Elementary Education 10.24 Overriding priority will be given to realising universalisation of elementary education for children in the age-group 6-14 years by 1990; this will continue to be part of the Minimum Needs Programme. The emphasis will shift from mere enrolment to retention of pupils in schools and to the attainment by them of basic elements of learning. The objective is sought to be achieved through a combination of formal and non-formal methods, focussing sharply on the needs of girls and of children belonging to the economically and socially weaker sections.
10.25 The enrolment at the elementary stage is estimated to have reached nearly 112 million by the end of the Sixth Plan period. For achieving the goal of universalisation by the end of the Seventh Plan, over 50 million children will have to be additionally enrolled. A projection of enrolment in full-time elementary schools is given in Table 10.1. Increasing enrolment in full-time schools beyond this level of 137 million in classes I to VIII might not be feasible due to socioeconomic reasons and other factors. Even to achieve this level effectively, sustained efforts will have to be made to reduce the number of dropouts.
10.26 Non-formal education would be the other important programme for the achievement of universalisation of elementary education as this can be useful to those who are not able or willing to attend full-time schools. The number of children to be covered by the non-formal
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TABLE 10.1
Expansion of Elementary Stage Education (Enrolment figure in million)
Class/Age Group Likely enrolment Projected enrolment Additional enrolment
Sl.No. (1984-85) (1989-90) (1985-90)
1 2 3 4 5
I. I-V (6-11)
Boys 51.20 55.00 3.80
(117.48) (110.00)
Girls 34.17 40.96 6.79
(69.20) (88.15)
TOTAL 85.37 95.96 10.59
(91.84) (99.89)
II. VI-VIII (11-14)
Boys 17.6 25.12 7.66
(66.90) (92.56)
Girls 9.27 16.55 7.28
(38.19) (65.44)
TOTAL 26.73 41.67 14.94
(53.07) (79.46)
III. I-VIII (6-14)
Boys 68.66 80.12 11.46
(90.96) (104.24)
Girls 43.44 57.51 14.07
(64.02) (80.28)
GRAND TOTAL 112.10 137.63 25.53
(78.21) (92.60)
Note: Figures in parentheses indicate enrolment ratio relative to population in the corresponding age-group. State-wise details of target and achievement are in Annexure 10.2 and 10.3.
programme is reckoned to be of the order of 25 million. Non-formal education in the Seventh Plan will, therefore, have to be expanded at a fast pace and made acceptable with a variety of forms to suit the varying needs of the target groups. Non-formal system should be made flexible and appropriately linked to the formal system. Adequate textual material with area-specific background and supplementary reading material would be developed and made available to students. Adequate teacher-training arrangements will be made for teachers participating in the non-formal system. For optimum use of resources, the schools, the non-formal education centres and adult education centres should develop linkages and be educationally integrated with development programmes.
10.27 The enrolment projections in paras 10.24 and 10.25 are indicative figures, worked out at the macro-level and disaggregated to the State level. Specific operational targets will require to be worked out by the State Governments concerned block-wise and village- wise through decentralised planning. Once such targets are worked out for the catchment area of each school or a cluster of schools, it would be expected that the authorities responsible for the achievement of the target would adopt the most appropriate strategies of implementation and monitoring of progress.
10.28 The role of the teacher is most crucial in achieving universal elementary education, especially in the motivation of children as well as their parents. They can play a leading role in improving the quality of primary education, bringing in environment and health education and value orientation. In-service training of teachers thus becomes a programme of high priority. The training of teachers will include, apart from pedagogy, the use of mass media, science and technology, planning and curriculum design for local environment-based courses, mobilisation and use of community resources and other relevant subjects. There will also be special emphasis on teaching methods and other measures particularly required for first generation learners and for reducing the number of dropouts. Teacher training institutions will be developed and strengthened accordingly.
10.29 Facilities will have to be created for the training of additional teachers required during the Seventh Plan period. There is as yet no infrastructure in the country for training of teachers in non-formal and early childhood education. Training of such teachers would have to be organised by suitably strengthening the existing teacher training centres.
10.30 Considering the numbers involved (over 2.5 million teachers), institutionalised in-service education of teachers will be difficult to organise not only due to the huge costs involved but also due to lack of facilities for training. It is therefore, necessary to think of a variety of training arrangements. Among others, these would include:
(a) In-service education by utilising the mass media, as was done during SITE;
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(b) adoption of schools of lower levels of education by institutions of higher levels for upgrading of teacher competencies;
(c) despatch of teacher guidance notes by training schools;
(d) publication of bulletins informing teachers of new developments; and
(e) use correspondence course materials supported by occasional contact.
10.31 Drop-outs and non-attendance of children at the primary stage of education are due to poor school facilities, unrelated curriculum, poor methods of teaching and poverty. The reorientation of teacher training referred to above will help to a large extent in tackling these factors. In addition, suitable supportive programmes for the provision of incentives, the improvement of facilities, increasing community awareness, curricular reforms, adjusting of school timings, utilisation of local community resources and earn- while-you-learn scheme, etc., will be introduced or expanded selectively according to local requirements.
10.32 Enrolment of girls has been lagging behind despite special measures taken in the past. Towards the end of the Sixth Plan some steps were taken to promote enrolment of girls and for providing non- formal education to them wherever necessary. In the Seventh Plan, the focus of effort will be on promotion of girls' education through appointment of women teachers, attachment of pre-school centres, provision of free uniforms and other incentives.
10.33 Special emphasis will be given to the enhancement of quality and efficiency of elementary education. The Seventh Plan will seek to provide specific funds for those programmes which will enhance the efficiency of the system. There is need to have a fresh look at the design and construction of school buildings as well as the text- books in use. Various projects like population education, environment and wild life education and curriculum renewal have helped in the preparation of suitable teaching-learning material and this material will be utilised.
10.34 Due to the difficult resource position and the magnitude of the task involved in the implementation of the programme of universalisation of elementary education, optimal use should be made of the available infrastructure and funds. The Plan and non-plan budget provision for elementary education and the existing teacher resources should be reviewed and redeployed on the basis of actual requirements and attendance in classes. Part-time teachers or helper- teachers on fixed salary, selected from among locally available educated men and women will be utilised to augment teaching resources and also improve relevance and cost-effectiveness of elementary education. Community support and financial contributions will be mobilised especially for clearing the backlog of physical facilities and school buildings. The construction of school buildings will be taken up also under the National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) and similar programmes.
10.35 Early childhood education is important both from the point of view of the personality development of the child and for inculcating in the children a healthy attitude to school-going to help increase their retention rate in schools. This programmes will be dovetailed with nutrition, health care and social welfare as a package within the broad framework of the programme of Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS). Voluntary efforts to undertake innovative experiments in respect of early childhood education will be supported.
10.36 The National Policy Resolution on Education recommends the placement of disabled children in regular schools. The scheme of integrated education of disabled children was started by the Ministry of Social Welfare as a Centrally-sponsored scheme where handicapped children were sought to be integrated in the normal school system with a view to promoting their psychological acceptance. The scheme is now being implemented by the Ministry of Education. One of the difficulties facing this scheme is the lack of trained teachers in special education. As such, during the Seventh Plan, greater emphasis will be laid on teacher training.
Adult Education 10.37 Eradication of adult illiteracy and the development of a programme of continuing adult education is a major thrust area in the Seventh Plan. The task of covering all the illiterates in the age- group 15-35 years by 1990 is a formidable one. As motivation of the learner is crucial for success and as the number to be covered is about 90 million, the strategy to achieve the goal can only be through a mass movement involving social institutions, voluntary organisations, students, teachers, employers and the community. This programme will also have to be linked effectively with various development programmes especially the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP). Active participation of village panchayats, mahila mandals, community centres, etc. is essential. Employers will be required to impart necessary functional education to all their illiterate employees. The programmes of Nehru Yuvak Kendras (NYK) and the National Service Scheme (NSS) will also focus on eradication of illiteracy. Programmes for motivating the learners by holding community meetings and through publicity, through posters, films, broadcasting, etc., will be implemented on an adequate scale and with sufficient intensity to create a conducive climate. A network of libraries and the development of literature for neo-literates will also be initiated as a
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follow-up programme to avoid lapse into illiteracy. Community participation in all literacy programmes will be an essential feature from village level upwards to give proper direction and orientation and lend effective support to this national programme.
10.38 Another aspect of education of adults relates to training in funcational skills relevant to their respective economic activities. Programmes for this purpose will be strengthed and adequate resource support provided for organising technical and vocational skill-based courses for the benefit of adult learners through Shramik Vidyapeeths and other similar institutions. As a part of the post-literacy and follow-up services, short-duration condensed training courses will be organised for upgrading the skills of the neo-literates and for increasing their awareness of various social events. The existing programmes on rural functional literacy and State adult education programmes and various training programmes for adult learners will be consolidated and dovetailed in the new mass movement programmes on adult education. Citizenship education including adult education, will be a necessary part of the entire education system, and will be specially promoted.
Secondary Education 10.39 The demand for secondary education has been growing. The expansion and effectiveness of elementary education will provide a further impetus to this growth. The projected demand for additional facilities will, to some extent, be met by better utilisation of resources in the existing schools. Provision has been made for this purpose and for promoting distance learning techniques and open school systems. Unplanned growth of high/ higher secondary schools will be checked. Norms for the establishment of secondary school will be evolved and strictly observed in order to avoid proliferation of economically nonviable and educationally inefficient institutions. In expanding the facilities, special attention will be given to the needs of backward areas of under-privileged sections of the population and of girls. Girls education will be free upto the higher secondary stage.
10.40 The teaching of science and mathematics at high/higher secondary stage of education will be strengthened and made universal. Efforts will be made to update and modernise science curricula, improve laboratories and libraries in schools and ensure the quality of science teachers through large-scale inservice training programmes. Environment education will form an important aspect of science education.
10.41 The socially useful productive work (work experience) programme component seeks to highlight the link between work and education and to develop positive work ethics and work habits. The programme would allow for better utilisation and integration of community expertise in the teaching-learning process and the use of facilities available with local industry and development institutions. Besides, the support system for development, training, management and supervision available for vocationalisation programmes, will also be utilised for the programme of socially useful productive work at the secondary stage. Some courses/activities of prevocational character will also be introduced for more effective implementation of this programme.
10.42 In view of the importance of linking education with productivity, a major impetus will be given in the Seventh Plan to vocationalisation of the higher secondary stage. Facilities for vocational education will be suitably diversified to cover a large number of fields in agriculture, industry, trade and commerce, and services. It will be ensured that there is no duplication of courses between technical and vocational institutions and the schools. The skills imparted, will be of adequate standard for securing gainful employment or self-employment. At the same time, opportunities for pursuing higher general and professional education would be provided.
10.43 Vocational/career courses in educational institutions will be introduced in the flexible manner linked to emerging work opportunites. The current intake will be considerably increased by introducing vocational courses in many more institutions.
10.44 Based on the evaluation of the on-going scheme of vocationalisation, States are taking steps to re-organise and improve the programme. An Expert Committee has been set up to suggest ways and means of implementing an expanded programme of vocationalisation fully coordinated with the education system and manpower needs of economic development. The report of this Committee will provide guidelines for further development.
10.45 The present wide reach of the media will be used for improving education, especially at the secondary stage. Facilities for production of the requisite audio-visual material including educational software for broadcasting and telecasting will be augmented substantially in the Seventh Plan. During the Sixth Plan, a small beginning was made in providing computer literacy to students in selected secondary schools. Based on this experience, steps will be taken to extend the programme to cover different aspects of computer appreciation and application.
10.46 One of the essential conditions for continuous improvement in the quality of secondary education is an effective system of in- service training of teachers. The existing facilities will be assessed, additional requirements identified and steps taken to meet them. The opportunity provided by the new communication technology will be
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explored for this purpose. Here again, special attention will be paid to the development of requisite software. Training of personnel required for effective use of modern communication technology and computers in education will be given very high priority. The NCERT which has already initiated programmes in this regard, will help the States build a network for this purpose.
10.47 Education has a crucial contribution to make towards promoting national integration, understanding and a sense of togetherness and harmony. There is, therefore, great need for an integrated and value oriented education with a national perspective. This programme should be so designed that its various threads can be woven into the curricular and cocurricular activities. Suitable revision of text books, strengthening of school libraries and training of teachers would be important from this point of view.
University Education 10.48 The main emphasis in higher education will be on consolidation, improvement in standards and reforms in the system to make higher education more relevant to national needs and to forge forward and backward linkages of higher education with employment and economic development. Expansion of general higher education facilities will be carefully planned so as to take care of the need to provide larger access to weaker sections and first generation learners from backward areas. In doing so, emphasis will be laid on providing access to existing institutions through appropriate reservation, scholarships, provision of hostel facilities, etc. A network of facilities will be provided through open universities, correspondence courses and part-time education to meet social demand and the need of continuing education.