APPENDIX J (d)- REPORT OF THE MEETING OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD OF EDUCATION HELD ON 19TH NOVEMBER 1949
The Standing Committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education on Basic Education met on 19th November, 1949. The following members were present :-
1. Dr. Zakir Hussain (Chairman).
2. Mr. F. W. Franklin, Director of Public Instruction, C. P. & Berar.
3. Rajkumar Srijut Sureswar Gohain, Assistant Inspector of Schools, Gauhati, Assam.
4. Dr. K. C. Khanna, Director of Public Instruction, and Secretary to the Government of E. Punjab, Simla.
5. Mr. K. G. Saiyidain, Educational Adviser, Bombay.
6. Dr. D. M. Sen, Secretary, Education Department, West Bengal.
7. Shri Ramoni Kanto Sur, Principal, Government Central Pedagogical Institute, Allahabad.
8. Shri R. S. Upadhyaya, Secretary, Basic Education Board, Bihar.
Prof. Humayun Kabir, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education and Mr. L. R. Sethi, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Education also attended the meeting.
Mrs. Zarina Currimbhoi, Shri Aryanayakam and Shri Ananthasayanam Ayyengar were unable to come.
The Agenda and relevant papers circulated to the members are attached herewith.
Item No. 1. The Committee recorded the progress made in Basic Education in every Province.
The Committee noted with interest that the U.P. Government had converted all the Primary Schools in the Province into Basic Schools
and that there was a definite improvement in the school atmosphere, though there was still much room for improvement.
The Committee approved the programme of the West Bengal, Bombay, and East Punjab Governments to restrict the number of new Basic Schools in the current year and in the following, in the light of their available resources.
The Committee noted that the West Bengal Government had prepared a suitable plan for Basic School buildings providing teaching accommodation for 150 pupils and residential accommodation for 4 married teachers, at an approximate cost of Rs. 32,000 for the rural areas. The new school buildings must have a site of at least 2 acres with necessary school amenities and-will have a fenced compound.
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Item No. 2. The Committee considered the proposal of the Bihar Government that the Central Advisory Board of Education should define more clearly their concept of eight years of Basic Education in respect of objectives, contents and technique. The Committee agreed that this was necessary in order to maintain greater uniformity of standard among the Basic Schools in the different Provinces. It Was decided that the two pamphlets to be published by the Ministry of Education- Syllabus for Basic Schools and Hand-book for Basic Teachers-should cover the objectives, contents and technique of Basic Education. The Committee, however, felt that some minimum criteria should also be laid down in this connexion. The following recommendations were made :-
1. In a full-fledged Junior Basic School of 5 grades, the Head Master or-Head Mistress should have received one year's training in Basic Education.
2. At- least 50 per cent. of the staff of a Basic School should have received one year's training in Basic Education. This period may, if necessary, be reduced to six months in case of those teachers who have either been trained in the old methods of teaching or have had 5 years' teaching experience and have been certified as successful teachers by the District Inspectors.
3. Every teacher who has had only six months' training in Basic Education should, as soon as possible, attend a refresher course of not less than 3 months' duration.
While modifying the period of training, the Committee was unanimous that this was a step only for the transitional period and the period of six months should
be an exception rather than the rule.
4. No new Basic School should be started unless trained Basic Teachers were available for grades 1 and 2. Untrained teachers should have received one year's and trained teachers at least six months' training in Basic Education.
5. Every Basic School must have sufficient craft equipment and sufficiently large grounds for gardening and other out-door activities.
The Committee also recommended that if a teacher in a certain grade was sent for further training in Basic Education, on his return to school, he should be given at least two increments in his grade. This will encourage teachers to take training in Basic Education.
Item No. 3. The Committee expressed dissatisfaction regarding the scarcity of literature for Basic School teachers and children. The Committee felt that the Government of India and the Provincial Governments should immediately take some steps to encourage production of literature for Basic Schools.
It was recommended that the following steps may be considered for removing this deficiency :-
1. Guide Books for Basic Teachers should be published. They should contain useful experiments carried out in the field of Basic Education, eye-witness accounts of the leading institutions like Shantiniketan, Sevagram and Jamia Milia and practical examples of correlation of school subjects with crafts or physical and social environment of the children.
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2. Small brochures for the guidance of Supervisors of Basic Schools should be published. These brochures should deal with matters of assessment with reference to the ideology of Basic Education, Organisation of activities in Basic Schools, difficulties and problems in Basic Schools, standard of attainment in crafts, etc.
3. A Directory giving the details about the various types of equipment suitable for Basic Schools should also be brought out. This Directory should also give suggestions regarding ways and means of improvising equipment, if necessary.
4. Literature for children in Basic Schools especially on Social Studies and General Science should be prepared. In this connexion the books in the series "The Basic Science" and the "Basic Social Science" published in America may be profitably studied. All this literature must be well illustrated.
Item No. 4. The Committee felt that it was not advisable to lay down rigid principles regarding both the time and mode for conversion of Primary Schools into Junior Basic Schools excepting that the schools should be gradually converted and those having the most favourable conditions in respect of staff, equipment, buildings, etc., should be the first on the list of conversion.
Item No. 5. The Committee felt that there should be no external examination at the end of the Senior Basic School course, but external agencies may be associated to assess the work of each school.
The Committee also considered the question of admission of students, who have finished studying in the Basic Schools, to ordinary High Schools. The Committee felt that pending a final decision on the question, the classes under the two systems should be equated on the basis of year of schooling and accordingly, such students should be admitted to the 9th class of the existing High Schools.
The meeting then adjourned with a vote of thanks to the Chair.
AGENDA OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD OF
EDUCATION ON BASIC EDUCATION. 1. To receive and consider a Report on progress in Basic Education in the various States and Provinces.
2. To request the Central Advisory Board of Education to define its concept of 8 years of Basic Education in respect of objective, content. and technique. (Government of Bihar).
3. To consider the production of suitable literature in the various Indian languages on the theory and practice of Basic Education, i.e., Education centred round the craft or crafts which might be intelligible to ordinary Primary Teachers. (Government of Bombay).
4. To consider the question of gradual conversion of all Primary Schools into Junior Basic Schools.
5. To discuss system of examination for Basic Schools.
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STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD OF EDUCATION ON
BASIC EDUCATION MEMORANDUM ON ITEM No. 1 OF AGENDA.
SUBJECT :-Progress of Basic Education. In accordance with the decision of the Board, the latest information received from the Provinces and Centrally Administered Areas on the progress of Basic Education in the accompanying statements. No progress Report on Basic Education has so far been received from any of the States.
The statements show that during the year under review, every Province except, East Punjab, had arrangements for the training of the Basic School teachers and of staff for Training Schools. New Junior Basic Schools were started in Madras, Orissa and U.P. New Senior Basic Schools were started in Bihar. In other Provinces, except West Bengal and East Punjab several old Primary Schools were converted into Junior Basic Schools and in the Provinces of Bihar, Bombay, Central Provinces and Berar and Orissa, old Middle Schools were converted into Senior Basic Schools.
In regard to the Centrally Administered Areas, 99 Junior Basic Schools were opened in the rural areas of Delhi. Two Training Schools, one for men and the other for women, have been training teachers for Basic Schools. No Basic School was opened in the Province of Ajmer-Merwara, but a few teachers were trained for Basic Schools. No Basic School was opened during the year under review either in Himachal Pradesh or Kutch, but both these Administrations have been making arrangements for the training of Basic Teachers. In Bilaspur, 28 Primary Schools were converted into Basic Schools. Coorg made arrangements for the training of teachers to start a Training College for Basic School Teachers in the Administration.
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ASSAM
BASIC EDUCATION
I. Arrangements for Training of Teachers
(a) Institutions for Training Basic School Teachers
Number of Number of Duration Subjects of study and craft taught. Minimum Refres-
Institutions. trainees of trai- qualifi- her co-
at each ins- ning. cations urses.
titution. for admi-
ssion.
Old New ones Men Women.
ones being
conv- establi-
erted. shed
1. Titabar 1 47 4 10 months Craft-
Nill
1. Spinning with weaving. At least
M.E. or M.V.
Passed.
Subsidiary Craft-
1. Bamboo and Cane Works.
2. Agriculture and Gardening.
Subjects-
1. Psychology
2. History.
3. Principles of Basic Education.
4. Social Study.
5. Literature, History, Geography, etc.
6. General Science.
7. Mathematics.
8. Art and Drawing.
9. Methodology.
10. Comparative study or Religion.
11. Health, Hygiene and Dietetics.
12. Hindi.
13. Kitchen work.
14. Music in prayer time.
15. Paper Work.
16. Card Board Modelling.
17. Clay Modelling.
18. Nature study.
19. Physical activities.
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II Basic Schools.
No. of Schools New Schools est- No of pupils. Duration of Crafts provi-
Existing Schools ablished the course. ded.
converted.
At the beginning At the end
of year under re- of the year
port. under report.
Jr. Sr. Jr. Sr. Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls.
Basic. Basic. Basic Basic
1. Titabar 5 Nil. Nil. Nil. 285 Nil. 285 Nil. 10 months. 1.Spinning.
2. Roha 1 Nil. Nil. Nil. 15 177 8 126 Do. Do.
3. Sootea 1 Nil Nil. Nil. Nil. Nil. 80 11 Do. Do.
4. Dudhnai 1 Nil. Nil. Nil. 30 30 37 35 Do. Do.
5. Udarband 1 1 Nil. Nil. 203 92 201 107 Do. Do.
2. Paperworks.
6. Shillong 1 1 Nil. Nil. 61 45 54 41 Do. Do.
3. Bamboo
Works.
Total 10 2 Nil. Nil. 594 344 665 320 10 months. Do.
General Remarks.-
As the Training Schools started functioning regularly only from 1949 and we did not have trained teachers for starting Basic School earlier, so number of Basic Schools is small.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
2. Roha Nil 1 Nil. 25 10 months. At lest M.E. Nil.
or M.V. Passed
3. Sootea Nil 1 35 3 Do. Do. Nil.
4. Dudhnai Nil 1 44 Nil. Do. Do. Nil.
5. Udarband 1 7 3 Do. Do. Nil.
Nil
6. Shillong Nil 1 6 14 Do. Do. Nil.
Total Nil 6 139 49 Do. Do. Nil.
(b) Institutions for training the Staff of Training Schools.
We have no Institution for training the staff of Training Schools. During the year under report a total number of 5 + 22 = 27 teachers were deputed for training at Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi and Sevagram, Wardba, respectively.
WEST BENGAL
BASIC EDUCATION
Report for 1948-49
I. Arrangements for training of teachers
(a) Institutions for training Basic School Teachers
No. of Inst- No. of tra- Durat- Subject of study and Minimum qualifi- Refresher cour-
itutions. inees at ion of crafts taught. cations for adm- ses.
each inst- train- ission.
itution. ing
Old New
ones ones
conv- Estab-
erted.lished Men Wom-
en
Nil 2 102 44 Two Yrs. The curriculum framed II Division Ma- (a) Includi-
(a). by the Hindustani Tal- trics in the case ng field wo-
imi Sangha for the tra- of male candidates, rk for 6 mo-
ining schools is being and III division in nths and re-
followed. the case of female fresher co-
candidates and Pri- urse for 6
mary School teachers. months.
Spinning and Agricul- No refres-
ture are the two crafts her course
taught. held during
1948-49 as
the schools
started on
7-9-48.