 APPENDIX C(c)-
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE
 CURRICULUM IN BASIC SCHOOLS, HELD
 AT NEW DELHI IN DECEMBER, 1951

The third meeting of the Committee on the curriculum in Basic Schools was field at New Delhi on the 10th December, 1951 to consider:-

(i) any changes in the syllabus for Basic Schools (Bureau of Education Pamphlet No. 70) and

(ii) the preparation of a handbook for teachers of Basic Schools.

The report of the Committee is attached (Annexure) and is for the Board's consideration.

ANNEXURE

REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON CURRICULUM OF BASIC SCHOOLS

The third meeting of the Committee on Curriculum of Basic Schools was held on 10th December, 1951, in the Secretariat, North Block. The following were present:-

1. Shri Humayun Kabir,

Secretary, Ministry of Education. (Chairman).

2. Shri K. G. Saiyidain,

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education and Secretary, Central Advisory Board of Education.

*Report of the Committee is being printed separately and is not attached.

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3. Dr. Zakir Husain,

Vice-Chancellor, Aligarh University, Aligarh.

4. Dr. V. S. Jha,

Secretary to the Government of Madhya Pradesh, Education Department, Nagpur.

5. Shri R. S. Upadhayay,

Deputy Director of Education (Basic & Primary) and Secretary, Basic Education Board, Bihar Government, Patna.

6. Shri S. Bhanja,

Director, Shilpa Bhavan, Shantineketan, Vishva Bharati, West Bengal.

7. Miss Durga Deulkar,

Assistant Directoress, Lady Irwin College, New Delhi.

Shri K. L. Joshi, Assistant Educational Adviser, Ministry of Education acted' as Secretary to the Committee.

Shri B. R. Patil, Principal, Basic Training School, Loni, Shri Dwarika Singh, Principal, Basic Training College, Turki (Bihar") were also present by special invitation :-

(Shri Humayun Kabir, Chairman of the Committee could not attend all the sessions of the meeting and in his absence Shri K. G. Saiyidain took the Chair).

2. The papers circulated to the members of the committee are attached. *[Appendices (i) & (ii) .]

3. The Chairman welcomed the members and pointed out that, after the last meeting of the Committee on 10/11th October, 1949, a Handbook (Pamphlet No. 70, Bureau of Education) containing the syllabus for Basic schools as approved by that meeting was brought out by the Ministry. Copies of the handbook were sent to State Governments for their comments. These were for the consideration of the Committee and members should consider if any changes in the syllabus were necessary in the light of these comments. The second item for the consideration of the Committee was the draft of a Handbook of Suggestions for teachers of Basic Education or which the material received had been sent to the members of the Committee.

4. With regard to the changes in the syllabus, the Committee considered the comments in the following order:-

(i) Craft Work.-(a) The points raised by the Mysore State and some other educationists were considered. The term 'subsidiary crafts 'had been used ambiguously. It was applied to (i) some crafts which were subsidiary to the principal craft and (ii) some others which, though independent, had a secondary position in the syllabus.

(b) The objection that the time allotted to craft work was too much in comparison with the time required for other studies was considered. It was pointed out that the time allotted comprised not only the time spent on actual craft processes but also that required for planning of the craft by the teachers and pupils and the time spent on correla- tion and incidental imparting of necessary knowledge. Safeguards, were provided in the syllabus to ensure that the time was spent edu-

*Not Printed.

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cationally. A certain part of it should thus cover some of the requirements of other subjects. It was reaffirmed that craft work was not to be treated as an isolated subject by itself but as a centre of activity which was to be correlated with other subjects. The members of the Committee were, therefore of the opinion that no reduction in the time allotted to the craft work was desirable. After some discussion, it was agreed that the time for "Art " may be reduced from 40 to 30 minutes and the time for Mathematics increased from 20 to 30 minutes, at least in the higher classes. It was also reaffirmed that it was open to schools to make minor adjustments in the, suggested schedule 'to meet their particular needs.

(c) With regard to the introduction of more crafts it was suggested that there was nothing to prevent schools from trying out other suitable basic crafts. In fact, such experiments should be welcomed care being taken to see that the crafts selected fulfil the conditions necessary for becoming vital centres for the child's education. It was also necessary to give due attention to the question of subsidiary crafts. With a view to making the position clearer, it was, suggested that the last but one paragraph on page 11 of the syllabus should be redrafted as follows:-

With the, object of providing a type of education which would appeal to children with different aptitudes and develop their interests in different directions, it is desirable to provide, in addition to the Basic craft, which will be the centre of their education, one or more subsidiary crafts which will give an opportunity to them to mani- pulate different materials and thus cultivate their constructive powers. The nature of these subsidiary crafts which will depend largely on the environment of the school and the facilities available. It should be possible fix the teacher if he has some ingenuity and resourcefulness to make use of locally available material for starting subsidiary crafts and related hobbies like gardening, clay modelling, pottery, bamboo work, cane work, simple tailoring and basketry etc.

Some of these might be practised outside school hours e.g., in the hostels. But if they are taken up during school hours, the time table could be adjusted to meet their, requirements, some time being found for the purpose from the total time given to craft work.

(ii) Spinning and Weaving.-It was agreed that when the syllabus is published next, greater acknowledgement might be made to H.T.S. on whose revised syllabus, it has been based. With regard to the point 'Tunai ' operatorions for Grade I (page 12 of the printed syllabus), the experience, of field workers was that it was not a strain and students seemed generally to enjoy doing it. With regard to the introduction of 'charkha' before the age of 9, the members pointed out that actually it was not introduced before that age.

(iii) Social Studies--With regard to the criticism about the syllabus for Social Studies that it was too ambitious and in lower classes top heavy, the members felt that the criticism did not so much apply to the syllabus as to methods of teachings. If the syllabus was handled properly, with due regard to students' capacity and interests, there was nothing in the syllabus which need be regarded as inappropriate. Again distinction will have to be made between what is concrete and what is abstract from the child's point of view. The real need of the situation was that teachers should be helped with suitable aids and materials and good well-trained teachers employed for teaching this important subject.

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A great deal of work in preparing useful material on this subject could be done in the training colleges and some of the good schools. Different training colleges could be asked to work out concrete schemes, Suggestions and materials for teachers of Social Studies in different classes and these suggestions could be coordinated by the Central Government. If the institutions required some financial aid for doing this work, it should be made available to them by the Central and/or State Governments. The experiment of keeping a verbal record (say, on the wire recorded) of some good teacher's class-room teaching-which had been tried in some countries--could also be useful. Attempts should be made to collect all valuable information about such experiments centrally. A suggestion was also made that instead of asking for such information by correspondence, it may be more effective to send out an officer for the 'purpose so that he may observe such experiments and give his first-hand reports.

(iv) Mathematics.-As stated earlier, it was agreed that the time for Mathematics should be raised from 20 to 30 minutes and in the higher classes further adjustments could be made to provide for more time, if necessary.

(v) General.-Regarding the suggestion for expanding the brief history of Basic Education, it was agreed that reference might be made about later developments of Gandhiji's thought after 1939. Sri Aryanayakam was to be requested to send a draft paragraph about these later developments which may be considered for this purpose. With regard to the suggestion about moral and religious instruction, the Committee felt that in a general, non- denominational sense, this could be provided in schools, preferably integrated with the syllabus of other subjects like Social Studies. The importance of regarding the two stages of Senior and Junior Basic Education as one indivisible whole was reaffirmed, for it was only then possible to provide the minimum education necessary for social training and to ensure success of productive work.

5. The Committee next considered the question of preparing the Handbook for teachers of Basic Education. The following out-line of the revised Handbook of Suggestions for Teachers of Basic Education along with the assignment of work was agreed upon:-

PART I

(GENERAL)

Chapter I.-General Principles--Aims and Objects of Basic Education and its Curriculum by Shri K. G. Saiyidain.

Chapter II.-Correlation-Its method and technique by Shri R.S. Upadhayayji.

Chapter III.-Organisation of Basic Schools by Shri R. S. Upadhayayji.

Chapter IV.-Testing in Basic Schools by Principal A. N. Basu.*

PART II

(TEACHING OF THE SUBJECTS ACCORDING TO THE SYLLABUS)

This part will contain small sections on the teaching of selected items of the Syllabus in each subject including some model lessons, if possible, to bring out methods of teaching and approach to be adopted. An outline for such a section which had been prepared by Shri K. G. Saiyidain with reference to a unit of Social Studies syllabus was circulated to members.

*to be requested.

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Chapter I.-Craft--

(a) Spinning & Weaving-Shri Upadhayayji.

(b) Gardening & Agriculture-Dr. V. S. Jha. +

(ii) Paper Work, Cardboard Work, Wood and Metal Work (Subsi- diary Craft)-Shri C. P. Sinha.*

(d) Leather Work-Shri Bhanja,

(e) Clay Work and Pottery--Shri Bhanja.

(f) Fisheries--Ministry of Agriculture.

(g) Home Craft--by Miss Durge Deulkar.

This is to include:-

(i) Housewifery.

(ii) Cookery.

(iii) Laundry.

(iv) Needle-work.

(v) Hygiene.

(vi) Domestic Farming.

Chapter II.-Mother Tongue--Shri Upadhayayji in co-operation with Shri Mukand Nath Dubey, Assistant Headmaster, Post-Basic High School, Bihar.

Chapter III.-Social Studies-Shri K. G. Saiyidain.

Chapter IV.-Mathematics--Shri Salamat Ullah, Jamia Millia.*

Chapter V.-General Science--Dr. V. S. Jha in co-operation with Shri Sahaarabuddhe, Divisional Superintendent of Education, Bilaspur and Shri Bakshi, Divisional Superintendent of Education, Nagpur.

Chapter VI.-Art-Shri Devi Prasad, Hindustani Talimi Sangh.*

Chapter VII.-Hindi-Shri Satyanarayan, M. P.*

Chapter VIII.-Games and Physical Activities-Shri Joseph, Andheri College of Physical Education, Bombay.

6. It was suggested that the material collected so far should be revised in order to include, in the second part of the handbook, some model lessons and teaching aids on various items of the syllabus. When a new edition of the syllabus is published, it should be revised in the light of the observations made under item I of the Agenda. The following specific suggestions were made in this connection at the meeting:-

(i) A Basic Education Section should be established in the Ministry with a a view to coordinating and circulating all information on Basic Education, and for editing various pamphlets, handbooks and brochures on different topics of Basic Education. It was essential to undertake the immediate preparation of various kinds of useful ma. terials for Basic teachers. This Section should serve as a coordinating unit for the purpose.

(ii) A proper liaison with training institutions and State Education Departments should be established in connection with the development of Basic schools and their curricula.

* To be assisted by expert whom Shri Upadhyay may suggest

+ To be requested

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(iii) On the basis of the information received from different quarters- the Ministry of Education should suggest specific problems to various training colleges and States for special study and research and producing booklets on them. The manuscripts prepared under this plan should be edited and published by the Centre with proper illustrations where necessary.

(iv) Financial assistance for the work assigned to institutions for the work done should be given, where necessary, by the Centre.

(v) With regard to the priorities for subjects on which booklets for teachers mentioned at (i) above may be written, it was felt that Social Studies, General Science (with Mathematics) and Agriculture should be taken up first. A plan should be drawn up by the Ministry regarding the work and its distribution among writers. Booklets on the teaching of Hindi in the States where it is not the mother tongue should also be given a high priority.

7. Dr. Zakir Husain suggested that in the preparation of the booklets and handbooks, the concept of purposeful education should be properly explained and kept in mind by the writers themselves and model lessons given to illustrate it.

8. The Committee recommended that Government should take steps to provide funds for the payment of honoraria to writers.

9. It was agreed that the Handbook of Suggestions for the teachers of Basic Education on the lines stated above should be prepared as soon as possible, preferably, within a period of two months. The length of the Handbook should be between 200 and 300 pages.