It is proposed that about 15 officers from each State would visit other States during each year of the Plan. Each visit would be of two to six weeks' duration. A provision of Rs. 7.5 lakhs has been made for this purpose.

The total provision required for this scheme is, therefore, Rs. 10 lakhs.

5. Grants-in-aid for Approved Research Projects in Elementary and Basic Education

A scheme for giving grants-in-aid for approved research projects in secondary education was started in 1953-54. It has worked very well during the last eight years. It is now proposed to expand the scope of the scheme to cover research in problems of elementary and Basic education under the scheme.

The main purpose of grants-in-aid for staff, equipment and contingencies will be given to any educational institution which has the necessary competent staff for the purpose.

A sum of Rs. 15 lakhs has been provided for the scheme.

6. Programmes of Emotional Integration

There is a great need today to develop programmes which would bring about emotional integration between the different peoples of the country and to strengthen the sense of common nationhood. This will have to be a very important programme of educational development and will have to be worked out through all primary and secondary schools in the country. Unfortunately, very little is being done in this direction at present. It is, therefore, proposed to take up this important programme intensively, though on an experimental basis, during the Third Five-Year Plan.

The Education Ministers' Conference held in November, 1960 has also recommended that a high-powered committee should be set up to prepare a programme for emotional integration and the development of the concept of common nationhood. The report of this committee would also be of great assistance in this task.

The programme will be attempted in four directions:

(a) Selecting a few- experimental schools-both primary and secondary-in all parts of the country where such programmes would be attempted by enthusiastic and competent teachers by giving them small financial assistance for the purpose;

(b) Strengthening the organization of such programmes in the teacher training institutions-both at the primary and secondary level-in order to inculcate the idea in the minds of teachers;

(d) preparing books for teachers for the implementation of the programme at various stages.

A provision of Rs. 15 lakhs has been made for the scheme.

7. Institute for the Training of Education Administrators

In the Tenth General Conference of Unesco held at Paris in 1958, India moved a resolution that Unesco should undertake a study of primary education in Asia with a view to developing a major project therein. This resolution was accepted by the General Conference. Accordingly, survey of primary education in Asia was carried out in 1958-59 and a meeting of the member-States in the Asian region was held at Karachi in December, 1959 to study the findings of the survey. This meeting proposed a 20-year programme for the development of free and universal compulsory education in Asia and suggested a certain programme of action for the Unesco.

One of the important items in the programme suggested at the Karachi meeting for Unesco is the Organisation of a regional centre for the training of educational planners, administrators and supervisors for the countries in the Asian region. Unesco is prepared to have the centre in India. The centre will undertake research in the technique of educational planning, administration, and supervision to place the results at the disposal of member-States, and will assist member-States, upon request, in organising educational planning services and in holding national training courses.

The centre, which is expected to be established about August, 1961, will include three experts provided by Unesco. The host country is expected to provide the director, as well as necessary additional professional, administrative, clerical and ministerial staff, building of facilities for teaching and hostel, furniture, fittings, office and library equipment and stationery, etc. The main advantage of this centre would be that it would enable the country to establish close liaison with other countries of the Asian region.

A provision of Rs. 25 lakhs has been made for the centre in the Third Five-Year Plan.

8. Pilot Project for the Distribution of Free Textbooks in Primary Schools

Under a scheme of compulsory primary education, it is the responsibility of the State to provide free books and writing materials to all needy children. In fact, in all advanced countries of the West, the State provides free textbooks and writing materials to all children liable to compulsory attendance.

It is necessary to run a pilot project for this purpose with the following objects, amongst others:

(a) To produce cheap and durable textbooks; (b) To prolong the life of textbooks as greatly as possible; and

Unesco is prepared to assist a project of this nature. It has promised that it would obtain a gift of a printing press from West Germany for this purpose. The West German Government is also prepared to make the services of its technicians available for the purpose of setting up the press and training our personnel. Unesco has further promised to secure gifts of paper.

It is proposed to set up this unit at a suitable place under the Government of India and to run a pilot project for supply of free textbooks to children in primary schools in all the Union Territories. To begin with, the project will be limited to books in Hindi only and, later on, the preparation of books in the tribal languages may also be undertaken.

The press would be run on a commercial basis. In other words, the books produced by it would be supplied to the Administrations of the Union Territories and to such State Governments as need them, on payment.

A sum of Rs. 10 lakhs has been made for the scheme.

(b) CENTRALLY SPONSORED SCHEMES

9. Pilot Projects for Intensive Development of Primary Education in Selected Blocks

As early as 1944, the Sargent Report recommended the intensive development of education in selected areas. Such experimental pilot projects are obviously of great help in gaining the necessary experience required for the generalisation of the scheme of universal compulsory primary education in the Fourth and later Plans. It is, therefore, proposed that 30 community development blocks be selected in the country as a whole two in each State, and a pilot project for intensive development be launched in them during the Third Five-Year Plan.

The pilot projects now proposed may be described as multipurpose" pilot projects. The following would be the main programmes, among others, which would be developed in these selected blocks during the Third Five-Year Plan :

(a) The selected block will have a central teacher training institution for primary teachers, preferably with a graduate Basic training centre also attached. This institution will be developed as an experimental teacher training institution having three wings- research, experimental work in the training of teachers with a view to evolving better methods of teaching, and extension services to all the primary schools in the neighborhood. One of the major objective of this project would, therefore, be to develop experimental training institutions (with research and extension wings) at the primary level.

(b) As is well known, the teaching of science in primary school is very weak. Some experiments to improve this teaching were under- taken in the Second Five-Year Plan. In the light of the experience gained and in order to cover further ground, an intensive experiment

in developing the teaching of science on proper lines in the primary and middle schools of the selected blocks will also be undertaken. To conduct an advisory service for the schools in the neighbourhood in the teaching of science would, therefore, be one of the important pro- grammes to be carried out by the teacher training institutions selected under item (a) above.

(c) The decision to introduce universal compulsory primary education in the age-group of 6-11 and to enforce it rigorously during the Third Five-Year Plan raises several new administrative, social and financial problems which need investigation and study. Intensive experimental work would be done in these blocks from this point of view and it is hoped that the results obtained would be of great value in developing the experiment all over the country.

(d) There is hardly any research work being done at present in problems of primary education. Particularly, problems of wastage and stagnation, lapse into illiteracy, etc., have to be studied. It is hoped that research work will be undertaken in the different facets of these and allied problems in all these selected blocks.

(e) Another group of problems on which experimental and research work will have to be done refers to supply of free books and writing materials to poor and needy children, increasing the duration of life of every school textbook, mobilising community effort, reduction of wastage and stagnation, Organisation of continuation education, orga- nising programmes of child welfare outside the school and also pro- grammes of adult education on an intensive scale, etc. Work on these problems also will be organised in all these selected blocks.

(f) Finally, attempts will also be made in the selected blocks to develop a programme of Basic education in the context of the decision to introduce universal and compulsory primary education. As the first step in this direction, all the schools in the selected block would be converted to the Basic pattern and both research and experimental work will be done on the modifications that might be necessary in order to make this programme effective in the new set-up.

It will thus be seen that the object of this pilot project is to try to work out an intensive programme of Basic education in the context of the introduction of compulsory attendance and also to bring about an all-sided educational development for adults and for children in the age-group 6-14 in the areas selected. it is only through such intensive efforts that the necessary training and experience to generalise the programme in the Fourth and later Plans would be available.

The administrative machinery created for the project would be as follows:

(i) A training institution situated in the block would be selected as the pivotal institution for this project. it will have a section for training Basic teachers for primary and middle schools and preferably a graduate Basic training centre also.

(ii) The principal of this institution would be carefully selected and it is proposed to give him a special allowance for the extra work and

responsibility involved. In addition, he will have the following assistance:

(a) A chief coordinator for extension services;

(b) An assistant coordinator for teaching of science (he will also have to be in charge of some other programmes);

(d) A third assistant coordinator for research.

Besides, grants-in-aid would also be provided for the provision of advisory services, for organising the inservice training of teachers, and for small assistance to schools in the neighbourhood to improve their teaching techniques, etc. Where the training institution has some deficiency for undertaking a programme of this type, the necessary funds will also be provided to the institution for making up the deficiency concerned. For example, if the training institution does not have a laboratory, grants-in-aid will be provided to equip it with a laboratory, and so on.

The scheme is estimated to Cost Rs. 120 lakhs.

B.SECONDARY EDUCATION

(a) CENTRAL SCHEMES

10. Expansion of the Directorate of Extension Programmes for Secondary Education

In order to implement the various recommendations of the Secondary Education Commission for re-organising secondary education, the Government of India set up in 1955 the All-India Council for Secondary Education with both executive and advisory functions. In April, 1959 the Council was re-constituted as an advisory body with the executive functions being given to the Directorate of Extension Programmes for Secondary Education. The programmes of the Directorate are aimed at those areas in the secondary education in which there are grave deficiencies in quality such as science education, curriculum construction, etc. The Directorate has, therefore, been engaged in Organisation of inservice programmes for secondary school teachers, improvement of science teaching, studies in curricular revisions, encouragement of experimentation in secondary schools, and problems relating to the higher secondary and multipurpose pattern.

It provides the expertise for the various programmes, prepares instructional material, organises seminars and follow-up workshops for the key personnel in the related areas and helps the designing and establishment of experimental projects.

In order to carry out the above activities effectively the work of the Directorate will have to be sustained and considerably expanded during the Third Plan. A provision of Rs. 60 lakhs has been made for this purpose.

11. maintenance of Existing Extension Services Centres

One of the outstanding projects introduced during the Second Five-Year Plan in the field of secondary education was the introduction of regular inservice training programme for secondary school teachers through the establishment of extension services centres in selected training colleges. The scheme started with 24 centres for a period of three years and went

off so well that it was enlarged to include another 30 extension centres. it is now recognized all over the country that this project has done more good to secondary education than any other single scheme. These 54 centres within themselves have covered nearly one- fifth of the country's high and higher secondary schools.

The scheme is being continued in the Third Five-Year Plan. A provision of Rs. 66 lakhs has been made for this purpose.

12. Development of Central Institute of English, Hyderabad

For improving the standard of English in the country, an institution known as the Central Institute of English, Hyderabad has been established with effect from the 17th November, 1958 in collaboration with the British Council who have provided the services of their officers (on payment basis) for the institution and the Ford Foundation who have given a grant of $ 605,000 for the purpose. The Institute is intended to conduct research and to train teachers of training colleges in the improved techniques of teaching English as a foreign language. During the Third Plan, the Institute will be strengthened and its training programme expanded. The total provision for the scheme is Rs. 35 lakhs. This includes Rs. 12 lakhs for the construction of a building for the Institute.

13. Grant-in-aid for Approved Research Projects

The object of the scheme is to provide assistance to State Governments and educational institutions to carry out research on problems relating to secondary education. During the last eight years 52 projects have been sponsored under the scheme.

It is proposed to expand the work of this scheme during the Third Five Year Plan in view of its outstanding results and a provision of Rs. 12 lakhs has been made for this purpose.

14. Assistance to Voluntary Educational Organisations

The aim of the scheme is to afford financial assistance to those voluntary organisations which are working in the field of secondary education. They have been doing valuable work in developing experimental lines but their main handicap is the inadequacy of financial resources available to them. As against this, they have proved their capacity (a) to enlist the services of devoted educators, (b) to tap private financial resources to some extent for the development of education, and (c) to work out educational experiments.

Such organisations can play a vital part in the reconstruction of education if their three principal assets are developed to the full. The scheme "Assistance to Voluntary Educational Organisations" is designed to help partly in overcoming the financial handicap in the initial stage.

The scheme has been successfully implemented during the Second Plan. A provision of Rs. 40 lakhs has been made for its implementation during the Third Plan.

15. Promotion of Inter-State Understanding

The purpose of this scheme is to promote in students a wider appreciation of the cultural and emotional unity of the country. Selected students from different States are brought together so that they learn about the contribution that each State has made towards the enrichment of the nation.

The programme also includes the distribution of descriptive brochures to various regions in India, encouraging pen-friendship movement in schools, publication of a book on the history of India with special reference to the cultural unity of the country, instituting essay competitions, encouraging classroom projects on the life, customs and cultural activities of the people in other States and the institution of prizes to writers of books on the subject. The scheme has made a modest beginning in the Second Plan. Copies of the guide book on "West Bengal and Assam" have been distributed to the secondary schools in the southern States and it is proposed to distribute copies of a brochure on "South India" to secondary schools in northern States. In order to ensure that teachers use these booklets to obtain the maximum benefit, guide notes are being prepared and distributed along with the booklets. During 1959-60, the first rally of secondary school students selected from different States and Centrally Administered Areas was held in Delhi on the occasion of the Republic Day Cele- brations, in implementation of this scheme. The second rally under this scheme is being organised in January, 1961.