 APPENDIX `D'
MEMORANDUM ON ITEM 6 :
SCHEMES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF
 QUALITY IN ALL SECONDARY SCHOOLS
 SO AS TO BRING THEM TO A
 REASONABLE NORM OF EFFICIENCY,
 AND THE SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT OF
 "QUALITY SCHOOLS"

(A note on this subject received from the Government of Bihar will also be considered with this item).

In 1952, the Secondary Education Commission was appointed to review the position of secondary education in India and to suggest measures for its reorganisation and improvement. In its report, the Commission drew attention to the fact that secondary education in the country was isolated from life and was bookish and mechanical. It had failed to develop all aspects of personality of the pupil and was examination ridden. The scheme of studies was unilateral preparing students only for the universities and not for employment. The Com- mission also noted that methods of teaching were hackneyed, textbooks were not upto the mark and the size of the classes was generally so large that it was not conducive to the development of character and habits of discipline.

2. To remedy these and other defects inherent in the system, the Commission suggested several measure regarding the organisational pattern, curriculum, methods of teaching, guidance and counselling services, physical welfare of students, examination reform and im- provement of the teaching personnel. These were designed to evolve a pattern of secondary education which would meet the needs of not only the minority of bright pupils who would go to the universities but also equip the vast majority of these school pupils whose education would end at the secondary stage and who would need knowledge and skill to enter a trade or a vocation. Most of these recommendations were incorporated in the Second and Third Five Year Plans and schemes both at the Centre and in the States were formulated to implement the recommendations. Some of the important schemes adopted are :

(i) Upgrading of secondary schools to the higher secondary pattern.

(ii) Establishment and strengthening of multipurpose schools.

(iii) Setting up State Evaluation Units for promoting examination reform.

(iv) Establishment of State Bureaux of educational and vocational guidance.

(v) Encouraging Science Clubs, Science Fairs and organising Science Talent Search.

(iv) Organising extension programmes for the in-service training of secondary teachers.

(vii) Improvement of pay scales and conditions of service of teachers.

(viii) Other schemes of qualitative improvement relating to science education, libraries, teacher education etc.

3. A mid-Plan appraisal carried out in 1963 by the Ministry of Education and the Planning Commission, revealed that enrolment in secondary institutions had increased beyond expectation in the first two years of the Plan. Consequently, there was a tendency in the States to divert funds from schemes of qualitative improvement to those of expansion. This had naturally led to setting up of substandard schools. It was felt that the Central Government should assist State for implementing certain key schemes which would help to improve standards. It was also felt that the Government of India should provide 100% assistance outside State ceiling for such schemes. Accordingly, a programme for the improvement of secondary education was drawn up for implementation during the last two years of the Third Plan. The programmes envisages 100% Central assistance to State Governments, outside their plan ceilings for (a) strengthening of science laboratories; (b) training of science teachers; and (c) improvement of Libraries. The objectives of the schemes are given in the following paragraphs.

4. Strengthening of Science Laboratories.

The objective of this scheme is to strengthen the science labora- tory equipment in secondary schools to a prescribed norm so that students at this crucial stage of education receive better and more practical instruction in basic science subjects, viz. Physics, Chemistry and Biology. It is intended to carry out this strengthening as a special crash programme to be completed within a period of two years, viz. 1964-65 and 1965-66. Secondary schools, in this context, will include all schools teaching science subjects at the level beyond the elementary stage, irrespective of whether they are run and administered by State Governments, Local Bodies, or private managements.

5. Special training of science teachers.

The object of the scheme is to raise the standard of science teaching in secondary schools by organising special training programmes for teachers of science. The scheme is to meet, to some extent, the shortage of post-graduate teachers of science to teach higher secondary classes. It has also to provide short training to existing teachers of science in order to improve their competence and thus to enable them to teach that subject in secondary classes more effectively. The scheme also provides for the establishment of an Unit of Science Education in each State. This Unit will organise various programmes for the training and restraining of science teachers and will attend to all other needs of school in respect of the improvement of science education in the State. The latter needs will include curriculum reconstruction, production of textbooks, improvement in the methodology of class teaching, laying down of norms for laboratory equipment, preparation of simple apparatus, science talent search etc.

6. Strengthening of school libraries.

The object of this scheme is to strengthen the libraries of se- condary schools and thus to improve the teaching of all the subjects taught at secondary stage. Better library service in the schools would develop better reading habits among the students and would train them to refer to books for consultation and help. It will also enable the students to use books other than their text-books and thus to widen their knowledge beyond. that can be given by the teacher in the class-room under the limitations of time and other factors.

In respect of the schemes indicated above, allocations for the year 1964-65 have already been made to the State Governments.

In drafting proposals for the Fourth Plan the need for qualita- tive improvement has again been emphasised and it is felt that qua- litative improvement of secondary education on a general as well as selective basis should get the highest priority. Towards this end the following schemes have been proposed in the Fourth Plan:

7. Improvement and expansion of multipurpose schools.

It is proposed to improve the working of existing multipurpose schools and to introduce additional courses in technical, agricultural, commerce, fine arts and home science streams. Special efforts are proposed to be made to establish Junior Agricultural schools in rural areas and divert about 4 lac students to them.

8. Upgrading of High Schools to the Higher Secondary Pattern

It has been proposed that the States which have accepted the higher secondary pattern should be assisted to convert their existing high schools to the higher secondary pattern.

9. Improving and strengthening of science teaching

The programmes in the Fourth Plan are designed to improve general science teaching in all secondary schools and to make provision for the efficient teaching of elective science in a larger number of schools. It is proposed to achieve this end by improving the existing facilities for the training and supply of teachers, reviewing of science courses, giving increased emphasis on laboratory work, organisation of advanced courses in science for teachers, establish- ment of State Institutes of Science, establishment of circulating school libraries of science books, opening of more science clubs, and equipping the school laboratories so that they may come up to a certain essential norm.

10. Training and supply of teachers and improvement of their service conditions

It is felt that the facilities for professional training given to teachers at present are inadequate and, therefore, it is necessary that the existing teacher-training institutions should be strengthened and their standard raised. For this purpose several measures have been suggested namely, provision of suitable machinery in each State for maintenance of standards improving the pay scales of teachers

in training colleges; equipment of libraries and laboratories; provi- sion of residential accommodation to trainees; introducing concurrent courses of four years duration covering general and professional education; expansion of in-service training programmes and estab- lishment of Institutes of English at the State level.

11. Attention has also been given to the question of improving the service conditions of teachers. It is agreed that in order to get teachers of the requisite calibre, it is essential to offer sufficiently attractive terms and conditions of service. Several proposals have been made for improving salary scales and providing other benefits including free education to teachers' children and introduction of the triple benefit scheme.

12. Development of selected schools

It is proposed to develop intensively some selected schools in different parts of the country. These schools would be expected to maintain higher standards in respect of buildings, furniture, equip- ment, teaching aids, teachers etc. Its other features would be a lower pupil-teacher ratio, supervised study, special attention to talented students and more frequent and better supervision and ins- pection. These schools would be distributed in both rural and urban areas and some of them would provide hostels and other day boarding facilities.

13. Apart from the programmes for the Fourth Plan mentioned above there are other schemes proposed to be included. These include continuance of schemes concerning examination reform, educational and vocational guidance, production of textbooks, strengthening of craft teaching, strengthening of school libraries and assistance to voluntary organisations working in the field of education.

The Central Advisory Board of Education may consider these measures taken/contemplated and indicate what other steps if any are considered necessary to achieve the desired objective.

A note on this subject received from the Government of Bihar may be seen in Annexure VII.

ANNEXURE VII

Memorandum submitted by Government of Bihar relating to item No. 6.

SUBJECT :-To consider the urgency of taking up intensive programme for qualitative improvement of education, specially in the field of Secondary education.

Quality and quantity both should go together if education is to be made effective and purposeful. In our country, however, there has been an enormous expansion in the field of education at all stages after independence but the quality has lagged behind. This is a serious draw back in our education and it is adversely affecting the progress of the country. It is, therefore, high time that greater em- phasis is hereafter given to qualitative improvement of education so that the rapid expansion made in the field of education, in recent years, may be duly consolidated and a strong foundation built up for further advance of education, both quantitatively and qualitatively, to suit the needs of a developing country.

Intensive programme for improvement of qualitative aspect of education will necessitate :

(1) Defining of standards to be achieved in specific terms at different stages of education.

(2) Assessing the minimum requirement of schools in teacher personnel, pupils' capacity, equipments, etc. for the attain- ment of the standards set.

(3) Classification of schools in terms of the resources available in the schools in relation to the minimum requirement.

(4) Developing a phased programme for bringing the schools to a standard level.

(5) Assessing the impact of the programmes of different bodies set up by Central and State Governments for bringing about qualitative improvement in education at different stages.

(6) Assessing the extent of public co-operation that may be available for quality education.

Keeping in view the nature of work to be done, the Central Ad- visory Board of Education may make the following recommendations :

(1) The National Council of Educational Research & Training in co-operation with States, may get the list of minimum re- quirement for different subjects and the total school pro- gramme prepared in respect of teacher personnel, equipments etc.

(2) The State Government may classify their schools in different categories in terms of the resources available and develop a phased programme for assessing the schools on a well defined criteria, to attain the standard level.

(3) A small committee may be constituted to assess the impact of various bodies set up by the Central and State Governments for qualitative improvement of education.

(4) The Central and State Governments may be advised to in- crease the amount of allocation in their budgets on education and to set aside a substantial portion of their educational budget for qualitative improvement of education.

(5) The State Governments may be advised to encourage the organisation of a few quality schools with public co- operation in order to ascertain the extent to which the public is willing to pay for good education. The experience gained in this connection will be helpful in further planning in the field of education.

(6) A reliable, valid and objective criterion may be adopted by the schools and the universities for selecting students for admission in various courses and the concerned research institutions may be advised to develop proper tests in this connection.

APPENDIX `D' MEMORANDUM ON ITEM 6 : SCHEMES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY IN ALL SECONDARY SCHOOLS SO AS TO BRING THEM TO A REASONABLE NORM OF EFFICIENCY, AND THE SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT OF "QUALITY SCHOOLS"