APPENDIX A (g) : REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD OF EDUCATION ON BASIC EDUCATION
A meeting of the Standing Committee on Basic Education was held on the 10th and 11th May, 1956, to consider the recommendations of the Assessment Committee and other important items connected with the improvement and expansion of Basic Education.
The Assessment Committee on Basic Education was appointed in 1955 by the Government of India to make an on the spot survey of the progress of Basic Education in different States and to make recommendations for its further development on right lines. The Report of the Assessment Committee was submitted to the Ministry of Education in April 1956.
The Agenda Memoranda and proceedings of the meeting together with a copy of the Assessment Committee are attached for the information of the Central Advisory Board of Education.
Printed Separately, [Ministry of Education (year 1956) Publication No. 234.]
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Standing Committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education on
Basic Education--Fifth Meeting, to be held on 10th and 11th May 1956
at New Delhi
AGENDA 1. Consideration of the Report of the Assessment Committee.
2. Consideration of a proposal for the establishment of an All India Council for Basic Education.
3. Consideration of Research projects for the "National Centre for Research in Basic Education."
4. Expansion of Basic Education through the compact area technique.
5. Any other item.
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MEMORANDA
FIFTH MEETING OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON BASIC EDUCATION OF THE
CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD OF EDUCATION AT NEW DELHI ON 10TH & 11TH MAY,
1956.
Item No. 1 of the Agenda The Report of the Assessment Committee has already been sent to the members of the Standing Committee by Shri G. Ramachandran.
Item No. 2 of the Agenda Establishment of an All India Council for Elementary (including Basic) education.
It has been recently suggested to this Ministry that an All India Council should be established for Elementary education on the lines of the All India Councils for Technical and Secondary Education. It is necessary to consider whether it will be useful to establish such a council.
2. The arguments adduced in support of establishing a council are mainly the following :
(i) An organisation on an All-India level is essential to provide the necessary guidance, coordination and leadership for the proper development of Elementary Education;
(ii) The progress made in the expansion of Elementary Education has been slow and special effort must be made if the constitutional directive that there should be free and compulsory education for all children upto the age, of 14 within ten years of the commencement of the Constitution, is to be achieved ;
(iii) A provision of over a hundred crores has been made in the Second Five Year Plan for Elementary Education and careful planning would be necessary in order to utilise this amount adequately ;
(iv) Special drive would be necessary if Basic Education is to be established as the national pattern of education, as has been accepted by the Government of India and the State Government and the All India Council may be able to do the needful in this direction.
3. The following points are for consideration in connection with the above arguments ;
(i) The function maybe performed by the Basic Education Standing Committee as it has been doing at present.
(ii) The rate of progress depends and will continue to depend on financial allocation during five year plans which is made by the
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Planning Commission. When greater allocation will be made, it will be possible to accelerate progress but so long as more money is not available, the establishment of an All-India Council is not likely to make a difference.
(iii) The Plans have to be prepared by each State Government after taking into consideration its requirements and resources. The Ministry of Education and the Planning Commission are there to help State Governments with advice whenever necessary. In the circumstances, the creation of another body for planning can hardly be considered necessary or useful.
(iv) It is difficult to visualize what may be the exact nature of the special drive that an All-India Council may be able to: organize.
4. Since Elementary education is the sole responsibility of State Governments, it is necessary to obtain the reaction of the State Governments to the proposal before proceeding further with it.
5. The Standing Committee may like to consider the above as well as other relevant points in this connection and express its own views on the proposal.
Item No. 3 of Agenda An outline of research projects prepared by the Director of the National Centre for Research in Basic Education is attached. Copies of this have also been sent to the members of the Standing Committee by the Director himself.
Item No. 4 of the Agenda-Expansion of Basic Education through the
compact area technique During the First Five-Year Plan Scheme No.1 was formulated as a pilot project to enable State Governments to experiment in selected areas for evolving improved techniques in Basic Education. At the end of the Plan, the scheme has been under operation in 38 areas of about hundred villages each in 27 States. This project was fairly successful and it is now suggested that the future expansion of Basic Education should be through the compact area technique. The suggestion is that in every district a compact area of about a hundred villages may be selected around a Basic Training Institution. This area could expand as time passes and the work gets consolidated. If in a particular district, no Basic Training Institution exists, then an ordinary training institution existing there should be selected and as a part of the scheme it should be converted into a Basic Training Institution. The Standing Committee may like to discuss the soundness of this technique and make recommendations as to the most appropriate manner of developing Basic Education during the Second Five-Year Plan.
RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATIONS IN BASIC EDUCATION Basic Education has now been established as the accepted pattern of a national system of education and since the dawn of Independence steps have been taken by Central and State Governments to implement the programme and policy formulated in this -connection. Basic
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Schools and Basic training institutions are generally following the pattern suggested in the Zakir Hussain Committee's Report. The Hindustani Talimi Sangh, Sevagram; Jamia Millia, Delhi and some other voluntary organizations scatterred over the country have contributed in their own way towards the practical organization of the programme of Basic schools. Eminent educationists like Dr. Zakir Hussain, Shri K. G. Saiyidain, Kaka Saheb Kalelkar, Shri Aryanayakam Shri G. Ramachandran, Shri Avinashilingam and others have helped to clarify the concept of Basic Education and their views expressed in public and through their writings have helped to understand at least in a broad measure, the implications of the scheme of Basic Education. It is agreed on all hands that Basic Education has now passed the stage of experimentation as far as the national policy of education is concerned. The main task now is to integrate it in the national system of education and for this a dynamic programme has to be evolved. The State Department have to tackle the problems of extension, expansion, consolidation and improvement of Basic Education. This has necessitated the thinking out of a comprehensive programme of research on various levels. It may be said that there is hardly any systematic and well planned research being done in Basic Education in our country. Some sporadic attempts have been made by individuals for securing University Degrees but these are more or less fact finding enquiries and their results cannot be applicable on a nation-wide basis. We can no longer grope and stumble as in the past in matters dealing with the organization and implementation of educational policy. The present task of evolving a sound and national system of education must proceed on sure, reliable and valid results of educational research. This is an urgent necessity because Basic Education which is acclaimed as a progressive system of education ought to be built up on well-tested results of scientific research and investigation.
The establishment of a National Centre for Research on Basic Education is an attempt on the part of the Government of India to meet this urgent need. It has been set up as a pioneer institution to conduct and encourage research in Basic Education and to coordinate research on a nation-wide basis. Among other functions, this Centre will also undertake training of workers at the higher level such as inspectors, administrators, and supervisors, and it will associate itself in various ways with the work of existing training institutions. It would also function in an advisory capacity and as 9 clearing house of information on various issues connected with Basic Education. It will take sometime before the work of the Centre is fanned out fully in all directions. Meanwhile the following research projects are suggested. Members of the staff of the National Centre will under take the study of certain problems and will help to guide any other institution which may propose to undertake the investigation on similar problems. Much useful work can be done by cooperative research and coordinated effort.
SUGGESTED RESEARCH PROJECTS
(A) Theoretical Research A study of Basic Education in the light of related theories of education, the principles of Basic Education in the light of the various
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progressive theories of education. It will also include the study of Mahatama Gandhi's contribution to the educational theory and practice in relation to some leading oriental and occidental educational thinkers.
(B) Fact-Finding Investigations The over expanding extent and scope of Basic Education makes it necessary to collect information on the various aspects. Such information may be needed for further planning and for finding new directions in which Basic Education may develop. This will involve collection of relevant statistics, on-the-spot studies, making necessary surveys at the regional level and at an All-India level. The problems of the study will include.
(i) Socio-economic survey of Basic school pupils and teachers;
(ii) Professional status of Basic institutions and their staff;
(iii) Administrative and supervisory set up of Basic Education in different States and an assessment of Government and voluntary efforts in Basic Education;
(iv) A survey of the physical conditions of Basic Schools (buildings, equipment and other facilities);
(v) Selection, qualifications and status of craft teachers in Basic schools;
(vi) Financial side of Basic schools - problem of expenditure and proceeds.
(C) Evaluation and Assessment In is now quite clear that the prevalent examination system as a form of evaluation of the pupils' work has to be replaced by a better system of evaluation and assessment. This is more so in the case of Basic institutions which stress entirely different values in education, the values which cannot be assessed by the ordinary examinations. Proper methods of evaluation can be introduced in Basic Schools only after evaluation tools have been prepared and research results about their values have been known. This problem, therefore, would involve investigation on the following aspects.
(i) Construction and standardisation of achievement tests in the various school subjects and in different languages;
(ii) Standardisation of an evaluation record chart for evaluating pupils' work and progress in different school activities. Such a chart will also be useful for remedial purposes and for diagnosing their problems and difficulties. Such charts when cumulatively kept up will also have a prognostic value.
(iii) Assessment of craft work. Objective criteria on the basis of the analysis of the various crafts will have to be evolved and they will relate to both the quality and quantity of craft product.
(iv) Evaluation of co-curricular activities - More and more stress is being placed on pupils' participation in certain basic activities related to social and physical environments. Such activities will have to be evaluated and methods of assessing pupils' participation will have to be worked out.
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(v) It will also be necessary to evolve the method of an overall evaluation of the pupils' ability for promotions and other purposes; the main problem is what weightage should be given to different factors in an over-all evaluation programme.
(D) Attitude Studies Basic' Education is rightly considered as a way of life and is claimed as a spear-head of silent social revolution with far-reaching consequences. But it is unfortunately in this regard that certain misgivings and misunderstandings are to be found in the minds of the public. The confusion and doubts generate prejudices, a fact which may go against the smooth progress of Basic Education. It is therefore necessary to study the attitude of people. towards Basic Education and to work out methods to bring about the change in their attitudes. The study of attitude to Basic Education will have to be done at various levels:
(i) Administrative level. The attitude of the administrators with regard to Basic Education will have to be clearly studied, in order to avoid half-hearted support or confused measures.
(ii) Teachers' level. Even teachers have certain misgivings. The causes and the remedies for such misgivings will have to be thought out by a study of attitude of Basic School teachers and' traditional school teachers.
(iii) The attitude of Basic School pupils. It will be necessary to find out how far the attitude of school pupils are governed by their teachers, community and other school authorities. The foundations for a sound national system of education on the pattern of Basic Education will have to be laid in the minds of pupils. A study of all the factors that help to form 'their attitudes to their school work, will therefore be of great importance.
(iv) The attitude of the Community and the public. This will be rather difficult to study but methods will have to be thought out to survey the attitude and opinions of public men who mould the opinion and attitudes of community.
(E) Comparative Studies Basic Education claims to foster certain qualities in the pupils. It should be found out by investigations whether Basic school pupils are different from traditionally educated pupils and if so, in what respects ? It will be necessary to study the relative influence of the Basic and the traditional system of education on child development. Such comparative studies would clarify certain controversial issues. The following are suggested for such comparative studies.
(i) Development of the personality of the Basic school child-The Basic system of educational has been designed to correct the difficulties of the traditional system so that the essential needs of personality development in the child may be met through the educational process. It will be necessary to find out in what respects and due to which factors does a Basic school help the development of the personality of the child. Incidentally this study will give us an insight into the developmental characteristics of the Indian child at the elementary
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stage. Within the scope of this enquiry, it will be necessary to include not only knowledge and skill but also intellectual social and emotional aspects of the child's development.
(ii) The social development of pupils-It has been said to the credit of Basic Education that it generates certain social characteristics in the child, namely, co-operativeness, mutual adjustment, leadership effective membership of group etc. Investigations will have to establish the fact.
(iii) There is yet one more question which is often raised about Basic Schools. This concerns the intellectual and scholastic attainments of Basic school children in comparison with the same attainments of the children in non-basic schools. This is again a matter for research and detailed investigation.
(iv) A comparative study of the various syllabli used in Basic and non-Basic schools with a view to studying the attainment standards laid down and the minimum contents in different subjects.
(v) The impact of the Basic school on society. Basic school is considered to be a centre of community and the fact that Basic Education establishes a link between the home school and society. How far does Basic School achieve this and which factors help the Basic school in this regard.
(vi) To study Basic Education in the light of the problem of compulsory education with a view to finding out how far the former helps towards fuller compulsory education. The point of investigation would be to find out the relative position of wastage, stagnation, regular attendance and enrolment in Basic school and non-Basic schools.
(F) Curriculum Construction The programme of Basic Education can be implemented only through a good curriculum. Principles of Basic curriculum will have to be evolved. Objective studies will have to be undertaken to help revise our ideas of the syllabus and its minimum contents. Apart from this research has also to be directed towards the preparation of suitable text-books for various grades of Basic schools.
(G) Technique of Teaching Research on the various methods of teaching forms an integral part of any educational programme. The technique of teaching followed in Basic Education is known as the technique of correlation. The research programme in this area will be carried through actual class room work. Practising teachers will be helped and guided in planning their work on the basis of this technique. The results of such well planned and well regulated and graded scheme of work will be pooled to study the methodological aspect of Basic Education. Incidentally it will give a clue to the understanding of the problem of curriculum construction in Basic Education.
(H) Problem of Learning The problem of learning is the vital aspect of educational research in Basic Education. Learning is based on certain psychological
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processes and it is clearly motivated by productive work and activity principle. Under this area, therefore, an attempt would be made to study the psychology of learning through productive work.
(I) Research in Crafts Craft occupies a very significant and central part in Basic Education and it offers various avenues of research some of which have been mentioned under the appropriate heads above. Research in this connection will be theoretical as well as psychological. The following aspects are suggested :
(i) Selection of Basic crafts and the fundamental criteria for the same. For this purpose the various crafts will have to be analysed from their economic, educative and psychological significance. They will also have to be analysed from the point of view of the skills involved in their performance.
In other words something like job analysis will have to be undertaken. Various other factors will have to be also considered, such as, Pupils' needs, needs of the locality, its suitability and practicability etc.
(ii) The self-sufficiency aspect of craft will also require a scientific study.
(iii) Researches for the improvement of craft equipment and materials.
(iv) Finding out crafts suitable in Basic Schools in urban areas.
(v) Finding out the optimum time that may be allowed in the curriculum to various crafts.
(J) Reconstituting schools on the Basic Pattern Research in this connection will be directed to the study of factors involved in converting ordinary schools into Basic schools and to the consideration of the problem of utility and suitability of Basic Education in urban areas. It will have to find out how within the general framework of ideas and methods of Basic Education, necessary modifications may be incorporated in regard to choice of Basic crafts and the syllabus. This will entail study of the areas of difference between the rural needs and the urban needs. The Sociological and educational significance of such differing areas will have to be examined.