CHAPTER VI TECHNICAL EDUCATION
The activities undertaken during 1967-68 were generally confined to the continuation programmes of the Third Plan. The main emphasis was on the making up of the deficiencies in the existing institutions by providing at least the minimum necessary facilities in the form of buildings, equipment, hostels and other amenities, as the shortage of resources did not permit the provision of these facilities at a satisfactory level. Every effort is being made, to consolidate the achievements registered during the earlier periods.
2. Facilities: In 1966-67, there were 137 institutions offering courses in engineering and technology at the first degree level and 284 institutions conducting courses at the diploma level. The actual admissions to these institutions were 24,934 and 46,461 respectively. The out-turn of graduates was 13,051 and that of diploma-holders was 22,260.
3. While the process of developing technical education has gone on from one Plan to another according to the targets laid down, the development in industry did not register the same rate of growth as was planned. Consequently, there have been imbalances in the demand for the supply of technical personnel which are likely to persist till such time as the industry picks up the necessary momentum and provides opportunities for the absorption of the available personnel.
4. Because of the present unemployment situation and other reasons, no further expansion of facilities for technical education at the degree and diploma levels is planned till some definite indications are available about the fourth and fifth Plans and their demands for technical personnel. In 1967-68, however, admissions to mining courses at the degree and diploma levels were reduced considerably because, of the lack of employment opportunities in the mining industry.
5. Qualitative Improvement: An important aspect that demanded urgent attention was the need to ensure all-round improvement in the quality of technical education. Technological self-reliance will, to a large extent, depend upon the quality of education imparted in the technical institutions. It is not merely enough to equip the institutions with modem and sophisticated equipment, but it is even more important that the teachers should have opportunities to acquaint themselves with the
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modern techniques and development in their fileds. Even in them matter of equipping the institutions properly, there have been serious limitations, mostly because of the acute shortage of foreign exchange resources. Although some equipment was obtained from East European countries under the Trade Plan, it was inadequate. It was to overcome these limitations of foreign exchange that an agreement was signed in June, 1967 under which the United States of America agreed to advance a loan of $ 12 million, exclusively to import modern equipment, teaching aids and other instructional material for use in the scientific and technical institutions in the country.
6. Technical Teacher Training Programme: To meet the acute shortage of teachers at the degree level, a technical teacher training programme has been drawn up under which young engineering graduates with at least 60% marks in the qualifying examination and not over 27 years of age, are given fellowships of the value of Rs. 400 p.m. for training in some selected training centres in the country for a period of 3 years. After training, they are required to serve as teachers for at least 3 years.
7. During the period from April to December, 1967, 107 trained teachers have been posted to various institutions and 140 fresh trainees have joined the programme at the different centres.
8. For the qualitive improvement of teachers in diploma institutions, four teacher training institutions have been established at Madras, Bhopal, Calcutta and Chandigarh. Of these, the first three were started in 1965 and the fourth in July, 1966. The institutions provide training for both categories of teachers, i.e. those having a basic degree in engineering and those having diploma qualifications. The duration of the training for degree holders is 18 months, 6 months in the institute and 12 months in a suitable training establishment. For diploma-holders, the duration is 30 months, 12 months in an industrial-establishment and 18 months in the institute. Stipends of the value of Rs. 400 per month are given for degree-holders and Rs. 250 per month for diploma-holders.
9. The Teacher Training Institute at Madras is being assisted by the Government of UK both with equipment and experts. The Institute at Chandigarh is being assisted by the Government of Netherlands in a similar manner.
10. The first batch of tear-hers came out from the Madras Institute in December, 1967.
11. Summer schools are organised to provide the teachers of engineering colleges and polytechnics with an opportunity of
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learning the latest methods and techniques of teaching and to become familiar with technological developments in their respective fields. During 1967-68, 47 summer schools were conducted with 1,430 teachers as participants. During 1968-69, 36 summer schools are proposed.
12. Postgraduate Education and Research: During the current year about 40 centres are offering postgraduate courses in engineering and technology with an enrolment of about 1,800. The Indian Institutes of Techonology are also concentrating their efforts towards the development and expansion of postgraduate education and research.
13. Indian Institutes of Technology: The Indian Institutes of Technology have been established with the main object of fostering postgraduate education and research in engineering and technology and that this objective is being progressively realised will be evident from the following statement:
Admis- Total
sions Student
made Strength
during OUT-TURN
July, Doctorate
1967 at Degree Masters
Under-
graduate
Level
Bombay 371 2,145 304 161 5
Delhi 270 1,607 199 19 4
8 (Diplo-
mas)
Kanpur 320 1,802 79 28 11
Kharagpur 451 2,628 387 208 29
Madras 354 1,718 259 501 2
14 It has been decided that the ultimate ratio between post- graduate students and under-graduate students in these institutions should be 1 : 2. The present ratios are: Bombay 1:4.4; Delhi 1 : 4.2; Kanpur 1 : 2.3; Kharagpur 1: 3.4; and Madras 1 : 5.7.
15. These Institutions have been taking note of the requirements of the country and the latest developments abroad and have introduced the following new postgraduate courses during the current year
BOMBAY :
Computer Technology
Aircraft Production Technology Propulsion
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Three postgraduate diploma courses of one-year duration, viz., (i) Heat Treatment Technology, (2) Plastic Engineering, and (3) Dock and Harbour Engineering.
DELHI :
Concrete Structures and Technology
Textile Engineering
Design Engineering
One-year diploma courses in Numerical Analysis and Automatic Computing
KANPUR:
Two-year advanced courses in Aeronautical, Clinical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering leading to Master of Technology Degree
KHARAGPUR :
Master of Technology in Mining-2-year degree course
Two-year course leading to Master of MCP and Master of Regional Planning which replace the former M. Tech. Degree and Postgraduate diploma courses in Regional Planning
One-year diploma courses in Elect. Traction and Dairy Engineering
MADRAS :
Two-year degree courses in Hydraulics, Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering and Structural Engineering
Two-year M. Tech. degree course in Mechanical Engineering, Electronics, Measurement Power System.
Two-year degree course in Chem. Engineering.
Short-Term Courses
BOMBAY:
High Vacuum Tech. (A short-term course of three weeks duration was run by IIT, Bombay in cooperation with the Atomic Energy Establishment.)
KANPUR:
Computer Methods to Power System in Engineering
International Project on Social Values and Political Responsibilities
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International Seminar on Urban growth of Kanpur region Intensive course on Computation
Short course on Applied Ground Water Hydrogeology and Tubewell Tech.
KHARAGPUR :
Modern Foundry Practices-12-week course run thrice a year
Pre-fabrication on concrete construction
16. All the Institutes have been active in research work leading to doctoral degree in the technical faculties. All the Institutes are also engaged in consultative practice both on individual and institutional basis. They are also actively engaged in evolution of prototypes both of laboratory equipment and for industrial production.
17. School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi: The School is the only institute of its kind offering courses in town planning and housing in addition to providing normal facilities for the study of architecture at the undergraduate level. The School also offers part-time courses in architecture. The total enrolment in both full- time and part-time courses was 442. The, following additional postgraduate courses are envisaged :
(1) Postgraduate course in Architecture (Urban Design);
(2) Integrated course in Town and Country Planning, Housing and Community Planning and Traffic and Transportation Planning; and
(3) Landscape Architecture.
18. Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad: The School carried in its normal activities during 1967. The intake in Mining Engineering course at this institution has been reduced from the 1967-68 academic session. Its total enrolment was 435.
19. The School has been converted into a society under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 with effect from the 1st July, 1967, ceasing to be a subordinate office under the Ministry. It has also been declared to be a 'deemed' university under the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 from 1st July, 1967.
20. National Institute of Foundry and Forge, Ranchi: This Institute is being assisted by the Special Fund of, the United Nations Development Programme, which will provide foreign experts, fellowships and equipment. Preliminary work for the establishment of the Institute has been completed and it is ex-
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pected that in the year 1968-69 the first admissions will be made The Chief Technical Adviser of the project has joined the Institute. The Institute proposes to start a refresher course in Pattern Technology in January-February 1968.
21. National Institute of Tranining in Industrial Engineering, Bombay: This Institute is another venture which has been started with the assistance of an international organisation and industry for training in different aspects of industrial engineering for the benefit of supervisors and engineers working in industry. During 1967 the institution conducted 40 short-term courses in various productivity techniques and about 400 trainees took part in these courses.
22. Management Institutions: In the field of Management, the two all-India institutions at Ahmedabad and Calcutta, set up in collaboration with Ford Foundation, State Governments and industry, continued to do good work during the year. The institutions admitted 198 candidates in the first year of the two year postgraduate course. Research work in the field of management is also being carried out in these institutions.
23. Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad: Besides the normal activities, the College carried on progressively its new activities, namely, short-term courses in Consultancy and Research to tackle problems of individual undertakings, to train managers on the job and to help them to introduce improved methods of work.
24. Regional Engineering Colleges: There are at present fourteen Regional Engineering Colleges functioning in the country, one in each State (except the States of Punjab, Nagaland and Assam). The fifteenth Regional Engineering College in the chain is to start functioning at Silchar (Assam) from 1968-69.
25. All these colleges conduct under-graduate courses in Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Specialised courses like Chemical Engineering, Metallurgy and Architecture also have been introduced in some of them.
26. Seven of these fourteen colleges are still in the first phase of their development conducting mainly under-graduate courses. The other seven colleges at Warangal, Surathkal, Durgapur, Jamshedpur, Allahabad, Bhopal and Nagpur have entered their second phase and industrially oriented postgraduate courses in 12 selected fields have been introduced in them with the assistance received from United Nations Development Fund. Eighty seven students have been admitted to the first year of the M.E. course for the second year in succession.
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27. Practical Training : The practical training stipends scheme was initiated in 1949-50 on the recommendation of the Scientific Manpower Committee with a view to condition fresh graduates and diploma-holders for gainful employment in industry. Two categories of stipends, viz., senior stipend of the value Rs. 250 p.m. for degree- holders and junior stipend of the value of Rs. 150 per month for diploma-holders, are awarded under the scheme. The duration of practical training is 1 to 2 years. The scheme has proved very useful inasmuch as the boys after training become readily acceptable to the industry.
28. Practical training of all the graduates and diploma holders in Mining Engineering is covered under this scheme.
29. During the year 1967-68, 1,106 graduates and 1,350 diploma- holders were provided with training facilities in various industrial establishments.
30. Research Training Scholarships and Research Fellowships Scheme : Scholarships under this scheme have been instituted to enable deserving and talented students to engage themselves in scientific research and thus acquire the necessary knowledge and experience for holding research positions later and to give impetus to the development of research in universities and other educational centres. The value of scholarships is Rs. 250 p.m. tenable for the period of three years. Out of 1,000 scholarships under this scheme, 747 scholarships, which were allocated to universities and their affiliated colleges were transferred to the University Grants Commission with effect from 1st July, 1967.
31. To encourage brilliant scholars to do research in science subjects at post-doctoral level, research fellowships of the value of Rs. 400 p.m. tenable for a period of three to four years are awarded. During the year 1967-68, no fellowship was awarded under this scheme.
32. Grants and Loans: During 1967-68, grant-in-aid amounting to Rs. 1,400 lakh is expected to be sanctioned to State Governments and engineering and technological institutions for various schemes of technical education under Five-Year Plans. It is also, expected that loans amounting to Rs. 391 lakh will be released, for the construction of students hostels.
33. Financial Provisions: Financial provisions for technical education for 1967-68 and 1968-69 are indicated below:
Provisions for 1967-68 Rs. 2,947 Lakh
Revised Estimates for 1967-78 Rs. 2,802
Budget Estimates for 1968-69 Rs. 2,666