1958
RECOMMENDATION In view of the leeway that the country as a whole had to make up in the field of girls' education and in view of the fact that teachers for primary schools could come only from the products of secondary schools the Board recommended that the scope of the scheme for the expansion of girls' education should be extended to cover the secondary level.
ACTION TAKEN During the Second Plan the scheme for expansion of girls' education and training of women teachers has been limited to the elementary stage only in view of the limited funds available.
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE OF PRIMARY TEACHERS 1953
RECOMMENDATION The primary teachers should be provided with suitable residential accommodation at a reasonable rent.
ACTION TAKEN Under the scheme of, Relief of Educated Unemployment and Expansion of Primary Education, which was initiated in 1958, provision was made, inter alia, for the construction of 6,000 quarters for women teachers by the end of 1961. The Government of India have assisted the State Governments at the rate of 100 per cent of the total expenditure on this scheme. Most of the States. have made use of this assistance in full or in part.
1956
RECOMMENDATION All primary teachers in each State should be brought on to State cadres and their services made available to local bodies and private institutions on approved terms. In formulating conditions of service, care should be taken to make them comparable careers in the State.
ACTION TAKEN A regular scheme for revision. of salary scales of primary school teachers was introduced by the Ministry of Education in 1956-57 with a view to bringing uniformity in the different salary scales of primary school teachers working in schools run by various bodies. Under this scheme Central assistance was accorded to States at the rate of 50 per cent of the additional expenditure involved in the revision of salary scales. All the States, except Jammu and Kashmir which considered its scales of primary school teachers adequate, revised the salary scales of all primary school teachers, by bringing them, as far as possible, on lines of State cadres on approved terms.
2. The problem of improving the salaries of primary teachers was thus emphasised considerably in the Second Five-Year Plan. In this context,
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the Government of India made the following three proposals for the, consideration of the State Governments :
(a) The minimum basic salary of an untrained primary teacher should be Rs. 40 and the minimum basic salary of a trained. primary teacher should be Rs. 50.
(b) The dearness and other allowances payable to primary teachers. should be exactly the same as are payable to Government servants drawing the same salary; and
(c) The nature and quantum of old-age provision for primary teachers should also be the same as that for Government servants.
1957
RECOMMENDATION The Board considered that the provision of residential quarters for women teachers in the rural areas was a matter of the utmost urgency. While expressing satisfaction that State proposals, including teachers' residential quarters as an integral part of the school buildings, were already covered under conditions of Central assistance, it drew the attention of the Government of India and State Governments to the need of doing very much more in this direction than was being actually done at present.
ACTION TAKEN Under the scheme of Relief of Educated Unemployment and Expansion of Primary Education, which was initiated in the year 1958, provision was made, inter alia, for the construction of 6,000 quarters for women teachers by the end of 1961. The Government of India have assisted the State Governments at the rate of 100 per cent of the total expenditure on this scheme. Most of the States have made use of this assistance in full or in part.
TEACHERS' TRAINING 1952
RECOMMENDATION The Board recommended that special measures may be taken for training the staff of Basic training colleges at the Central Institute of Education.
ACTION TAKEN The Government of India have since established a National Institute for Basic Education which has been organising advance training courses for teachers, headmasters, staff of training colleges and other persons in charge of administration of Basic education.
PROGRESS OF EDUCATION OF SCHEDULED TRIBES AND IN SCHEDULED
AREAS 1953
RECOMMENDATION The Board recommended that steps should be taken to construct roads in scheduled areas and residential accommodation at State Government's cost for pupils in scheduled areas.
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ACTION TAKEN The Ministry of Home Affairs addressed all State Governments concerned to provide hostel accommodation, wherever available, for pupils in scheduled areas at the expense of the State Government. Central grants under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution would be available for the purpose. The States concerned are also entitled to grant under this article for the development of roads in scheduled areas etc.
1955
RECOMMENDATION The Board noted the progress of education of the scheduled tribes and scheduled areas in various States with particular reference to the educational development schemes under Article 275 of the Constitution and welfare of the tribal people in part 'C' States. It, however, took a serious view of the fact that some of the grants received from the Central Government were being utilized for constructing exclusive hostels for students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes and Backward Classes. The Board recommended that instead of segregating these students in separate hostels, steps should be taken to reserve seats for them in the general hostels and, if necessary, build annexes to such hostels for the purpose.
ACTION TAKEN The State Governments were addressed accordingly. Besides this, while giving their comments on the proposals regarding grants-in-aid to the State Governments during 1955-56 under article 275 of the Constitution the Ministry of Education recommended to the Ministry of Home Affairs that instead of segregating the students belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes in separate hostels, seats should be reserved for them in the general hostels, and if necessary, annexes to such, hostels should be built.
1958
RECOMMENDATION In the opinion of the Board the welfare programmes in the States financed from grant-in-aid under Article 275(1) of the Constitution for Scheduled Castes and Tribes should be coordinated with their general educational development programmes.
ACTION TAKEN The recommendation was forwarded to the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations for implementation.
LOCAL BODIES AND ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 1951
RECOMMENDATION The Board considered the question raised in. regard to the difficulties experienced in regard to the relationship between the State Governments and local bodies in respect of the administration of elementary education and noted that a committee may be appointed by the Chairman to examine the question thoroughly.
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ACTION TAKEN A Committee called the Kher Committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Mr. B. G. Kher in 1951 to consider the relationship between the State Governments and local bodies in the field of education.
This committee submitted its report in 1952 and the report was considered by the Central Advisory Board of Education in March 1952, which they accepted in broad outlines.
1952
RECOMMENDATION The Board accepted in broad outline the recommendations of the committee on relationship of State Governments and local bodies in the administration of primary education and desired that these may be forwarded to the State Governments for their information and guidance, so that they may implement them in the light of their special circumstances and problems.
ACTION TAKEN Copies of the report of the Kher Committee, set up in 1951 were forwarded to the State Governments for their information and for taking necessary action in accordance with their special circumstances and problems.
The State Governments, whose replies were received by the Government of India, were generally in favour of the recommendations excepting the States of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
Subsequently, the question of decentralisation of administration of primary education was discussed by the Balwantrai Mehta Committee. Some of the recommendations of the Kher Committee were reviewed and revised by the Mehta Committee. Recommendations of the Mehta Committee are now under implementation.
CRAFT IN BASIC EDUCATION 1952
RECOMMENDATION The Board received the report of the Committee and expressed the view that the element of craft work in Basic education is of such educational importance and value that, even if no economic considerations were involved, it is necessary to replace ordinary primary education by Basic education in a planned manner. In carrying out this programme, special attention of the State Governments should be drawn to the fact that a system of education cannot be considered as Basic education of the real sense unless:
(a) it provides an integrated course including both the junior and senior stages; and
(b) it places adequate emphasis on craft work in both its educational and productive aspects.
ACTION TAKEN As desired by the Board the recommendation was brought to the notice of the State Governments for their information and guidance.
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1957
RECOMMENDATION The Board suggested that a Statewise programme for introducing craft in schools may be drawn in all States.
ACTION TAKEN The recommendation was brought to the attention of the States.
1957
RECOMMENDATION The Board was in favour of centralising the production of craft equipment. In such matters the principle to follow should be decentralisation rather than centralisation. The Board, however, viewed with sympathy the need to lay down standard specifications for different types of craft equipment.
ACTION TAKEN The work relating to laying down specifications with regard to the craft equipment to be used for the different crafts, was assigned to the National Institute of Basic Education.
1957
RECOMMENDATION In so far as States which were having difficulties in getting craft equipment prepared and supplied to schools were concerned, the Board suggested that the Ministry should examine the question in consultation with the other Ministries and Boards concerned and explore the possibility of making craft equipment available to them.
ACTION TAKEN The State Governments were asked the nature of difficulties experienced in the procurement of craft equipment. Thereafter these were referred to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry who in their turn contacted the Khadi Board, small scale industries, etc., to help the State Governments remove the difficulties. At present the communications regarding the difficulties experienced by the State Governments are forwarded to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry who suggests suitable remedies.
EDUCATIONAL SURVEY 1957
RECOMMENDATION The Board noted the progress made regarding the conduct of the proposed educational survey and expressed satisfaction that preliminary work regarding the organisation of an all- India seminar- cum-training course for State officers, and the constitution of an advisory committee to help the survey work had already been completed.
ACTION TAKEN The Survey has been completed and its report published.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BASIC EDUCATION 1957
RECOMMENDATION The Board recommended that the National Institute of Basic Education should make a thorough study of the researches so far done in the field of Basic education in order to avoid any duplication of work.
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ACTION TAKEN The National Institute of Basic Education has already taken the following steps in this direction :
(1) All published researches and unpublished theses were collected and thoroughly studied at the Institute. Long abstracts giving necessary details about each of the researches were prepared and circulated in the form of the first number of 'Basic Education Abstracts'. 42 such abstracts are now being published.
(2) With a view to drawing attention of research workers to the general trends of research in Basic education and to the areas demanding attention, a review was undertaken by the Institute and an article thereon published in "Education Quarterly" of the Ministry of Education (December, 1956 Issue).
(3) In order to discuss the problems needing attention of research workers at all levels, including teachers of Basic schools a pamphlet on "Research in Basic Education-Some Suggestions" has been prepared, and is being published shortly.
(4) The heads of teachers' colleges and university departments of education have also been requested to send an up-to-date list of investigations so far completed under them.
(5) In addition to the above the Institute keeps in touch with the training institutions, universities and research institutions and collects from all available sources necessary details about researches being done and/or completed.
1958
RECOMMENDATION The Board discussed the question of making a comparative study on scientific lines of the achievement of Basic and non-Basic school children, and while appreciating the difficulties inherent in any attempt to make an objective assessment of Basic education, the Board suggested that the National Institute of Basic Education might examine the possibility of taking up suck an evaluation with the cooperation of the post-graduate Basic training colleges in the country.
ACTION TAKEN It was felt that research work on an all-India basis would be a gigantic affair involving a large number of variables including standards of particular institutions economic conditions, background of people, political considerations etc. which may not easily lend to standardisation and comparison, which the institute with the present tools and the research work already in hand may not be able to undertake. It can at best coordinate and guide the post-graduate training colleges in their efforts.