The Education Minister of Orissa suggested that the facilities for higher education in tribal areas must be strengthened. The State of Orissa being predominantly populated by tribal people who speak dialects of their own which are different from Oriya and hence the primary education need to be imparted to tribal students in their own mother tongue as far as practicable. The State has also introduced tribal dialect in the Primary Schools. This scheme envisages appointment of teachers specially trained in the tribal dialect and the script. Hence, additional funds are necessary for appointment of such teachers; apart from providing reading and writing materials in respective mother tongue. Government of India is requested to provide for such funds since primary education is mainly funded by the Union Government fully.

21. Shri Subash Shirodkar, Education Minister, Goa said that Goa's was a success story in the fight against illiteracy. He promised that Goa would be a Totally Literate State by 31st March, 1993. He also pointed out that Goa had introduced Yoga in all schools. He also mentioned about the steps taken by the State Government for Value Education, Computer Education and Women's Education.

22. Dr. (Mrs). A. S. Desai, Vice-chancellor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, suggested that Social Science and Humanities which could be vehicle for social change were not receiving adequate attention. She said that vocational education and training should have a strong agricultural orientation. She was also of the opinion that skills training of school drop-outs should also be given due attention.

23. Shri Prem Bhai appreciated the revised Programme of Action. He said that access to education should be widened. He also stressed the need for using education as an instrument for women's empowerment. He urged adequate budgetary support for educational programmes. Shri Prem Bhai suggested catchment area approach for total literacy campaigns and also emphasised the need for micro planning for achieving the target of universalisation of elementary education. He also said that the Zila Saksharata Model be adapted to suit local conditions and to involving the entire community in literacy movement.

24. Dr. Jyoti Trivedi, former Vice-Chancellor, SNDT University, said that there was no provision for in-house Research Fund in Universities and suggested that adequate priority must be given for provision of Research Grant. She welcomed the policy on Academic Staff College and said that if properly implemented it would go a long way in solving some of the problems faced by the universities. Speaking about education of the handicapped Dr. Trivedi said that disabled children required a different teaching method.

25. Dr. Syed Hasan suggested that States should set up Advisory Boards of Education at the State level as part of decentralisation. He said that Programme of Action of State modelled after the Programme of Action prepared by the Central Government, should be prepared and discussed by the State Advisory Board of Education. The innovations made in States in the field of higher education could be discussed at the CABE for mutual benefits of the States.

26. Shri Harnam Dass Johar, Education Minister, Punjab sought special funds for developing education in the border area of the State as the State government funds were being diverted towards fighting militancy in the State. Elucidating the various steps taken by the State Government he said that enrolment in primary schools in the Punjab had gone up to 91.97 per cent. He assured that the State would achieve total literacy by the turn of the century. He also mentioned about the steps taken by the State Government for vocationalising secondary education. Referring to higher education he said that the policy should be to strive for a balance between regional expectations and the global activities. The Education Minister of Punjab suggested that the management and control of the Punjab University, Chandigarh, should be handed over to Punjab in view of the fact that 57 colleges in Punjab were affiliated to the University.

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27. Shri E. T. Mohd. Basheer, Education Minister, Kerala highlighted the importance of implementation of schemes. He said that a time- bound action plan should be prepared. The major hurdle in implementing programmes, he felt, was finance. He advocated a lot of flexibility on centrally sponsored schemes.

28. Shri Raj Nath Singh, Education Minister, Uttar Pradesh detailed ;he various programmes and steps the state government had taken for promoting women's education. He suggested that educated rural women be given preference in admissions to teacher training institution so that their participation in teaching field is ensured. He also suggested special measures like grant of scholarship to all SC/ST children for universalisation of elementary education among SCs and STs. He mentioned that instead of the word 'Harijan' the terms 'scheduled caste' and 'scheduled tribe' be used. He also pleaded for decentralization in adult education programmes. Referring to voluntary efforts in adult and non-formal education he said that such voluntary organisations should be given grants only on the recommendations of the State Government. At the middle school level he suggested more encouragement for open learning and correspondence education. Education Minister of Uttar Pradesh was of the opinion that focus of vocational education programme should be on self- employment with emphasis on employment for women. He also emphasised the need for value education in all fields of education and at all levels. The Minister said that Vedic Mathematics should be taught in schools.

29. Dr. Sudhir Roy, M.P. was of the opinion that the common school system was the only answer if equal educational opportunities were to be made available to all children. He said that there should be compulsory medical facilities in all schools. Several children have ailments which, if detected early, could be cured. He emphasized the role of higher education and regretted that resource crunch affected higher education most. He said that most of the universitites were suffering from resource crunch and State Universities were not able to purchase books, equipment or run the laboratories. He said that UGC should come forward to help the State Universities. He felt that better allocation of resources is required for education sector and at least 6% of GNP may be allocated. He spoke against the capitation fee and felt that private promotors were destroying the education system. He advocated that the total literacy campaign should be given all sorts of encouragement.

30. Dr. Jyotibhai Desai felt that the POA should be discussed at various levels at least for one year before it is launched.

31. Professor (Smt.) Savithri Lakshmanan, Member of Parliament suggested that primary education should be entrusted to women only as the children attending the primary school needed a motherly touch. For increasing the percentage of enrolment of girls, she suggested that cultural programme for the illiterate parents should be organised so that they agree to send their girls for education.

32. Dr. (Mrs.) Annapurna Shukla felt that the names of members on various CABE Committees should not be repeated and there should be equal distribution of members on the various committee constituted by Department.

33. Shri Deb Barman, Education Minister, Tripura pleaded for special schemes like Border Area Development Programme for the North-Eastern region.

34. Shri Surender Nath, Administrator, Chandigarh said that while Chandigarh had made significant progress in education still one fifth of the population was illiterate. One peculiar problem faced by Chandigarh was that of migratory labour. Referring to resources for education he said that providing education was the responsibility of the State. However, private initiatives should also be encouraged. He also observed that the Programme of Action contained an excellent framework; what was required was sincere implementation.

35. Lt. Gen. R. C. Dayal, Lt. Governor, Andaman & Nicobar Islands highlighted the special features of the Union Territory. He said that one of the innovative and fruitful programmes launched by the UT Administration in the area of girls' education was the Self Financing Scheme for incentives for girl children for attending schools and for promoting late marriages. Under the scheme a deposit is made in the name of the girl child who gets a progressively higher amount depending on the termination stage, like class X pass,

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marriage after the age of 20, etc. He was of the view that private initiative in education on a selective basis should be welcome.

36. Dr. Ratan Lal, State Minister for Technical Education, Rajasthan said that the infrastructure of technical education needed to be strengthened. The AICTE should not be satisfied with mere Issue of guidelines but maintenance of standards should be mandatory. He also pleaded for decentralisation. He said that planning should be at the district level. Referring to vocational education he said that vocational courses should be job-oriented.

37. Shri A. Gandhiraj, Education Minister, Pondicherry presented the education profile of the Union Territory. He said that after Kerala, Pondicherry was the second State/UT to become fully literate. Referring to management of education he said that the concept. of participatory educational order should go beyond involvement of educational institutions and should extend to the community itself. He suggested improvement of the ratio of primary and upper primary schools to ensure greater access for girls to higher elementary education. He welcomed the revised Programme of Action, particularly its suggestions on Navodaya Vidyalayas, higher education, teacher training, etc. So far as allocation of resources is concerned he said that the priority should be given to elementary education; higher education should be largely self-supporting.

38. Shri B. J. Heerjee, Advisor to Governor, Jammu & Kashmir opined that the revised Programme of Action was an excellent document. He specially welcomed the suggestion on decentralised management. He said that quality of education was a matter of great concern; to ensure that there should he a system of compulsory training for teachers. Voluntary effort in education should be encouraged. Special stress should be laid on vocational education; the objective of vocational education should be to equip the students for self- employment. He also suggested the association of banks and financial institutions with vocational education.

39. Professor Chattar Pal Singh, Minister of Technical Education, Haryana said that Technical Education in Haryana was being overhauled, he gave brief details of the effort. He suggested industry institution interaction in technical education. Technical education was free for girls in Haryana; weaker sections had reservation and incentives such as free books and stipends. He also mentioned about the efforts at modernisation of polytechnic education with World Bank Assistance.

40. Shri Hari Vallabha Parikh felt that the programmes included in the POA were very good. He appropriate deliver) the suggestion to expand the Operation Blackboard Scheme. He felt the need for mass movement for literacy. He felt that people's interest in literacy has already manifested and it would be channelised and effectively fructified if a systematic mechanism is developed. He also made a request for expediting sanction of his tribal education project which is pending consideration by the Grants-in-Aid Committee. The project is proposed to be inaugurated on 2nd of October.

41. Dr. M. P. Parameswaran, Secretary, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samithi highlighted the importance of appropriate delivery mechanism in literacy programme. He said that there was a manifest popular demand of literacy. He described the special characteristics of the literacy campaign. He pointed Jut that the success of literacy campaigns depended on environment building and synergic efforts.

42. Dr. Narendra Singh Gaur, Minister (Higher Education) Uttar Pradesh suggested that the recommendations of the Gnanam Committee be circulated to all the States and that a grant of one crore rupees be given to all the States Governments to set up State Councils of Higher Education. Besides, financial support for development of Open University in the country should also be considered. He referred to the acute financial crisis faced by universities in Uttar Pradesh. He said that like autonomous colleges. there should be Autonomous Departments in the universities. As regards Delinking of Degree from Job, he was of the view that in view of this being a complex issue, the State Governments should be taken into confidence before this was adopted as a policy.

43. Professor R. S. Randhawa, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, mentioned about the need to delete from textbooks statements which run counter to national integration. He said that he had observed as member of the Committee which recommended what should be done in this regard and was wondering why the report of the Committee was not being given due publicity. He was of the

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opinion that there should be constant vigil to ensure that nothing against national integration forms a part of text books used in the schools throughout the country. Professor Randhawa recommended that a project for the publication of extracts from various religions and sayings of national leaders should be brought out by the Department of Education. He also said that Autonomous Colleges by themselves were not an end but means to improvement of higher education in the country. The question of qualitative improvement of University & Higher Education was linked to the availability of resource. In this context, he felt that there should be no objection to increase in fees.

44. Professor G. Ram Reddy, Chairman, University Grants Commission informed the meeting that the University Grants commission was setting up four Regional Offices as part of its policy for decentralisation. He pointed out that the introduction of National Eligibility Test for recruitment of university and college teachers and selection of Junior Research Fellows was a major development in the field of higher education since the formulation of the New Education Policy in 1986. However, some problems have been noticed at the implementation stage. Successful implementation depends on concerted action by the Central and State Governments and the UGC. The States may also have their own eligibility tests. Referring to the demand for new Central Universities he said that the question of establishment of new universities needed to be examined-in-depth. He conceded that expansion of higher education facilities is required but the availability of finances was a big question mark. Ways to tackle the resource crunch would have to be worked out.

45. Dr. (Smt.) Jyoti H. Trivedi referring to the need for special education for disabled children, mentioned that different teaching methods were required to take care of the disabled. She felt that a statutory body like National Council of Disabled, should be set up.

46. Dr. Syed Hassan welcomed the recommendations of setting up of State Advisory Board of Education and formulation of Plan of Action by the States. He desired that the reports of the State Advisory Board of Education should also be considered by the CABE and felt that list of works done under the various innovative programmes undertaken should be circulated.

47. The written statements of State Education Ministers and other members are appended at Annexure-VII.

48. In his response, the Chairman of CABE thanked all members for the due consideration of the revised Programme of Action despite the paucity of time for discussion. He said that the Programme of Action was not the last word; in the light of experience gained, it would be required to make further amendments in it in future so as to incorporate a new goal and direction. The implementation of POA was not to be a central initiative; it should be collectively implemented. In this context, he referred to the specific provision in the POA that the State Government should formulate their own POAs and requested the states to expeditiously prepare the State POAs. He promised that the CABE Committee on Sports & Physical Education and Decentralised Management of Education would be formed soon. Referring to certain specific points, the Chairman requested Government of Bihar to furnish more particulars about the Chauraha schools. He also promised that the functioning of the AICTE would be streamlined and additional staff provided. This would facilitate its decentralised functioning and quicker decision making.

49. The meeting endorsed the draft Programme of Action with some modifications.

50. The meeting ended with a vote of thanks to the chair.