SCHOOL EDUCATION
The main programmes funded by the Government of India relating to School Education are:
(1) Vocationalisation of Higher Secondary Education.
(2) The Educational Technology Project.
(3) Qualitative Improvement Programmes in School Education.
(4) Reorganisation and Expansion of Science Teaching at the school stage, and
(5) Provision of schooling facilities for children of transferable central government employees.
In addition, certain programmes are carried out by the Central Government in cooperation with the States and these are:
(1) Universalisation of free compulsory primary educa- tion, and
(2) Implementation of the 10+2+3 pattern.
The main Institutions of the Central Government through which programmes are carried out are:
(1) The National Council of Education Research and Training.
(2) The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, and
(3) The Central Board of Secondary Education.
Vocationalisation of Higher Secondary Education The Ministry of Education has under consideration a scheme of vocationalisation for implementation in the 5th Five Year Plan in selected higher secondary schools. It is proposed that during this period 1000 schools be selected throughout the country. Stress will be laid on introduction of vocational courses and on adding new vocational courses in addition to the technical courses being conducted by Polytechnics, Industrial Training Institutes and Departmental Training Centres. Stress will be laid on educating for self-reliance and training for self-employment. The intake of courses will be regulated in accordance with employment potential. It is proposed to utilise the spare capacity and
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facilities available in polytechnics, multipurpose schools and tech- nical schools in the proposed 2-year vocational courses under the 10+2+3 pattern. The National Council of Educational Research and Training is currently working on the Approach paper on Vocational Education and is engaged in the preparation of syllabi in the areas of Agriculture, Commerce and Para-medical Services.
Educational Technology The Educational Technology Project is designed to stimulate and promote integrated use of mass media and instructional technology at all levels of education including non-formal education of the adults. This will help to achieve qualitative improvement as well as acceleration of the rate of expansion of educational facilities. It will also help to reduce wastage. The programme which is being implemented with the collaboration of UNDP involves the setting up of educational technology cells in the states and a Centre for Educational Technology as a separate institute of the NCERT at Delhi, and an Educational Technology Unit in the Ministry of Education & S.W.
Under the programme, the Centre for Educational Technology was established in New Delhi in 1972-73. The Centre is expected to pave the way for the introduction of educational technology in the educational process specially in the area of training and research. Its programmes include development of innovations in education, training of teachers, communicators and administrators, evaluation of materials and programmes and building an information bank of educational technology. It will also be concerned with the development of curriculum and preparation of basic scripts for films, radio and television as well as with the production of multipurpose kits, models and other instructional material including 16 mm films. Grants amounting to Rs. 15.71 lakhs have been released to the Centre during 1975-76.
Educational Technology Cells have been established in Maha- rashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar. Karnataka and Gujarat so far. Central assistance will also be made available to other States for establishing such cells. The proposal for setting up cells are under consideration of the governments of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tamilnadu and Jammu & Kashmir. These cells are expected to foster and promote the development of the programme at the state level. A sum of Rs. 4.22 lakhs has been released to State Governments for this purpose, during 1965-76.
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Under the guidance of ET Cell, Bombay, lessons in English and Science are telecast for Standard V and VIII. Approximately 2,25,000 students have been benefitted by these telecasts. The cell has also conducted two user teachers seminars to acquaint Classroom teachers with the proper technique of utilising tele-lessons in classroom teaching. Nearly 300 teachers participated in these seminars.
Satellite Insructional Television Experiment (SITE) A significant experiment in communication for national deve- lopment was launched in the country in August, 1975 for a period of one year. The experiment uses a satellite loaned to India by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for broadcasting programmes to 2400 villages, in six States selected for the purpose- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan. The programmes are broadcast in four languages and in two transmissions, and are intended for primary school children and the adult population. Among the several objectives set for the experiment the most important is to prove the efficacy of television as a medium of communication for National Development. The specific concern of the Ministry of Education is to test the feasibility of this kind of mass communication programme for instructional purposes and its possible use in the expansion and improvement of education and training of teachers. The thrust of the programme is in the rural areas which are relatively unexposed to mass media and other modern communication.
To oversee the educational programmes transmitted through SITE, the Ministry of Education set up in 1975 a Steering Committee with representatives of the Ministry of Education AIR NCERT, Central Bureau of Health education and some non- officials. So far five meetings of the Steering Committee have taken place.
The morning transmissions have been used for teacher training programmes also. The responsibility of the training programmes was with the Centre for Educational Technology NCERT in collaboration with the State Governments concerned. A project for multi-media package for in-service training of primary school teachers was developed by the Centre for Educational Technology, New Delhi. Under this project 24,000 primary school teachers from 2,400 specially selected villages in the six States covered by the Satellite received training in science from October 16-27, 1975 during Dussehra holidays. The train- ing materials were in the form of a multi-media package which consisted of television programmes, radio programmes, activity
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guides, enrichment materials and tutorials. A sum of Rs. 1.70 lakhs has been sanctioned to each of the six States for expenditure on this programme. It is likely that this programme may be repeated in summer 1976.
User-Teachers training camps were also organised in the six States to enable the operators-cum-custodians of TV sets, who are invariably primary school teachers to utilise the TV programmes in enriching the curriculum of primary school children in a meaningful way and to provide them an opportunity of conducting pre-telecast and post-telecast activities and to help them in discharging their duties as user-teachers. The Ministry of Education sanctioned grants to the six States for undertaking this programme, which amounted to Rs. 2.11 lakhs.
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING In what follows an account of the various activities of the NCERT is given.
Research activities The research activities within the Council were directed among others, towards the following themes:
1. Graphic analysis of Devnagari Script.
2. Phonological variations in standard Hindi in its dialectic areas.
3. Scientific creativity test development project.
4. Comparative study of mother tongue textbooks for primary classes.
5. Compilation of linguistic analysis of Hindi vocabulary of children of primary classes in Hindi.
6. Developmental norms project (5 1/2 -11 years).
7. Studies of academically gifted boys.
8. Cooperative research on first generation learners.
9. Development of scientific and mathematical concepts in urban and rural children at the primary level.
10. A National Survey of Tear-her Education at the elementary level.
11. A Survey of rural talent search scheme.
Apart from research work within the Council it also supports and sponsors research by outside agencies. 23 Research Projects undertaken by various universities or teacher training colleges during the year are being supported with a total financial
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aid of about Rs. 2,00,000/-. 18 professional educational organizations have been supported with a cost of about Rs. 68,000/-.
Development work
(i) Curriculum development for 10+2 pattern of schooling An expert committee has developed an Approach Paper on the, curriculum for the 10 year school. The Approach Paper laid emphasis on inculcation of values and attitudes and on awakening a sense of social awareness and responsibility, a pride in our cultural heritage, national integration, socialism and secularism. Work experience is included throughout the 10 years of school and science instruction for all the 10 years of schooling will be related to health, hygiene, the needs of the community, population education and environmental studies. The programme of general education for 10 years will be common to all pupils. This Approach Paper has been widely discussed in a National Seminar consisting of representatives of States and Educationists and on the basis of the views obtained a revised Approach Paper has now been finalized to guide the States in the preparation of instructional materials in various subject areas for the first 10 years of school.
The Council has already prepared the textbooks in various science subjects, mathematics, social sciences and languages for Class IX which are currently in use in the, schools under Central Board of Secondary Education. Similar textbooks for Class X for the new pattern are being developed. These will be available before the next school session.
For the higher stage, Classes XI and XII syllabi in academic and vocational courses are being developed, so that those entering the academic stream will undergo intensive learning in some of the selected areas leading to specialisation taking into account the aptitude of the students. Diversified courses will be provided for those taking up vocational education.
(ii) Improvement of primary education To achieve the goal of universalization of educational facilities to the age group 6-11 within the Fifth Plan period the Council is concentrating on several fronts. Some of these are the, development of non-formal education programmes, mobilising the entire resources of the community, the renewal of the primary curriculum in cooperation with the State Primary Curriculum Units and the UNICET, and the trying out of a,community based educational approach through specially selected Community Primary Centres in the States.
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(iii) Development of instructional materials in various subject
areas during the year This is a core activity of the various departments and units of the Council. More specifically the achievements during the year have been as follows:
(a) Curriculum & Syllabi 1. Curriculum and syllabi in science, mathematics, social sciences, population education, languages and work experience for the first 10 years of schooling have been developed through a number of workshops in association with teachers and educators.
2. Syllabi for XI and XII Classes in sciences, mathematics and social sciences are under preparation.
3. For the +2 stage of 10+2 pattern of schooling draft curriculum in 50 vocational subject areas and 116 areas in commerce have been developed.
4. In the field of teacher education, courses were developed for television teaching at B.Ed. level and revision of M.Ed. courses undertaken.
5. A prototype of a correspondence course for Careers Masters have been developed for use by States.
6. Programmed learning materials in different subjects areas have been developed as sample materials for use by States.
(b) Textbooks Textbooks in various subjects continued to occupy the attention of the Council during the period under report. Revision of textbooks for various classes have been completed. Draft textbooks for Science and Social Studies for Class X have been prepared. 7 Supplementary Readers in Science subjects were completed.
(c) Evaluation of Textbooks Textbooks have continued to be evaluated. Besides, the following publications were completed.
1. A National Bibliography in Population Education.
2. A Source Book in Population Education.
3. An annotated Bibliography on Childrens Literature.
Training programmes The four Regional Colleges of Education continued as usual the four-year B Sc. B.Ed and one year B.Ed. programmes. M.Ed. courses continued in Bhopal and Bhubaneswar and one year
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M.Ed. in Science and 2-year M.Sc. course have been started at Ajmer and Mysore respectively. All the colleges are continuing the Summer School-cum-Correspondence course for B.Ed. The Regular Training Courses at the NIE, and other training programmes in various areas were also continued during the period under report.
Extension programmes Extension forms an important aspect of Council's work not only for disseminating ideas to the States but also to arouse fresh thinking and foster active collaboration among practising teachers on a wide scale. Intensive Teacher Education Programmes, Seminars, Workshops and Conferences at various levels of the educational ladder and in various subject areas were part of the year's activities under the auspices of the Council.
Centre for Educational Technology The Centre for Educational Technology is working for the development of innovations in education and is actively involved in various ways in educational broadcast of SITE directed to children in the age-group 5-12 in 2400 villages of 6 States. A massive programme of training 24,000 teachers was completed. It is also working in close collaboration with the I.S.R.O. to study the impact of SITE programme on primary school children. It has also taken up a number of feasible studies for designing system of optimisation of education and studies of radio for education and the feasibility of "open school" system of education.
Other activities The Council continued to provide secretarial assistance to the National Board of School Textbooks and the National Council of Teacher Education.
It has also implemented on behalf of the Ministry of Education, The National Integration Project, Population Education Project and National Prize Competition for Childrens Literature.
The Third-All-India Educational Survey at the school level was taken up by the NCERT on behalf of the Ministry of Education. The NCERT has also coordinated the work of the Third Survey in so far as it relates to the other agencies which are responsible for conducting different areas of survey. The basic data has been received from all Slates and Union Territories with a few exceptions. The preliminary report has been completed and final report is expected to be completed in 1976.
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National Council for Teacher Education In view of the importance of school education as the foundation for all educational effort and the crucial role that the school teacher plays in the educational system, the Government of India established a National Council for Teacher Education with the following terms of reference:
(i) To advise Government of India, on all matters con- cerning teacher education, including pre-service and in- service training; evaluation of curricula for teacher education and periodical review in revising curricula.-
(ii) To advise State Governments on any matters referred to the Council by them;
(iii) To review the progress of plan schemes, both Central and State, concerning teacher education;
(iv) To advise Government on ensuring adequate standards in teacher education;
(v) Any other matter entrusted to the Council by the Government of India.
The N.C.E.R.T., New Delhi functions as the Secretariat of the National Council for Teacher Education.
The first meeting of the National Council for Teacher Education was held in New Delhi on 21-12-73. The Council reviewed the progress of plan schemes and set up Standing Committes and Working groups on different aspects of teacher education.