PROCEEDINGS--
The 27th Session of the Central Advisory Board of Education was hold at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 6th and 7th February, 1960. Dr. K. L. Shrimali, Education Minister, Government of India, presided. The following were present :-
Ex-officio Members : 1. Dr. K. L. Shrimali, Education Minister
2. Shri K. G. Saiyidain, Education Secretary, Ministry of Education
Nominated Members: Nominated by the Government of India
1. Shri N. K. Sidhanta
2. Smt. Hansa Mehta
3. Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale
4. Smt. Ranu Mookerjee
5. Rear Admiral B. A. Samson
6. Shri E. W. Aryanayakam
7. Shri T. S. Avinashilingam Chettiar
8. Shri A. A. A. Fyzee
9. Dr. V. S. Jha
10. Dr. Sushila Nayar
11. Shri M. S. Thacker
Nominated by the Inter-University Board
1. Dr. A. L. Mudaliar
2. Shri D. C. Pavate
Nominated by the All-India Council for Technical Education
1. Dr. T. Sen
2. Shri T. N. Tolani
Members Elected by Parliament: Rajya Sabha
1. Dr. Nihar Ranjan Ray
2. Dr. (Smt.) Seeta Permanand
Lok Sabha
1. Smt. Laxmibai Sangam
Representatives of States : Andhra Pradesh
1. Shri S. B. P. Pattabhi Rama Rao, Minister for Education
2. Shri J. P. L. Gwynn, Education Secretary
3. Shri N. Ram Lal, Director of Public Instruction
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Assam
1. Shri R. Das, Deputy Education Minister
2. Shri S. C. Rajkhowa, Director of Public Instruction
Bihar
1. Kumar Ganganand Sinha, Minister for Education
2. Shri Saran Singh, Education Secretary
3. Shri S. Sahay, Additional Secretary
4. Shri K. Ahmed, Director of Public Instruction
Bombay
Dr. A. G. Pawar, Director of Education
Jammu & Kashmir
Shri Harbans Singh Azad, Minister for Education
Kerala
Shri Rama Varma, Director of Public Instruction
Madhya Pradesh
1. Shri Shanker Dayal Sharma, Minister for Education
2. Shri L. C. Gupta, Education Secretary
3. Shri S. P. Varma, Director of Public Instruction
4. Shri B. V. Deo, Deputy Secretary
Madras
Shri N. D. Sundaravadivelu, Director of Public Instruction
Mysore
1. Shri Anna Rao Ganamukhi, Minister for Education
2. Smt. Grace Tucker, Deputy Education Minister
3. Shri A. C. Deve Gowda, Director of Public Instruction
Orissa
1. Dr. Harekrishna Mahtab, Chief Minister
2. Shri B. C. Das, Director of Public Instruction
Punjab
1. Shri Amar Nath Vidyalankar, Education Minister
2. Shri Yash Pal, Deputy Education Minister
3. Shri C. D. Kapur, Education Secretary
4. Shri S. N. Sehgal, Joint Director of Public Instruction
Rajasthan
1. Shri M. L. Sukhadia, Education Minister
2. Shri S. S. Saxena, Director of Education
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3. Shri J. S. Mehta, Additional Director of Education
4. Shri A. G. Garde, Director of Technical Education
Uttar Pradesh
1. Shri Kamlapati Tripathi, Education Minister
2. Shri R. S. Yadav, Deputy Education Minister
3. Shri C. N. Chak, Director of Education
4. Shri K. N. Malviya, Deputy Secretary, Education
5. Shri Balwant Singh Sial, Joint Director of Education
West Bengal
1 . Shri Rai Harendra Nath Chaudhuri, Education Minister
2. Dr. D. M. Sen, Education Secretary
Representatives of Union Territories : Delhi
Shri B. D. Bhatt, Director of Education
Manipur
Shri S. D. Bahuguna, Director of Education Secretary of the Board-Shri P. N. Kirpal
The following members of the Standing Committees on Basic and Social Education who are, otherwise, not members of the Board, also attended:
1. Shri Shriman Narayan, Member, Planning Commission
2. Shri G. Ramachandran
3. Dr. E. A. Pires
4. Shri Ranjit M. Chetsingh
5. Shri Mushtaq Ahmed
6. Shri T. Madiah Gowda
7. Smt. Kulsum Sayani
8. Shri A. R. Deshpande
9. Shri D. P. Nayar
10. Miss S. Panandikar
The following attended the meeting by special invitation
1. Dr. C. D. Deshmukh, Chairman, University Grants Commission
2. Maharaja of Patiala
3. Smt. Durgabai Deshmukh, Chairman, Central Social Welfare Board, and Chairman, National Committee on Women's Education
4. Shri A. N. Khosla, Member, Planning Commission
5. Shri A. K. Bhonsle
6. Shri M. R. Kothandaraman, Adviser, Planning Commission
The following members were unable to attend
1. Col. B. H. Zaidi
2. Smt. Zarina Currimbhoy
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3. Dr. A. C. Joshi
4. Dr. K. S. Krishnan
5. Dr. Mohan Sinha Mehta
6. Shri Raghubar Dayal Misra
7. Mr. Frank Anthony
8. Dr. K. C. Naik
Inaugurating the 27th session of the Board, Dr. K. L. Shrimali paid a tribute to the memory of the late Dr. J. C. Ghosh. `Dr. Ghosh who was an eminent scientist and a member of the Planning Commission', he said, `had made valuable contributions to the deliberations of the Board during his membership'. On his suggestion, the members observed a minute's silence in Dr. Ghosh's memory.
The Chairman then delivered the following inaugural address
"I have great pleasure in welcoming you to the 27th meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education. We are meeting today after a year. Though we are still greatly handicapped on Account of lack of adequate financial resources, we have moved forward with faith and determination towards our goal of building up an educational edifice suited to our present and future needs. There are people who are impatient with our achievement and express dissatisfaction with the educa- tional system both in the press and on the platform. This is understandable since the road of educational reconstruction is long and arduous and takes years to produce tangible results. The reports that have been placed before you about the activities of the Ministry in various fields will give you an idea of what is being done to expand and develop education. I do not, therefore, propose to survey the whole field, but to confine my remarks to a few issues of outstanding importance about which your advice and comments will be welcome.
"One important problem which continues to agitate our minds and which has recently assumed an epidemic form is that of students' unrest. Two of our universities in Uttar Pradesh had to be closed down recently on account of disturbances. The Inter- University Youth Festival which had run smoothly during the last five years was also marred by ugly events in Mysore. During the last five years serious disturbances have taken place in various universities. While the students start agitation for different and usually frivolous reasons, the events take more or less the same pattern. Students have demanded reduction in fees, free entry to cultural shows or tournaments, admission of un- deserving students to the universities, dismissal of some teachers, banning the publication of a report or book, cancellation of action taken by invigilators for adoption of unfair means in examinations, etc. When the university authorities refuse to accept their demands, they start strikes and hunger strikes, stage processions and meetings, and indulge in defiance of law and physical violence which have ultimately led in some cases to police intervention and closure of the universities. This is a sad story and it continues to repeat itself. These happenings have brought discredit to the universities and to some extent have tarnished the fair name of our country, specially at a time when our universities had begun to attract large number of students from foreign countries. It is all the more deplorable that this should have happened at a time when the country is engaged in an urgent and gigantic task of national
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reconstruction. If the present disruptive tendencies among the students are not arrested and they continue to resort to direct action and physical violence, this state of affairs will lead to all-round deterioration of national life, since the future of the country depends on the quality of men and women who come out of the universities. We must, therefore, put an end to this malady which is eating into the vitals of our national life.
"I shall not go into all the causes which have led to this situation for they are well known. They are many and arise from the need for adjustment and stability in a period of rapid transformation when tra- ditional values and institutions are disintegrating without giving rise to new bonds and loyalties. The present economic situation and the dread of unemployment, which create uncertainty in the minds of our youth, also contribute to the difficulties of the situation. The University Grants Commission has appointed a Committee to go into the various causes of students' indiscipline. I hope the Commission will be able to suggest suitable remedies. I do not want to anticipate their recommendations but it is evident that in the ultimate analysis, the present situation is a result of failure on the part of parents to exercise proper control over their wards and of teachers to win the respect, affection and confidence of their students. It is all the more tragic that, in many cases, the teachers themselves have been found to instigate students to start agitation. There are also politicians who are always ready to fish in troubled waters and exploit the students for their political ends. I cannot think of a more heinous social crime than the teachers instigating their students to indulge in anti-social activities and politicians exploiting them for their selfish ends.
"The university as an autonomous and corporate body is created by the State to enable students to pursue their studies and seek truth and knowledge in an atmosphere of freedom and under the guidance of respected and scholarly teachers. Its success depends on the harmonious relationship between the students and the members of the staff. When this relationship breaks down, as has happened in several universities, the university ceases to function and its autonomy is gravely undermined. It is not a pleasant thing either for the university or for the Government that the police should guard the portals of a university to maintain some semblance of law and order; at the same time when teachers lose their bold over students and the latter take the law into their own hands, it becomes the duty of the Government to support the university authorities to curb hooliganism. The university is the last place where the protection of the police should be sought for the maintenance of law and order but when the students begin to question the authority of their teachers and, instead of seeking guidance from them, begin to judge their conduct, the proper relationship between teachers and pupils breaks down and there is virtually an end of all academic life.
"The universities must make it clear to the students that, while they will consider all their demands sympathetically and try to deal with their legitimate grievances, they will not yield under any circumstances to threats of direct action. It is the duty of the university to look after the welfare of the students but action committees, hunger strikes, processions and mass agitation organised by the students' unions are repugnant to the academic atmosphere of the university and destructive
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of its liberal corporate life. The students who indulge in these activities have no place in the universities and there should be no hesitation in taking disciplinary measures against them.
"The universities should also make the teachers realise that they cannot be absolved of their responsibility in a situation where the students in a body revolt against them. There must obviously be some- thing wrong in their attitude and behaviour which leads the students community to an open revolt against them. In well-managed educational institutions where teachers are dedicated to their work and are genuinely interested in their students, they command their respect and there is no problem of indiscipline. The problem arises only in those institutions where factionalism is rampant, where teachers are more interested in securing personal advantage and power than in teaching and guiding their students and where personal contact is weak or entirely absent. If this problem is to be tackled effectively the university authorities will have to weed out by some process of screening those teachers who are incompetent or do not maintain high professional integrity. The universities should also adopt positive measures to establish greater contact between teachers and students through the tutorial system and other ways. The universities should not deal with students in mass but as individuals and place small groups of students under teachers who should be made responsible for their proper guidance and supervising their conduct and behaviour. It is only by improving the relationship between students and teachers and by establishing more intimate contact between them that the universities can eventually solve this problem. The problem of discipline is a human problem and can be solved only in a human way.
"In order that the students may receive effective guidance both in their studies and general behaviour the number of students in each university will have to be limited. The University Grants Commission has already made some suggestions to the universities in this regard but so far many of them have not paid much heed to their advice and have failed to resist the pressure of increasing numbers seeking admission after passing out of the High schools. It is after serious deliberations that the University Grants Commission has come to the conclusion that there can be no improvement either in the academic standards or in the behaviour of students unless we restrict their number and admit only those students who are likely to benefit from Higher education. The University Grants Commission cannot remain indifferent to a situation where the universities continue to admit students in larger numbers than they can manage, and when they become actually unmanageable, they have to close down with the result that those students who are serious about their studies also suffer. This situation is intolerable and if the universities continue to ignore the advice of the University Grants Commission, it will have to consider whether it can continue to give grants under such circumstances. I do hope that the Commission will get the full cooperation both of the universities and the State Governments in rehabilitating universities and such a situation will not arise.