 ADDRESS

I am happy that we are again meeting today for reviewing our achievements in this crucial sector of nation-building activity, identifying the weaknesses in our programmes, sharing the experience gained throughout the country and re-dedicating ourselves to the tasks ahead. The agenda of the Conference has a wide canvass and the learned participants will throw light on various aspects which will help in guiding the future course of action. It is my privilege to bring to the notice of this August Assembly some of those aspects of our educational programme which concern the weakest sections of our community.

After Independence, starting from a narrow educational base, our nation has made long strides in all sectors. Statistics reveal that 83 per cent of the children in the age-group 6-11 had been provided schooling facilities by the year 1973-74. I understand that we have planned nearly 100 per cent coverage for this age-group by the end of the Fifth Five Year Plan. With such a sizeable coverage of children, the obvious question that arises is "who are those non-school going children ?" It is clear that the vast majority of these non-school going children belong to the under-privileged sections of the community like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Further the level of educational development even amongst these weaker sections is not the same in

all the States and in all regions within the same State. The next important step for universalisation of elementary education, there- fore, will have to be to bring within the educational fold certain specific groups in specific areas. I may invite your attention to the fact that some, of the communities amongst the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are almost in the non-literate stage. Their numbers may be small; but in. our new development effort where focus has to be on the weakest groups, such statistics can be of little consolation. These imbalances should claim our attention. I feel that special measures should be devised urgently to attend to their specific problems.

The Fifth Five Year Plan attempts to make a new break in educational planning with the innovation of Minimum Needs Programme. A specific time bound task has been accepted for universalisation of education. A conscious policy decision at the national level was taken that elementary education will claim at least 50 per cent of the total investment on education. The State Secretaries' Conference held in June this year had reviewed the progress. They came to the conclusion that the share of elementary education in the first two years of the Fifth Plan continues to be nearer 33 per cent level. This used to be its share in the earlier plan periods also. It is true that plan allocation for social services has been rather low because of the overall constraint of resources, but such a low priority to a vital need like elementary education within the educational sector itself should be a cause of concern to all of us. The annual increase in the coverage of children in the 6-11 age group has been just 2 per cent. The Secretaries' Conference came to the conclusion that "the consequence of this slow rate of increase and the reduction in allocation was particularly severe on the hitherto deprived sections of the community viz. Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and girls". When the rate of growth of overall enrolment may be just keeping pace with the rate of growth of population, it is quite possible that there may be some regression in the enrolment in the more backward areas. This situation needs urgent attention and remedial measures. If we cannot provide even bare facilities for elementary education to the

weaker sections, the scheme of priorities in education will need an overhaul.

Education for the weaker sections is not in the nature of a social service. Nor is it merely a status symbol or ornament as the higher university degrees have come to be with certain sections in our society. It is the surest investment for these groups for enabling them to cross the social, psychological and economic barriers under which they have been labouring for centuries. Denying this basic input to the members of these communities is a denial of the very right to participate as an equal partner in the national life. Peoples' representatives, particularly from the more backward tribal areas, have been pointing out the adverse effects of imbalances in social and economic investments. Large doses of physical investments in these areas without social inputs create situation of unequal competition between different sections of the society. If there is no conscious planning to enable the weaker groups to understand the new processes, the forces of exploitation become extremely powerful. Our planners will need to appreciate this role of education in the case of weaker sections in general and more backward tribal areas in particular. The educational system must adapt itself to satisfactorily discharge this heavy responsibility.

The Central Advisory Board of Education had considered, in the previous two Conferences, the problem of education of the weaker sections and adopted resolutions. I cannot do better than to. invite your attention to these decisions. In 1973, the Standing Committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education agreed that :

"Every effort should be made, at the elementary stage, to enrol all children of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Every State Government should propose specific targets for the purpose for the Fifth Plan. All necessary steps for the purpose should be taken. These would include : the use of tribal languages, orientation of teachers in tribal languages, provision of special

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allowances and other facilities to teachers working in tribal areas, free supply of educational materials, clothing or mid-day meals, provision of scholarships and hostels where necessary, increasing number of Ashram Schools, etc. The funds required for these programmes should be provided in the general sector on a priority basis".

In 1974, besides reiterating the above approach, the Central Advisory Board of Education requested the States to prepare the sub- plans for tribal areas expeditiously. It was also urged that implementation of these programmes should not be held up on any account.

These decisions were taken in pursuance of the decision of the National Development Council which clearly placed the responsibility of the developmental programmes for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on the respective sectors. The State Governments have been requested to quantify their effort for the development of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in general and for the tribal areas in particular. The progress of quantification so far has been rather uneven. I would request the State Governments through this August Body that this exercise should be completed expeditiously.

Quantification of investments is important, but programme for- mulation and their effective implementation is even more important. I am happy that some States have started applying themselves to these details. But in a large number of cases the detailed educational planning for tribal areas remains to be done. In some States we find that there are multiple lines of command over educational institutions in the same area. In some areas, it is stated that the responsibility for education in tribal areas rests with the Tribal Welfare Department. Administrative arrangements in the States can no doubt vary. But let us be clear about this thing that the responsibility for educational development of the tribal areas in every State must be deemed to rest with the Education Department. I would, therefore, request

our colleagues here that whatever may be the internal administrative arrangements in a State, the direction of educational development for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should be taken charge of by the concerned Education Department.

We are separately considering the general question of admi- nistrative structure for the tribal sub-plan area. So much time has been lost and such a big task remains to be done in these areas that we cannot afford the luxury of time consuming procedures and be a witness to the 'passing the buck' game. Therefore, the State Ministers' Conference incharge of Backward Classes Welfare early this year resolved to have, a unified chain of command for administration of these areas. The total developmental effort in a Tribal Development Project area is expected to be the responsibility of the project level authority. This authority will have under its purview all aspects of economic and social development including education. It, therefore, follows that the educational administration also should fall in line with the same pattern and evolve a unified system.

Some other changes will also be necessary. For example, the syllabus for elementary stages will need to be in harmony with the local surroundings. The normal school-time devised for urban areas will not suit these areas. The child is a helping hand in a tribal family. Therefore schools may be held in the morning hours or evening hours according to the local situation. Similarly, their vacation may synchronise with the busy agriculture season. In principle all these points are accepted. But the necessary details are not worked out. There is a tendency to accept uniform patterns because it is so easy to do so. In tribal development, we should treat each area as unique, understand its specific problems and formulate such programmes as satisfy their felt needs.

The question of personnel and provision of adequate facilities for them is another important area which will need your attention. Many a time, the tribal areas are treated as punishment postings. Teachers remain absent for long and there is no check. This

situation also largely arises because the tribal areas, notwithstand- ing the difficult terrain and inhospitable climate, are treated gene- rally on par with other areas for purposes of emoluments etc. It is necessary to provide suitable incentives and adequate facilities to teachers working in these areas. Simultaneously, more effective supervision should be ensured by reorganising the administrative structure and strengthening the supervisory cadres wherever necessary.

A review of the educational scene brings out that there is uneven spread of primary, middle and high schools in these areas. In many areas the ratio of middle schools to primary schools is 1 : 10 to 1 : 20. Here again it will be necessary for us to plan for each small geographical unit with a view to ensuring that the educational structure as a whole is evenly balanced. When there is no middle school in the vicinity of a primary school, the drop-out ratio is bound to be high. Therefore, these structural imbalances should be corrected on a priority basis.

The most sparsely populated areas will need our special atten- tion. Small hamlets cannot support even a single teacher primary school. These sparsely populated areas have been deprived of any educational benefit for too long a period. Residential institutions, therefore, will have to be planned for a group of such small hamlets. I understand that specific allocation for residential schools in tribal areas was made in the educational Plan of each State. These allocations should be utilized for creating the desired facilities.

At this stage, I may point out that sometimes residential schools are opened in bigger villages with the objectives of providing better quality of education., This may be justified in some cases and may also be desirable. But it is reported that in some States a group of single teacher schools are substituted by a centrally located residential school. This would mean depriving certain villages, where single teacher schools earlier existed, even the basic facility of a primary school. I feel that this is a wrong approach. The programme of residential

schools should be suitably fitted in the overall educational strategy for the entire tribal area.

Our scheme of incentives in the form of scholarships, stipends etc. also, has certain weak points. We have universal coverage of students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes at the post-matric stage. The total investment in this scheme alone from the State and the Central Sectors during the Fifth Five Year Plan period will be of the order of Rs. 200 crores. The number of post-matric scholarships may reach the half-a-million point during the current year. It is likely to be of the order of 7 lakhs at the end of the Fifth Five Year Plan. We have recently enhanced the rates substantially particularly for those pursuing professional and technical courses. But the benefit of these scholarships largely goes to those areas where the educational base at the elementary and higher secondary levels is strong. Therefore, the States, where the enrolment at the lower levels is poor, do not get much benefit from this liberal scheme. It will, therefore, be necessary that scholarship , stipends, hostel facilities at middle schools and high schools are adequately provided for in these States.

I have earlier referred to the constraint of resources for social services. But the first question is whether these aspects are getting the necessary attention even within the educational plans. In the event of budgetary cuts, it is these programmes which get the heaviest cuts because they are considered to be peripheral. It has to be clearly understood that these programmes are an integral part of the educational package for these areas. We may as well have no school if other facilities cannot be provided. Therefore, the schemes specially formulated for the weaker sections and the more backward areas should get the highest priority. Even when there are cuts in the overall provision for the minimum needs programme, the allocations for these groups and areas should be spared as far as possible.

We have also invited attention of the Ministry of Education to the problem of some of the more backward States. These

States have a large population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and their educational back-log is also considerable. Therefore, they may not be able to give the necessary push to these programmes notwithstanding their best effort. The last meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education had recommended that a new scheme of central assistance may be formulated for provision of universal elementary education. The Ministry of Education may take urgent measures to help these States to achieve the national targets for universalisation of elementary education, particularly the weaker sections of the community and the more backward tribal areas.

In the end, I must express my gratefulness to the Chairman and other colleagues here for giving me this opportunity to share ray views. We are all committed to the philosophy of growth with social justice. The 20-point programme of the Prime Minister has provided a new dimension to our effort. Education alone can help in opening a new vista of life for the weakest sections of our community. Let us all contribute our mite to this noble task.