 CONCEPTUAL  FRAME

1.1 Ever since the attainment of independence the centrality of education in the developmental process has been widely accepted. From Plan to Plan our country has preserved with the goals of universalisation of primary education, drastic reduction in illiteracy rates, decreasing disparities in education, improvement of quality of education at all levels, spread of higher and technical education for catering to the 'manpower needs of a growing economy. While tremendous strides have been made in several areas such as expansion of educational institutions, building many higher and technical educational institutions of excellence and meeting the varied manpower requirements of a developing economy many important goals such as UEE and universal. literacy proved to be elusive.

1.2 In the saga of national endeavour in the field of education the adoption of the National. Policy on Education 1986 (NPE) is an important landmark. Based on an indepth review of the whole gamut of educational development and formulated on the basis of a national consensus, NPE contained a comprehensive framework to guide the development of education in its entirety. NPE was initially backed up by a political and administrative resolve to translate the policy formulations into specific programmes and to provide the necessary financial support for the implementation of programmes. Never before was the will of Union Government to share its responsibility in this vital area of national life manifested so concretely. A little before the NPE, the Scheme of Navodaya Vidyalayas was launched to cater to the

educational needs of talented children in rural areas. Following the NPE a large number of important centrally sponsored programmes were launched. These include

i) Operation Blackboard

ii) Non-formal education for drop-outs, working children and girls who cannot attend school owing to obligations at home

iii) Reorganisation and restructuring of teacher education, including establishment of District Institutes of Education and Training, and giving statutory status to National Council of Teacher Education

iv) Vocationalisation of Secondary Education

v) Strengthening and consolidation of Higher Education, with restoration of academic calendar in universities/ colleges, autonomous colleges, establishment of curriculum development centres and academic staff colleges, and accountability of the teachers

vi) Establishment of All India Council of Technical Education as a statutory body

vii) Modernisation of Technical Education

1.3 The determined and concerted efforts made by the Centre and States for achieving a major breakthrough in the priority areas of education did yield significant results. By way of illustration, a reference can be made to elementary education and adult literacy. In elementary education, the focus shifted from enrolment, per se, to retention and achievement - a shift which

presaged the renewed concern in the Eighth Plan for improving efficiency of investment and for monitoring programmes in terms of outcomes rather than in terms of inputs such as coverage and expenditure alone. The focus also shifted from exclusive concern with schooling to a holistic perception which stressed the imperative need of providing alternative system of education of comparable quality to working children and girls whom the schools cannot reach. Further, the focus also shifted from mere quantity as reflected in the expansion of schools to qualitative aspects such as school improvement and teacher competency. By March, 1991, schools in 4,819 out of 6,326 blocks in the country were covered by the operation Blackboard and DIETs were being set up in 257 districts out of 454 districts in the country. The concepts of participative microplanning, local level capacity building and decentralised educational planning and management concepts which are in tune with the innovative approaches to development being articulated for the Eighth Five Year Plan were given wide currency and tested and tried through experimental projects. The innovative programmes of Mahila Samakhya demonstrated a promising approach to women's education and development.

1.4 The developments in adult literacy were no less spectacular. The launching of the National Literacy Mission in 1988 was followed by the development of a new and more effective model of adult literacy. First developed in Ernakulam District and later honed in the States of Kerala, Pondicherry, West Bengal and Gujarat, this model of a Total Literacy campaign (TLC)

insists on achievement by all persons of a prescribed level of Literacy, on social mobilisation and forging of alliances with social activists and innovative use of confluence of literacy and education on the one hand, and of culture and communication on the other. The TLCs had also demonstrated the feasibility of community mobilisation to further UEE. The categorical imperative in the Eighth Plan would be to build on the organisational and educational innovations tried and tested out in the last few years.

1.5 While the achievements of the different programmes started after NPE are impressive by themselves, they fall short of the initial expectations associated with the starting of these programmes. The resource step-up anticipated when NPE was adopted did not materialise; there was indeed a steep step-up in the Central Plan outlay for education from Rs.352 crores in 1986-87 to Rs.800 crores in 1987-88 but in subsequent years the increases were just Marginal, more so in real terms. As major programmes taken up in the Seventh Plan remained under - provided during the last two years the momentum of their implementation was not sustained. Several important programmes which were intended to be launched under the NPE and the Programme of Act- ion could not be launched. Compounding the underprovision of resources was the policy uncertainty that arose in the wake of decision to review the NPE and to freeze some of the schemes like the Navodaya Vidyalayas. Therefore, the Eighth Plan proposals of this Department, naturally, seek to give a fresh impetus to the implementation of these schemes by ensuring adequate resource

availability and by refining the schemes so as to augment their cost effectiveness and programme delivery.

1.6 Keeping in view the developments since the commencement of the Seventh Plan as well as the advice given by the Planning commission on the objectives and thrusts of the Eighth Plan and the imperative of fostering national integration, this Department formulated the following priorities :

1.6.1 Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE)

i) Universal enrolment of all children, including girls and persons belonging to SC/ST;

ii) Provision of primary school for all children within one kilometre of walking distance and of facility of non- formal education for school drop-outs, working children and girls who cannot attend schools;

iii) Improvement of ratio of primary school to upper primary schools from the existing 1:4 to 1:2, this being a pre- condition for larger opportunity for widening girls, participation at upper primary stage;

iv) Reduction of drop out rates between Classes I to V and I to VIII from the existing 45 per cent and 60 per cent to 20 per cent and 40 per cent respectivley;

v) Improvement of school facilities by revamped operation Blackboard, to be extended to upper primary level also;

vi) Achievement of minimum levels, of learning by approximately all children at the primary level, and introduction of this concept at the upper primary stage

on a large scale;

vii) Local level committee, with due representation to women and teachers, to assist in the working of primary education and to oversee its functioning;

Viii) Improvement of the monitoring system for universalisation of elementary education to see to the achievement of above mentioned goals.

1.6.2 Adult Literacy

a) Coverage of 80 per cent of the population in 15-40 age group in 80 per cent of the districts (viz., about 375 districts) under Total Literacy Campaign approach;

b) Provision of post-literacy, continuing education and skill development programmes for all persons passing primary education and adult literacy courses through village education centres either as a part of the school. system, or by consolidation of the volunteer movement or by establishment of Jana Shikshan Nilayams;

c) Special attention to literacy and adult education needs of the tribal people, migrant workers in urban areas, slum dwellers and other specially needy groups;

d) Strengthening of the technical resource support system and developmental goals such as primary education, child survival., health care, family planning, etc.

1.6.3 Secondary Education

a) Establishment of new secondary/senior secondary schools in unserved areas and launching of an effective programme of improvement of secondary education;

b) Establishment of Navodaya Vidyalayas in all the

districts and strengthening of the existing programme;

c) Improvement of the existing scheme of vocationalisation whereby 10 per cent of the plus 2 enrolment would form a distinct stream of students taking up vocational courses, and compulsory vocational courses of varying duration (referred to in NPE 1986 as pre-vocational courses) would be introduced in 10 per cent of the secondary/senior secondary schools;

d) Coverage of all senior secondary schools by improved CLASS Project;

e) All-sided reform in the content and process of education, particularly by improving teaching of science and mathematics, of the language particularly English, giving environmental orientation to education programmes and by systematic introduction of educational reforms;

f) Examination reform;

g) Improving and expanding the Scheme of Value Education;

h) Encouragement to rural institutions and setting up of Central Council for Rural Institutes;

i) Setting up of National Testing Service.

1.6.4 Teacher Education

a) Improvement of existing District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) and establishment of a DIET in every uncovered district;

b) Giving autonomous status to State Councils of Educational Research and Training and placing DIET

under their overall charge (central support to SCERTs, and DIETs to extend to the 8th and 9th Five Year Plans);

c) Strengthening and expansion of the schemes of College Teacher Education and Institutes of Advanced Studies in Education;

d) Restarting an improved in-service training programme of 5 lakh teachers every year by NCERT.

1.6.5 University and Higher Education

a) Consolidation and strengthening of facilities in open Universities and Colleges;

b) Additional enrolment of one million students in Open Universities;

c) Modernise and update the content of courses and link them to meet the needs of economic development;

d) Support to research and creation of common facilities for research;

e) Restructuring of management of university system;

f) Encouragement to rural institutions and setting up of Central Council for Rural Institutes;

h) Setting up of National Testing Service.

1.6.6 Technical and Management Education

a) Strengthening the AICTE in terms of its administrative and professional functions;

b) Strengthening existing infrastructural facilities and improvement of quality and standards at all levels;

c) Development of programmes and activities in order to cater to the disadvantaged and informal sectors of society;

d) Revamping the scheme of community polytechnics for meeting the needs of rural sector;

e) Providing facilities of continuing education for working professionals.

1.6.7 Border Area Development (Education) Programme (BADEP) BADEP would extend to North Eastern region to put an end to general state of stagnation in educational development in that region and to reassure the State of that region of the Central Government's concern for their socioeconomic development.

1.7 The proposals of the Department are based on the premise that Centrally Sponsored Schemes would continue on the lines recommended by the Narasimha Rao Committee set up by the National Development Council and the Baijal Committee. As already indicated in para 1.5 all the schemes started in the Seventh Five Year Plan were reviewed with a view to improving their cost-effectiveness and programme delivery. A few new Centrally Sponsored Schemes have also been suggested such as extension of Operation Blackboard to upper primary schools and for educationally backward minorities.

1.8 So far as financial resources are concerned, this Department has kept in mind the Planning Commission's intention to reverse the past practice of retaining physical targets of crucial social sector goals but reducing the financial outlays on

the ground of financial stringency. The proposals assume that need- based financing would be made available in the high priority areas of universalisation of elementary education, adult literacy and vocationalisation. With the expansion of elementary education there will be an inevitable need for expansion of secondary education. The time has now come to bestow special attention, inter alia, by application of educational technology, particularly in science, maths and computer literacy. Proposals assume that adequate resources would be provided for this purpose. In the areas of higher and technical education, there would be greater reliance on non-governmental resources. Systematic changes in monitoring and evaluation would be attempted to improve cost effectiveness and programme delivery.