 APPENDIX H
'TEACHERS' COMMITTEE REPORT

Report of the Committee appointed to consider the question of the Training, Recruitment and Conditions at Service of Teachers

The Committee appointed by the Central Advisory Board of Education at their meeting in January 1942 to consider the question of the Training, Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Teachers met in the Secretariat, New Delhi, on the 12th, 13th and 14th November 1942.

The following members were present:-

1. Khan Sahib Khan Shah Alam Khan, M.A., LL.B., Director of Public Instruction, N.W. P. Province.

2. Dr. G. G. R. Hunter, M.A., D.Phil., F.R.A.I., I.E.S., Director of Public Instruction, C. P. and Berar.

3. A. S., Khan, Esq., M.Sc., I.E.S., Director of Public Instruction, Bihar.

4. Srimati Renuka Ray, B.Sc. (Econ.) London

5. John Sargent, Esq., C.I.E., M.A., Educational Commissioner with the Govt. of India.

6. P. F. S. Warren, Esq., B.A. (Cantab.), A.M.I.C.E., M.I.E. (Ind.), Director Messrs Jessop & Co., Calcutta

The following members were unable to be present:-

1 S. N. Moos. Esq., M.A. (Cantab.), I.E.S., Director of Public Instruction. Bombay.

2. Diwan Bahadur Sir K. Ramunni Menon, M.A. (Cantab), LL.D (Hony.)

3. Sir Meverel Statham, C.I.E., M.A., I.E.S., Director of Public Instruction, Madras.

The Chairman of the Central Advisory Board Added Mr. J. M. Bottomley,C.I.E., I.E.S., Director of Public Instruction, Bengal, to the membership of the Committee. He also appointed Mr. John Sargent, Educational Commissioner with the Government of India, as the Chairman of the Committee. Dr. D. M. Ben, M.A., Ph.D. (Lond.), Secretary, Central Advisory Board of Education, acted as the Secretary of this Committee.

2. The Committee feel it desirable to make certain preliminary observations with regard to their report. It became apparent at an early stage in their deliberations that in the time at their disposal they would be unable to deal with the vast subject remitted to them in anything like a comprehensive fashion. They decided therefore that they must lighten their task by postponing for future consideration either by themselves or by some other Committee that part of their reference which concerns teachers in Universities or institutions of University rank, including the higher stages of Technical, Commercial and Art Education. In extenuation of this omission they can at least urge that the conditions of service of University teachers, while anything but satisfactory in many instances compare much less unfavourably with those of other learned professions in this country or of the teaching profession in other countries than those which at present obtain in the lower stages of the education service . There are other reasons also which need not be specified here why in the Committee's opinion the training and recruitment as well as the conditions of service of University teachers should receive separate consideration.

3. The second matter to which the Committee wish to call early attention is still more important. Both their own experience and the information which has been placed before them in the course of their enquiry have convinced them that the whole condition of the Teaching service in the lower stages of the educational system in this country is so unsatisfactory that no real progress can be looked for unless and until the position of the teacher is radically improved. For it is a truism which appears to be ignored in India, that the quality of the teacher is the one factor which must always determine the efficiency of any educational system. Unless a satisfactory supply of suitably qualified teachers is forthcoming, the money spent on education will be almost entirely wasted. It is often suggested in quarters, which are either unable or unwilling to face the financial implications of providing India with a proper system of public education, that the teacher should be attracted to his work by a sense of vocation or service to the community rather than by any financial inducement. Ideally this may be true and it is to be hoped that an, increasing number of men and women will be led to fake up teaching by high motives of this kind but in Actual facet it amounts to little more than wishful thinking. Common sense supported by experience leaves little doubt that if the teaching service is to secure an adequate supply of the right type of people, it must offer practical attractions comparable with those which other branches of the public service offer to their members of the labourer is worthy of his hire, then-of all labourers the good teacher is most worthy of his. Teaching if properly done is exacting both on body and mind; the conditions under which teachers often have to live in a country like India isolate them from social amenities and from intellectual companionship; the raw material in which they. work, the bodies and minds of children, is not merely the most valuable asset of the com- munity but once spoiled it can hardly ever be repaired. It might reasonably be assumed therefore that of all servants of the public the teacher would be the best rawarded and the most esteemed. Reference however to Appendix II to "Education in India in 1938-39 will show that as things are, teachers,. at any rate in the primary and middle stages on which the efficiency of the whole system must ultimately depend,are being paid at rates inferior to those which apply to most classes of menials. There is therefore, a great gap between the position that now exists and the lowest standard which is the committee can accept as satisfying the essential criterion for the establishment of an efficient teaching service, viz., that a teacher should approach his daily work free from the strain of domestic financial anxieties. There is only one way to bridge this gap and the Committee frankly recognise that the minimum recommendations, which would have any prospect of producing teachers of the requisite standard and putting the profession on a respectable basis, will involve financial commitments so vastly in excess of the present public fund, devoted to education that most authorities will regard them, at first "sight at any rate, as entirely impracticable. Since, however, the Committees believe that the-problem of providing India with a reasonably satisfactory system of public education cannot be indefinitely shelved, they have felt the necessity of making such recommendations as in their opinion will achieve this purpose, even if they may involve a drastic re-consideration of educational finance, including the relations between-the Central and Provincial Authorities. At the same time, however prohibitive from the financial point of view as the cumulative effect of their proposals may appear, the Committee wish to point out that their adoption would still leave teachers as a whole in an unfavourable financial condition compared with other Persons who enjoy professional status and that a country which claims equality with other civilised nations can hardly remain satisfied for an indefinite time with a state of affairs where the teacher is worse off than the clerk or where his economic position generally vis-a-vis that of other educated classes is substantially inferior to that of the teacher in other countries. The Committee therefore feel that the adoption of their recommendations, drastic as they may seem, must be regarded not as a final settlement of the question at issue but as constituting a practicable stage in the in the transition from what is to what ought to be.

A. TRAINING

4. The Committee have no hesitation in expressing the opinion that every teacher employed in any kind of school maintained or aided out of public funds or recognised by Government must be trained. Before very long they hope it will be possible to extend this requirement to every school which is allowed to exist at all. They believe that there is a technique or art of teaching which can be learnt and that if this is so, before any man or women is allowed to operate on human material he or she must be required to acquire the necessary mastering of this technique. In laying down this general principle, the Committee realise that it may not

be practicable to apply it in the case of all existing teachers though they urge that so far as training facilities permit, opportunities should be afforded to all existing teachers, who are not trained, to become trained. They regard it, however, as essential that steps should be taken without delay to provide the necessary training facilities in order that all entrants to the teaching profession after a given date, which should be in the reasonably near future, hall have received the minimum training hereinafter prescribed and they recommend that Provincial Governments should take such measures as may be necessary to compel local bodies to comply with this requirement so far as any schools under their control are concerned. In order that concrete effect may be given to this proposal, it is further recommended that the responsible authorities should work out a progressive programme for ensuring that all teachers in their schools become trained within a specified period.

5. In addition, or rather as a necessary preliminary to the question of training. the Committee wish to lay it down that any person entering upon a course of training should have minimum educational background. They are satisfied that this minimum, even under existing conditions, can in no case be made lower than the possession of a Matriculation Certificate or its equivalent.

6. The Committee also considered whether it was desirable, in addition to this minimum educational qualification to prescribe a minimum age for entering upon a course of training. While they realise that such as step may be open to certain educational objections, they believe that these will be outweighed by the advantage of fixing a definite limit for the guidance of the responsible authorities and they accordingly suggest that no candidates shall be admitted to a course of training unless they are over the age of 16 or will reach that age during the calendar year in which they are admitted

7. These general principles have to be applied to the training of teachers for schools of different types. , Beginning with the primary school, which with the addition in clue, course of nursery and infant classes may be regarded as the basis upon. which the whole educational system must be constructed, the Committee are of opinion that while the fundamental requirements in regard to minimum educational background and training in the art of teaching should apply here as elsewhere, special arrangements may be needed during a transitional period to enable suitable candidates from rural areas, and particularly female candidates, to reach the educational standard prescribed for admission to a course of training. A scheme somewhat on the lines of the pupil teacher system formerly in operation in Great Britain might perhaps be adopted. This would allow suitable boys and girls from Middle Schools to be transferred to special centres or classes attache to high schools and given special tuition in order to bring them to the required educational standard . Whether during this period it will also be possible to test their probable suitability for future training, is a question which will require further consideration,

8. In the case of Nursery and Infant schools or classes, the Committee, while recognising that recruits should possess a special aptitude for this responsible task. see no reason to, prescribe any educational back-ground beyond that already laid down in the case of primary teachers. The Committee are convinced that teachers in- schools of this type should invariably be women and they are further of the opinion that nearly A boys as well as girls under the age of eight benefit more from being under the instruction of Women than of men.

9. With regard to Middle schools, existing conditions compel the Committee to consider separately the Vernacular Middle School or as they would prefer to call it, the Senior Basic School and the Anglo-Vernacular Middle Schools whether the latter is a separate institution or forms part of a high school. The Committee look,forward, however, to the time when schools of this type will be absorbed into the ordinary high school system. For teachers in all schools at the Middle stage the Committee accept Matriculation as the minimum, educational background though they look forward to the time when teachers with intermediate even graduate qualifications will enter this branch of the service in increasing numbers.

10. So far as high schools are concerned i.e., all classes above the middle stage, which has already death, with, the Committee are of opinion that a degree or its equivalent should be laid down as the minimum educational qualifications and that it is unnecessary in this case to prescribe any minimum age for admission to the training course. A similar recommendation may also be , made in the case of teachers of ordinary subjects in schools of the Technical High School type . What is required for teachers of specialised subjects in such institutions is dealt with later in this report.

11. Consideration was also given to the minimum educational qualifications and the minimum age for admission to the appropriate course of training in the case of teachers in special schools for mentally or physically handicapped children . The Committee fell that generally the requirements should be the same as in the case of primary schools , though they realise that in selecting recruits for such schools special attention will revive to be paid to personal characteristics and aptitudes , as in the case of Nursery and Infants teaching and that the course of training will have to be differentiated. Moreover, it may be desirable to establish a special All-India Institution for training teachers of the blind deaf and dumb.

12. The Committee then turned to consider what would be the minimum length of training for the different categories of teachers in the various type of schools. In view of the demands on the technical skill of the teachers, which are implicit in that conception of Basic Education which has been approved by the Central Advisory Board of Education, and which it is hoped will increasingly determine the normal methods of instruction at the primary and middle stages , the Committee feel that the necessary technique cannot be acquired in any case in less than a period of two years. The minimum period may suffice so far as the teachers in primary schools are concerned , as well as for those in Nursery and Infant Schools, provided that special, emphasis is laid in their case on training in crafts suitable for very young children. In the case of Middle Schools of the senior basic type, however , where special importance will be attached to craft training and where the skill required by the teacher both in the craft

itself and in correlating other subjects of the curriculum with it will be of a higher standard, the course of training should normally occupy three years, though this may perhaps be reduced to 2 1/2 years where this fits in more conveniently with the local educational organisation.

13. In the case of Anglo-Vernacular Middle schools or middle classes in ordinary high schools, the Committee are of opinion that the training course may be limited to two years in view of the fact that in schools of this type the same demand for craft efficiency will not be made on the teachers.

14. In the cast of teachers in the higher classes in high schools, for whom a degree or its equivalent has been prescribed as the minimum educational qualification, the committee feel that the actual training in teaching might be completed in one year. although a minimum course of eighteen months is to be preferred. The same would also apply in the case of teachers of ordinary subjects in technical schools. The question of specialist teachers in such institutions will be dealt with separately. In the case of teachers in special schools the Committee are of opinion that while the minimum course of training should not be less than two years, it will probably be desirable, in view of the special requirements of such teachers and particularly of the importance of their fully appreciating the psychological aspect of their task that the course should be extended to three years.

15. The next question for consideration is what should be regarded as the minimum content of a training course for the different categories of teachers and what proportion of the course should be devoted to practical training in teaching. It has been generally held that in the rase of teachers of younger children, the, question of technique as compared with erudition is more important than it becomes at a later stage of education . Without entirely accepting this contention the Committee are of opinion that the basic system of education rightly lays great stress on technique and that consequently both for the primary or junior basic stage and for the middle or senior basic stage, the training course should be mainly devoted to giving students the necessary facility with a craft or crafts and teaching them how to correlate other subjects with the craft work in a rational way. So far as what may be called general subjects are concerned, the Committee hope that, given the minimum educational qualification which they have prescribed for entry, the amount of time which will need to be devoted during the actual training course to improving their general knowledge of the trainees should not be great. In fact it-will be desirable to concentrate mainly on the best, way of relating the principal aspects of the general subjects to local environments and cultivating what may be called a mere scientific habit of mind on the part of the teacher,towards the world in which he and his pupils live. The village teacher above all should be equipped with the means of counteracting those tendencies which are hostile to educational development of the right kind.

16. In order to provide time and opportunity for giving effect to these general principles the Committee recommend that in the case of teachers for Primary or Junior Basic (including nursery and infant) schools, one-third of the course should be devoted to improving and enlarging the general educational background of the trainees with special emphasis on such subjects as nature study, local literature and history together with a second language, where such may be required. of the remaining two-thirds of the course half should be devoted to the theory and method of teaching with special reference to handicrafts and the problem of correlation and the other half to practical teaching. With regard to teachers in Vernacular Middle or Senior Basic Schools, a similar proportion of time should be devoted to improving the general knowledge of the students as in primary schools though in view of the fact that the course will as P. rule cover three years the actual amount of time will be correspondingly greater. In view of the increasing importance of the craft side at this stage, the Committee suggests that the amount of time devoted to this aspect of training should be increased to 4/9th of the total time as compared with 1/3rd in the case of primary teachers. This means that the amount of time devoted to practical teaching will have to be, reduced to 2/9th of the total, but since the course is longer. this will not mean that the Senior Basic intending teacher will spend less time in front of a class than his colleague in the primary school. So far as intending teachers for Anglo-Vernacular schools or the middle classes of high schools are concerned more importance must be devoted to improving their general knowledge in cases where they only possess the minimum qualification and it is suggested that half of the two years course should be allocated for this purpose. As they will not be greatly concerned water handicrafts or the problem of correlation less attention need be devoted to the theory and method of teaching and probably 1/6th of the total course should satisfy all reasonable requirements in this respect. Practical teaching should occupy 1/3rd of the total time as in the case of teachers for primary schools. In the case of teachers of the higher classes in high schools, as they will as a rule be graduates,their educational equipment may normally be regarded as adequate and the whole of their one year course should be equally divided between theory and method of teaching and practical teaching in front of a class.

APPENDIX H 'TEACHERS' COMMITTEE REPORT

A. TRAINING