INTRODUCTION
Background A Core Group on Open Education to review and
recommend appropriate measures for development of Open
Education during the 8th Plan was set up by the Planning
Commission on 6th December, 1991, under the Chairmanship
of Dr. (Mrs.) Chitra Naik, Member, Planning Commission. A
gist of the Office Order setting out the composition and terms
of reference of the Core Group may be seen at Annexure I.
The Core Group held an informal meeting of Delhi
based Members on 4th December, 1991. Its first full meeting
was held at Pune on 13th December. 1991 and the final meeting
on 2nd January, 1992 in Delhi when it concluded its delibera-
tions. The Core Group had the advantage of consultation with
a few selected experts who were called on 2nd January, 1992 as
special invitees. The Report of the Core Group was finalised
shortly thereafter, for presentation to the Deputy Chairman,
Planning Commission.
The Open Learning system in India has been evolving
gradually over the past few decades. But the urgent needs of
India's changing socio-economic scene as witnessed at present
call for greater attention to openness and flexibility in the edu-
cational system. The relevance of OLS has been clearly brought
out in the key-paragraph No.3.11 of NPE, 1986. At the pre-
sent juncture. OLS derives a special significance from the ob-
servations of the Prime Minister and of the Deputy Chairman
Planning Commission at the National Development Council
Meeting held on 23 - 24, December, 1991. The directional
paper for the 8th Plan makes the future thrust of education quite
perceptible. As the framework of the Report is derived from
these observations, they are quoted below :
NPE-1986 "3.11 Life-long Education is a cherished goal of the
educational process. This presupposes universal literacy. Op-
portunities will be provided to the youth, housewives, agricul-
tural and Industrial workers and professionals to continue the
education of their choice, at the pace suited to them. The future
thrust will be in the direction of open and distance learning. "
Extract from PM's "Our foremost objective today is to generate adequate
Speech employment. This is the pre-condition for eradication of pov-
erty. But this will be possible only when the young men and
women in the age of employment are imparted the skills and
competence which make them employable. In other words,
educational pyramid should be so planned that within the 8th
Plan every child schooling upto levels where em-
ployability is acquired. The base of pyramid, i.e. the elemen-
tary should be fully covered while the middle and higher levels
are enabled to impart technical and managerial levels commen-
surate with market requirements, ensuring in the process a full
array of competences for self- employment to serve the expand-
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ing needs of the society. Illiteracy should be eradicated in the
next five years in the age group 15 to 35 years."
Extract from Dy. Chair-
"At the senior school level, we have to widen our
man's Speech: reach by providing an open channel of education to those who
do not have access to regular institutions because of socio-eco-
nomic and locational constraints and those who have already
entered the world of work but are keen to improve their skills
and income generating capacity. In addition to conventional
institutions, we will also concentrate upon the setting up of
Open Schools during the 8th Plan."
Design of Report The design of the Report is as follows :
We first deal with the concept of Open Learning so as
to impart requisite clarity to the subsequent discussion. After
glancing at the global perspective, we trace the Indian antece-
dents beginning with the recommendations of the Indian Educa-
tion Commission (1964-66) which are relevant even to-day.
Thereafter, the rationale for Open Learning is discussed with
reference to its clientele, various programmes, organisational
factors and financial matters. Our basic recommendations
emerge from these discussions.
The Report has five Annexures. In the first three,
apart from indicating the composition of the Core Group and its
Terms of Reference, we have given the gist of points made by
experts as also recommendations relating to Open Learning
culled out in NPE, 1986 and 8th Plan Working Groups. Some
case-studies of training schemes are attached as Annexure IV.
An outline of a project which could be taken up in a backward
State (Manipur) is given in Annexure V.
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