APPENDIX H (a)- MEMORANDUM ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SCIENTIFIC MAN-POWER COMMITTEE IN REGARD TO SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION.
In April, 1947 the Govt. of India appointed a Scientific Manpower Committee with the following terms of reference:-
(a) To assess the requirements for different grades of
scientific and technical manpower, taking comprehensive
view over a period of the next ten years, of the needs
of Govt. (civil and defence), of teaching and research
and of industry agriculture, transport, medicine and
other fields dependent on the use of scientific and
technical manpower;
(b) To make recommendations regarding action to be taken
during the next five years to meet these requirements,
in particular with reference to (i) the immediate
improvement and expansion of facilities for scientific
and technical training in Indian Universities and
special institutions (ii) training overseas in
scientific and technical subjects, (iii) the promotion
and development of scientific and technical research
(iv) the utilisation of scientific and technical
manpower and (v) the maintenance of a register of
scientific and technical personnel to facilitate their
utilisation to the best.
2. The present membership of the Committee is as follows:-
1. Sir Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, F. R. S., Chairman.
2. Dr. Birbal Sahni, F. R. S.
3. Sir K. S. Krishnan, F. R. S.
4. Dr. Homi Bhabha, F. R. S.
5. Prof. J. N. Mukherjee.
6. Dr. M. Qureshi.
7. Rai Bahadur A. N. Khosla.
8. Mr. D. N. Wadia.
9. Dr. K. A. Hamied.
10. Mrs. Hansa Mehta.
11. Prof. Humayun Kabir.
12. Mr. G. L. Mehta.
13. Lt. Col. R. N. Mitra.
14. Wing Commander H. Singh.
15. Rao, Bahadur Dr. K. C. K. E. Raja.
16. Dr. S. R. Sen Gupta, Secretary.
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3. The Scientific Manpower Committee has submitted an interim report recommending certain urgent measures for the immediate improvement and expansion of facilities for scientific and technical training in Indian Universities and in special Institutions,
The recommendations are in six sections dealing respectively with scientific education, training of personnel for scientific and industrial research, industrial training, technical training for Defence Services, shortage of equipment, housing, etc., and steps to expedite Government projects.
4. As a matter of general policy for immediate implementation, the Committee recommends at the outset that the Govt. should utilise the existing sources, viz. the universities, special institutions and the industrial concerns by helping to create in them adequate facilities for higher education, research and practical training. Such help as is to be given should largely be in the form of grants for the creation of scholarships on a generous scale, the purchase of equipment, the opening of post graduate departments in the Universities which do not have any at the moment and the working of double shifts in places where scientific education is imparted. In addition, the several educational development plans prepared by the Ministry Education and others must be pushed through immediately.
As regards scientific education the Committee have inter alia recommended that steps should be taken without delay to increase the facilities for general science up to the Inter. and B. So. standard and have suggested, as an interim measure the introduction of double shift system subject to availability of a spare equipment, employment of additional staff and the Government sharing a proportion of the extra expenditure involved. The Committee have also recommended that the Provincial Govts. be urged to establish without delay the proposed now technical high schools and to convert some of the existing high schools to technical high schools.
The Committee have expressed the view that, in order to meet the country's needs for the next 4-5 years, it is necessary to plan for a fourfold increase in the output of all categories of personnel. In order to achieve this the Committee have recommended both short-term and long-term programmes to be initiated within the next six months. The former includes the proposal for a co-operative under. taking by the industries concerned and the technological institutions in the Dominion of India, fourteen in number to give intensive training to M.Sc.s and graduates in technology for a period of twelve months. This scheme would cost Rs. 34 lacs in capital and Rs. 9.88 lacs recurring. Proposals for a three year course in Engineering and of a double shift system in Engineering Colleges are among other short-term measures.
The Committee have recommended that the draft curriculum prepared by the All-India Council of Technical Education for three academic sessions of 1400 hours each be adopted for the Engineering Colleges, as this will shorten the training period and largely help in the increase of the number of Engineers. Further in view of the shortage of experienced teachers in the engineering aide the Committee have recommended, as an interim measure, that engineers in Govt. service should be encouraged to give instructions in engineering colleges.
The long-term programme envisages the creation of Regional Committees of the All-India Council for Technical Education to ensure coordinated development of technical education and to raise its standard. The Committee recommend, further, that the Govt. of India should immediately make grants amounting to about Rs. 2 crores in capital spread over 5 years and Rs. 31 lacs recurring to the institutions already recommended by the All-India Council for Technical Education.
The Committee has further urged that work on the Eastern and the Western Higher-Technical Institutions must be commenced within 6 months and the recommendations made by the Reorganization Committee for the Indian School Mining Dhanbad, should be given effect to immediately to enable the institute to double e present output of Mining Engineers.
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The Committee have also urged on the Govt. the desirability of removing immediately all restrictions on the import of scientific and technical equipment and also of allowing rebate of import duty on such imports for technical institutes.
The interim recommendations made by the Scientific Manpower Committee are now under the consideration of the Government of India.