APPENDIX `E' MEMORANDUM ON ITEM 7 : THE NATURE, EXTENT AND MECHANISM OF DIVERSIFICATION OF EDUCATION AT THE SECONDARY STAGE
One of the most important recommendations of the Mudaliar Commission on Secondary Education was diversification of courses at the secondary stage with a view (i) to prepare the students to meet the needs of the changing social and economic pattern in the country; and (ii) to supply better students for specialised higher studies.
2. Diversification was recommended to remove one of the major defects in pre-Independence educational system which was criticised by many eminent persons as suited only for production of clerks and persons for "white collar" jobs,. In principle there seems to be no disagreement regarding the need for diversification. Nevertheless the progress made so far in this field cannot be considered satisfactory for various reasons such a (i) financial allocations made for diversification have been inadequate and even these meagre provisions have many times been utilised for meeting the needs of expansion; (ii) the shortage of personnel required for organising and running diversified courses (iii) lack of broad uniformity-the output of some diversified courses was intended to be well up both for higher studies and for practical work on the farm or in the factory; while some other courses provided a larger doze of vocational education of a terminal character. In some parts of the country the Higher Secondary system was introduced and the diversified courses followed that pattern. In others this was not done and so the point from which diversification was to be operative as well as the duration of the courses was different.
3. Enrolment in elementary schools is increasing fast and it is time that the question of diversification is reconsidered in the light of experience gained so that a large proportion of the students now reaching the Secondary stage may receive education which will be of use to them in the developing economy of the country instead of producing educated youngmen and women, who would be constantly seeking white-collar jobs or higher education of the same type.
4. Diversification has been introduced in various ways, the most important being through the vocational streams in schools known as multi-purpose schools. The statement in Annexure VII shows the number of such courses introduced in different parts of the country. In these courses the object was to provide general education principally and also to give a bias to the students towards Technology, Agriculture, Commerce, Fine Arts, Domestic Science etc. An approach very much similar to these schools was adopted by the post Basic schools mainly in respect of Agriculture. The difficulty in these courses has been the non-acceptance of the output of the courses as better material both (i) for admission to higher technical studies, and (ii) for jobs on the farm or the factory.
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5. Diversification at the end of the Elementary courses (for convenience we may take the point to be equivalent to the age of 14 plus) has been adopted in several other institutions and in a variety of courses, such as the following:
(i) In the technical line-the Junior Technical Schools, Vocational Training Institutes, Training-cum-Production Centres, Apprentice Courses, training by firms on the job etc.
(ii) For the Agriculture stream:- schools awarding certificates or diplomas for training of agricultural personnel at the middle level for Government jobs such as those of Agricultural Demonstrators, VLW Courses etc.
(iii) For the Commercial line:- courses for training in typing, short-hand, accountancy etc.
(iv) In Fine Arts :-Diploma courses for drawing, painting etc. and special training in schools for music, dance, drama etc.
(v) Home Science and medical courses-courses for catering, training of nurses, compounders, health visitors etc.
6. It is obvious that with an increasing variety of vocations, the diversified courses will have to make adjustments and to cover as many fields of economic activity as possible. It would also appear to be necessary to determine whether the diversified course should aim at providing a large doze of general education with only a bias for particular vocations or give more of practical training so that at the end of it the students are fit for being absorbed in the economy of the country as an efficient unit of production. In the latter case it may be necessary to provide some adjustment courses through which a student who has finished diversified course may, if he so chooses, proceed for higher studies.
7. The statement at Annexure IX gives the estimated figures of students receiving education in various types of diversified courses at this stage at present. The total number of these students is esti- mated to be 5.42 lakhs which is about 12% of the estimated number of students in Secondary classes. It is obvious that the percentage of diversification is very low whether due to lack of funds or personnel or defects in the courses themselves. For future planning not only the nature of diversification, but also its extent will have to be determined mainly on the basis of the changing economic needs.
8. Suitable diversified courses may have to be provided with a view to strengthen both industry and agriculture by providing skilled workers with a reasonable basis of general education. This will also incidentally reduce the great rush for general University Education. The limiting considerations for increasing the diversified courses substantially would be funds, personnel and employment opportunities. It will be necessary to secure the cooperation of the students and their parents in the matter of diversification to agricultural courses. The trend generally has been that after receiving education particularly at the Secondary stage a young student would take to any other job, but agriculture. On the other hand, despite
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rapid growth in industrialisation the principal industry of the coun- try is still agriculture and will continue to be so for a long time. Unless, therefore the student educated through diversified courses at the Secondary stage is available to agriculture, scientific and tech- nological advance of the country will not reach the field, and the number to be educated in Agriculture will remain severely limited.
9. Although diversification may be accepted as a desired goal considerable difficulty is likely to be experienced in providing the mechanism by which students will be diverted to these vocational courses and not permitted to continue in the stream of general edu- cation. The mechanism to be provided for this will have to be as ob- jective as possible so that the students, the parents and the teachers generally accept the decision to send a particular student to a diver- sified course as fair. The expertise of educational and vocational guidance will have to be developed intensively and applied with the cooperation of the parents. Some of the methods which may be considered for this purpose are as under:
(i) An examination at the end of the middle level of education to provide the basis for determining students who would be suitable for particular vocations rather than for general Secondary education or Higher education.
(ii) An expert body to evolve objective criteria for diversifica- tion of students in particular vocations and an organisation of parents, teachers and experts at the school level to apply these cri- teria while carrying the people with them.
(iii) Making full use of the various existing forms and agencies for imparting vocational training at this level-both private and Gov- ernment-and develop the more popular of them further according to a broadly uniform pattern.
(iv) Making general Secondary education unattractive by- measures like (a) limiting the number of seats in general Secondary schools i.e. not expanding the enrolment in general Secondary education beyond a certain point; (b) charging adequate tuition fees in the general Secondary schools.
The Board may consider this problem and inter alia express their opinion in regard to the following matters:
(i) Whether the point from which diversification should start may be the age of 14 plus roughly corresponding to the end of the Elementary course;
(ii) What are the directions in which diversification should be provided for;
(iii) Whether diversified courses at the Secondary Stage should provide practical courses mostly of a terminal character;
(iv) What should be the percentage of students at the Secondary stage for whom various types of diversified courses may be provided during the Fourth Plan;
(v) What should be the mechanism whereby the desired number and quality of students could be sent to the diversified courses at the end of their Elementary education.
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ANNEXURE IX
Estimated Enrolment in various Types of Diversified Course
Multipurpose junior Technical
Schools Schools
Courses Number Enrol- Number Enrol-
of ment at of ment at
courses 100 per Schools 60 per
course school
1. Agriculture 397 39,700
2. Commerce 729 72,900 76 4,560
3. Technology 441 44,100
4. Fine Arts 173 10,380
5. Humanities 946 1,41,900
6. Home Science 218 17,440
7. Science 1,377 2,06,550
8. Others Including Courses in
Post-Basic Schools 83 4,980
TOTAL 4,364 5,37,950 76 4,560
Present estimated enrolment=45,00,000 at secondary stage
Total enrolment in diversified courses=5,42,510 i.e. about 12% of enrolment at the secondary stage
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