year.

2.13. Girls' and Women's Education-The Twelfth Meeting: The twelfth meeting of the National Council for Women's Education was held on April 18, 1970 at New Delhi. The Council discussed the progress of girls' and women's education in the country and made several recommendations for accelerating the progress. The main recommendations are:

(1) Impetus should be given by the states in the recruitment of women teachers for classes I-V;

(2) Literacy programmes for women should be intensified and their content should include, education for national integration and national development with emphasis on population education and increased economic productivity;

(3) Construction of hostels for girls at secondary stage;

(4) Creation of a separate cell in the Directorate of Education to look after the problems of girls' education.

The recommendations have been brought to the notice of the State Governments for consideration and appropriate action.

2.14. Welfare of School Teachers: The Ministry continued to impress upon the State Governments the necessity of improving the emoluments, service conditions and qualifications of teachers. Besides, the Ministry has been stressing the need for the adoption of the Triple Benefit Scheme (pension, provident fund and insurance) by the State Governments for teachers in aided institutions. Eight State Governments have since implemented this scheme while some others are considering it. In so far as the union territories are concerned, the Government of

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India had already sanctioned the scheme with effect from April 1, 1965. The children of teachers are provided free education in varying degrees in various states and union territories.

2.15. National Foundation for Teachers' Welfare: The National 'Foundation for Teachers,' Welfare was set up by the Government of India in 1962 with the object of providing financial assistance to teachers and/or their dependents in distress. As in earlier years, voluntary contributions were collected on the 'Teachers' Day', the 5th September, 1970, throughout the country. 80 per cent. of the collections made in a state/union territory is kept for the purpose of state/territory itself, while the balance 20 per cent. and the annual contributions of the State Government or the Union Administration concerned are credited to the corpus of the Foundation, the target of which is fixed, at rupees five crore. The accumulated funds as at the end of November 1970, amounted to Rs. 1,57,67,500. The funds are invested in approved defence bonds or securities or as fixed deposits in the State Bank of India.

2.16. So far, over 12,000 teachers and/or their dependents have been given financial assistance out of the Foundation funds to the tune of over Rs. 65 lakh. The cases in which assistance has been extended comprise accidents and illnesses like cancer, tuberculosis, paralysis, blindness, etc. The dependents of such teachers, as lost their lives through accidents, violence, natural calamities, illness, etc., have received assistance. The Foundation has also given assistance in deserving cases for expenses on the marriages of the daughters of the teachers.

2.17. Kerala has created a 'Scholarship Fund' with Rs. 7 lakh by transferring the amount released to the state by the General Committee of the Foundation from time to time from the interest accruing to the Fund. During 1969-70, scholarships have been given to 199 needy children of teachers undergoing higher professional studies. Haryana has also started a similar fund during 1970 with Rupees two lakh for the same purpose.

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2.18. A more intensive drive was launched during the year to boost the collection of funds with a target of Rs. 50 lakh, Wider publicity was carried on with four different types of posters displayed at major railway stations and post offices throughout the country on the occasion of the Teachers' Day celebrations. A notable development during the year relates to the formulation of a scheme for the establishment of teachers clubs, one each at Delhi and at State Capitals.

2.19. National Awards for Teachers: The scheme of National Awards for Teachers was introduced in 1958 with the object of giving public recognition to teachers of outstanding merit. During 1970, awards were given to 100 selected teachers, of primary and secondary schools as well as Sanskrit pathasalas. As in earlier years, the awards-each comprising a certificate of merit and rupees five hundred in cash-were given away at a special function at New Delhi, on November 17, 1970, by the Vice-President of India.

2.20. Assistance to Voluntary Educational Organisations in, the Field of School Education: Since the First Five-Year Plan, a scheme has been in force for extending financial assistance to voluntary educational organisations working in the field of school education. The Fourth Plan allocation for the scheme is Rs. 25,00,000. Under it, the needed financial assistance is made available to privately run educational institutions to enable them to augment their facilities in certain specified directions like science education, library facilities, hostels for girls, etc. The rules have been amended this year to provide for the grant of assistance to teachers clubs towards the cost of construction of buildings.

B: GOVERNMENT-FINANCED ORGANISATIONS/INSTITUTIONS

IN THE FIELD OF SCHOOL EDUCATION

2.21. National Council of Educational Research and Training: The Council, popularly known as NCERT, is an auto-

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nomous Organisation, set up by the Ministry in 1961. It serves as an academic wing of the Ministry of Education and Youth Services in the field of school education. In particular, it undertakes independently or in collaboration with other organisations, research in the field of school education, develops new training programmes and prepares instructional materials required by teachers and students. It also conducts 5 teachers training colleges in different parts of the country. An outline of its significant activities is given in the following paragraphs.

(a) Science Education: Besides what has been stated in the earlier section in regard to the Council's activities on UNESCO-UNICEF-assisted project on science education, the National Science Talent Search Scheme was successfully continued during the year. Under it, about 1000 awardees, continued to receive assistance at various levels of education. Nineteen summer schools were organised for the undergraduate awardees and about 150 postgraduate awardees were attached to 25 national laboratories and research institutions for training. A team of talented students in science from the UK and the USA visited India and a special function was arranged for the visiting team to meet the NSTS awardee-students of Delhi.