EDUCATION IN THE UNION TERRITORIES
Education in the Union Territories constitutes a special res- ponsibilty of the Central Government. The Territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, Pondicherry. Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram have their own legislatures and exercise powers specified in the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963. Delhi has a Metropolitan Council and an Executive Council which function according to the provisions of Delhi Administration Act, 1966. The other Territories, namely, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Lakshadweep have Po legislature. An account of the educational facilities, and activities undertaken during the year in respect of each of the Union Territories is given in this chapter.
A. ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS During the year 1979-80 the existing two High Schools were upgraded as Higher Secondary Schools under the 10+2 pattern and the two existing Senior Basic Schools as High Schools. Four new primary schools were opened.
Against the enrolment target of 3,000 additional children at Primary stage and 800 at the Middle stage, the achievement was 1,695 and 649 respectively. An increase of 558 was registered at Secondary stage during 1979-80. Post-graduate courses in English and Political Science were introduced in the Government College, Port Blair, M.A. (Prev.) classes were added during 1978-79 and final classes in the subjects were added during 1979-80. The college provides facilities for degree courses in Arts, Science and Commerce streams.
The Textbooks Cell started in 1978-79 is proposed to be strengthened during 1979-80. This Cell arranges for translation, and publication of textbooks in different languages to make them available to the students in time.
A State level Committee was constituted for organising Adult Education Programmes. High priority was given to the NonFormal Education. During 1979-80 a provision of 100 Centres
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was made in the Sixth Five Year Plan under the State Scheme. Against the provision of 20 Centre, made for 1979-80, 12 Centres have been opened, making a total of 40 Adult Education Centres opened so far. Under the centrally sponsored scheme of Adult Education, 60 Centres were opened in South and Middle Andamans during 1978-79 and 1,602 adults were made literate.
Remedial teaching has been provided at five Centres. Com- partmental classes were also arranged for those who were placed under compartment in the All-India Higher Secondary/ Senior Secondary Examination 1978-79. Supervised Study Centres are provided at four places to help rural students to have supervised studies with the help of part-time teachers and supervisors who do not have proper accommodation and lighting facilities at homes.
Tuition-free education up to senior secondary level is provided. Textbooks are also supplied free to children whose parents' income is less than Rs. 4,000 per annum; free travel concession is given to students studying in Middle and Secondary stages in schools located beyond four kilometers. Free mid-day meals are given to all children from classes I to VIII. Hostel facilities to rural school children in nearby hostels are also provided. A stipend of Rs. 50 per month is paid to boarders to meet the hostel expenses at school level. Free stationery and textbooks are supplied to tribal students and a free set of uniforms is supplied to those children whose parents' income is less than Rs. 2,500. In addition to there, post-secondary scholarships are given to local students for higher education in the mainland in such subjects in which facilities are not available in the existing Government Colleges. It is proposed to strengthen the Teachers Training Institute to provide in-service training to the elementary school teachers.
B. ARUNACHAL PRADESH The total number of various categories of educational insti- tutions including Pre-School Education Centres (46), Primary Schools (868), Middle Schools (117), Secondary Schools (26), Higher Secondary Schools (10), Colleges (2) and one Teachers Training Institution in the Union Territory during the year 1979-80 was 1070.
Besides, there are seven Primary Schools (Boys) organised and run by Vivekananda Kendra, three Schools run by Ramakrishna Mission and two Central Schools.
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Enrolment The total number of students on roll in these institutions was 65,747.
During the year a Night College with Arts Faculty has been started.
At present ration facilities (Ration Stipends) are extended to 8,817 tribal boarders who are studying in Higher Secondary and Middle Schools. Stipends initial and subsequent book grants were also awarded to 213 tribal students reading in J. N. College, Pasighat, North-Eastern Hill University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. The Government is also extending free supply of textbooks for the students reading from classes I to VIII and 75 per cent subsidy to the students of classes IX to XI. A total of Rs. 11,72,536 was sanctioned for this purpose. Newspapers and periodicals are also supplied to all the schools.
Twenty-three Adult Education Centres were opened during the year 1979-80 bringing the total so far to 47, under the National Adult Education Programme. Fifteen voluntary organisations have been involved in the programme. At present one voluntary Organisation is running 30 centres in Kamang District. The State Board of Adult Education and its Steering Committee were constituted. The 10+2 pattern of School education has been accepted and vocational education was introduced in the Higher Secondary Schools. At present six Higher Secondary school,, are imparting vocational education. Efforts are being made to popularise these courses among students.
C. CHANDIGARH In the year 1979-80, one new Model High School, one Middle School and two Primary Schools were opened. Four Primary schools were upgraded to Middle Schools and two Middle Schools to High Schools. A sum of Rs. 29 lakhs was sanctioned for the construction of new buildings.
Incentives and facilities are provided to children of Scheduled castes and girl students and midday-meals are supplied to children at the Primary stage. An expenditure of Rs. 24.06 lakhs is envisaged on these facilities. About 152 Adult Education Centres were started. The laboratories/libraries in colleges are being provided with additional staff. A sum of Rs. 4 lakhs has been sanctioned for the construction of hostel for foreign students.
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The Administration has proposed to construct new hockey and football grounds in developing sectors and also a swimming pool. A branch of the main library has been opened in village Mani Majra, Chandigarh.
D. DELHI Eight new Government Middle schools were opened, 12 Middle schools were upgraded to the Secondary level and three Government Secondary schools to Senior Secondary level. At present the Administration is running 242 Middle, 144 Secondary and 296 Senior Secondary schools in addition to providing grant-in-aid to 28 Middle, 40 Secondary and 119 Senior Secondary schools. These Government schools cater to 2,00,851 boys and 1,48,264 girls, the total enrolment being 3,49,115. In the aided schools there were 63,614 boys and 4,875 girls. Education through correspondence courses is being provided to such students who cannot attend the regular schools. 12 Adult schools have been set up for such students, which are at present catering to the needs of about 7,000 Adult students all over Delhi. The State Institute of Education and Science branch of the Directorate of Education attempts to improve the quality of education by organising suitable in-service education programmes, seminars, workshops and demonstration teaching. Science fairs at zonal and State levels are organised to bring about improvement in Science teaching and to create interest among the students and teachers in the subject. Junior Science Talent Search Contests involving 6,549 students were conducted of which 100 have been selected for the award of scholarships. Different schemes of scholarships such as Merit Scholarships, Economic Criteria Scholarships to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, etc. are being continued. During the year 67,739 students were covered under the schemes. Free uniforms are given to the students studying from classes I to XII whose parents' monthly income is below Rs. 500. Free textbooks are available to students from class VI onwards out of the School Book Banks. Every year, books worth Rs. 4 lakhs are added to the Book Banks. Besides, the Delhi Bureau of Textbooks makes available free textbooks to the students out of its educational funds.
Three hundred (70 for men and 230 for women) Adult Education Centres were started in rural areas in which 5,192 adults were enrolled. Similarly, 420 centres (260 for women and 160 for men) were started in urban areas benefitting 4,955 women and 3.377 men.
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Cross country races were organised first at the zonal level and finally at the State level. Special programmes to commemorate the International Year of the Child were organised, including a children rally in which nearly 8,000 students took part.
E. GOA, DAMAN AND DIU There were in all 17' Higher Secondary schools (government and aided) with an enrolment of 7,576 students. To cope tip with the demand for opening new schools the Administration has taken up the construction of 20 buildings out of which 7 buildings were completed. There are nine colleges for general education i.e. Arts, Science and Commerce, besides a postgraduate centre. The combined enrolment in these institutions was 4,871. The enrolment in the professional colleges viz. Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering, Fine Arts, Law and Teachers Training College was 2,278. It is proposed to set up one university in Goa. Enrolment in the Primary, Middle and Secondary level was 2,25,517.
Under the scheme of Tribal Sub-Plan for Daman, the construction of one Ashram Shala at Zari Village was completed and the work of another is in progress. These Shalas will not only offer better educational facilities but also encourage tribal children to attend schools with provisions for free board and lodging. Under the National Adult Education Programme, 10 centres with 1,857 men and 1,262 women students were started in all the 13 talukas. One village library-cum-social education centre was established and another nine village libraries are proposed to be ,opened. To enhance the professional skills of the teachers, the State Institute of Education organised six in, service training, courses for Primary School teachers and three courses for Secondary School teachers. A course for teachers of Hindi, was also organised. The students were offered scholarships under different schemes. During the academic year 1979- 80, education was made free in the Union Territory up to SSC examination.
F. PONDICHERRY Three Pre-Primary and two Primary Schools were opened during the year. Besides, four Primary Schools were upgraded into middle schools. It has also been decided to appoint Headmasters in all the full-fledged Primary schools. One Middle School was upgraded into High School and one Government High School upgraded into Higher Secondary School. At present there are
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eight Government Higher Secondary Schools in the Union Territory. A total of 1,02,494 students were on the rolls of Primary, Middle, Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools. To achieve the enrolment target, incentive schemes like supply of mid-day meals to poor children studying in standards I-V and free supply of textbooks and supplementary articles like school bags, slates and pencils, etc., to about 22,600 poor children studying in standards I-V were continued. To attract poor students and to retain them in schools, a new scheme "Free Supply of Uniforms" is proposed to be implemented during 1979- 80. About 11,300 students are expected to be benefitted from the scheme. A centre for continuing education has been set up for conducting refresher/ orientation courses. To improve the professional competence of 'the teachers refresher/reorientation courses were conducted.
One hundred and fifty awards of Pondicherry State post-Matric scholarships, three awards of National Scholarships for the children of school teachers, 18 awards of National Loan Scholarships and 18 awards of National Scholarships were sanctioned to help the poor and meritorious students to pursue higher studies. The scheme of student aid fund has been continued in the colleges. Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme has been continued for the benefit of girl students of secondary schools. Two hundred and fifty merit prizes at the rate of Rs. 10 per student and 175 merit-cum-means scholarships at Rs. 100 per student per annum have been sanctioned. Two students were granted fellowships for doing research in Tamil.
Seventy-eight new Adult Education Centres were opened during 1979-80 in addition to 70 Centres already opened during the last year. Learning materials such as primer, slate, notebook, pencil, etc. are supplied free of cost to adult learners. Petromax lights have been provided to the centres where there is no electricity. Workshops in presentation of writing materials for Adult Education Programme for instructors were conducted in collaboration with the State Research Centre for Non-formal Education of Tamilnadu.
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G. DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI There are 11 Pre-Primary schools, 157 Primary schools teaching from Standard I-VII and four High Schools teaching from VIII to X and one Higher Secondary school in the Territory.
In the field of elementary education, hostel facilities to all Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes and economically backward classes students are provided. There are nine Social Welfare hostels including two girls hostels and one Ashram type school being run by the Administration, in which free board and lodging are provided to the inmates. Adult Education Programme has been implemented in this territory from October 1978. Thirty centres have been started with an enrolment of 992 adults in the age-group of 15-35. The formal and Non-formal education Centres have been merged into Adult Education Centres. Learning materials are being supplied to the adults free of cost. One Supervisor for supervision of Adult Education Schools has been appointed from the Primary teachers. Free education is provided up to Higher Secondary stage in this territory. Free Mid-day-meals are being provided to all the students of pre-primary and primary schools. Free supply of textbooks, note-books, slates And pencils to all the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe and other economically backward classes students is also being continued. Besides the above concessions, clothes are also supplied free to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and economically ,backward classes students of Primary and High Schools. Vocational Education is being imparted in the only Higher Secondary School.
There being no facilities for higher education in the Union Territory, all Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well as lower income group students are being awarded post-Matric scholarships. In addition, those students who leave studies before SSC class and desire to pursue professional courses are being granted pre-Matric scholarships. The Government of India allocates seats in various courses like Medicine, Engineering. Agriculture, Petro-Chemicals, Pharmacy and Veterinary Science for students belonging to the Union Territory. The applications for the reserved seats are invited and eligible students are sent every year.
H. LAKSHADWEEP The 39 educational institutions in the Union Territory comprise one Junior College, 8 High schools, 4 Middle schools, 17
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Junior Basic schools and 9 Primary schools. Besides, there are 10 Balwadis functioning under the auspices of the State Social Welfare Advisory Board. The total enrolment in different institutions was 11,156. Students in High Schools are paid scholarships at the rate of Rs. 30 per month, in addition to free textbooks And writing materials. Hostel facilities are provided in Kavaratti and Amini. Free boarding and lodging are provided in these hostels. Further, scholarships are also given to the students. In Nursery schools free mid-day-meals, sweets and biscuits are supplied to all children.
There is only one Junior College in the Union Territory which is situated in the headquarters Island of Kavaratti. Limited hostel facilities are provided to students from other islands. Students who cannot be provided hostel accommodation are given scholarships at the rate of Rs. 130 per month and the native students are given scholarships at the rate of Rs. 75 per mouth. For higher studies beyond pre-degree classes and for other technical and professional courses students are sent to the institutions on the mainland. Adult Education Centres were opened in the island. Social Education Centres have also been opened in all the islands. Reading Room-cum-Libraries are functioning in all the islands. There is one Central Library at Kavaratti.
I. MIZORAM There are 532 Government schools and 348 Government aided schools. Other special institutions are, one Industrial Training Institute, one Mizoram Hindi Training Institute, two undergraduate Teachers' Training Institutes and Mizoram Institute of Education for Teachers' Training. A polytechnic is also proposed to be started during the current year. During this period there Was a substantial increase in the enrolment at the primary level.
Since the launching of the National Adult Education Programme on the 2nd October, 1978 the Adult Education Programme in Mizoram has been taken up in the right earnest by the Union Territory Administration and by Mizoram Association, the main 'Voluntary agency for execution of the programme. During 1979-80, 70 Adult Education Centres with a total enrolment of about 2,100 people have been functioning. Besides 200 centres with a total enrolment of about 5,000 people have been in operation under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rural Functional Literacy Project in Aizawl and Chhimtuipui districts.