EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS
GENERAL EDUCATION:
Introduction: 11.1.1 It is now universally acknowledged that the goal of Plan efforts is human development, of which human resource development is a necessary pre-requisite. Education is the catalytic factor, which leads to human resource development comprising better health and nutrition, improved socioeconomic opportunities and more congenial and beneficial natural environment for all. There is already enough evidence in India to show that high literacy rates, especially high female literacy rates, are associated with low rates of population growth, infant mortality and maternal mortality besides a higher rate of life expectancy. Although the country has not so far achieved the goals of universalisation of elementary education (UEE) and eradication of adult illiteracy (EAI), the 1991 census results reveal a literacy rate of over 52 per cent, with a higher rate of growth for female literacy. This is highly encouraging and the country can hope to achieve the broader goal of `Education for All' (EFA) by 2000 AD, which has incidentally received international recognition at the world conference on EFA held at Jomtien in March, 1990. The commitment of the Government to the National Policy on Education (NPE), implemented from 1986-87 onwards and reviewed in 1990, has been reaffirmed with revised for mutation in respect of a few paras, placed before the Parliament on 7.5.1992. On the eve of Eighth Plan, therefore, the country is poised to make a real breakthrough in achieving its long- cherished educational goals as well as in supporting the drive for higher rate of economic growth.
Plan Performance Review (1985-92): 11.1.2 The development of education in terms of institutions and enrolment from 1984-85 onwards is indicated in the Annexure 11.1.
Elementary Education 11.1.3 The Seventh Plan gave over-riding priority for the realisation of the objective of UEE by 1990. It was estimated that for achieving the goal, over 5 crores additional children would have to be enrolled. By 1991-92, however, about 2.53 crores were actually enrolled in the formal system and even after taking account of 0.72 crores in the non-formal system, the target could not be achieved. At the end of 1991-92, the gross enrolment at the primary and upper- primary stages is likely to have reached 10.09 crores and 3.44 crores respectively. The details of enrolment at the elementary stage are given in the following table:
Table 11.1 Enrolment in Elementary Education: Additional and
Cumulative Achievement During 1985-92
(Figures in Crores)
Sl. System/Stage 7th Plan Annual Plans Cumulative
No. (1985-90) (1990-91 & Enrolment at
Addnl. 1991-92the end of
Achivt. Addnl. Achivt.1991-92
1. Formal: 1.95 0.58 13.53
a) Primary 1.34 0.36 10.09
b) Upper primary 0.61 0.22 3.44
2. Non-formal: 0.64 0.08 0.72
Total 2.59 0.66 14.25
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The latest data show that in 1990-91, the gross enrolment ratio (GER) had reached 101.03 per cent at the primary stage and 60.4 per cent at the upper primary stage. Considering that the number of overage and underage children in the GER data was in the range of 16-23 per cent and the dropout rate for primary stage in 1987-88 was 46.97 per cent and for elementary stage as a whole 62.29 per cent, we are clearly far away from the goal of universal enrolment and retention, much less achievement.
11.1.4 The strategies of the Seventh Plan underwent a change in the middle of the Plan period with the adoption of the NPE in 1986. The new thrust in elementary education emphasized the aspects of: (i) universal enrolment and universal retention, and (ii) substantial improvement in the quality of education. As part of implementation of NPE, the new scheme of `Operation Blackboard' (OB) was launched. Besides,the scheme of Non-Formal Education (NFE) was revised and a number of schemes for teacher education were also taken up. By March, 1992, the scheme of OB covered about 80 per cent of the blocks and 49 experimental, innovative NFE projects were sanctioned. There were 27,342 NFE centres run by 419 voluntary agencies and there were 2.72 lakh State-run NFE centres.
Teacher Education 11.1.5 In 1987-88, a Centrally-Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for restructuring and reorganisation of teacher education was started, which included Mass Orientation of School Teachers (MOST), strengthening of Secondary Teacher Education Institutions (STEIs), State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), setting up of District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) and estab- lishment and strengthening of Institutes of Advanced Studies in Education (lASE) in Universities. Between 1987-88 and 1991-92, 12.96 lakh teachers were covered under the scheme of MOST and Central assistance was extended to set up 287 DIETs, 25 STEIs and 12 IASEs. The scheme of strengthening SCERTs (lid not, however, make headway.
Adult Education 11.1.6 The NPE and the Programme Of Action (POA) envisaged that the Adult Education programme (AEP) would cover 4 crore illiterates by 1990 and another 6 crores by 1995. With the launching of the National Literacy Mission (NLM) in 1988, the targets were reformulated and strategies recast. Accordingly, 3 crores illiterates were expected to be covered by 1990 and 5 crores by 1995. While Rural Functional Literacy Programme (RFLP), the post-literacy the teaching-learning process were modified, new strategies like area-specific and time- bound approach to achieve 100 per cent total literacy (TL), massive participation of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and students and effective utilisation of traditional and folk theatre forms in literacy work were evolved. By 1991-92, the post-literacy programme was institutionalised in the form of 32,000 Jan Shikshan Nilayams (JSN). Apart from the introduction of Improved Pace and Content of Learning (IPCL) method, which reduced the duration of learning from 500 to 200 hours, technology demonstration programmes were initiated in 42 selected districts. The scheme of Shramik Vidyapeeths (SVs) was reviewed, suggesting a need for expansion. The number of State Resources Centres (SRCs) increased from 19 to 20. A National Institute of Adult Education (NIAE) was set up in January, 1991 to augment the technical and academic resource support to adult education and to undertake quality research and evaluation studies.
11.1.7 Area-specific and time-bound mass campaigns for TL first launched in Kottayam town and Ernakulam district in Kerala in 1989 with the active participation of students and voluntary agencies have been extended to other districts. By March 1992, twenty-five districts had achieved total literacy (in the sense of 85 per cent literacy) and TL campaigns were' at different stages of progress in 80 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pardesh and West Bengal covering over 3 crore illiterates with the help of about 30 lakh volunteers.
Secondary Education 11.1.8 As part of NPE, new CSSs for vocationalisation of higher secondary stage, improvement of science education and environmental orientation to school education were started. The
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new Central schemes of Navodaya Vidyalayas (NVs) and National Open School (NOS) were also initiated. The existing schemes of Integrated Education, Educational Technology and Computer Literacy Studies (CLASS) Project were strengthened.
11.1.9 By the end of 1991-92, about 8.7 per cent of the higher secondary students (5.85 lakhs) would have been diverted to vocational stream. The Open School affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was converted into an autonomous NOS in 1989 and by 1991-92, the total enrolment was in the neighbourhood of 1.50 lakhs. Under the CLASS Project, 2,598 schools were equipped with computers, with 60 institutes providing resource support to these schools. As many as 275 NVs designed to provide good quality school education to talented rural children have been established in 29 States/Union Territories. As on March 31, 1991, there were 64,517 students in the NVs and the pass percentage of the first batch, which took Class X examination was 95.77. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) brought out the National Curriculum Framework for all stages of education and undertook a massive revision of text books for classes I-XII on the basis of the revised syllabi designed as per the framework.
Other Programmes 11.1.10 The Central language institutions relating to Hindi, Indian Languages, English, Urdu, Sanskrit and Foreign Languages implemented a variety of schemes relating to training of language teachers, publication of language teaching materials,assistance to voluntary organisations, support for Urdu Calligraphy Centres etc. The National Book Trust (NBT) was involved in the work relating to preparation of literature for neo-literates under the NLM and preparation of a Central list of books for the libraries of 5.5 lakhs primary schools under the OB Scheme. The NBT's Nehru Bal Pustakalya and Adan-Pradan Schemes have also made a mark. Besides continuing the schemes relating to national scholarships and scholarships for the talented children from the rural areas, in 1988-89 a new scheme for upgradation of merit of SC/ST students through remedial and special coaching was started as part of NPE.
Eighth Plan Thrust Areas 11.2.1 Universalisation of elementary education, eradication of illiteracy in the age group of 15 to 35 and strengthening of vocational education (VE) so as to relate it to the emerging needs in the urban and rural settings are the major thrust areas of the Eighth Plan in the Education Sector. Utilisation of formal, non-formal and open channels of learning would be the strategy for this purpose. The changed approach, improved methodology of teaching, increased participation of NGOs and student volunteers have infused a new vitality into the literacy programme and have given it a fresh momentum. The aim would be to impart a similar vitality and momentum to the universal primary education programme with a definite edge in its favour. The programmes of AE and UEE are complementary and there are situations where the Elementary Education (EE) programmes may benefit from the spin-off effect of the AE programmes. The improvement in the literacy percentage in the decade 1981-91, after allowing for statistical adjustment due to the exclusion of age group 0 to 6 is as much due to the higher literacy rate of school age cohorts and attrition of old-age cohorts with low level of literacy as to the special efforts on the AE front. The need for according the highest priority to UEE is, therefore, well-established. Within the overall school-age population, the focus would be on girls, who account for two-thirds of target, and among adults the focus would be on women's literacy which has a beneficial impact on children's literacy as well as other national objectives like population control and family welfare.
11.2.2 So far as UEE is concerned, the NPE stress on retention, participation and achievement, rather than mere enrolment, would be reinforced. Enrolment data are easily available and enrolment is a pre-condition for any further action. However, special attention would be paid to increase retention, improvement of quality, specification of minimum levels of learning (MLL) and their attainment by the learners.
11.2.3 In regard to literacy, the emphasis would be on sustainability of literacy skills gained and on the achievement of goals of remediation, continuation and application of skills to actual living and working conditions.
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Table 11.2 Elementary Education: Projected Enrolment for Eighth Plan
(1992-97)
(Figures in Crores)
Sl. Stage Population by Population with Enrolment Addnl. Population
No. 1997 overage/ underage achieved upto to be enrolled by
children 1991-92 1997
Total Female Total Female Total Female Total Female
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1. Elem.Edn 16.64 8.09 19.14 9.30 13.53 5.54 5.61 3.76
(67%)
a) Primary(I-V) 10.53 5.12 12.11 5.89 10.09 4.24 2.02 1.65
(82%)
b) Upper Primary 6.11 2.97 7.03 3.41 3.44 1.30 3.59 2.11
(VI-VIII) (59%)
11.2.4 In view of the employment orientation of the Plan and the need to establish meaningful linkages between the world of work and the world of learning, VE would be another priority area. This would not be confined to higher secondary stage but permeate the whole arena of secondary education and non-formal education/training. A combination of vocational and academic courses would be offered at secondary stage with open education (OE) as an important channel, preparing the students for wage employment and self-employment. In the service sector, expansion of health-related courses having a rural orientation would be emphasised. In the rural areas, agro-based and technologybased vocational courses would be developed by combining the strengths of existing institutional structures with OE institutions.
Targets 11.3.1 It is estimated that additional enrolment to be achieved during the Eighth Plan to reach universalisation is approximately 5.61 crores children. These data are based on the assumption of 15 per cent incidence of overage/underage phenomenon both at the primary and the upper primary stages. Enrolment of about 4.38 crores would be achieved through formal schools, about 1 crore through non-formal centres and the rest through the open learning channel of upperprimary stage. These targets are much higher than the Seventh Plan achievement. They are, however, within the realm of possibility, if the requisite will and mobilisation of organisational and financial resources are brought to bear on the task and innovative schemes like voluntary primary schools and OE at the upper primary stage are introduced. The NDC Committee on Literacy recently appointed is expected to give a lead in this regard. Working targets in relation to retention and achievement based on institutional capabilties and consultations with State Governments need to be laid down. The details of enrolment targets are given in Table 11.2 and State-wise targets of formal system in Annexure 11.6.
11.3.2 According to the 1991 Census, the number of illiterates in all age-groups is 33.6 crores. It is estimated that there will be 11.2 crore illiterates in the 15-35 age group of whom 70 lakhs would have become literate by the end of March, 1992. Thus, the target to be covered during the Eighth Plan will be about 10.5 crores, compared to the achievement of 2.65 crores during the Seventh Plan. In the context of the emphasis on sustainability of literacy and on continuing education, suitable targets in this regard need to be laid down after consulting State Governments.
11.3.3 In the VE, the target is to cover 15-20 per cent of students of higher secondary stage by the end of Eighth Plan.
Strategies 11.4.1 The main strategy for achieving the targets would be: (a) adoption of the decentralised approach to educational planning and management at all levels through Panchayat Raj (PR) institutions; (b) combining this approach with a convergence model of rural development involving integrated utilisation of all possible resources available at Panchayat, Block and District level for activities relating to elementary education/literacy, child care/development, women's socioeconomic empowerment and rural health programmes; (c) large scale participation of voluntary agencies and (d) development of innovative and cost-effective complementary programmes including open learning system (OLS) supported by distance education techniques.
11.4.2 In specific terms, the following measures will be adopted:
(1) The formal school system will be expanded and improved.
(2) The non-formal system mainly catering to the needs of children working for wages, children working whole-time in domestic or household duties and children in schoolless habitations will be expanded, improved and strengthened in the matter of supply of teaching-learning materials, in- structional delivery and achievements.
(3) A voluntary school scheme will be introduced. At present, elementary education is considered a responsibility of State and local bodies. However, there is scope for providing part-time non- formalised education to a large number of learners who are not able to avail of the facility of formal full-time school or non-formal educa- tion centres. Voluntary agencies would be encouraged in a big way to start non-formal part-time schools, thus catering to the learning needs of urban working children and children in the tribal, hilly and inaccessible areas.
(4) A well-defined open learning system will be developed with a network of educational opportunities relevant to the needs and circumstances of learners, especially girls, women, SCs/STs, and the poor, the unemployed and the untrained. The major thrust of OLS would be on the acquisition of life-skills, vocational skills, directly contributing to productivity and inculcation of habits of self- learning.
(5) The MLL with reference to class III, V and VIII will be laid down for improving learning achievement. The educational system will be required to ensure that every child who completes any of these stages of learning reaches the minimum level of achievement. Measures for improving classroom teaching like introduction of a comprehensive evaluation system and a continuous inservice training of teachers will be taken up simultaneously. The MLL approach will be decentralised, each planning unit being able to determine its present levels of achievement, adopt appropriate MLLs and define a realistic timeframe within which to achieve the mastery level, through additional efforts and inputs where necessary.
(6) District Boards of Education (DBEs) would be set up. They are conceived as the nodal agency for planning and management of education at the district level comprising formal education, AE, NFE and teacher training, vertically linked to Block/ or Mandal Education Committees and Village Education Committees (VECs) in a decentralised framework.
(7) The school complexes would be developed as the basic unit for educational planning, mobilisation and supervision, building organic linkages between educational institutions, DBEs and the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
(8) The involvement of the people in school management would be operationalised by giving VECs a more prominent role in planning and management of educational programmes at local level so that VECs, which know the micro-level problems, needs and expectations of the local community, will be accountable for the enrolment, retention and achievement of children and teachers.
(9) The methodology of Mahila Samakhya (MS) project of mobilising women's groups to voice their needs would be extended in conjunction with the involvement of local community to create a favourable environment to serve as a
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monitoring mechanism for promoting UEE and adult literacy.
(10) The district will be treated as a unit of educational planning in the Eighth Plan. For grant of central assistance under CSSs during Sixth and Seventh Plans, a number of States were characterised as educationally backward. The Gross Enrolment Ratio was considered as a benchmark for the identification of backwardness. It was considered that there is a need for special assistance to the educationally backward States to overcome the historically obtaining disadvantages and also for reduction of regional disparities in educational development. The district-wise data of various indicators of educa- tional development, however, show that the inter-district variations are more significant than the inter-State variations. Moreover, the State is too large and variegated an area to serve as a homogeneous unit for educational planning. Therefore, educationally backward districts would be identified and special inputs would be provided in proportion to the degree of backwardness. The Working Group on early childhood and elementary education had ranked the districts in terms of a composite indicator giving equal weight to four parameters of general/female literacy and general/female GER-primary. Although, almost all districts in the top 200 backward districts were from backward States, there is no guarantee that assistance to backward States will necessarily flow to backward districts within them. During the Eighth Plan, accordingly, the backward districts irre- spective of the State where they are located, will be targetted. A more systematic study to identify the criteria for educational backwardness of districts and the ranking of the districts in terms of the selected indices on the basis of latest Census data, as a basic tool for investment decision would also be initiated.
(11) Special efforts will be made to bring down construction cost of school buildings and other educational structures using available materials and adopting locally relevant architectural styles. Attention will be given as much to full utilisation of resources as to larger allocation e.g. more intensive use of buildings by operation of double shifts in schools and of equipment by inter-institutional sharing.
(12) In the case of teacher education, the stress will be on improving the standard of pre-service teacher education institutions and the quality of its programmes, providing continuing education of a suitable kind to every teacher educator and to a substantial number of teachers and on creation of a system to discourage setting up of sub- standard institutions and phasing out of existing sub-standard ones.
(13) Time-bound, area-specific and cost-effective TL campaigns by involving all sections of society, specially students and non- governmental organisations would be expanded. While the whole adult education programme will be debureaucratised, the strategies of ensuring continued political commitment, strong administrative support, use of traditional and non-traditional media and cultural and art forms will be adopted. Students and teachers of universities, colleges and schools would be involved in a big way not only by awarding marks to students for their literacy work but also by making literacy work as a part of curriculum.
(14) Apart from consolidation, and expansion of secondary education increasingly through the open channel, the stress during the Eighth Plan will be on qualitative upgradation of secondary education through reorientation of its content and process, examination reform, diversification by way of vocationalisation and modernisation by way of technological inputs.
N.B: The revised policy formulation relating to the NPE, 1986 which was placed before parliament on 7th May, 1992 should be kept in view while working out details of programmes under General Education, University and Higher Education and Technical Education.
Programmes 11.5.1 The Eighth Plan is being launched in the backdrop of acceptance by the NDC of the recommendations of the Report of the Narasimha Rao Committee which has removed the uncertainties regarding the continuance of CSSs in Education Sector. All the existing CSSs will be continued. Introduction of new CSSs would require approval of full Planning Commission but they may be taken up in the priority areas when justified.
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Elementary Education 11.5.2 Early Childhood Education (ECE) would be expanded by attaching pre-primary classes to selected primary schools. Voluntary agencies and other NGOs would be encouraged and provided financial assistance by reorganising the scheme of ECE. Integrated Child Devel- opment Scheme (ICDS) model would be supplemented by Balwadis, Creches and Vikas Wadis.
11.5.3 Primary schools or alternatives to primary schools like non- formal centres etc. would be provided to every child within a walking distance of one kilometer, with suitable adjustment for special cases. Voluntary agencies, factories, cooperatives etc. would be encouraged to set up part-time primary schools to serve several groups of children belonging to hilly, desert, marshy, forest areas and nomadic tribes, seasonal migrants, urban poor etc with freedom to adjust the number of school days, instructional hours and appoint teachers on contract basis.
11.5.4 Innovative programmes like Shiksha Karmi which have given good results in an experimental project in Rajasthan would be expanded. Besides, a range of activities that suit the requirements of specific groups of learners, who are usually left out of the ambit of large scale projects, would be taken up. Opening of night schools in urban areas, pre-primary and lower primary centres for children of 3-9 years of age, `half-time' instructors and special projects to tackle educational problems of areas with concentration of child labour would be tried out.
11.5.5 Open schools would involve themselves in the post-primary stage education on an experimental basis to provide wider access to children who are working or not in a position to attend regular schools due to socio-economic or any other reasons.
11.5.6 Special efforts will be made to increase enrolment rates and improve participation rates at the upper- primary stage especially in respect of girls. Hence, while ensuring effective universal access to all children at the primary stage, the infrastructure at the upperprimary stage will have to be considerably expanded.
11.5.7 Besides expansion of school facilities, there will be need to improve the quality of education by providing existing schools with sufficient facilities. Therefore, the "Operation Blackboard" scheme will not only be continued and completed during the Eighth Plan in relation to primary schools but also extended to upper primary schools. The eventual aim would be to move towards a situation where every class has a classroom and a teacher.
11.5.8 In order to expedite universalisation of middle stage education and increase the enrolment of girls,the ratio between primary and upper primary schools would be brought down from the existing 1:4 to at least 1:3 with the ultimate aim of 1:2.
11.5.9 Apart from expanding Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) and Special Component Plan (SCP), special measures are required for promotion of education of SCs/STs. Certain sub-castes, tribes and communities need particular attention because literacy rates among them are extremely low. The existing scheme of residential ashram schools will be expanded to cover classes from I to X and scholarship schemes for talented children at the secondary level would he expanded. This will be supplemented by the scheme of voluntary schools wherever possible. Suitable incentives will be provided to all educationally back-ward sections of society, particularly in rural areas. Hill and desert districts, remote and inaccessible areas and islands will be provided adequate institutional infrastructure. Greater attention will be paid to the educationally backward minorities keeping in view the recommendations of the Empowered Committee on Minority Education (1991).
Incentives and Support Services 11.5.10 A system of incentives to overcome social, economic and educational handicaps, which lead to high incidence of dropout has been an integral part of educational planning for universalisation since long. A recent evaluation of these schemes has made a positive assessment but has also emphasised the need for paying adequate attention to management aspects of the system so that they yield the desired results. A comprehensive package of incentives and support services for girls, SCs, STs and children of the economically weaker sections of society will be provided. The emphasis will be on provision
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of facilities that have special relevance for retention of girls, such as establishment of Day Care Centres for pre-school children and infants, provision of free uniforms, textbooks and stationery, attendance allowance and coordination of support services such as drinking water, fodder and fuel to release children, especially girls as well as women from related domestic chores.
Evaluation 11.5.11 A National Evaluation Organisation (NEO) will be set up to undertake assessment of student learning on national scale on a sample basis to implement the strategy of MLL.
Monitoring of the Progress of UEE 11.5.12 Annual sample studies to estimate the completion rates as envisaged in NPE viz. "number of children of about 11 years of age completing five years of schooling or its equivalent through the formal/non-formal stream" will be undertaken. The data of completion rates and MLL will be used to set targets for the States under the 20- Point Programme also.
11.5.13 A comprehensive computerised institutional and related data base at the district level will be developed so that information, relevant not only to monitor the internal efficiency of the educational system, both formal and non-formal, but also to improve the planning and management at the district level, is available in time. Computerisation would be extended to all districts of the country in phases.
Teacher Education 11.5.14 Statutory status will be accorded to the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) to lay down and maintain standards in institutions and courses. The schemes of DIETs, STEIs and IASEs would be continued and their coverage expanded with a view to strengthening the institutional infrastructure and programmes of teacher education. The scheme for strengthening of SCERTs would be sanctioned and implemented and suitable measures for selection and professional development of staff in SCERTs, DIETs and IASEs will be undertaken. A large number of teachers will be covered through in-service programmes, both institutional and distance education, and reputed professional organisations will be encouraged to conduct inservice and reresher courses for teachers. Open universities at the national and State level will be encouraged to introduce induction teacher training courses to supplement the efforts of the existing training institutions. The bulk of seats in teachers' training colleges would be reserved for rural women.
Adult Education 11.5.15 Literacy programmes will be launched in districts/regions which are educationally backward or have high concentration of SC/ST population or have low female literacy. By the close of the Eighth Plan, 345 districts including about two-thirds of all districts in the educationally backward States would be covered by the TL campaigns, while the centre-based approach would be gradually phased out and confined to hilly, tribal and sparsely populated regions. The strategy for backward districts would be two-fold. First, a few blocks would be selected where the literacy campaign can achieve success within a reasonable period. The demonstration effect of the blocks would influence the backward blocks which, in course of time, could develop appropriate literacy programmes. Secondly,the voluntary base in educationally backward districts being somewhat weak, ways and means of identification, strengthening and expansion of the same would be evolved in consultation with the respective State Governments. It is also necessary to develop technical comptence among voluntary agencies so that the partnership between the Government and the operating agencies becomes meaningful.
11.5.16 The possibility of further enhancing contributions from the community especially in urban areas and industrial towns would be ex- plored so that apart from voluntary service, at least 20 per cent of the total expenditure on the campaign may be met.
11.5.17 In States, where library movement is strong, rural libraries should be integrated with the JSNs which are envisaged as innovative post-literacy and continuing education centres. Reputed NGOs, educational institutions, distinguished individuals, ex- servicemen, war widows, award winning teachers etc. will be encouraged to set up and run JSNs. Particular attention would be paid to the availability of a variety of quality materials in adequate quantity to the neo-literates. Reputed printing presses and publishers would be motivated to print gratis literacy materials, posters and charts.
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11.518 The academic and technical support to Adult Education programmes would be provided by the newly set up NIAE, which would be involved to a greater extent in various aspects of training, action research and monitoring, so that the Directorate of Adult Education can be phased out by the end of the Eighth Plan. At the State level, the State Resource Centres will be strengthened.
11.5.19 The scheme of SVs, which provide a variety of training programme to the industrial workers and their families would be extended to cover workers in unorgnised sector and would also experiment with a variety of training models including distance education .
11.5.20 The contents of adult education would also include inculcation of values like secularism, national integration, scientific temperament, small family norm, concern for environmental conservation, cultural appreciation and so on. Even a society with a literate population is required to provide many avenues for continuing education in the context of the march towards a learning society, in which open schools and open universities would play an important role.
Secondary Education 11.5.21 The expansion of secondary schools would be regulated and new schools opened on selective basis, particularly to cater to the needs of deprived sections like girls and SCs/STs and in rural areas generally. Quality improvement and the raising of the internal efficiency of the existing (10+2) system would be emphasised. While an increasing number of students may like to discontinue their formal studies either temporarily or permanently after 10+2, there would be provision for there re-entry into the education system at a later stage. For this purpose, education would be linked to the world of work by expanding the facilities and improving the quality of vocational education as also provision of subjectwise examination credits.
11.5.22 For widening the reach, an open channel of education would be provided to those who do not have access to regular institutions because of socioeconomic and locational constraints and those who have already entered the world of work but are keen to improve their skills and income generating capacity. Open education programmes will be imparted with the help of multi-media packages and contact centres.
National Open School (NOS) 11.5.23 The NOS will continue its existing programmes and revise the syllabi and textbooks for the secondary/senior secondary courses and bring out a fresh set of instructional materials for the bridge course. It will develop and introduce vocational courses, especially in the areas of health, agriculture and rural development in collaboration with the concerned departments. The coverage is expected to increase progressively with registration of more and more accredited institutions, which now number 191. It should also coordinate and standardize the work of similar State-level mechanisms. The idea of starting state level open schools in all the States as recommended by the Conference of Boards of Secondary Education should be pursued. The NOS is expected to provide programme and resource support to State-level Open Schools. The setting up of a National Consortium on Open Education to facilitate accreditation of courses and of maintenance of quality through a process of networking and evaluation should be pursued by NOS in cooperation with the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).
Vocational Education 11.5.24 The courses which have already been started would be consolidated. Special attention will be given to paramedical vocational courses to meet the needs of health manpower in the Eighth Plan. In addition to vocational courses forming part of the higher secondary courses, efforts would be made to offer varied courses of suitable duration to women, rural and tribal students and deprived sections of society. These courses may be coordinated with the working of Krishi Vigyan Kendras/organisations which offer training for self-employment. Non-formal, flexible and need-based vocational programmes would be made available to neo-literate youth who have completed primary education, to the school dropouts, to persons engaged in work and to the unemployed or partially employed persons. Institutions of Open Education will be actively involved in this area. Suitable programmes would also be started for the handicapped.
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11.5.25 Candidates who have completed vocational courses should have ample opportunities for career improvement and professional growth. For this purpose, bridge courses which would give them an opportunity to take up higher technical and professional courses should be a necessary component.
11.5.26 It is essential that experimental projects with other vocational education models are also tried out, e.g. pre-vocational education at the lower secondary level, exposure to various occupations right from the primary level for attitudinal change etc. It is also proposed to involve major industrial houses and all large projects and to prevail on them to include human resource development as part of project cost. The services of commercial agencies and NGOs will also be utilised.
Other Programmes 11.5.27 The target for the Eighth Plan would be to cover about 200 blocks by following the composite area approach to the planning and implementation of the integrated education for the disabled. Crucial areas like health, physical and art education should be made an integral part of school curriculum and accorded parity with other subjects. It is necessary that the work of NCERT in the area of Value Education is supplemented by work at the State level by SCERTs and measures to enrich teacher education. The CSS for introduction of Yoga in schools should be implemented more effectively and comprehensively. The activities of the National Population Education Project would be directed, in addition to the formal schools, towards the non-formal sector for which the curriculum, material development and facilitator orientation would have to be specially developed. It is proposed to continue assistance to State Institutes of Educational Technology (SIET) and to extend in a phased manner facilities for Educational TV programme production. The government is committed to the establishment of Navodaya Vidyalayas in each of the districts of the country. The construction work for the existing 275 Vidyalayas would be completed. The possibilities of reducing the cost of construction and expenditure towards infrastructure will be explored. The setting up of new NVs in all the remaining districts will be appropriately programmed keeping in view the stipulated target date. In view of the key role of computers in modernisation of Secondary Education, the CLASS Project will be continued in a modified form and would cover 15,000 higher secondary schools by 1997. The project will be implemented with the collaboration of private agencies, with the elements of accountability and monitoring built in. The physical facilities and characteristics of the selected schools will be ascertained prior to the launching of the project. Full-time teachers will be provided for computer literacy by the private organisation and this subject will be taught during the normal school hours unlike the earlier practice of teaching it beyond school hours. The existing schemes of improvement of science education and environmental orientation to school education would be strengthened by improving teacher training inputs. A new scheme for improvement of teaching of Mathematics at school level is being started. The NCERT would undertake Sixth Education Survey and a scheme for examination reforms apart from watching implementation of National Curricular Framework and MLL.
Language Development, Scholarships and Book Promotion 11.5.28 For the implementation of the Three Language Formula in a uniform manner, 100 per cent financial assistance for appointment and training of modern Indian language teachers in Hindi-speaking States is envisaged. The Bureau for Promotion of Urdu would be accorded an autonomous status as per the recommendations of Jafri Committee. The long pending Sindhi Vikas Board would be established. The Education Department would collaborate with the Department of Electronics (DoE) in the project `Technological Development in Indian Languages'. For promotion of classical languages, a national level body is proposed to be set up for maintaining, coordinating and improving teaching of Sanskrit and classical languages as also Arabic and Persian. The potentialities of voluntary Sanskrit organisations for promoting San- skrit learning would be fully utilised by reorganising and developing the existing ones. Vedic learning and its linkage with modern scientific development under the Rashtriya Veda Vidya Prathisthan (Vedic Endownment) will be strengthened. The scheme of scholarships to upgrade the merit of SC/ST students would be revised with respect to number of awards and amount in consultation with State Governments.
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The number of awards under other schemes would be suitably enhanced so as to increase coverage and make them attractive. To foster book mindedness in the country, a Readers' Club Movement would be introduced. The National Book Trust intends to set up a National Centre for Children's Literature with the aim of producing 3,000 titles every year. Under its Adan Pradan Scheme, translations of a large number of significant books from various Indian languages would be brought out. Besides developing manuscripts for neoliterates and school dropouts by organising workshops in various States, the NBT would provide assistance to publishers and voluntary agencies for production of books. The school Library Programme under OB would continue. A National Society of Authors is envisaged to oversee the interests and needs of authors.
Planning & Management and Information & Monitoring 11.5.29 The Eighth Plan would focus on decentralisation of planning and management activities; providing autonomy to educational institutions; building capabilities for the involvement and participation of the stake-holders in the educational process and building up of capabilities and professional competence among the administrators and voluntary associations and NGOs. The State Advisory Board of Education (SABE) would provide strong advisory support for training, research and dissemination of information on methodologies of planning and management strategies appropriate to the State level and to the district-level bodies, namely the. DBEs referred to earlier. The existing bodies like Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), UGC, NCERT and NIEPA would be strengthened. The CABE needs to be reorganised and should have a number of sub-commit- tees to continuously review and monitor the progress in specific areas of education. A standing Committee of CABE on Open Education is proposed to be set up. For streamlining the flow of information and developing the planning capacity at the district level, an Educational Management Information System (EMIS) covering all the districts in the country needs to be operationalised by the end of the Eighth Plan. The National Informatic Centre (NIC) has already developed a comprehensive computer network linking all the districts with computers. There is need to coordinate the working of educational management information system with NIC network. Following steps are also necessary to improve the system of educational statistics:
(1) Compulsory registration of non-recognised educational institutions; (2) More extensive use of sample surveys to monitor the progress in respect of some critical indicators of educational development; (3) Continuation of educational surveys conducted by NCERT by clearly defining their frequency and objectives vis-a-vis other sources of data; (4) Construction of composite indicators of educational development of various States/districts and periodical monitoring of their behaviour; (5) Coordination between various sub- sectoral agencies for sharing of information; (6) Development of a comprehensive methodology and a sound data base on private costs of education to rationalise and to improve the efficiency in the use of financial resources.
Resources and Financial Allocations 11.5.30 The NPE statement that from the Eighth Plan onwards, the outlay on Education would uniformly exceed 6 per cent of the national income would be treated as a guideline for allocation of resources during the Eighth Plan. The present public sector allocation is much lower and requires to be appropriately stepped up. A conscious effort to tap various avenues for raising resources for education needs to be made. In view of the paucity of domestic resources, vigorous efforts to attract external assistance for financing educational programmes, especially priority programmes without compromising country's basic educational policies is necessary. While the external funding would be an additionality to the resources for education, the externally- aided projects would be in total conformity with the national policies, strategies and programmes and drawn up on innovative lines emphasising people's participation, improvement of quality, equality of education and substantial upgradation of facilities. The project formulation would be the responsibility of implementation agencies. At present, India is availing of bilateral assistance for Shiksha Karmi Project in Rajasthan and Mahila Samakhya Project in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka. Within the broad objectives of the Eighth Plan, it is proposed to take up externally-aided projects, both bilateral and multi-lateral in various educationally backward States for promotion of
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basic education which includes: primary schooling, non-formal education, adult literacy, women's education and development and post- literacy and continuing education. Such projects are at various stages of development in respect of Bihar, Rajasthan, U.P. and South Orissa.
11.5.31 The actual expenditure on general education sector in the Seventh Plan was Rs. 6549.57 crores, of which Rs. 2294.57 crores were in the Central Plan and Rs. 4255.00 crores in the State Plan. The outlays and expenditure for Seventh Plan and approved outlays for the Eighth Plan are shown in Annexures 11.3 and 11.7. The requirements of UEE, AE, Vocationalisation and OLS would be the first charge on the outlays.
UNIVERSITY & HIGHER EDUCATION
Review of the Seventh Plan and Annual Plans (1985-92) 11.6.1 Improvement of quality and consolidation continued to be the main concerns in the field of higher education during the Seventh Plan. The enrolment of students in 1991-92 was 44.25 lakhs 36.93 lakhs in affiliated colleges and 7.32 lakhs in university departments. Women students to failed 14.37 lakhs (34.2 per cent) and the enrolment, of SCs/STs was about 10 per cent. The growth of student enrolment which was 5 per cent per annuam upto 1985-86, de- clined from 1986-87 onwards to around 4.1 per cent. The enrolment in the Correspondence Courses and Open Universities at the end of the Seventh Plan was approximately 5 lakh students, out of which the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) alone accounted for more than one lakh students. The number of universities rose to 177, including 29 "deemed" universities. For data see Annexure 11.1.
11.6.2 The NPE had suggested: (1) creation of autonomous university departments and colleges; (2) State Councils of Higher Education (SCHE); (3) enhanced support to research; (4) strengthening of Open Universities (OUs) and Distance Education (DE); (5) consolidation of existing institutions and improvement of quality of teachers and teaching; (6) mechanism for delinking degrees from jobs; (7) establishment of a new pattern of Rural Universities; and (8) establishment of an apex body covering higher education in all areas.
11.6.3 Eleven more colleges were granted autonomous status, thus bringing the total number of such colleges to 106 till December 1991. Under the Academic Staff College Scheme for orientation of newly recruited and in- service college/university teachers, 48 academic staff colleges have been established, which organised 464 Orientation and Refresher Courses covering 12,970 teachers upto December 1991. An SCHE may be elaborated was established in Andhra Pradesh. The University Grants Commission (UGC) provided developmental grants to Central universities and 95 State universities, besides assisting more than 3000 colleges for general development programmes and for im- plementation of special programmes. About 295 departments received special assistance under different programmes such as Centres of Ad- vanced Study (CAS), Departments of Special Assistance (DSAs) and Departmental Research Support. Under the Programme of Coordinated Strengthening of Infrastructure in Science & Technology (COSIST), 112 departments were assisted. To support educational broadcasts, the UGC has set up 7 audio-visual research centres and 7 education media research centres for production of softwares. As many as 2,332 pro- grammes, popularly known as Country-wide Classroom Programmes, have already been produced. A new organisation called Inter-University Consortium of Educational Communication (IUCEC) is being set up. Programmes like Teacher Fellowships and Research Fellowships for SC/ST candidates and remedial teaching for weaker sections including minorities were continued. The UGC provided assistance for instal- lation of mini/macro-Computer Systems to 110 universities and 1216 colleges. In collaboration with the Department of Electronics (DoE), several courses in Computer Science were run. An information and library network called "INFLIBNET" has also been proposed. With a view to providing common research facilities and services of the highest quality, inter-university centres in Nuclear Science, Astronomy & Astrophysics and Atomic Energy were established. The IGNOU widened the access to higher education by providing opportunities to learners from disadvantaged groups like women, people living in backward regions and hilly areas with an enrolment of 1.64 lakhs by March, 1992. The Research Councils - Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) and Indian
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Council of Philosophical Research) (ICPR)continued their activities relating to support of research in respective areas.
Thrust Areas during the Eighth Plan 11.7.1 The higher education system at present suffers from several weaknesses, such as proliferation of substandard institutions, failure to maintain academic calender, outdated curriculum, disparities in the quality of education and lack of adequate support for research. Recent consultations including the "Brain-Storming" session organised by the Planning Commission to consider future directions have underlined the following thrust areas:
(1) Integrated approach to higher education; (2) Excellence in higher education; (3) Expansion of education in an equitable and cost-effective manner, in the process making the higher education system financially self-supporting; (4) Making higher education relevant in the context of changing socioeconomic scenario; (5) Promotion of value education; and (6) Strengthening of management system in the universities.
11.7.2 The strategy for achieving the goals in these thrust areas would be as follows:
1. At present, the higher education, system comprising of general, technical, medical and agricultural streams, is fragmented in terms of structures and policies. Greater cooperation among the streams should be encouraged by promoting networking, sharing of facilities and development of manpower including teachers' training/ orientation facilities. There should be greater coherence in policy and planning. To adequately meet these requirements, the NPE had envisaged the establishment of a National Council of Higher Education (NCHE). This has, however, not made progress so far and a coordination mechanism should be constituted during the Plan period.
2. Several measures will be taken to promote excellence. The NPE/POA proposal for establishment of a National Accreditation Council (NAC) would be followed up. Apart from continuing the existing programmes of CAS/DAS, COSIST and the inter-university centres, IUCEC and the proposed INFLIBNET, new inter-university centres would be established to provide facilities in the emerging areas like Biotechnology, Atmospheric Science, Oceanography, Electronics and Computer Sciences. Facilities for computer education would be further strengthened in collaboration with the Department of Electronics. Model curricula for all disciplines have already been prepared but their implementation needs to be monitored. The suggestions of the Working Group constituted by the Planning Commission to improve undergraduate courses in science and the teaching of mathematics at Indian univer- sities/colleges would be implemented in a phased manner.
3. The additional enrolment in higher education during the Eighth Plan is estimated to be around 10 lakhs of which 9 lakhs will be at the undergraduate level. This expansion in higher education, keeping in view the present resource crunch has to be accommodated in an equitable and cost-effective manner mainly by large-scale expansion of Distance Education system and providing opportunities to larger segments of population, particularly the disadvantaged groups like women and people living in backward and hilly areas and by measures for resource generation. The programmes of Distance Education should absorb at least 50 per cent of the additional enrolment during the Eighth Plan and their cumulative enrolment should reach 15 lakhs, including 5 lakhs adult learners beyond the normal age-group 17-23 who have left school long back. Open universities should also start innovative programmes of a vocational nature for meeting the learning needs of rural areas. Opening of new conventional universities and colleges should not be encouraged. Simultaneously, involvement of voluntary agencies and private sector participation in the opening and conduct of higher education institutions would be encouraged with proper checks to ensure maintenance of
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standards and facilities to make higher education as far as possible self-financing. However, the quality of education is not to be compromised at any cost. Upward revision of fee structure has to be considered but at the same time, the fees charged should not be exhorbitant and should be supplemented by the provision of scholarships and other financial assistance to SCs/STs and students below the poverty line and loans to other students.
4. The tremendous potential of 44.25 lakhs students enrolled in higher education has to be utilised by actively involving them in the programmes of adult literacy, continuing education, population education and other constructive activities. Such extension activities of the universities and colleges would be expanded to cover 95 universities and 2,500 colleges during the Eighth Plan.
5. The significance of Value Education has been highlighted by several committees and commissions on education. The Planning Commission has recently constituted a Core Group on value orientation in education. The recommendations of the Group will be considered for implementation in consultation with the Ministry of Human Resource Development, UGC, Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and NCERT.
6. Stress would also be laid on modernisation and restructuring of the management of university system which entails vigorous pursuit of the programmes of autonomous colleges and autonomous university departments. Facilities in universities and colleges, including research facilities, would be consolidated and strengthened. The schemes of redesigning and restructuring of courses to meet the developmental needs of the country, examination reforms and teachers' training would be expanded.
Other Programmes 11.7.3 The research activities of ICSSR, ICHR, ICPR and Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla will receive specific attention for promotion of inter-disciplinary research. Action to support research in humanities which at present is neglected, would be taken up.
11.7.4 With a view to delinking degrees as a requirement for recruitment to services, the NPE visualised establishing a National Testing Service (NTS) to conduct tests on a voluntary basis and evolving norms of comparable competence across the nation to determine the suitability of candidates for specified jobs. Towards this end, the idea of setting up of an appropriate national organisation will be pursued.
11.7.5 A strong need has also been felt for providing training to personnel dealing with university administration, for which the existing infrastructure will be further strengthened rather than creating a separate organisation.
Financial Allocations 11.8.1 The Seventh Plan's actual expenditure on higher education was Rs. 1201.13 crores, of which Rs. 659.96 was in Central Sector and Rs. 541.17 crores in State Sector. The Eighth Plan outlays are shown in Annexure 11.7.
Conclusion 11.8.2 Strategies, thrust areas and programmes as highlighted above, represent the priorities for implementation during the Eighth Plan. They are by no means exhaustive. Higher education is a vast sector and its significance as a source of new knowledge, research and manpower for preceding stages of education namely, elementary and secondary, should not be minimised. Adequate resources should be mobilised and provided to support the higher education sector so that the nation is fully equipped to face the challenges of the future, which is increasingly becoming information and knowledge-intensive.
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TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Introduction 11.9.1 Technical education including Management education is one of the most potent means for creating skilled manpower required for de- velopmental tasks of various sectors of the economy. Technical education incorporates the technological dimension which is a vehicle for development. While this implies high costs of construction, laboratory equipment, library books and journals and high rate of obsolescence, such high cost, being directly related to development, should be viewed as an essential productive investment, yielding valuable returns to the society and contributing to socioeconomic development.
Plan Performance Review (1985-92) 11.9.2 The Seventh Plan emphasised consolidation and optimum utilisation of existing infrastructural facilities, their upgradation and modernisation, identification of critical areas and creation of infrastructure in new areas of emerging technology, effective management of the overall system and institutional linkages between technical education and other development sectors.
11.9.3 Under the thrust areas programme of technical education 510 projects with a grant of Rs. 53.43 crore were supported for strength- ening of facilities in the crucial areas of technology where weaknesses exist, 685 projects involving a grant of Rs. 76.84 crore were supported for creation of infrastructure in areas of emerging technologies and 202 projects involving of Rs. 27.1 crores were supported for programme of new technologies. A comprehensive report of requirement of instrumentation engineers at national level for the period 1990-2000 has been prepared by the National Technical Manpower Information System (NTMIS). The number of Community Polytechnics (CPs) increased to 159 with an annual training coverage of 20,000 rural youth and women.
11.9.4 The following new schemes were started as part of the implementation of NPE:
(i) Continuing Education: The scheme envisaged preparation and dissemination of course material packages suited to the needs of industry. Under the scheme implemented by 5 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) 4 Technical Training Teach- ers' Institutes (TTTIs), 1 Indian Society of Technical Education (ISTE), 4 engineering colleges/university departments and 4 polytechnics, more than 30,000 working professionals have undergone training.
(ii) Institution-Industry Interaction: Under the scheme, Proposals of 21 engineering colleges and 11 polytechnics have been ap- proved for interaction with the industry.
(iii) Research & Development in Technical Education: 126 R&D Projects were supported.
Eighth Plan Perspective 11.10.1 The perspective of development of technical education for the Eighth Plan would have to take into account the following imbalances and distortions:
(i) During the past four decades, there has been a phenomenal expansion of technical education in the country. Today, we have over 200 recognised technical education institutions (TEIs) at the first degree level and more than 560 polytechnics at the diploma level with annual admission capacities of 40,000 and 80000 students, respectively. About 140 institutions offer facilities for postgraduate studies and research in several specialised areas with an annual capacity of 9,400 students. (ii) The quantitative expansion has resulted in the lowering of the standards and there exists a structural imbalanace of skill requirement of the business sector and the traditional curriculum followed by the educational institutes. These factors give rise to problems of unemployment and under-employment. The wastage in the system is enormous, being 30 per cent at degree level, 35 per cent at diploma level and 45 per cent at post-graduate level. The situation in unrecognised institutions is still worse. A related phenomenon is that of brain-drain involving migration abroad of those trained in emerging areas in excellent institutes. (iii) The infrastructural facilities available in the vast majority of TEIs are extremely inadequate. There is an acute shortage of
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faculty with about 25 to 40 per cent of faculty positions remaining unfilled. In most of the institutions, there is hardly any R&D activity. (iv) The TEIs are functioning in isolation. Linkage and interaction between TEIs and user- agencies, such as industries, R&D and design organisations and development sectors are not sufficiently strong. Neither is there a strong interaction among institutions by way of sharing of facilities like equipments, libraries, teaching faculty and other resources. (v) There has been an enormous increase in public expenditure on education but little attention has been paid to the strategies for raising non- budgetary resources and maximising people's participation.
Eighth Plan Strategy and Thrust 11.10.2 The thrust areas for the Eighth Plan have, therefore, been identified as follows:
(1) Modernisation and upgradation of infrastructural facilities. (2) Quality improvement in technical and management education. (3) Re- sponding to new industrial policy and industry-institution R&D labs interaction. (4) Resource mobilisation. (5) Institutional thrusts.
11.10.3 The strategy to be adopted to achieve these objectives would be on the following lines:
Modernisation and Upgradation of Infrastructural Facilities 11.10.4 Modernisation relates both to technical equipments and teaching methods. Technology development is a capital-intensive process. The country cannot afford to go on changing the technology every year. It is, therefore, imperative to adopt futuristic approaches for achieving modernisation and self-reliance in a sustained manner. Coordinated and concerted efforts would have to be made to upgrade and consolidate the infrastructural facilities in the existing institutions. The process of removal of obsolescence would include enhancement of computer facilities and establishment and interlinking of large computer systems with educational and research institutions through appropriate telecommunication facilities. Steps would be taken to strengthen and create the facilities in crucial areas of technology where weaknesses exist, in areas of emerging tech- nologies and in new specialised fields. Upgradation of infrastructure would also include a crash programme for recruitment of about 10,000 teachers in polytechnics and colleges and strengthening of arrangements for teacher training.
Upgradation of Polytechnics 11.10.5 Central Government has launched a massive project with the assistance of the World Bank to enable the State Governments upgrade their polytechnics in capacity, quality and efficiency for the period 1990 to 1999. The project is being taken up in two phases with a total outlay of Rs. 1,892 crores. The first phase would cover 296 polytechnics recognised by the AICTE in eight States - Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, M.P., Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The second phase would cover 262 polytechnics in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Delhi. The project has also a Central Sector component for establishment of a national project implementation unit. Corresponding outlay is being provided vide Annexure 11.8.
Quality Improvement in Technical and Management Education 11.10.6 A holistic and need-based approach would be adopted
to reorient the technical and management education (TME). A more broad-based flexible system with provision for multi-point entry is required to enable a better response to the unspecified demands of the future. At the micro-level, the curriculum would be developed to encourage creativity and innovation in experimental work by introducing problem/processoriented laboratory exercises. New technology-oriented entrepreneurship and management courses would be introduced in selected institutions having adequate infrastructural facilities. There would be greater emphasis on production engineering towards design and product development.
Technology Watch 11.10.7 The Government has recently established a Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC). Its objec- tives include: evaluation of existing technologies, preparation of technology forecast reports and estimation of the nature and quantum of
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likely demands for goods and services in future. It would be desirable to couple the technology forecasting system with the system of manpower forecasting and planning. Universities and IITs are familiar with the frontiers of knowledge and hence should play an important role in technical forecast and technological assessment with the fruitful involvement of TIFAC, Institute of Applied Manpower Research (IAMR) and the Indian trade and industries associations. It should be possible to develop the right type of indigenous technologies to assess the related manpower requirements and to produce such trained manpower.
11.10.8 The existing facilities for continuing education and retraining are inadequate. There is a need to formalise the retraining programme for engineering and technology personnel engaged in all sectors and to make them mandatory. Increasing use of modern communication devices should be made. Programme-learning packages need to be created and distance learning methodologies employed to enable self-development and training of all scientific and technical personnel.
Responding to New Industrial Policy 11.10.9 There is a need to establish linkage between industry, national laboratories, developmental sectors, professional bodies, technical education, vocational education and craftsmen training and to bring about networking among institutions. In the context of the new industrial policy, the priority may be assigned to interaction with industry as it holds the key to industrial competitiveness in a global market. A strategy may be evolved for effective interaction between industry and institutions and for promotion of interaction through apprenticeship opportunities, consultancy and sponsored research, continuing education programmes for industry personnel, adjunct professorships in institutions for willing and capable personnel from industry, seconding of institutional faculty to industry, involvement of industry In the development of curricula and courses etc. For this purpose, organisational mechanisms such as Industrial Liasion Board, Industry-Institution Cells, Industrial Foundation etc., will have to be set up. The R&D activities may be taken up through the support of industry.
11.10.10 In this context, a reference may be made to a model for university-industry symbiosis conceived and implemented at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad for bringing about a greater and more effective interaction between technological university and industry. The model envisaged the setting up of a Bureau for Industrial Consultancy and Research and Development (BICARD) in universities/technological institutes of higher education, preparation of a comprehensive directory of technology experts to operationalise various aspects of interaction like orientation of university curriculum, exchange of experts between teaching institutions and industries, involvement of teaching staff in industry, technological database and self-reliance of institutions etc. This model was recently revised by its author to include the loop of R&D organi- sations. A national cell to promote and coordinate the linkages between the promotional agencies, university, industry and R&D organi- sations has also been suggested. The revised model could be adopted/adapted with benefit by other TEIs.
Resource Mobilisation 11.10.11 Since technical education is inherently expensive, concrete steps to ensure cost-effectiveness as an aspect of resource mobilisation are of vital importance. These include:
1. Avoidance of duplication of investment in TEIs located close to each other and proper maintenance of available facilities and instruments;
2. Developing institution-wise specialisation in respect of courses and technical manpower so that the institutions can have the most sophisticated and modern library and laboratory facilities in their chosen fields;
3. Weeding out of outdated and stereotyped courses and introduction of relevant courses in emerging areas;
4. Multiple use of infrastructural facilities through part-time courses, continuing education programmes and consultancy and testing services;
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5. Marginal increase in intake capacities in areas of scarce manpower and decrease in intake of low demand areas. In this connection, an increase in the intake in better institutions by 10 per cent should receive urgent attention;
6. Introduction of multiple or at least double shifts in TEIs;
7. Maximum use of non-monetary inputs, like better planning, advanced technologies and practices, better system of supervision and administration, minitoring and review etc; and
8. Commercialisation of research work of the institutions.
11.10.12 The Task Force appointed by AICTE to go into the question of laying down tuition and other fees and to suggest other sources of mobilisation of resources for technical education has suggested raising of fees in relation to Government, Government-aided and unaided institutions on a graduated scale. A beginning has been made by raising fees in the IIMs. The IITs and other TEIs are also required to raise the fees. The measure of raising fees, however, should be coupled with scholarships for SCs/STs and for students below poverty line and a loan scheme for other students.
11.10.13 Creation of a corpus fund can be another way of mobilising resources for an institution, especially in the case of IITs. Con- tributions to the corpus fund will have to come from various sources viz. industry, alumni, charitable trusts etc. as well as Government.
11.10.14 Another way of enhancing investment is to implement NPE/POA idea of requiring development departments to allocate a fixed per cent of their annual budgets for development of TEIs. The question of collection of education cess from industry, which can thus share the cost of educating technical manpower and of giving tax exemption to industry for contributions made by it to development of technical education should also receive serious consideration.
Institutional Thrusts
All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) 11.10.15 The AICTE was given statutory status in 1988 in view of the need for maintaining and developing standards. It would be further strengthened to ensure coordinated development with its four regional committees located at Kanpur, Madras, Bombay and Calcutta. A Board of Accreditation is expected to be set up shortly and most of the schemes implemented by the Technical Education Bureau of the Department of Education are expected to be taken over by AICTE.
Technical Institutions in the University Sector 11.10.16 The UGC provides financial assistance to 32 institutions in engineering and technology for their overall development. Although some of the institutions in this sector like Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, are centres of excellence and this sector as a whole accounts for 1,600 M.E/M.Tech students, the financial allocations tend to be limited, as they are part of the overall UGC allocations. A separate mechanism may be set up which would advise UGC regarding the financial needs and priorities of these institutions and the Planning Commission should allocat appropriate earmarked outlays for this sector covering not only post-graduate education as in the past but also under-graduate education on a selective basis.
Other Post-graduate Institutes 11.10.17 Sixteen State Governments and 24 non-Government post- graduate institutions are being assisted by the Central Government with a view to developing specialised fields of engineering/technology having national relevance. The intake for post-graduate courses per year in engineering and technology is proposed to be increased from 10,000 to 11,000 by the end of Eighth Plan.
Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) 11.10.18 The new Industrial Policy has created an environment which requires IITs to adopt a new role as leaders in current and futuristic technology development. The following four areas for further action have been identified in the light of consultations held by Planning Commission:
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(1) Thrust areas of technology development, (2) International consultancy, (3) Resource mobilisation and setting up of Corpus Fund and (4) Industrial Foundation.
Technology Development 11.10.19 The technology development through innovation and its subsequent transfer to industry by five IITs would be the first step towards the identification of project mission and creation of appropriate environment. These project missions are conceived in three groups:
(1) Areas where agains are likely to be visible in the long-term such as biotechnology, fuelefficient engines, microelectronics, photonics.
(2) Areas where short-term gains can be planned, such as communication and software technology, food processing, instrumentation and central integrated production engineering and design, nonconventional energy, remote sensing and transportation.
(3) Areas where results in the intermediate term are possible like coal, computer, integrated manufacturing, natural hazard mitigation and new materials technology. It is expected that each of he IITs would select a few areas from among those to work on during the Eighth Plan.
International Consultancy 11.10.20 The IITs have a potential to offer educational and industrial consultancy services at international level. The consultancy would cover: institution building, establishment of spe- cialised laboratory facilities, development of curricula, organising continuing education/joint research projects and faculty development etc. There is good scope for international consultancy assignemnts for IITs in South-East Asian and other countries. This can be a source of additional resource mobilisation.
Resource Mobilisation and Corpus Fund 11.10.21 Resource mobilisation measures would be taken up on the lines mentioned earlier, including corpus fund to which Government could contribute a block grant annually over a period of years subject to contributions from other sources. Two ideas specific to IITs are: permitting them to charge from foreign students a full cost tuition fee in foreign exchange and obtaining an endowment grant from countries with an explicit commitment to training specified manpower for that country.
Industrial Foundation 11.10.22 In order to facilitate interaction and collaboration with industry and other user-organisations in programmes of mutual interest, an industrial foundation needs to be set up in each IIT. The foundation would function as a registered society/corporate body linked to the parent-IIT, with financial and administrative autonomy and adopt industrial culture and methods. Resource generation of these foundations would be through Government grants/corporate membership fees/overheads on projects and services/donation and gifts etc. These foundations would render technical support to small scale industry and engineering entrepreneurs and develop products and processes at the request of industry. There would also be manpower exchange between IITs and industry.
Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) 11.10.23 There are 17 Regional Engineering Colleges in the country which are joint ventures between Government of India and State Govern- ments. They are expected to be pace-setting institutions in their regions. They need academic autonomy and their funding should be from one source, preferably Central Government. The ultimate aim should be to make them deemed universities. A proposal involving assistance of 6 million pound sterling to develop collaboration between RECs and some British Universities in the emerging areas such as design, materials, energy, informatics etc. is being worked out.
Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) 11.10.24 The four Indian Institutes of Management set up as pace- setting and premier centres of excellence in management education and research have been instrumental in producing highly qualified managerial manpower. Their activities need to be revamped, particularly keeping in view the changing scenario both at the national and international level. A consultation held by Planning Commission led to the suggestion that there should be links between management institutes and training institutes in
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specific sectors like health, rural development, agricultural extension etc. It was also suggested that there should be an integrated view of management education and there should be resource mobilisation, corpus fund, mutual sharing of facilities and division of labour in the matter of thrust areas etc. A plan of action is being prepared in this regard.
Community Polytechnics (CPs) 11.10.25 It is proposed to cover all the remaining Polytechnics under the scheme of CPs by suitably reorganising and strengthening them in the light of the recommendations of the National Expert Committee set up to appraise them. The Community Polytechnics are expected to play a major role in rural manpower development and their outreach should be expanded by resorting to distance education methods.
Financial Allocations 11.10.26 The actual expenditure on technical education in the Seventh Plan was Rs. 1083.34 crores of which Rs.610.96 crores was in the Central Sector and Rs. 472.38 crores in the State Sector. The outlays and expendiure for the Seventh Plan and approved outlays for the Eighth Plan are shown in Annexures 11.3 and 11.7. The Eighth Plan outlays in the State Sector are required to be higher to reflect the implementation of the World Bank-assisted Technician Education Project.
ART AND CULTURE Review of the Seventh Plan and Annual Plans 1985-92
Culture 11.11.1 Preservation and promotion of culture is a common objective of the Central and State Departments of Culture. At the Central level, sizeable institutional infrastructure has been built up. During the Seventh Plan, the School of Archaeology, under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was raised to the status of an Institute of Archaeology with a two-year course. Major conservation works were taken up in 303 monuments. Seven Indian monuments were in- cluded in the World Heritage List making a total of 14 such monuments in India. Conserevation work of Ankorvat Temple (Kampuchea) was taken up on behalf of UNESCO on a major scale. Important discoveries were made through excavation of 19 new places like Banawali (Harappa), Sanghol (Punjab) and Udaygiri (Orissa). The National Archives of India (NAI) brought out the first volume of Guide to Sources of Asian History and provided financial assistance to 209 voluntary organisations in 22 States for preservation of manuscripts and to 13 State Archives for their development. The archives building project was completed. The National Museum set up the National Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology (NIHACM) as a deemed university. The main thrust of the Anthropological Survey of India (An.SI) centred around the project `People of India' initiataed in 1985 under which 5,000 communities were studied and reports thereon prepared. The building of the Central Research and Training Laboratory of National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) Calcutta has been completed. The Hall of Science, Technology and Energy in Delhi, Raman Science Centre in Nagpur and Regional Science Centre in Guwahati were set up. The National research laboratory for conservation of cultural property extended assistance to Maldivean Government for cnservation of Hukru Mosque. The collections of National Library Calcutta were enhanced bringing them to 23 lakh hooks. The Central Secretariat library initiated work on creating a data base on Mahabharata. The Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation which gives matching assistance to State/District Libraries, set up an Integrated Research Cell-cum-Computer Unit for promoting research in librarianship and data base of public libraries in the country. Seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCC's) at Patiala, Nagpur, Allahabad, Udaipur, Shanti Niketan, Dimapur and Thanjavur organised over 300 major events including workshops, fairs, exhibitions of folk, tribal arts and crafts, classical dance performances, music concerts, theatre fairs etc. The Sahitya Academi (SA), Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) and Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA) continued their schemes relating to awards and fellowships to distinguished literary scholars and artists; held work- shops, exhibitions, kala melas and brought out useful publications like fourth volume of Encyclopaedia of Indian literature and literary works on 22 Indian languages. The SNA also provided financial assistance to cultural institutions for training, production and research besides holding zonal theatre festivals. The LKA held the 7th Triennale India, `Colours of the Earth', an
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exhibition of ceramics from Britain and provided assistance to studios/regional centres at Madras, Calcutta, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar. The National School of Drama (NSD) inter alia, introduced a repertory company of adults performing for children besides holding theatre workshops and staging shows.
11.11.2 A number of schemes, like building grants, financial assistance to dance, drama, theatre ensembles, promotion and dissemination of tribal/folk art and culture, preservation of cultural heritage of Himalayas and development of Buddhists/Tibetan orgnisations, have been implemented by the Department to encourage voluntary efforts. The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Varanasi became a deemed university in 1988.
Arts 11.11.3 The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) was registered as an autonomous trust in March, 1987 with four academic divisions of Kala Nidhi, Kala Kosha, Janapada Sampada, Kala Darshan and Sutradhara. The IGNCA has been designated as a nodal agency to prescribe technical standards for all agencies under the Central and State Governments for storage, retrieval and dissemination of data on arts, humanities and cultural heritage. It has launched a massive programme of collecting multi-media primary and secondary source ma- terials by identifying 3,000 repositories of unpublished manuscripts in various institutions and libraries and micro-filming of unpublished manuscripts. Under Janapada Sampada, IGNCA undertook lifestyle studies of tribal communities and their art forms particularly in North-Eastern region of Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Field studies have been undertaken and archaeological sites located for setting up a permanent multi-media presentation of prehistoric and aboriginal art (Adi Drsya and Adi Sravya). It also held multi- disciplinary programmes on unified themes of KHAM (Space), AKARA (Calligraphy) and KALA (Time) and an exhibition on Buddhist cave paintings from China.
11.11.4 Regarding the buildings of IGNCA, 23 acres of land in the Central Vista area has been allotted. A design has been approved after holding an International Design Competition. The Building Project Committee has finalised the Architectural Services Agreement and sought approval from Delhi Urban Arts Commission and Central Vista Committee. Detailed site survey soil-testing and scrutiny of concept stage plans have been completed.
Cultural Policy 11.11.5 In the field of cultural policy, the three notable developments have been the NPE 86, departmental efforts for formulation of a National Policy on Culture and the Report of the High-level Committee on Academies and NSD (Haksar Committee). The NPE 1986 emphasised the need to bridge the schism between the formal system of education and the country's rich and varied cultural traditions, it suggested enrichment of curricula by cultural content and establishment of linkages between the university systems and institutions of higher learning in art. The Central Department of Culture circulated a discussion draft on the basic issues relating to National Cultural Policy and initiated a series of regional seminars. The Haksar Committee gave a detailed exposition of its views on approach to culture, arts and values. In a number of Expert Group meetings initiated in Planning Commission in the last two to three years, the need for reexamination of some of the basic issues on culture in the national context was highlighted by various eminent participants. It was suggested that the policy should be evolved democratically, associating State Governments, voluntary cultural organisations and people who generated culture in different areas instead of confining it to bureaucrats, educationists and specialists, A large number of inputs are available for formulation of a cultural policy. The strategies and thrust areas now projected should be seen in this background.
Strategy and Thrust Areas 11.12.1 (a) There is a growing recognition that Culture is at the core of all developmental activities, giving a sense of direction and guidance to human life for pursuing goals,cultivation of good values and attainment of excellence in every walk of life. The country has a very ancient civilisation comprising numerous styles, namely classical, folk and tribal which need to be preserved, documented, expressed and disseminated not only by strengthening State and Central departments and upgrading the existing facilities, but also by encouraging voluntary
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effort, community effort and organised private and corporate effort.
(b) Community can be involved in a big way for preservation and protection of cultural monuments. India has nearly 8,000 monuments, of which 5,000 are under the States and 3,000 under the Centre. Many more in the interior areas need to be identified and protected. Local initiatives, particularly from rural areas, can be encouraged by appealing to local pride of possession by preservation of our ancient heritage; (c) Many museums at State and national level having immensely valuable artistic objects have been unable to display them due to lack of space and buildings and apart from expediting sanctiond construction, there is need to evolve suitable policies. Although the ASI has 31 site museums located all over the country, there is need for many more such museums for housing objects scattered in the country.
(d) Under State Tribal Departments, the Anthropological Survey of India and Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (RMS), Tribal Museums are maintained but there is no living movement to identify, collect, preserve and support existing talents among the tribal, rural and folk artists and craftsmen for sustaining their artistic and cultural pursuits. These tribal arts and crafts were integral part of the way of life, of people having an economic dimension. With the spread of industrialisation and commercialisation, the tribal artists have taken to modern occupations and their arts are now languishing e.g. the paintings of Warlis in Maharashtra, Kantha work of Bengal, Kalamkari of Andhra etc. Documentation of the dying and languishing arts, identification of arts and crafts having a viability to stand on their own under modern circumstances, providing them economic assistance, marketing and other support services is necessary. There could be a network of cooperatives of tribal artists and craftsmen linked to State-level organisations as every State has varied arts and crafts traditions which are quite attractive and fascinating. Drawing inspiration from this, States should start inter-district programmes inviting local grassroot level artists of dying art forms; (e) Resources, other than monetary, need to be catalysed,involving universities and voluntary organisations. The present method of the Zonal Cultural Councils inviting troupes to perform in an ad hoc manner is demeaning to folk artistes. The ZCCs need to make a deeper impact, and their activities should have an echo in every State. Taking threads from ZCC, the States should take up innovative schemes.
(f) While various programmes of central organisations would be supported, the tendency for central organisations to set up their regional branches would be discouraged. Central agencies would be expected to work along side State, district and local level cultural organisations and avoid bureaucratisation.
(g) The role of the State Departments of Culture in stimulating and promoting cultural development in the following fields needs emphasis: (i) development of regional language and literature and the translation of significant literary works in the regional language into other regional languages; (ii) preservation and protection of cultural property including monuments, and (iii) inculcation of cultural topics and values in the textbooks for primary and secondary schools in the regional language. States should intervene in the cultural field and ensure that a high priority is given to cultural development in their overall programme of development.
(h) A policy-related aspect of cultural conservation is the need to evolve tools for assessment of cultural impact of development projects and to make this assessment an integral part of appraisal of new development projects. Such tools and such assessment have become well-accepted and standard in the field of environment Similar exercises in relation to culture should take place for every project, taking care to see that they are not perceived, and do not actually operate, as a hindrance to development process.
Eighth Plan Programmes
Culture 11.13.1 The Archological Survey of India (ASI) would take up 125 monuments for comprehensive special repairs. The major thrusts are: establishment of an effective linkage between Central and State institutions; strengthening of the role of voluntary organisations in preservation of cultural property, including antiquities; improving effectiveness of legislation; documentation of both movable and immovable cultural property; revival of popular interest and
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awareness among the masses in our archaeological heritage through 3media; expansion and augmentation of the Institute of Archaeology. The new schemes proposed are: establishment of document centres; the setting up of site museums in rural areas; grants to State Departments for conservation of unprotected historical structures at district and Panchayat level, grants to universities and research bodies for archaeological investigation and studies and setting up of World Heritage Wing. A new building for ASI headquarters and buildings for its circle and field offices are also contemplated. The Institute of Archaeology would be involved in studies relating to cultural impact assessment of development projects. The Anthropology Survey of India apart from its building programme, would take up new schemes on urban anthropology and health and health care issues and strengthen its palaeo-anthropological research, study of Indian settlers in Africa and neighbouring countries. It would also complete the line of work, by survey and documentation, started by Verrier Elwin to salvage and document those specimens of the tribal and folk art which face the threat of extinction. It proposes to study inherent socioreligious disabilities of the tribals, nature of transformation and mobilisation of their special skills in arts, dance and music and mastery over musical instruments. The RMS in Bhopal, apart from developing its "permanent exhibitions" and "Relevant collections" under various themes, would set up the four regional collection centres and strengthen its museum education outreach programmes and operation salvage. The NAI would bring out the remaining four volumes of the Guide to the Sources of Asian History. The School of Archives would be modernised. Acquisition of micro-film copies of records of Indian interest from abroad would continue. A records centre to serve as intermediate repository for semi-noncurrent records of Central Government offices located in Eastern Zone is proposed to he set up. The Khuda Baksh Public Library proposes to establish an Institute of Oriental Studies and open regional units to carry out research on Indo-Islamic and comparative