(1) A Committee of Educationists and Student Leaders had been set up with 40 members to advise the Government on the steps to be taken to eliminate narrow and communal feelings. from the academic community. The first meeting of this

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committee was held in January, 1970. Among its recommendations the following deserve mention:

(a) To appoint a Commission with powers under the Commission of Enquiry Act for the purpose of inves- tigating youth and other organizations functioning in the university campuses which are contributing to communal tension. (The Ministry of Home Affairs. has been asked to initiate action on this.)

(b) To review the textbooks which may be brought to the notice of Government as are likely to promote com- munal tension.

(c) The University Grants Commission to examine and take appropriate action to secure minimum national standards of university education in order to facilitate migration of students from one university to another.

(d) To establish and strengthen the National Integration Samitis in the universities and public undertakings.

(e) To appeal to all public men in the country to be careful in their choice of words when talking about minority problems which was tending to create a feeling of separateness among the people.

While action on these recommendations is being taken a, scheme to strengthen and also to establish National Integration Samitis in universities and public undertakings where they do, not exist at present, is being formulated for implementation during the Fourth Plan period. Such samitis are functioning at present in 35 universities and 13 public undertakings. These were originally set up by the National Integration Sub Committee of the National Committee of the Gandhi Centenary.

(2) A Committee of Eminent Writers consisting of 19 members representing various Indian languages has been set up to advise on suitable literary avenues through which unity integration and harmony could be put across. The Committee made the following important recommendations:

(a) Writers, camps, both regional and national, should be

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held at different places each with a strength of 25 to 30 writers for five days. The discussions may relate to themes like unity in diversity in life and literature, humanist traditions in literature, secular subjects and their treatment, literature to combat divisive tenden- cies and common points in different regional literature. In the camps various writers belonging to separate regions would live together and the grouping of the languages for each camp will allow for the language of the local area, the language of a contiguous area, a language not belonging to a contiguous area but to a distant area, and one of the languages without any State, viz. English, Sanskrit, Sindhi and Urdu.

(b) Travelling fellowships should be instituted for creative writers to enable them to visit other places and deliver lectures.

(c) Special visiting professorships in creative Indian literature should be established at selected universities.

The National Book Trust of India has been asked to formulate proposals for the holding of writers camps. The first such camp was likely to be held at Hyderabad during the year. The University Grants Commission has been considering the proposal of instituting travelling fellowships for creative writers and also special visiting professorships at selected universities.

1.18. National integration Camps-Exchange of Visits by Students from different Parts of the Country :

The main idea oil the scheme is to provide opportunities for the exchange of visits by groups of students from one part of the country to another so that they learn about their cultural, historical and other links, discover more of their common bonds and the underlying unity of our composite culture, develop a sense of belonging to a single nation, and feel proud of their rich heritage. The National Council of Education Research and Training and the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan organised several camps as pilot projects under the scheme. Eight camps were held by the Council at Bangalore, Jamnagar, Pachmarhi and Patiala during

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April-June 1969, and at Indore (M.P), Lucknow (U.P), Narendrapur (West Bengal) and Nasik (Maharashtra) during October-December, 1969. Nine campus were organised by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and they were planning to organise two more before the close of the year.

1.19. Desh Geetanjali :

To promote a sense of national identity, it was decided that all boys and girls should be taught to sing some common national songs and that a suitable book should be brought out for this purpose. Several songs in different languages have been collected from A.I.R., Sangeet Natak Akademi, State Governments and other sources. An experiment in selecting songs suitable for singing by all children was conducted in Delhi schools. On November 14, 1969, a concert was also arranged at Bal Bhavan, New Delhi. The programme was greatly appreciated. On the basis of the experience thus gained, the scheme is being revised suitably and will be implemented in the next year.

1.20. Establishment of Indian Council of Social Science Research:

The Indian Council of Social Science Research was established as an autonomous organisation in April, 1969 with the following objectives : (1) to bring social scientists together and provide a forum for exchange of views between them; (2) to aid, promote, and coordinate research in social sciences; (3) to function as a spokesman for social science research; and (4) to elicit support and recognition for it from all concerned. The Council has a total membership of 22 excluding the chairman and the member-secretary, of whom 16 are social scientists nominated by the Government of India from the universities and specialised research institutions or associations and six are Government representatives. The Council has been registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act (Act XXI of 1860) with effect from 30th July, 1969 and has started functioning with effect from the 1st August, 1969. It has taken over 45 projects which were previously supported-by the Planning Commission and sanctioned a few more under its own grant-in-aid scheme. It has taken up a plan for carrying

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out a survey of the research already done in the different field & of social sciences. It has also taken a project for the compilation of a union catalogue of social science serials and a programme of data banks and data libraries. Plans are also being, formulated for the establishment of a National Social Science. Documentation Centre. A scheme has also been introduced to, give recurring and developmental grants to outstanding research institutions in the field of social sciences. An allocation of Rs 1.5 crore has been made for the Council in the Fourth Five-Year Plan.

1.21. Pilot Projects:

The organisation of pilot projects has great significance and advantage when the utility, effectiveness and costs of alternative methods of solving complex and difficult problems are to be judged and evaluated. Similarly, before any new idea is adopted on a large scale, it is generally advantageous to try it out as a laboratory experiment on a small scale. In such cases also, the 'pilot' approach is of great significance. It was, therefore, decided that, in the Fourth Five Year Plan, the Government of India should try out a number of pilot projects in significant sectors. This problem was discussed in the Conference of State Education Secretaries and of the Directors of Public Instruction/Education and in the light of their recommendations, a number of Study Groups were set up during the year. Their reports are expected to be received soon. On the basis of this preparation, it will now be possible to launch pilot projects during 1970-71 in a number of significant fields such as (1) expansion and qualitative improvement of primary education (with special reference to problems like wastage and stagnation, girls education, education of weaker sections of the community like scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and landless labourers), (2) programmes of qualitative improvement which require little monetary investment-like institutional planning or the organisation of school-complexes, (3) vocationalisation of education, (4) reducing the costs of school buildings and adopting improved methods of construction, or (5) intensive development of integrated programmes of education

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and economic growth in selected districts. The details of this programme have been discussed later in Chapter XI.

1.22. Educational Television:

The General Assembly of Unesco had recommended that the possibilities of satellite communication for educational purposes should be explored and that India offered an ideal situation for trying out an experiment. A mission sent by Unesco in 1967 had also recommended an experimental satellite programme for India. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had invited a mission from Unesco to examine the question of training facilities for educational television programmes. The mission submitted its report in December, 1969. It has recommended the establishment of two training centres, one at Poona under the Ministry of I. & B. and the other at the NCERT at New Delhi under the Ministry. Meanwhile, the Department of Atomic Energy concluded an agreement with the National Aeronautics Space Administration of the United States for launching an experimental, satellite over the Indian Ocean to try out the possibility of television transmission covering the entire country from one transmitter in a satellite. A scheme, has been included in the Fourth Plan of the Ministry for the establishment of television cells at the Centre and in the States and also for an educational television centre on the campus of the NCERT. A proposal requesting UNDP assistance for the propose training centre under the Ministry of Education and Youth Services has also been sent to the Special Fund authorities.

1.23. Centenaries:

Another major event of the year was the celebration of a number of centenaries. The Centenary of Mahatma Gandhi was celebrated, not only in India, but in several countries of the world. Similarly, the Quincentenary of Guru Nanak also was celebrated with great eclat. The centenary of the great Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib, was another important programme of the year. The details of these celebrations are given in Chapter XVI. Similarly, preparations are

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being made to celebrate the Centenary of Lenin and Deshbandhu C. R. Das.

1.24. Dr. Zakir Husain Memorial:

The Ministry has drawn up a programme to create a suitable national Memorial to Dr. Zakir Husain who was one of the greatest educationists the country has produced. It is proposed to create an independent Dr. Zakir Husain Memorial Trust which will take over and maintain the Delhi College in which he was so keenly interested. The College will be provided with a new site and buildings. Some other programmes such as the construction of a mausoleum, institution of Dr. Zakir Husain Memorial Lectures, publication of an authentic biography, etc. have also been proposed. The Jawaharlal Nehru University proposes to name its Centre for Educational Studies after Dr. Zakir Husain.

1.25. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research:

During the year under review, strenuous efforts were made to introduce reforms and improve the working of the CSIR and the national laboratories under it. Among the more important ones, the following deserve mention:

(1) The Education Minister held meetings of the Directors of the National Laboratories and the Institutes in small groups with a view to discussing with them, at a more intimate level their problems and programmes. In these group meetings, a number of suggestions were made to the Directors in order that the right atmosphere for creative intellectual work may prevail. Among these, special emphasis was laid on :

(a) increasing collaboration with universities,

(b) emphasis on more sponsored research from industry, and

(c) creation of right intellectual atmosphere in which the juniormost scientist feels a sense of participation.

(2) Since the national laboratories are primarily mission- oriented laboratories directed towards the fostering of industrial growth in the country, increasing dialogue with representatives

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of Industry was suggested. To give effect to this, discussions am being arranged with man-made fibre industry, plastics indus- try,conditioning and refrigeration industry, etc. At the level of laboratories, get-togethers are also being arranged. The latest one was the get-together with the mechanical engineering industry at Durgapur.

(3) A committee has been constituted with Member (Industry) in the Planning Commission as chairman and experts drawn from a number of industries and those concerned with industrial development in the Government to provide guidelines to the CSIR and the national laboratories in the formulation of meaningful programmes of research. Three industries, have been identified for immediate emphasis: (a) iron and steel, (b) instrumentation, and (c) chemical industry. The Working Groups in these three areas have met and discussed the prob- lems with the Directors with a view to identifying specific problems.

(4) The National Research Development Corporation is now having a new Board with Member (Industry) in the Planning Commission as chairman and also the Director-General of the CSIR. The procedures have been streamlined and proper techno-economic evaluation is also being carried out with the help of the Process Evaluation Cell in the CSIR headquarters.

(5) To tackle the problem of frustration among the younger scientific workers in the national laboratories, all Directors have been advised that it is essential to create an atmosphere of community life, in which all the scientists in the laboratories feel intellectually free and that there is a need to create the sense of participation of all the young scientists in the work of the laboratories. For this purpose, the formation of bodies like Academic Councils has been suggested. Other measures like the association of representatitves of the scientists

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on the executive councils of the laboratories on an elective basis, improvement in the persent position of merit promotion and screening within the laboratory to ensure right recommendations for promotion, deputation and the like, are under consideration.

(6) Much improvement has been made in regard to recruitment, constitution of selection committees, etc.

(7) The Director-General has also been taking steps to delegate more and more powers to the Directors, particularly in those aspects which will help the day-to-day functioning of the laboratory smoother and speedier. Steps have also been taken to ensure that all complaints at all levels of the staff are attended to objectively and expeditiously.

1.26. Committee:

During the year under review, action was taken to streamline the working of the National Council of Educational Research and Training on the lines of the Report of the Review Committee which had been submitted last year. Besides, the following committees submitted their reports:

(1) The Gajendragadkar Committee on the Banaras Hindu University;

(2) The Review Committee on Rural Institutes;

(3) The Jha Committee on National Library;

(4) The first report of the Sarkar Committee on the CSIR.

(5) The Khosla Committee on the National Library.

As stated earlier, action on the immediate recommendation of the first committee has been taken and its long-term recommendations are under examination. An examination of the recommendations of the second and third has been completed and they are now in the process of implementation. The reports of the fourth and fifth committees are under examination.

The Hockey Committee appointed by the All-India Council of Sports to suggest ways and means for the development and maintenance of a high standard in hockey consistent with the

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past traditions of the game in India also submitted its report. Most of its recommendations have been accepted by the Indian Hockey Federation for implementation.

The Moti Chandra Committee on Museums is expected to submit its report very soon.

During the year, a committee was appointed, under the chairmanship of Justice, Khosla, to look into the working of the three National Akademis and the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.

Five meetings of the Consultative Committee of Parliament were held during the year till the end of February 1970. One of these was devoted exclusively to the discussion of the problem of 'examination reform'. Action has been taken to give effect to the unanimous recommendations of the Committee.

1.27. Legislation:

During the year, two Bills were passed into law: the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library Bill and the Architects Registration Bill. Unfortunately it has not yet been able to pass the University Grants Commission (Amendment) Bill which was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha even before the fourth General Elections. The amendments contemplated by the Bill are extremely urgent and important. It is, therefore, necessary to accord it a high, priority and to place it on the Statute Book during the current year at least.

1.28. Visit Abroad:

The Education Minister paid a visit to UK and USSR during the year under review. The visits were very fruitful and from them have emerged important programmes of improving technical education and relating it more intimately with industry as well as programmes for a larger collaboration in book development and cultural affairs. A proposal to give an institutional form to, the increasing interest which is now being shown in UK in Indian studies is also under examination. Shri Bhakt Darshan visited Moscow, Budapest and Bucharest in connection with the signing of exchange agreements. Smt. Jahanara Jaipal Singh visited the Philippines in