MINUTES OF THE MEETING
The 46th meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) was held at the Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi on March 8- 9, 1991 under the Chairmanship of Shri Rajmangal Pande, Minister of Human Resource Development.
2. A list of participants is furnished in Annexure-I.
3. Shri Anil Bordia, Education Secretary, welcomed the members of the Board and invitees to the,meeting. He expressed regret at the delay in convening the meeting of the Board, despite ,several efforts during the last 1 1/2 years. He thanked the previous Chairmen Shri P. Shivshankar and Shri Chimanbhai Mehta and the outgoing members of the Board for their contributions. He gave a brief resume of the discussions held at the meeting of the Education Secretaries and Directors held on 7th March, 1991. He then outlined the business listed for the meeting of the Board and introduced briefly the Agenda items (Annexure-II). He thanked the Vice-Chancellor, the Jamia Hamdard University for making available the excellent facilities on the campus for the CABE meeting. Thereafter, he invited the Chairman to deliver his inaugural address.
4. In his address, Shri Rajmangal Pande, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, highlighted the policy initiatives undertaken in recent years to extend the benefits of education to weaker sections of the society and to rural areas. He made special mention of the scheme of Navodaya Vidyalayas which was designed to nurture rural talent. He commended the practice adopted by Navodaya Vidyalayas to migrate a fixed percentage of students of Class IX and above to different linguistic regions of the country. Such migration 3promotes national integration. He appealed to all the States and Union Territories to give a big push to the adult literacy programmes, as illiteracy is a national shame and an obstacle to the nation's advancement. He expatiated on the need for value education for all- round development ,of personality, for promoting values such as India's common cultural heritage, secularism, communal harmony, removal of
1
2
social barriers and egalitarianism. He expressed his great appreciation of the role of CABE, which comprises eminent educationists and Ministers-in-charge of Education. He concluded his address by calling upon the august body to meaningfully discuss the agenda items and to offer advice to the Central and State Governments. The address of Shri Rajmangal Pande, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, as circulated at the meeting, is appended at Annexure- III.
5. On conclusion of the inaugural address of the Chairman, Minister of Education (P&S), Government of West raised his doubts about the desirability of holding the meeting of CABE at the present juncture. The political situation was fluid, he said, and the Eighth Plan and the Central Budget were yet to be finalised. That apart, a decision has to be taken on the recommendations of the Report of the Committee for Review of NPE, 1986 (Acharya Ramamurti Committee). All these have a vital bearing on the agenda items listed for the meeting. While some members concurred with this view, a large number made a plea for the meeting to proceed. as scheduled. The Minister of Higher Education, Bihar called for prompt consideration of the Acharya. Ramamurti Committee Report. In response, the Chairman assured that due consideration would be given to the Acharya Ramamurti Committee Report. Union Education Secretary explained the position obtaining in regard to the Report. He recalled that NPE 1986 was formulated after a great deal of consultation; it was adopted by the CABE, considered in a specially convened meeting of the National Development Council and was finally approved by both Houses of Parliament. Acharya Ramamurti Committee submitted its report to the Government on 26 December, 1990. The Committee made several recommendations ranging across the whole educational spectrum. The normal procedure adopted to process reports of committees is to constitute an Empowered Committee of officials to examine the recommendations made by such a Committee. Keeping in view the importance of the Ramamurti Committee Report and since education is a concurrent subject, it was felt that it would be better if the matter was considered by a CABE Committee which includes State Education Ministers as well as eminent educationists. Education Secretary said that the Chairman, CABE had decided that rather than going ahead with constitution of the Committee he should be guided by the CABE as to how the Report should be processed. Therefore, the entire matter regarding action on Ramamurti Committee Report was before consideration of the CABE. The consensus
3
that emerged after discussions was to constitute a CABE Committee to examine the Report and to go ahead with the business as scheduled.
6. The minutes of the 45th meeting of CABE were confirmed.
7. Thereafter, the agenda items were taken up for discussion in the plenary session. The written texts of the speeches of the Education Ministers are appended at Annexure-IV. Some of the salient issues touched upon by the Education Ministers and by the members of the CABE during the plenary session on 8th March are outlined below.
8. The Education Minister (Higher Education), Bihar stated that universities in Bihar are passing through a severe financial crisis. There were practical problems in raising fees. He desired that a Rural University should be set up in Bihar. The State Government has already set up the Nalanda Open University. He regretted that in spite of the requests of the State Government the Central Government has not established a Central University in Bihar. He desired that either the Patna University by converted into a Central University or a new Central University be opened in Bihar.
9. The Education Minister (Elementary Education), Bihar, listed the measures taken by the State Government to promote national integration among the school children. He stated that a common prayer had been introduced for children of a communities to remove communal tension. He urged that special attention should be paid to education of tribals.
10. The Education Minister (Secondary Education), Uttar Pradesh, sought higher allocation of funds for the education programmes in the State, particularly for Nonformal Education, and Adult Education. Education policy should be such that the standard and quality of education are of high order; the policy should instil in the students a spirit of discipline, self-reliance and national integration, He suggested that there should be more interaction among the members of the CABE and that they should be kept abreast of the developments in education.
11. Education Minister (Mass Education Extension), West BMW, referred to the Adult Education Programme and the
4
Mass Campaigns in the State particularly in districts of Burdwan, Hooghly, Birbhum, Bankura, Cooch Behar and and Midnapur. He said that 15 lakh illiterates had been made literates in Midnapur district alone. He further stated that the school students were being involved in the programme. He also informed the Board that the West Bengal Government was trying to reorganise the Nonformal Education Programme with the involvement of local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions in the existing socio-economic framework. He also stressed the need for involvement of local bodies and Panchayat institutions in educational planning and management.
12. Education Minister, Sikkim enumerated the various steps taken by the Government of Sikkim to provide education. He suggested that the block should be the basic unit for teacher training instead of district. He also pleaded that a school for the development of Bhutia, Lepcha and Limboo languages should be established. He further stated that the needs of the State must be taken into account to modify particular schemes if it suited the State's needs. The Central assistance should not be limited only to a plan period but should continue for a period of ten years.
13. Education Minister, Orissa wanted Central assistance for the construction of school buildings and funds for the upgradation of primary to secondary schools and the strengthening of teaching of science and mathematics.
14. Education Minister, Kerala expressed the need for cons- truction of school buildings in his State. He noted that the Central Government sought to tap external funding for basic education; such funds should be made available to Kerala also. He also made a plea for carrying forward funds under the World Bank assisted project for technical education from one year to the next year. He informed the CABE that Kerala would be fully literate by April, 1991. This statement was widely welcomed.
15. Education Minister, Madhya Pradesh referred to the developments in the field of education in the State in spite of acute financial constraints. The State Government, he said, is giving priority to girls' Education. He wanted more funds for the State for Adult Education, NFE and Technical Education. He informed the Board that the State Government has recently established a rural university at Chitrakut. He also stated that
5
the State Government was reorganising the University Education and would regularly review the progress in the field of Technical Education. The State Government is giving priority to the skilled training. He concluded by saying that the schools set up by foreign missionaries are harming Indian culture about which the Government of India should take remedial steps.
16. Education Minister, Meghalaya gave a resume of the development of education in the State. He stated that the educational norms for opening of schools, training of teachers and grant-in-aid should be relaxed for the tribal areas. While it is desirable to progress towards a uniform academic calendar, local considerations, particularly in the North-East, should be taken into account. He mentioned that Indira Gandhi National Open University has set up one centre at Shillong and one at Tura. However, there was need for setting up more such centres for the promotion of distance education.
17. Education Minister, Mizoram dwelt on literacy, voca- tionalisation, university calendar and polytechnic education. He stated that the problem of unemployment can be solved only through skilled training.
18. Education Minister, Nagaland stated that Nagaland had several habitations where schools are yet to be established. He stated allocations for the State were insufficient and there, was no programme of Nonformal Education in the State. He further stated that the curriculum should conform to the capacity of the child.
19 Education Minister, Tripura gave a resume of the development of education in Tripura and sought higher allocations for the State. He also urged that a Central University should be established in the State.
20. Education Minister (Higher Education), Uttar Pradesh made a plea for abolition of public schools, examination reforms, observance of academic calendar and the setting up of an Inter-University Board in each State for proper co-ordination and maintenance of standards between different universities.
21. Education Minister, Rajasthan advocated a high priority to value and moral education. Total literacy is a prerequisite for development. Therefore, it is necessary to strive for achieving total literacy.
6
22. Prof. (Mrs.) Annapurna Shukla, Varanasi Pressed for value- based education. She stated that instead of delinking jobs from the degrees, need-based education should be linked with value education. A survey of existing jobs should be conducted with a view to assessing the manpower requirements in education.
23 Dr. G. S. Randhawa suggested a review of text-books with a view to eliminating passages which encouraged devisive tendencies and go against the concept of national integration. He further suggested that the Ministry of Human Resource Development should bring out a creatively written book which should bring out the real tenets, particularly the harmonising ones, of different religions. This book should serve as a supplementary reading material and would foster emotional integration of the country.
24. Dr. Malcolm Adiseshiah observed that over the years there had been a trend towards centralization. He also felt that we should not rely too much on foreign aid in the area of education.
25. Prof. Ramlal Parikh supported the proposal that a Committee be constituted to consider the recommendations of the Acharya Ramamurti Committee.
26. The plenary session on 8th March ended with an exhortation by Prof. D. S. Kothari to promote Indianness of Indian education. He expressed his concern at the increasing disharmony, tension and violence being manifested in the country. The need of the hour, he said, was tolerance and wisdom. And herein lay the true role of education. Knowledge should be linked with the values needed in human development, values which were fostered by Budha and Mahatma Gandhi.
27. The Board adjourned for lunch after announcement on arrangements for discussions in the Working Groups. Seven Working Groups were set up to deliberate in-depth the various agenda items. Details of these arrangements are furnished in Annexure-V. After lunch the groups met separately to consider various issues and to prepare their reports. The groups continued their deliberations in the forenoon of 9th March also and finalized their reports. Copies of the Working Group reports are presented at Annexures VI to XII.
7
28. In the afternoon of 9th March, 1991 the Board met in, its plenary session to consider the reports of the various working groups that had been formed the previous day.
29. Secondary Education : Ms. Sushma Chaudhary, Rapporteur presented the report of the working group on secondary education. While considering the Report, Prof. Ramlal Parikh was of the view that the vocational education should not continue as a distinct stream at the +2 level. The consensus, however, was that the report as prepared by the Group may be adopted. It was also pointed out that in any case this matter will again come up for consideration in the context of examination of Acharya Ramamurti Committee Report. Dr. Anandalakshmi suggested that in the report the terms `deaf', `dumb' and `blind' should be replaced by the terms persons suffering from auditory' and `visual' handicaps. This suggestion was accepted. With this modification the report was adopted.
30. Higher Education : The report of the working group on Higher Education was presented by Shri C. T. Benjamin, Rapporteur of the group. In the course of discussion, the following decisions were taken :
(a) In regard to the Gnanam Committee Report, the State Governments should formulate their views and send them to the Ministry within three months. The Chairman, CABE should set up a CABE Committee to consider the recommendations of the Gnanam. Committee Report keeping in view the comments of the State Governments, and have the Report of the Committee placed before CABE at the next meeting.
(b) The Chairman may also set up a CABE Committee on Distance Education to examine steps to be taken for promotion of distance education in the country, including the role of IGNOU vis-a-vis the State Open Universities, as well as., the need for greater use of radio and TV for promotion of distance education.
The CABE approved the Report of the working group with the additional decisions as above.
31. Adult Education : The report of the working group on adult education and literacy was presented by the Chairman of
8
the group Dr. Malcolm Adiseshiah. The following points were made in course of discussion :
(a) The initiative taken by Prof. Yash Pal, former Chairman, UGC and a number of like-minded persons to involve school and college students in national issues like eradication of illiteracy was welcome.
(b) Concrete steps should be taken to revive the Vidya- peethas set up in Karnataka under the auspices of Karnataka Adult Education Council.
(c) There is need for greater linkage of the adult education programme with the system of libraries. Systematic programmes need to be undertaken for ensuring that neo- literates do not relapse into illiteracy.
(d) In the planning of literacy and post-literacy programmes special attention should be paid to habitation with SC/ST concentration.
With these observations the CABE adopted the working group report.
32. Technical Education : The report of the working group on
technical education was presented by its Rapporteur, Prof. B.B.
Chopne. In the course of discussion some members drew attention
towards the urgent need to attract and retain qualified teachers in
engineering. Steps need to be taken to improve the general quality of
engineering teachers and to provide them better avenues for career
advancement. The Board noted that , the All India Council for
Technical Education was already seized of this matter and that
necessary action is being taken by it. The report of the working group
was adopted by the CABE.
33. Elementary Education : The working group report on
elementary education was presented by Dr. L. P. Pandey, the Rapporteur
of the group.
34. Education Minister, Karnataka said the CABE should recommend
adoption of mid-day meal programme for improving enrolment and
retention. He said that the experience of the States which had
adopted such a programme had been very positive. In response to this,
Shri Anil Bordia explained that CABE had always endorsed the idea of
provision of mid-day meals to children but had also consistently taken
the stand that the res-
9
ponsibility for this should not lie with the school system, as the
work relating to procurement of foodgrains, their storage, cooking,
distribution, accounting, monitoring, etc., greatly interferred with
the task of teaching/learning in schools.
35. Prof. D. S. Kothari said that while he fully agreed with
the MLL approach and concept, there was need for a re-examination of
the recommendations of the R. H. Dave Committee in regard to specific
skills and competencies before adopting them. He also advised that
inculcation of values and other non-cognitive and affective areas
should also be emphasised.
36. Some other members also made observations on different
aspects of the report of the working group. CABE adopted the Report
of the working group with the following additional observations :
(a) The specific levels of skills and competencies
recommended by the R. H. Dave Committee should be get
thoroughly re-examined by the Ministry before accepting
the Report.
(b) Operation Blackboard should continue in the Eighth Plan
and expanded to the upper primary stage. Fund for
appointment of teachers provided by the Central
Government during the Seventh Plan should continue to
form part of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme during the
Eighth Plan. A timebound programme should be taken up
for provision of infrastructure and basic facilities for
primary education based on well laid down norms.
(c) The Central and State Governments should be called upon
to fully implement the law relating to child labour,
while efforts are made to provide education to all
working children.