INTRODUCTORY
1.1.0 Ministry of Human Resource Development was set up in 1985 with the objective of integrating efforts towards the development of human potential in the areas of education, women and child development, arts, culture, youth affairs and sports. During 1993-94 the Ministry continued its endeavour in fulfilling this objective. This Report covers the activities of the four departments which constitute the Ministry and is presented in four parts:-
Part-I Department of Education
Part-II Department of Culture
Part-III Department of Youth Affairs and Sports
Part-IV Department of Women and child Development.
Department of Education 1.2.1 The most historic event of the year 1993-94 was hosting of an EDUCATION FOR ALL (EFA) Summit of Nine High Population Countries in New Delhi on 16th of December, 1993. These nine countries are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan. They account for more than half the world's population and 70% of the world's illiterates. The Heads of three UN agencies viz. UNESCO, UNICEF, and UNFPA also participated in the Summit. The Nine High Population Countries adopted the Delhi Declaration and Framework of Action.
1.2.2 The Declaration calls for ensuring a place for every child in a school or an appropriate education programme according to his or her capabilities, consolidating efforts towards basic education for children youth and adults from public and private sources, improving and extending literacy and adult education programmes within the context of an integrated strategy of basic education for all people, for eliminating disparities of access to basic education, for improving the quality and relevance of' basic education and in all actions to accord to human development the highest priority at national and other levels ensuring that growing share of national and community resources is dedicated to basic education and improving the management of existing resources for education.
1.2.3 The NPE 1986 and the POA 1992 had in fact in essence anticipated the provisions of the Delhi Declaration and Framework of Action. The NPE resolved to ensure that free and compulsory education of satisfactory quality is provided to all children upto 14 years of age before the 21st Century. Action for intensification of the NPE/POA implementation programme is already on. Some of the specific steps taken in pursuance of the Delhi Declaration include developing a collaborating mechanism
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for distance education among the nine countries, periodic consultations among the nine countries with a view to sharing experiences, introduction of decentralised management of structures in education with a view to giving greater authority to communities and parents and making the school more accountable to the community for its performance, development of performance norms and code of conduct for teachers and development of district specific education programmes.
1.2.4 The Prime Minister convened a Special Conference of Chief Ministers of all States and Union Territories on February 15, 1994 to consider the follow up of the Education For All Summit, the Reports of the NDC Committee on Literacy and CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education) Committee on Decentralised Management of Education. The Chief Ministers decided that coordinated and concerted action will be needed on the part of local community, state Governments and the Central Government in the mobilization of resources for education and to accord higher priority to primary and adult education.
1.2.5 The NPE, 1986, as updated in 1992, provides for several key strategies. These include (i) shifting of focus from State to the District as the unit of planning for implementation of elementary education and adult literacy; (ii) increasing reliance on social mobilisation to promote basic education and (iii) integration of adult literacy and non-formal education programmes with vital national concerns such as small family norms, health care, environment and nutrition. In the context of universalisation of elementary education the strategies adopted for 8th Plan are:
- a disaggregated approach, with the focus on preparation of district-specific, population-specific plans for UEE within the broad strategy of micro-planning through people's participation; and
- introduction of Minimum Levels of Learning (MLLs) in schools to improve learner's achievement. Micro-planning will provide the frame-work of universal access and universal participation while MLLs would be the strategy for universal achievement.
1.2.6 The focus shall be two fold: firstly achieving universal access through opening of new schools in unserved habitations, expanding the non-formal learning centre network to cater to those who cannot attend formal schools. Secondly, universal retention and achievement by improving the school environment through better infrastructure and activity based, child centred competency-oriented teaching learning process.
1.2.7 The existing institutional framework is to be made fully functional and work at higher level of efficiency. Given the centrality of teacher training, the focus would be on operationalizing DIETs, CTEs and IASEs as quickly as possible and ensure they are manned by professionally sound and highly
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motivated personnel. The scheme of Operation Blackboard would be implemented in right earnest. Location of NFE centres, monitoring and supervision of their functioning would be given attention so that the disadvantaged groups derive maximum advantage from the scheme.
1.2.8 A two pronged approach of Universalisation of Elementary Education and Universal Adult Literacy is being adopted for achieving total literacy. District specific programme have been evolved both in Primary Education and in Adult Education. A major new initiative to achieve UEE is the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) launched in 1993-94 which seeks to operationalise the strategy of district level plan. The programme takes a holistic view of Primary Education development and lays great emphasis on participatory planning and management. It has a marked gender focus and seeks to enhance school effectiveness through inputs in teacher's training and decentralised management. The programme emphasises capacity building at all levels, be it national, state or local, and seeks to evolve strategies which are replicable and sustainable. The programme has already been launched in 19 districts in Madhya Pradesh. The attempt would be to start the programme in atleast 110 districts during the Eighth Plan.
1.2.9 The Total Literacy campaign has now emerged as the most favoured strategy and also as an effective and viable model for eradication of adult illiteracy. The Total Literacy campaign has made increasing strides by taking into its fold areas which are educationally very backward. The focus of these campaigns is now being increasingly concentrated in the northern states where bulk of the illiterate population resides.
1.2.10 To assess the present position of school education facilities in the country, the Sixth All India Educational Survey is being conducted through NCERT, NIC and State level agencies during this financial year with 30th September, 1993 as the reference date. The National Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of Prof. Yashpal submitted its Report on 15.7.1993 to suggest ways and means to reduce the academic burden on school students.
1.2.11 In pursuance of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments regarding Panchayati Raj and Nagar Palika institutions the Department took immediate initiatives for preparation of guidelines for states for introduction of decentralised management structures in education. It is expected that the introduction of decentralised management structures would enhance community participation in education. This will definitely result in higher participation in education by all sections of society and improved quality of education.
1.2.12 Vocationalisation of Secondary Education has been a major thrust area in school education. The scheme of Vocationalisation of Secondary Education at plus Two level was started in February, 1988 with the objective of providing diversification of
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educational opportunities so as to enhance individual employability, reduce mismatch between demand and supply of skilled manpower and providing an alternative for those pursuing higher education without. particular interest or purpose. it is hoped that by the end of 1995 it will be possible to achieve NPE target of 10% diversion. In addition a scheme of pre-vocational education at the lower secondary stage has been started from 1993-94 to prepare students in class IX and X for participation in work as a desired dimension of academic education. It is proposed to cover 1000 schools during the VIIIth Plan.
1.2.13 Women's education has always been a priority area and NPE envisages the entire educational system to work for women's education and empowerment. It has been emphasized that gender concerns must be built into all educational processes. Emphasis has been laid on enrollment and retention of the girl child in formal and non-formal schooling, recruitment of rural women as teachers and removal of gender bias in the curriculum. Special provisions have been incorporated in various schemes; e.g. the revamped Blackboard Scheme provides that atleast 50% of the teachers recruited should be women; under NFE programme 90% assistance is given for centres exclusively for girls. A new scheme for strengthening of boarding and hostel facilities for girl students of secondary and higher secondary schools was launched during the current year with the objective of boosting retention of girls. Under the scheme assistance is provided to existing girl's hostels or boarding houses run by voluntary agencies for food, furniture, utensils, recreational aids, etc. The Mahila Samakhya Project launched in April, 1989, which presupposes that Education can be a decisive intervention toward women's equality, has been quite successful. This strategy is being incorporated in some other basic education projects. There has been phenomenal expansion of educational opportunities for women in the field of higher education - both general and technical.
1.2.14 With a view to accentuating the educational development of minorities, an Area Intensive Programme for educationally backward minorities has been launched. To begin with, the programme would focus on the districts which have a concentration of educationally backward minorities.
Department of Culture 1.3.1 The preservation, promotion and enrichment of the Cultural traditions of the country is the vital concern of the Department of Culture. The Department has sought to maintain the vibrancy of these traditions through a network of institutions and initiating new schemes encompassing a wide range of activities including excavation, conservation, protection of monuments of historic sites, developing libraries, museums, promoting literary, plastic and performing arts, facilitating and awarding talents in the cultural field. These are only a few of the various activities undertaken by the Department of culture to make people aware of the rich cultural heritage of the country.
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The Department in its efforts to bring the people of India, enter into Cultural Exchange Programme with various countries and organises cultural festival of other countries. In the following paragraphs some of the important activities and achievements of Department of Culture during 1993-94 have been presented.
1.3.2 During the year 1993-94, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) took up around 500 monuments for conservation and preservation in different parts of the country, out of which about 250 works were specially identified for comprehensive conservation works. The ASI teams continued its works on preserving and conserving the monuments of' Angkorvat, Combodia, which has been commended by internationally recognised Archaeologist and conservationists. A large number of sites and remains ranging from pre-historic to the medieval times has been discovered by the ASI in different parts of India. Exploration work in a number of sites including Parbati and Utangan river valley in District Dholpur and prehistoric sites in North Eastern States were carried out. At Lalkot in Delhi the ASI has unearthed the first fortified capital of Delhi, constructed in the middle of the 11th Century A.D. by Tomar ruler Anang Pal-II. The clearance operations of Gingee Fort in South Arcot district Tamil Nadu has revealed the palace of 16th century, a subterranean passage and a throne platform. An elliptical structure with flight of steps has been found at Mamallapuram, Tamilnadu which has a one line inscription indicating that it was built by famous Pallava King Narasimha Verman III (695-722 AD) popularly called as Rajasimha.
1.3.3 The Indian Museum, Calcutta during the Year, organised an exhibition of Buddhist art objects depicting the life and message of Lord Buddha in the Fine Arts Museum of Mongolia. It organised another exhibition "On the way to Buddha" in Singapore with about sixty outstanding and representative art objects showing various aspects of Buddha's life. The National. Museum, New Delhi organised a special exhibition on Raja Ravi Verma's paintings, drawings and Oleographs. A new gallery completely renovated and redesigned on Tribal life style of North East was also inaugurated. Under INDO-US Subcommission on Education and Culture the National Museum, sent 16 stone sculptures to Asia Society Gallery, New York for installing an exhibition entitled "Gods, Guardian and Lovers: Temple sculptures from North India". The National Council of Science Museums, Calcutta got the coveted "Dibner Award" for the year 1993 from the Society for the History of Technology, US for its exhibit "The Information Revolution" installed in National Science Centre at Delhi.
1.3.4 The Libraries, under the Department of Culture continued its activities of procurement of books/journals & providing Readers services besides their literary activities. The Central Secretariat Library under its Mahabharath data base project converted around 30,000 slokas into machine readable form.
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1.3.5 The Anthropological Survey of India has initiated steps for publication of its Report "People of India". The entire gamut of information that has been generated under this project has resulted in the production of 43 volumes of which 11 are National and 32 are State series. During the Year, the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya organised a symposium on the "People perspective in visual Anthropology". It plans to organise an international meet "Eternal Voyage" on Tribal and Analogous peoples. Academic meet on "Cultural Heritage of Tribal People" was organised at Ooty, Shillong and many other places. The Sangrahalaya also organised a programme on living Indian traditions of pottery and terra-cotta comprising of a potters meet, a workshop and symposium, in which over 40 potters from different parts of India participated and demonstrated their traditional techniques.
1.3.6 The Sahitya Akademi, the national academy of literature has published 140 titles and organised 29 Book Exhibitions during the Year. Besides, 27 literary forum meetings and "5 meet the Author" meetings have also been organised by the Akademi. The Sangeet Akademi, the National Academy for music, dance and drama organised a Kathakali Mahotsavam in Delhi, which included 10 plays by representative Kathakali playwrights providing a comprehensive picture of Kathakali tradition as performed today. The Academy besides organising 4 Zonal theaters, is planning to organise a Yuva Natya Samorah, the national theatre Festival for young Directors, featuring selected plays staged in the four Zonal festivals during the year 1993-94. The Lalit Kala Akademi, the National Academy for Art, participated in the 6th Asian Art Biennale held at Dhaka, Bangladesh. In collaboration with the Embassy of France it organised an Exhibition of paintings, sculptures and prints in New Delhi. The Reportory company of National School of Drama performed Muavze in Lucknow. The company also organised Summer Drama Festival.
1.3.7 During the Year, it was decided to set up a Cultural complex at Guwahati, named "Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra" with central assistance of Rs. 10.00 crore over a period of time. It is hoped that this will meet the long standing demand of the people of Assam in preserving the cultural heritage "Assam Accord" signed few years back.
1.3.8 In order to meet the long standing demand of the Cultural Community, the Department proposes to set up a Multi Arts National Cultural Complex, in Delhi which will serve as nerve centre of the cultural and creative activities of the city. The complex, which has been named as PARISAR will be equipped with all the facilities, matching international standards wherein facilities for holding seminars, exhibitions, theatre, performing arts including ballet etc. will be available at one place.
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Department of Youth Affairs & Sports
Youth Programmes 1.4.1 The Department of Youth Affairs and Sports is implementing a number of schemes of Youth Development. The Schemes are designed keeping in view the fact that youth is the most vital human resource of the Nation on whom the present and future of the country depend. Many new initiatives taken during the Year have given a new thrust to the Youth programmes for channelising the abundant energy of the Youth into constructive activities. The important ones are enumerated below.
1.4.2 The scheme for Promotion of Adventure has been redesigned to include a large number of adventure activities on land, sea and air. On the one hand, certain entitlements under the scheme have been increased. on the other, the procedure for taking assistance from the Department has been simplified.
1.4.3 For giving recognition to adventure activities, three Adventure Awards at par with the Arjuna Awards have been introduced from this Year.
1.4.4 It has been decided to establish Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development at Sriperumbudur as an apex institution and resource agency for providing training, research, documentation and extension services on various subjects related to youth. The Prime Minister of India laid the foundation stone for the campus of the institute at Sriperumbudur on 1st September, 1993.
1.4.5 An Action Plan has been formulated for the Nehru Yuva Kendras emphasising decentralisation at the programme implementation level. Such decentralisation will help devising new programmes keeping in mind the local conditions and needs.
1.4.6 The Silver Jubilee Year of the NSS, One of the largest student Youth programme for community service and personality development of students, was launched by the Prime Minister of India on 24th September, 1993. Many programmes to be implemented during the year have been devised to involve the students in various developmental activities. The major health related programme- Universities Talk AIDS- has been expanded to cover 158 universities where the NSS units exist.