CABE, 7TH MEETING, 1942

 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH 
MEETING OF THE CENTRAL ADVISORY
 BOARD OF EDUCATION HELD AT
 HYDERABAD-DECCAN ON THE 14TH
 AND 15TH JANUARY, 1942.

Proceedings of the Seventh Meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Board of Education held at Hyderabad-Deccan on the 14th and 15th January, 1942

At the invitation of His Exalted Highness the Nizam's Government the Central Advisory Board of Education held their seventh meeting at Hyderabad-Deccan on Wednesday and Thursday, January the 14th and 15th 1942. The Standing Committees of the Board met on January 18th. The following members were present: -

Nominated by the Government of India.

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur.

The Right Rev. the Bishop of Lahore.

The Hon'ble Sir Maurice Gwyer, K.C.B., K.C.S.I., Chief. Justice of India

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

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

EX-officio.

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

Elected by the Council of State.

The Hon'ble Diwan Bahadur Sir K. Ramunni Menon, M.A. (Cantab.), LL.D. (Hony.).

Elected by the, Legislative Assembly.

Dr. P N. Banerjea, M.A., D.Sc.,(Lond.), Barrister-at-Law, M.L.A.

Dr. Sir. Zia-ud-Din Ahmad Ph.D., D.Sc., C.I.E., M.L.A., Vice Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University.

Nominated by the Inter-University Board India.

Khan Babadur-Mian M. Afzal Hussain, M.Sc., M.A. (Cantab.), I.A.S., Vice-Chancellor, University of the Punjab.

Representatives of Provincial,Governments.

S. C. Roy Esq., M.A.(Lond.), I.E.S., Director of Public Instruc- tion, Assam

J. M. Bottomley Esq., M.A., C.I.E., I.E.S., Director of Public Instruction, Bengal.

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

G. F. S. Collins,Esq., M.A., C.I.E., O.B.E., I.C.S., Advisor to H.E. the Governor of Bombay.

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

Dr. G. G. R. Hunter, M,A.,D.Phil (Oxon.) F.R.A.I.,I.E.S., Director of Public Insturction, Central Province.

R. M. Savur, Esq., B.A., (Cantab), Divisional Inspector of Schools, Coimbatore, Madras.

Khan Sahib Khan Shah Alam Khan, M.A. LL.B., Director of public Instruction, N. W.F. Province.

S. C. Tripathi, Esq., M.A., F.C.S., I.E.S., Director of Public Instruction Orissa.

W. H. F. Armstrong, Esq., M.A., F.C.S., I.E.S., Director of Public Instruction, Punjab.

The Hon'ble Mr. Illahi Bakhsh Nawazali Pir, Minister of Educa tion, Sind.

Shamsul-Ulema Dr. U.M. Daudpota, M.A., Ph.D., Director of Public Instruction, Sind.

Dr. Panna Lall, D.Litt., C.I.E., I. C S Advisier to H. E. the Governor of the United Provinces.

Dr. D.M. Sen, M.A., Ph.D,. (Lond.), Secretary Central Advisory Board of Education in India was also present.

Nawab Mabdi Yar Jung Bahadur, M.A. (Oxon.), Minister in charge of Education and Finance, H.E .H .the Nizam's Government, Hyderabad- Deccean was present at the meeting by special invitation.

The Chairman of the Board, the Hon'ble Mr. Nalini Ranjan Sarker, of Education,Health and Lands, who was unable to be present owing to ill-health, nominated the Hon'ble Sir Maurice Gwyer to preside in his stead.

The following members were unable to, attend the meeting owing to illness or other reasons:-

C. V. Chandrasekharan, Esq., M.A.(Oxon.), F.R.H.S., Pro-Vice chancellor, University of Travancore.

The Hon'ble Sir Andrew Clow, K.C.S.I., C.I.E., I.C.S., Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council, Department of Communications.

Dr. Sir C. Ramalinga Reddy M.A. (Cantab) Hon.D. Litt., M.L.C., vice-Chancellor, Andra University.

Dr. Sir A. Fazlur Rahman, B.A. (Oxon.) LL.D., Member, Federial Public Service Commission.

Sir Shri Ram, Mill-owner, Delhi.

Rao Bahadur Sir V. T. Krishnamachari K.C.I.E., Dewan of Baroda.

2. At the opening session Nawab Sir Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan, K.C.S.I., K.C.S.E., M.B.E., President of H.E.H. the Nizam's Executive Council was present to welcome the members of

the Board. He first of all delivered the following message from His Exalted Highness :-

"I welcome the session of the Central Advisory Board of Education to the Capital of my Dominions, and am gratified to learn that it has done work of singular utility in coordinating the educational policies and Sys'tems in the States and the Provinces.

About twenty-five year's ago my Government took the momentous deciSion of adopting a language of India, the most widely spoken and understood in India, as the medium, of instruction in my Dominions, and the Osmania Univesity, which has been founded on that principle, has since passed the experimental, stage.

Scarcity of scientific nomenclature in the Indian languages led my Government to establish a Translation Bureau, attached to the University, and I particularly welcome the fact that your Sub- Committee, which held its last sitting in Hyderabad, has framed rules for devising a system of nomenclature on a uniform basis so that they may be used by all the principal Indian' languages. I consider that to be work of national importance.

I wish all success to your deliberations, and trust, that they will bear early fruit. "

He then proceeded:-

"It gives me great pleasure and satisfaction to welcome a distinguish ed gathering like yours, of educationists and men concerned with the administration of education in different parts of India. The pleasure is, however, mixed with pain, particularly for those of us having connections with Hyderabad, at not seeing in our midst to-day Sir; Akbar Hydari whose sad death we all mourn deeply. Sir Akbar was, as you are all perhaps aware, due to arrive here this week to join us, and we were all looking' forward to welcoming him, but fate had it otherwise, and instead of greeting him we accompanied his remains this very week to their last resting place. Sir Akbar's services to the cause of education, both as an administrator and as an educationist, are such as to entitle him to the gratitude of his countrymen. Twenty-three years ago, Hyderabad substituted Urdu, one of the principal languages of India. and its, own 'State language, as the, medium of instruction for English in higher education. Since then, 'the process of vernacularisation has progressed rapidly both here, and in- other parts of India, and the Osmania, University itself has passed the experimental stage and is a settled and established system. The efforts hitherto made by its Translation Bureau, proved most helpful to the work of the Sub-Committee of this Advisory Board in devising a uniform scientific terminology for India, that the Sub- Committee held a meeting here under the Chair' manship of Sir Akbar. The problem undertaken by it is naturally difficult, but it is expected from the strong and able personnel of the SubCommittee that it will succeed ultimately not only in evolving a common scientific terminology for all India but also basing it on a certain system which may be capable of I being adhered to as new terms,find their way into the domain of language. The task is indeed a noble one; in Europe and America, despite the existence of highly developed nationalities and national languages, such common terminology based largely on ' Greek and Latin, and in some cases even Semitic derivations, has tended to, facilitate the mutual approach of scientific minds and widen the culture

of science and learning, on an international basis, with much corresponding advantage to the development of scientific and technical research. With the help of similar basic and derivative languages like Sanskrit and Arabic, Persian and 'Bhasha', we can succeed-and the natural evolution of language may almost be said to have already succeeded-in purging the future scientific thought of India of the disadvantages of Babel.

As you are no doubt aware, we have only recently reorganised our educational system on entirely new lines. While its primary stage continues to be based entirely on the mother-tongue of the pupils according to the lingual divisions, existing in the State, a new scheme of technical and vocational bias has been introduced,from the post-primary stage upwards. upto even the post-collegiate stage. In the process of adapting education to the direct needs of our people-a need which induced us first to introduce the language of the state as the medium of higher instructionwe have also, in view specially of, the problem of the educated unemployed and the necessity to improve our agricultural and industrial economy , introduced the above bias on the basis of detailed recommendations received from Mr. Abbott, formerly Chief Inspector of Technical Schools of His, Majesty's Government, who was invited to assist us in the matter. 'Since then the more urgent requirements of war and of war industries have led us to give preference, wherever we can, even in the introduction Of technical and vocational training to such training as is required for war purposes and war industries,- and while this, does not' in any way affect the programme of vocational education except to the extent of the preference thus' given and 'will not in any case affect original instruction, the technical training envisaged will on the one hand, help Hyderabad in its war efforts and, on,the other, be of enormous help in the' development of industries in the State after the war. There is no reason why similar steps should not be taken in the rest of India and I have no doubt that the question is exercising your own minds'in view both of the immediate needs of the situation and of the lesson that we have been taught by the exigencies of this war, of industrial and economic self-sufficiency.

I regret that it has not been possible for,the Hon'ble Sir Andrew Clow, the Hon'ble Mr. N. R. Sarker and Sir V. T. Krishnamachari to-be present at this meeting; I was personally looking forward to meeting them again and welcoming them as our guests., In Sir Maurice Gwyer you have a person of such admittedly wide versatility and interest as, to have made the combination possible of the Chief Justice 'of India with the Vice'. Chancellor of. the Delhi University. We have, been accustomed to hear and read his speeches and to accept them not only as pieces of literature but also as expressions of profound thinking. Under his able chairmanship and with your own devotion to the cause of education, your deliberation are bound to be successful and we shall await with interest their results.

I have now great pleasure in inaugurating the meeting of this Central Advisory Board and would now request Sir Maurice to take the chair."

On the motion of the Chairman the Board expressed their warm appreciation of His Exalted Highness's message. The Chairman also ex- pressed the Board's, pleasure at the presence of the the, President of the Council and of the Minister in charge of Education and

Finance and their warm appreciation of the welcome which they had received from the President.

3. The Board passed the following resolution upon the death of Rt. Hon'ble Sir Akbar Hydari, P.C., LL.D.:-

"The Central Advisory Board of Education has learned with the sincerest,regret of the death of the Right Hon'ble Sir Akbar Hydari. Sir Akbar was a,member of the Board since its revival in 1935 and throughout this period took a great interest in, and made valuable contributions to the work of the. Board. This Board desires to express its sense of the great loss which India and especially Indian Education has suffered .through the loss of Sit Akbar Hydari and wishes to plate on record its' appreciation of the services which he rendered to this, Board during his membership and to convey, the profound. sympathy of all its members to the State of Hyderabad and to Sir Akbar's family."

4 The Chairman then welcomed the new Members of the Board, Srimati Renuka Ray, Khan Bahadur Mian M. Afzal Hussain and Dr. P. N. Banerjea, and congratulated those members who had been recipients of Honours since the last meeting of the Board.

5. Before proceeding to the agenda, the Chairman read the following message from the Hon'ble Mr. Nalini Ranjan Sarker:-

"Education being one of the very important subjects in my portfolio, I had eagerly looked forward to participating in the deliberations of this annual meeting, of the Central Advisory Board of Education-the first since my assumption of office. For I beileve that the Board is engaged in a work of vital significance to the development and well-being of the nation. And I consider that the Board is really destined to. play an increasingly important part in stimulating educational progress and coordinating educational policy throughout India. Need I say how very disappointed I, therefore, feel that considerations of health should have precluded me' from having the pleasure of personally welcoming you all at this meeting to-day. I am, however, happy in the thought that you have a very eminent Chairman in the person of Sir Maurice Gwyer to preside over your meeting. His able guidance ensures the success of Your deliberations. It is, therefore, only a personal disappointment that cannot be present at your delieberations.

Since its inception in 1921, the Central Advisory Board of Education has had a chequered'career. It disappeared under the axe of the Indian Retrenchment Committee in 1923. But it was revived again in 1935, so urgent was the need felt for, a Central Advisory institution in connection with educational problems. For, although education became a provincial transferred subject in 1921 various acute problems having a bearing on the whole of India had arisen since then and it was recognised that. the Government of India was not without its responsibility in the matter specially in coordinating educational efforts and in suggesting ways for educational reconstruction. Further it seems to me obvious that the very fact that the provinces and the States of India are for all purposes auto- nomous, so far as control of education is concerned, only makes it all the more important that there should be some central body which, may act both kg a forum and as a clearing house for information of practical value.

These are the objectives which the Central Advisory Board of Education has before it, and which I am confident it is fulfilling with great credit. The Board has in recent years been responsible for reports on such fundamental issues as Basic Education, Adult Education, Education of Girls and Women, Social Service and a Uniform Scientific Terminology. The agenda for the present meeting also includes several items of imme`diate interest and of a really practical bearing. For instance no one familiar with the,buildings in which so many of our schools are at present housed will under-estimate the importance of trying to establish standards of accommodation which comply with minimum hygienic principles without being hopelessly beyond our means,. An inquiry closely linked with this in practical value is that which has been conducted by the Committee set up by my predecessor to consider the steps to be taken to improve the physical well-being of school children. It is also pleasant to read from the report of the Braille Committee that, after several unsuccessful ttempts, a real advance has at last been made towards the solution of a problem closely affecting the welfare of a most unfortunate section of the community. Technical education again,' even if in, many areas it falls outside the purview of Education Department, is a matter which In these days cannot be far from the minds of those who see in the development of India's natural resources a highroad towards her future happiness and prosperity.

I have every confidence that the valuable work which the Board is doing will have important practical results and that it will serve as a wise helpful guide to provincial and State authorities in building up a sound system of public instruction in the areas for which they are responsible. It is my earnest hope that it may be, my good fortune, while I have the honour of being your Chairman, to do something more to enlarge further the scope of the Board's activities. I look forward in particular to develop. ing the Bureau of Education, which appears to me to be an essential adjunct to a, body of this nature. No one will, I think, deny the urgent need for some organisation which will conduct and collate researches into educational problems peculiar to India and at the same time make available up-to-date information as to educational developments in other parts of the world. Unfortunately, the Bureau exists at present largely in name only, but I do hope that even in these, hard times it will not be impossible to find the money which will be needed to make at least a start with the work I have in mind.

May I conclude by expressing the hope that your meeting will be both interesting and useful? I have no doubt whatever that the well- known hospitality of Hyderabad will make your visit thoroughly enjoyable and I can only voice once more my regret at not being with you."

6. The agenda before the Board comprised the following items:-

I. To report that the Proceedings of the last meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education held at Madras on the 11th and 12th January 1941, were confirmed after circulation to members and that copies, were sent to Provincial Governments, Local Administrations, State Governments and Universities in India, and were put on sale.

II. To receive and consider reports from Provincial Governments, etc., on developments in (a) primary, (b) `basic' education and recommendations, if any, from the appropriate Standing Committees in connection therewith.

III. To receive and consider reports from Provincial Governments, etc., on developments in adult education and recommendations, if any, from the appropriate Standing Committee in connection therewith.

IV. To receive and consider the views of Provincial Governments, etc., with regards to the principles recommended by the Central Advisory Board of Education at their last meeting for determining the award of scholarships from public funds.

V. To receive and consider the views of Provincial Governments, etc.with regard to the recommendations of the Scientific Terminology Committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education as adopted by the Board at their last meeting and to report any action taken by them or by responsible agencies in their areas in connection therewith.

VI. To receive and consider the views of Provincial Governments, etc., with regard to the recommendations of the Social Service and Public Administration Committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education as' adopted by the Board at their last meeting and certain further information on the subject supplied by them in respect of work undertaken by -voluntary agencies of an all-India, character in their areas.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH MEETING OF THE CENTRAL ADVISORY BOARD OF EDUCATION HELD AT HYDERABAD-DECCAN ON THE 14TH AND 15TH JANUARY, 1942.