 IV. REPORT OF STANDING COMMITTEE
 ON SCHOOL AND SOCIAL EDUCATION
 OF THE CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD OF
 EDUCATION.

The School and Social Education Standing Committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education met on the 19th and 20th August, 1967 in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Shri M. D. Chaudhari, Education Minister of Maharashtra.

The Committee welcomed the decision of the Government of India to issue a statement on national policy on education. Subject to the following amendments, it broadly endorsed the report of the Committee of Members of Parliament on Education (1967).

1. The last two lines in para I (page 1) of the report to read as follows :

"emphasize science and technology, a secular outlook and the cultivation of moral, social and spiritual values."

The following to be added at the end of para 2(p. 1) :

"Such a transformation will not be achieved unless the process of education at all levels is revolutionized in order to make it more realistic, dynamic and closely related to life and environment. Experimentation should be encouraged to bring about constant improvement of the quality of education. In this connection the principles of Basic Education that now are universally accepted as basic to all good education need to be reiterated."

3. Para 8(page 2) dealing with the Neighbourhood School be replaced by the following :

"The Neighbourhood School (Common School)

To strengthen social unity and to provide equality of opportunity to the less advanced sections of the society, the unhealthy social segregation that now takes place between the schools for the rich and those for the poor must end. This can be done

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only by moving in the direction of a common school system covering all parts of the country, and which provides equality of access to all children. The system, when in operation, should maintain such a high standard of education that parents will not feel the need to send their children to expensive independent schools outside the system.

The common school concept should be adopted as a long- term goal to be reached through a phased programme. A beginning should be made in those areas where public opinion is favourable to the idea, but effort must throughout concentrate on the improvement of primary schools to an adequate standard. Concurrently, steps should be taken to encourage fee-charging independent schools to admit a fair proportion of non-paying students to be selected by the State on merit. To compensate the schools for the loss of income, a suitable method of reimbursement should be devised.

During the transitional period, special emphasis should be placed on developing a suitable co-curricular programmes which would offer opportunity to pupils from different social strata to share a common life."

4. The following sub-para should be added at the end of Para 9 (page 3) :

"(g) Necessary safeguards must also be provided to ensure that switch over to the regional medium of instruction does not disrupt the intellectual and corporate life of the universities and institutions of higher learnings."

5. Para 10 (Para 3) to read as follows

"Classes I-X : (It is desirable that) before completing his school education (Class I-X), a pupil should have knowledge of three languages. viz.

(1) Mother-tongue/regional language;

(2) Hindi/any other language in the Eighth Schedule not opted under (1) above;

(3) English or any other language not opted under (1) and (2).

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To enable this, facilities for the teaching of three languages should be provided in all secondary schools. The stages at which the teaching of languages other than the mother tongue should be introduced is a matter to be left to the State Governments. Effective methods of teaching languages should be evolved.

6. The words "In practice" in the first sentence of para. 11 (page 4) should be deleted. The amended sentence will read as "Hindi is already largely in use as a link language for the country."

7. The last two sentences in para 14 (page 5) to be replaced by the following

"Agricultural polytechnics providing different courses needed for agricultural or agro-industrial development should be established. The curriculum in these institutions should aim at building up a spirit of self-reliance and self-employment in the students. The present tendency to depend entirely on Government jobs should be discouraged. There is urgent need, in rural areas, for suitable centres or institutions providing extension services to farmers and giving part-time intensive courses to young persons who have left school and taken to agriculture."

8. The last sentence in para 16 (page 5) should read as follows :

"This work with hands will help the young to develop insights into modern productive processes and use of science and inculcate in them respect for manual labour and habits of hard and responsible work."

9. Para 17 dealing with Character Formation on page 6 to be replaced by the following:

"Character development is an important educational objective and at no time has the need to emphasize it been greater. People in our times are clamouring for their rights but have no similar awareness of their responsibilities. This must change. It is true that education alone cannot accomplish this task; but there is no doubt that it as an important

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role to play. Education faces the major challenge of cultivating a sense of moral and social responsibility in the rising generation. Training in good citizenship must, therefore, become an integral part of education at all stages. The emphasis should be not on classroom instruction or academic sermonising, but on personal example of teachers and elders and on the opportunity to develop good habits of behaviour in situations. The quality of reading materials, the stress on the proper study of the humanities and the social sciences, including the study of the fundamental truths underlying the great religions and the biographies of great men, the Tendering of social service to the community, and participation in games and sports and hobbies all these have a contribution to make to the formation of right attitudes and to the development of a sense of social responsibility. Every effort should, therefore be made to utilize these factors to the maximum extent in the interest of character-formation."

10. The second sentence in para 19 (page 6) to read as follows :

"Voluntary organisations conducting pre-primary ins- titutions should receive encouragement and financial assistance, especially when they are working in rural areas, urban slums. or for children of the weaker and socially and economically neglected sections of the community."

11. Para 20 (page 6) to read as follows:

"The provision of good and effective primary education on a free and compulsory basis, is the foundation of democracy and national development. It should be given the highest priority and implemented in two stages, namely, lower primary and higher primary. Children who are not yet fourteen years old at the end of Class VII and who do not wish to study further should be retained in the educational system till they complete 14 years of age but should be provided with short vocational courses of their choice."

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12. The brackets including the words-and if possible, even in Classes I-IV-in the third line from bottom of para 21 (page 7) should be deleted.

13. Para 22 (page 7) should be deleted.

14. The last sentence in para 32 (page 9) to be amended as follows :

"In particular, possibilities of developing correspon- dence courses not only at the university but also at the secondary stage for teachers, for agricultural, industrial and other workers should be explored. Further facilities, both to men and women, to study privately and appear at various examinations conducted by the Boards of Education and Universities should be available.

15. Para 33 (page 9) should be amended to read as follows : "The liquidation of mass illiteracy and promotion of functional literacy is essential, not only for accele- rating programmes of production, especially in agriculture but for quickening the tempo of national development in general. Plans to accelerate the spread of mass literacy as a break through on the lines of the Gram Shikshan Mohim of Maharashtra should therefore be prepared and intensively implemented on several fronts. Such programmes are also necessary to reduce wastage and stagnation among primary school children. Particular attention should be paid to follow up action to prevent relapse into illiteracy. With a view to reducing new additions to the ranks of adult illiterates part-time literacy classes should be organised for grown up children, age group (11-17) who did not attend school or have lapsed into illiteracy.

16. A new Para should be added after para 34 on page 10. The new para (34A) should read as follows:

"Functional literacy has a direct bearing on productivity. Moreover, the entire programme of Adult Education and Literacy requires coordination between a large number of agencies, governmental and non- governmental and direction of top leader-

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ship for this purpose and for finding adequate re- sources. It is necessary, therefore, that the National Development Council should concern itself with the implementation of programmes for the promotion of functional literacy and integrally relate them to the growth of agricultural and industrial production."

17. The sentence "..The education of girls .........." on a priority basis" in para 35 of page 10 should be replaced by the following:

"The education of girls should, therefore, receive special emphasis and the funds required for its advancement, particularly for the implementation of its special programmes, should be provided on a priority basis. The funds for girls education and its special programmes should be earmarked so that there is no possibility of their being diverted into other uses."

18. Two new paragraphs should be added after para 35 (on page 10). These should read as follows:

35 (a) While it is recognised that the gap between the enrolment of boys and of girls is being bridged in the field of general education it is noticed that the gap is actually widening in the field of vocational education for lack of adequate facilities of vocational education for girls. It is urgently necessary to expand and improve the programme of vocational education for girls by organising I.T.Is and Polytechnics for Women, offering suitable courses leading to jobs or to self- employment.

35(b) Condensed courses for adult women should be organised on a large scale and it should be ensured through proper coordination among different agencies and Government departments that women who complete the courses are suitably. employed. This is one important way of meeting the present shortages of women personnel.

19. Present paragraph 38 (page 11) should be brought forward and made para 36. Consequently, paras 36 and 37 (page 10) should be renumbered as paras 37 and 38, respectively.

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20. The following penultimate sentence in the present para 36 (page 10) should be deleted:

"Care must also be taken to ensure that the educated persons from these classes are suitably employed."

21. The last sentence in para 39 (page 11) should read as follows :

"It is necessary to coordinate the activities of different agencies in the field including Government departments and voluntary organisations."

22. The title of para 41 should be amended to read as "TEACHERS : STATUS".

23. Present sub-para (7) of para 41 (page 12) should be made sub-para (6) and should be replaced by the following:

"The academic freedom of teachers to pursue and pub- lish their studies and researches and to speak and write about significant national and international issues should be protected. Teachers should enjoy civic rights. However, considering the lofty ideals of his profession which is of utmost importance in the life of a nation, the key role that he has to, play in the educational system and the healthy influence that he has to bring to bear on the young generation, the teacher should not, as a matter of healthy convention, take part in active politics or participate in elections except in teachers' constituencies. To do justice to his noble profession and to maintain its ethics and high standards, the teacher should accept this restriction as a self-imposed discipline."

24. Sub-para (6) of para 41 (page 12) should be made. para 42B (see below 26). The second word "training" in the first sentence of this sub-para should be replaced by "professional preparation."

25. Para 42 (page 12) should be followed by a new para. to be called 42A. TEACHERS: EDUCATION. The professional preparation of teachers, being crucial to the qualitative improvement of education should be treated as a key area in education development and adequate financial provision should made for it, both at the State and national levels.

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26. As mentioned above, present sub-Para (6) of Para 41 (page 12) becomes a new Para after 42A and may be numbered 42B.

27. The word "NEW" in the title of Para 43 should be replaced by the word "EFFECTIVE". The new title will, therefore, read "EFFECTIVE METHODS OF TEACHING".

28. The word "progressive" should be added before the word "adoption" in the last line of Para 49 (page 14).

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IV. REPORT OF STANDING COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL AND SOCIAL EDUCATION OF THE CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD OF EDUCATION.

"The Neighbourhood School (Common School)