New tests were developed for the examination to select the awardees held in January, 1971. The examination was held at about 370 centres throughout the country.

The Department of Science Education assisted in the organisation of UNESCO Asian Regional Seminar for Leaders of Youth Science Activities and the General Assembly of the International Coordinating Committee for the Presentation of Science and the Development of Out- of-School Scientific Activities, in Delhi on December 14-22, 1970. Delegates from more than 30 countries participated in the deliberations.

(b) Textook Programmes: During the period, brochures on the preparation and evaluation of textbooks in the mother tongue, social studies, history, geography, mathematics, physics and biology have been finalised after review and revision.

A crash programme for the evaluation of school textbooks from the point of view of national integration has been in progress. The Union Education Minister had written to all State Chief Ministers in March, 1970, emphasising the desirability of such a review. The proposal was later explained by him at the second meeting of the National Board of School Textbooks held in May 1970 and the State Education Ministers present at the meeting welcomed it and offered full cooperation in its implementation. The programme involves the work of locating passages which may in any way encourage one or more of the evils like untouchability, casteism, communalism, religious intolerance, linguism and regionalism. It is being implemented by the State Governments with the assistance of the Council who bears the entire expenditure.

The second meeting of the National Board of School Textbooks held in May, 1970 made three other major recommendations relating to (i) modern management techniques in textbook production, (ii) supply of textbooks to the minority language groups and (iii) procurement of paper. The Department of Textbooks of the NCERT which serves as the academic secretariat of the Board is pursuing these recommendations.

(c) Examination Reform Programme: As part of NCERT'S programme on examination reform in school education, five evaluation workshops on written examination for the Central Board of Secondary Education, the Gujarat S. S. Examination Board and the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education were organised. On an average, forty participants attended each of the workshops. One workshop in internal assessment for the Assam Board of Secondary Education was organised and 32 participants attended this. Besides, at the request of His Majesty's Government of Nepal and the USAID an eight-week training course in education evaluation, curriculum and instruction was organised for their 12 officers during September, 1970.

(d) Pre-Primary Education Programmes: As part of a project for the development of a training programme for pre-

service teacher-training institutions, an experimental edition of the curriculum for pre-primary teacher training institutions was prepared and sent to various agencies and institutions engaged in pre-school education in various states. The experimental editions of a curriculum for in-service training and the experimental instrument for the inspection and supervision of pre-primary schools were prepared.

(e) Primary Education Programmes: Designed to contribute towards the qualitative improvement of primary education in the country, quite a few significant projects were pursued during the year. As part of a project for the development of national minimum curriculum standards for the primary stage, a National Conference on 'Development Curriculum Standards' was held in July, 1970. It evolved and developed the tentative objectives of primary education.

To help tackle effectively the problem of wastage and stagnation at the primary stage, handbooks for supervisors and teachers on educational wastage at the primary level were developed and assistance rendered to various centres engaged in primary education. A pilot project was taken up in 10 up schools to study the impact of the upgraded school system on reducing wastage and stagnation.

The 10th National Seminar on Primary and Work-oriented Education was held at New Delhi on November 9-11, 1970. The seminar took stock of the trends of development in the field of pre-primary and Primary education in the sixties and formulated recommendations regarding the programmes and policies for the improvement of primary education in the country during the seventies.

As part of another project for the improvement of reading at the primary level, a six-day workshop on developing a curriculum in reading for the training courses of teacher training schools was organised on December 14-19, 1970.

As part of a study of the effect of introducing home science from the lowest classes on increasing, the attraction of girl students, a comparative study of the syllabi of different states was. made. Questionnaries and interview schedules for the determination of the reactions of pupils, teachers and parents were developed.

(f) Educational Psychology and Foundations of Education: Among the several research programmes currently in progress, according to schedule, in the fields of educational psychology and foundations of education, two deserve particular mention. They relate to evolution of developmental norms for two age-groups of children viz., 2 1/2-5 and 5 1/2-11. With regard to the former, a report on the adaptive and personal social development of pre-school children has been prepared. The latter is being attempted as a cooperative project which includes a core study, and studies to be carried out in selected centres in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ranchi, Kerala, Bombay and Varanasi.

A nine-month diploma course in educational and vocational' guidance commenced in July, 1970, to be completed in April, 1971. Twelve trainees from various states have been undergoing training.

(g) Social Sciences and Humanities: Quite a few useful and interesting projects were in operation in the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities. A model syllabus in social studies for classes I to XI was produced, besides a complete set of textbooks and handbooks for classes I-V. As part of the languages projects, a new Hindi primer was prepared. A project on linguistic analysis and description of phonological variations in Hindi has been under preparation. Work on the first textbook in Sanskrit has also been in progress.

With regard to the language laboratory project, prototypes of language laboratories using indigenous components at low cost for use in universities, training colleges and schools have been in the process of development. Two conferences were held on the indigenous production of language laboratories.

In view of the importance of varied measures that the country needs to tackle the problem of population explosion, a draft. syllabus oil population education was prepared and finalised. Two all-India workshops on this subject were conducted.

(h) Audio-Visual Aids in Education: The Department of Teaching Aids organised a, number of training programmes in audio-visual education. Work on the production of educational films/filmstrips/charts has been progressing according to schedule. A scheme was initiated to promote the use of improvised teaching aids. Twenty prizes, amounting to Rs. 7,500, are proposed to be awarded to the best entries.

(i) Educational Surveys: Three surveys were undertaken during the year. They are: (a) survey of school textbooks in India; (b) sample survey of secondary school teachers in India; and (c) sample survey of facilities available for academic growth of pupils in secondary schools and intermediate colleges.

(j) Teacher Education: A project on the improvement of admission procedures has been in progress. Relevant data were collected, and are being analysed. In this connection a conference of teacher- educators to discuss the findings and to make recommendations is being contemplated. 252 experimental projects in training institutions were approved during 1970-71 and grants to the tune of Rs. 1 lakh were sanctioned. Another project of importance relates to the scheme of effecting a comprehensive and intensive improvement of teacher education. It has been progressing well in Punjab and Assam.

The Department of Teacher Education also continued the project of seminar readings. For the eighth National Competition organised during the year, 134 essays received from teachers were evaluated. The winners of the awards met at New Delhi in March, 1971.

(k) Training Colleges: The four Regional Colleges of Education located at Ajmer, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal and Mysore continued to conduct their four-year and one-year courses in teacher education. Besides, one-year M. Ed. course is offered

at Bhubaneswar and Bhopal. The colleges organise a summer-school-cum- correspondence course leading to B. Ed. degree for clearing the backlog of untrained teachers in the country. Besides, each college has a demonstration secondary school attached to it to facilitate the experimentation and try-out of new types of instructional materials. The enrolment during the year at these colleges has been:

                                          
                  Ajmer    Bhopal    Bhuba     Mysore         Total
                                      neswar
                                          
        Pre-service 
        Courses        471    481     540       598            2090
        
        Summer-School-
        cum-Corres-
        pondence Course  323     527   439      475            1764
                                          
                         794     1008   979     1073           3854

The Central Institute of Education, Delhi, runs regular courses in teacher training at the B. Ed. and M. Ed.degree levels. The Institute also conducts part-time M. Ed.degree course and a B.Ed. correspondence course. The total enrolment is 330 composed of B. Ed.- 154, M.Ed.-23, B.Ed. (Correspondence) -131, and M.Ed. (Part-time)-22. The B. Ed. correspondence course at the Institute will be discontinued from 1971-72 and it is proposed to start a full-time M. A. course of two years in Education.

(1) Summer Institutes: The Council organised 56 summer institutes in science and mathematics for teachers from secondary schools, PUC/intermediate colleges in collaboration with the UGC. Five-week summer institutes were also organised in child, psychology, learning motivation and group processes (sequential), contemporary problems of Indian education, principles and problems of elementary education (two institutes), and applied linguistic and language teaching.

(m) Grants to Voluntary Organisations: The Council continued to extend grants-in-aid to such voluntary educational organisations as are engaged in the promotion of activities having a direct bearing on the programmes of the Council. The Council also continued to assist institutions/individuals for conducting research and for publishing the results of research.

(n) Publication Programmes: During 1970-71 the Publication Unit of the Council brought out about 125 tides, a list of which is given at Annexure F.

2.22. Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan: Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (or the Central Schools Organisation) administers at present 129 Kendriya Vidyalayas or Central Schools in the country which owe their origin to a recommendation of the Second, Central Pay Commission, to provide schools with common syllabi and media of instruction in all parts of the country for the benefit of the children of transferable Central Government employees. A beginning was made with 20 kendriya vidyalayas in April, 1963. Seven vidyalayas were opened during the year. The vidyalayas are institutions wherein children from different parts of the country speaking different dialects are brought together amidst amity and friendship.

One of the objectives of the vidyalayas is to provide quality education at a comparatively low cost. To raise standards, the Sangathan has evolved a scheme of granting incentives both to the teachers and the taught who show good results at the All-India Higher Secondary Examination of the Central Board of Secondary Education. This year the pass percentage of the vidyalaya candidates was 81.16 as against the Board's pass percentage of 66.4. Out of 122 vidyalayas which sent up students for the Board's examination, 38 obtained 100 per cent results and 7 students secured meritorious positions. The vidyalaya students also made their mark at other competitive examina- tions. In the National Science Talent Search Examination conducted by the NCERT in January, 1970, 21 students of kendriya vidyalayas have been selected for the award of scholarships and certificates of merit. The kendriya vidyalayas have gained popularity within the short period of their existence. The number of students on their rolls now stands at 82,336, while that of teachers at 3968.

2.23. Central Board of Secondary Education: The Central Board of Secondary Education was reconstituted in 1962,

among other objectives, to meet the educational needs of the students whose parents have to move from one state to another. As a national body in the field of secondary education, the Board is making a significant contribution towards raising the standard of education through better methods of evaluation and improved curricula, syllabi and textbooks, and through a scheme of systematic inspection of the schools affiliated to it.

2.24. The Board conducts the All-India Higher Secondary, the Higher Secondary (Three-Year Course), the Higher Secondary (One-Year Course), the Higher Secondary Technical, and the Demonstration Multipurpose Higher Secondary Examinations. The All-India Higher Secondary Examination is held twice a year in March and November. In addition, the Board is conducting the Matriculation and the Higher Secondary Part I and Part II Examinations, from March, 1970, for the schools located in the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The total num- ber of candidates who took the Board's examinations, during the year, was 53,247 as against 44,411 last year.

2.25. The facility of affiliation to the Board is available to any educational institution situated in or outside India. The total number of higher secondary schools at present affiliated to the Board is 729. This includes 59 institutions affiliated during the year under report-44 under the All-India scheme and 15 under the Delhi scheme (three-year course). All the 122 kendriya vidyalayas prepare their candidates for the All-India Higher Secondary Examination of the Board. Besides all the higher secondary schools in the union territories of Delhi, Manipur, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Laccadives and Minicoy Islands, all the sainik schools and military schools, and many well-known public schools and convent schools are affiliated to the Board. All high and higher secondary schools of Chandigarh now prepare candidates for the Board's examinations. The Indian schools in Tehran (Iran), Kuwait, Bahrain (Arabian Gulf) and Kathmandu, and the six government higher secondary schools in Sikkim are also affiliated to it.

2.26. The Board switched over during 1970-71 to computer for compiling the results of its Delhi Higher Secondary as well as the All-India Secondary examination. This essential reform has helped in reducting the time taken for the declaration of results as well as in issuing the mark-statements and certificates, besides providing a variety of educational statistics required for different purposes.

2.27. On the initiative of the Board, a two day conference of all boards of secondary education in India was held at New Delhi in June, 1970. The conference recommended the establishment of a permanent association of all boards of school education in the country.

2.28. As a part of its programme for modernising the curri- culum, the Board convened a workshop for reviewing the syllabi in mathematics. This workshop was held on August 22-24, 1970, at New Delhi. It has recommended a unified syllabus in new mathematics.

2.29. At its meeting held on May 16, 1970, the Board in- troduced a revised 3-language formula. It was brought into effect from the academic session commencing in July, 1970 in all the schools of the Board following the all-India syllabus. The Board has also prescribed appropriate course for all the languages at the lower level covered by the formula.

2.30. Central Tibetan Schools Administration: The Central 'Tibetan Schools Administration (formerly Tibetan Schools 'Society) is an autonomous organisation set up by the Ministry in 1961. Its main objective is to establish and run institutions set up for the education and/or training of Tibetan refugee children. This Administration has been running 7 residential schools, 1 educational- cum-vocational institute and 6 day schools in Tezu, Changlang (NEFA), Chandragiri (Orissa), Mainpuat (Madhya Pradesh), Bylakuppe, and Mundgod (Mysore). During the year it was decided that the two residential schools at Mount Abu and Kalimpong be merged with those at Pachmarhi and Darjeeling, respectively. The total enrolment in the resi-

dential schools, including day scholars was 2921 and in the day schools it was 2304, as on 1st November, 1970. There are about 270 teaching and 160 non-teaching members of staff in all the schools.

2.31. Class IX is being started in the schools at Bylakuppe and Mundgod from the next academic year (1971-72). These schools are also being affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education for the All-India Higher Secondary Examination. 17 students appeared in the All India Higher Secondary Examination of the Board held in March 1970 from the Central School for Tibetans, Mussoorie, and all of them have been successful. The Administration is granting scholarships to meritorious students and 10 students, who passed the higher secondary examination this year, were awarded scholarships for college educa- tion.

2.32. Besides running the schools the Administration is also, giving grants to the following institutions engaged in the education of Tibetan children (i) Tibetan Homes Foundation, Mussoorie; (ii) Inche School, Gangtok, Sikkim; (iii) Kalakshetra, Madras, (iv) Tibetan Nehru Memorial Foundation Primary School, Clement Town, Dehra Dun; and (v) Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre, Darjeeling.

2.33. Ladakh Institute of Higher Studies, Delhi: The Institute continued to function satisfactorily. It was established to provide modern education to selected students from border areas; with provision for the traditional learning including Tibetan, Buddhist philosophy and Tibetology. The institute receives grant on a 100 per cent basis from the Delhi Administration and prepares students for various certificates and degrees up to Shastri stage of the Varaneseeya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya to which it is affiliated. There are 81 students and all the students receive scholarships. The Institute is exepcted to be taken over by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan from 1st April, 1971.

2.34. Bal Bhavan and National Children's Museum: New Delhi: This institution is essentially a recreation-cum-education

centre for children. It has planned programmes not only for children, but also for teachers, parents and schools as well. The museum section provides exhibits and kits designed to deepen the understanding of the child not only of the various topics he is expected to learn at school but also to make him aware of the basic realities of himself and his surroundings. A new feature this year was the exhibition of the creative work of the staff members. On festival days, Bal Bhavan welcomes all the children irrespective of the fact whether they are enrolled as its members, or not.