OVERVIEW
Allocation of funds and their use 2.1.0 A budget provision of Rs. 2159.33 crore was made for Education in the Central sector during the year 1993-94. Out of this Rs. 850.03 crores was under Non-Plan and Rs. 1309.30 crore under plan.
Elementary Education 2.2.1 In the field of Elementary Education, providing access for all School-age children to primary education by 2000 AD, remains a major challenge. Even though the net enrolment ratio at present is above 80%, unviersalizing access would necessitate augementation of school buildings, teachers and instructional materials. The other important areas are reduction in drop out rates and improvement in achievement of essential levels of learning. A programme of Action has been drawn up and financial allocation, both at the central and state levels for Elementary Education, have been enhanced considerably.
Secondary Education 2.3.1 In order to actualise the recommendation in para 8.3.1 of POA, 1992 for formulating a special enabling plan to ensure increased enrolment of girls in secondary education and the NPE directive for encouraging NGO participation, it has been decided to launch a new Central Sector Scheme titled "Scheme for Strengthening of boarding/hostel facilities for girl students of secondary/higher secondary schools" in the VIII Plan period. The primary aim of the Scheme is to give a boost to retention of girls in High and Higher Secondary Schools, particularly in rural areas. This Scheme, launched in 1993-94, will provide recurring assistance for food and non- recurring assistance for furniture, utensils and recreational aids in the existing girls hostels or boarding houses run by the voluntary agencies. The assistance under the Scheme will be provided to girl inmates of such hostels or boarding houses who are the students of classes IX-XII of recongnised schools.
2.3.2 Proper educational planning at grassroot level with a view to achieve a balanced growth of expansion of educational facilities in all areas, rural and urban, requires critical statistical data of institutions, habitation-wise access,enrollment, physical facilities, teachers and their qualification etc. This data-base is particularly necessary for implementation of various Centrally Sponsored Schemes and Programmes. It has been decided to conduct the 6th All India Educational Survey, through a collaborative mechanism comprising NCERT, NIC and the state level agencies. Extensive use of computer network will be adopted to build up a database at the State/UT level to facilitate annual update of educational data even after the Survey is over. The total estimated expenditure on this Survey is Rs. 666.60 lakhs.
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The date of reference of the 6th AIES is 30th September, 1993. The concise report of the Survey is expected to be available by 30.11.94 and the main report by 30.6.95.
2.3.3 With a view to have a fresh look at the problem of academic burden on the school students, the Ministry set up a National Advisory Committee in March, 1992 under the chairmanship of Prof. Yash Pal former chairman, UGC. The report of the Committee was submitted on 15.7.93 to the Ministry. To analyse the recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee, a group was formed in the Ministry to give its views on the feasibility of implementing these recommendations. The MHRD Group finalised its report on 1.10.93. The reports of both the Yash Pal Committee and the Group were placed in the CABE meeting on 15.10.93 where it was decided to have a nation-wide debate with composite groups of parents/teachers etc. before CABE considers it and formulates its advice to the Government.
2.3.4 The Centrally -Sponsored Scheme "Environmental orientation to School Education" has been modified. The scope of the Scheme has been enlarged to cover review and development of curricula of various desciplines at secondary and senior secondary levels as well with a view to infusing environmental concepts therein. The modified Scheme envisages assistance to State/UTs for organisation of workshops/seminars to review the strategy for imparting Environmental Education at upper primary level.
2.3.5 In addition to the scheme of vacationalisation of Secondary Education at plus two level 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.
Adult Education 2.4.0 The Total Literacy Campaigns which are area-specific, timebound, volunteer- based and result oriented are now the dominant strategy under the National Literacy Mission. The most unique feature that has emerged from these campaigns is that it is a joint effort of the Central and State Governments on the One hand and the district authorities combined with the community support on the other. As of February, 1994, 258 districts have been covered by the Total Literacy Compaigns and 80 districts by Post Literacy Campaigns. For the fourth year in row the UNESCO has awarded the Noma Prize to the Indian National Fedration of UNESCO Clubs and Association (INFUCA) and also awarded the Hon'ble Mention to the Bhavnagar Zilla Saksharta Samiti.
Technical Education 2.5.0 Some of the significant events in the field of Technical Education are as under:-
i) Under the programme of modernisation and removal of
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obsolescene in technical education, 225 projects were supported with financial assistance amounting to Rs. 18.00 crores.
ii) The World bank Assisted project to support technician education is estimated to cost Rs. 1650.00 crores including World bank Credit Assistance of Special Drawing Rights 373.3 million over the period 1990-99. The project under two phases covers 17 States and 2 Union Territories involving 539 polytechnics. The State of Goa was added to phase one w.e.f July 1993. The polytechnics in the remaining States and UTs are pro- posed for World Bank Assistance within the overall framework and flexibility built into the project.
iii) The number of Community Polytechnics for meeting the needs of rural sector has gone up to 232. These institutions would train on an average over 40,000 rural Youth every year. The Community Polytechnics have set up extension centres in the far-flung rural areas so that the services and facilities could be made available through the system at the door step of the villages.
iv) The Boards of Apprenticeship Training facilitated training of over 20,367 students.
V) A full time Chairman has been appointed for the All India Council of Technical Education. The AICTE has been reconstituted. A Task Force has been appointed on regional basis to clear the backlog to cover a large number of pending proposals in all the regions. During the Year, AICTE approved 174 new institutions and 822 new courses and programmes to be introduced in the existing as well as new technical and management institutions.
University and Higher Education 2.6.1 There has been a steady growth of higher education system in the country since independence. The number of Universities has increased from 25 at the time of independence to 221 (including 34 deemed universities) and the number of colleges from 700 to about 8000 in the beginning of 1993-94. The enrolment of students has increased from 2 lakhs to 48 lakhs in 1992-93. Of the total enrolment of 48.05 lakhs in 1992-93, 42.33 lakhs (88.1%) enrolled in graduate programmes, 4.56 lakhs (9.5%) in post-graduate and research programmes. The enrolment of women students at the beginning of 1993-94 was 15.90 lakhs as againsgt 15.12 lakhs in the previous year.
2.6.2 There has been a perceptible change in the trend in the growth of student enrolment during 1980s. While student enrolment increased by over 5% average each year upto 1985-86, the
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annual compound rate of growth of enrolment during the period 1988-89 to 1992-93 was 4.2%. The average decadal growth rate of enrolment during 1983-84 to 1992-93 was close to 4.4% as compared to 3.8% recorded in the earlier decade (1973-74 to 1982-83). It is estimated that if this rate of growth continues the total enrolment at the end of the 8th Five Year Plan should be around 60 lakh students.
2.6.3 The faculty-wise break up of students shows that nearly 40.4% of students were enrolled in Arts and Humanities, 21.9% in Commerce, 19.6% in Science, 4.9% in Engineering and Technology, 5.3% in Law and 5.6% in other faculties.
2.6.4 There has been considerable enthusiasm for Distance Education system in the last 3-4 years. Student enrolment at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) for various programmes of study during the year 1993-94 is likely to be over 80,000. With this, the aggregate enrolment of students in the University is likely to be 2.30 lakhs. One of the thrust areas during the 8th Plan period would be to achieve additional enrolment of 1 million students in open university and distance education institutions.
International Cooperation 2.7.1 India hosted an Education For All Summit of Nine High Population Countries in New Delhi on 16 December 1993. The summit was attended by the President of Indonesia, Prime Minister of India, Deputy Prime Minister of China and the Education Ministers as special representatives of the Heads of State or Government of six other countries Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan.
2.7.2 India hosted the second meeting of the International Consultative Forum on Education for All from 8-10 September, 1993 in New Delhi. The central theme of the! meeting was quality of Education for All and was centred around four topics i.e. early childhood, improving schooling, improving non-formal education programmes and financing quality based education. The Forum was attended by 80 principal invitees comprising of policy makers, development practioners, educators, other professionals together with representatives of developing countries, inter-governmental agencies and NGOs, etc.
2.7.3 Measures were taken to strenghten external academic relations by close monitoring of the implementation of the education component of more than 60 bilateral Cultural Exchange Programmes and other collaborative arrangements.
2.7.4 Mother Teresa was conferred with 1992 UNESCO Peace Education Prize by Director General, UNESCO Mr. Federico Mayor at Calcutta.
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Languages Development 2.8.1 Government India continued the Scheme of Assistance to State Governments to meet the salary of Hindi Teachers Training Colleges were financially supported. These institutions have provided training to about 1,360 trainees.
2.8.2 The Central Hindi Directorate has offered correspondence courses for teaching Hindi in regional languages to about 14,674 persons.
2.8.3 The Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore continued its programme of training of teachers from Hindi speaking areas in Modern Indian Languages.
2.8.4 The Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL), Hyderabad played an effective role in coordinating the activities of the English Language Teaching Institutions. CIEFL also monitored the schemes of Saturation Training of English Language Teachers through District Centres.
2.8.5 A Committee on the Establishment of Urdu University which was constituted in September, 1992 to consider in detail all aspects of the proposed university and make suitable recommendations in this regard to the Government has submitted its report on 12.6.1993.
2.8.6 A Committee on the International Hindi University which was constituted in July, 1992 to advise the Government on setting up the proposed International Hindi University in the country has submitted its report on 1.5.1993.
2.8.7 A new Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Financial Assistance for Appointment of Modern Indian Language Teachers (other than Hindi) in Hindi Speaking States/Union Territories was launched.
2.8.8 Reconstituted Central Sanskrit Board had its first meeting under the Chairmanship of Justice Ranganath Mishra.
2.8.9 Another important scheme viz. Modernisation of Madarsa Education was also launched during the year. Under this Scheme, grant for teaching Science, Mathematics, etc. as well as for purchase of books of Science/Mathematics kits would be given.
De-centralised Management of Education 2.9.1 The Central Advisory Board of Education resolved that in pursuance of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, immediate action and measures need to be taken by all State Governments and UT Administrations for introducing De-centralised Management Structures in education so as to facilitate achievement of the national goals in the field of education. The CABE endorsed the recommendations of the CABE Committee on Decentralised Management of Education and commended them for appro-
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priate adaptation and effective implementation by the States and UTs keeping in view their specific situations as well as the spirit of the constitutional Amendments.
Education of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 2.10.0 Thrust continued on removal of disparities and equalisation of educational opportunities for Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes.
Education of minorities 2.11.0 A new scheme with a area intensive approach was introduced for advancement of educational opportunities of areas with a concentration of educationally backward minorities.
Resources for Education 2.12.0 The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices for the Year 1991-92 is estimated to be Rs. 541888 crores. The revised budget of the Education Departments in the Centre and the States/UTs for the same Year i.e. 1991-92 was Rs. 19009.29 crores. This investment is of the order of 3.5% of the GDP.
Twenty Point Programme 2.13.0 The Department of Education is the nodal Department for monitoring the half yearly progress on point No. 10 of TPP-1986. Under this point, the progress in elementary education and adult education is monitored in physical as well as financial terms with respect to predetermined physical targets. The progress Report in respect of State/UTs are sent to Ministry of Programme Implementation half Yearly.
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