 DISCUSSION ON COMMITTEE REPORTS
 AND RESOLUTIONS

During the third session of the meeting of the Board, held in the forenoon of the 12th, the members divided themselves into three committees to deal respectively with the Fourth Five Year Plan on Education, the National Policy on Education, and the recommendations of the National Integration Council. The three committees presented their reports to the plenary session on the afternoon of the 12th and the draft resolutions were adopted after discussion of each of the reports. The summary of the discussion and the resolutions adopted are given below:

Committee No. I on the Fourth Five Year Plan on Education

(1) Discussion: The Education Minister of Andhra Pradesh who was the convener of this committee, presented the report and observed that the Group had felt strongly that a higher allocation was necessary if education was to make a fair headway in the Fourth Plan. The Group was also of the view that. in the present context, the Centrally- sponsored and Central sectors should be retained at the present level so that the State could get the benefit of these sectors in implementing special programmes calculated to improve quality and to ensure coordinated efforts on the part of the Central and the State Governments.

Commenting on the recommendation that wastage and stagnation should be eliminated, he said that the committee had been faced with a difficult choice. For example, the enrolment in Andhra Pradesh was 60 per cent. The dilemma for the State was whether to place emphasis on the enrolment of the remaining 40 per cent of boys and girls, or to concentrate on the drop-outs.

On higher education, the committee was of the view that migration of students from one university to another should be facilitated and this was the first thing necessary for national integration. There should also be better coordination between the educating and the employing agencies. If the minimum coordination between education and industries and other employing agencies is not ensured, formulation of plans would be unrealistic.

In the discussion that followed, members made the following points:

Shri J. M. Lobo Prabhu :

It is not the function of this committee or of the Board to merely summarise the proposals made by the Steering Committee or any other group. We have to break new ground, but from the report of the committee it is not clear what new contribution has been made. One of the ideas that was considered by the committee was that in order to reduce drop-outs, wastage and stagnation, the law of compulsion should be enforced. This has not found mention in the report of the committee.

It was also accepted by the committee that in order to improve the quality of education, teachers should be given some personal incentives. The report only mentions the provision of incentives but does not specify the type of incentives. I am of the view that that this incentive should be in the shape of a selection grade based on the quality of work of the teacher. It had been pointed out by some members of the committee that such an incentive would create all kinds of demands from the teachers' unions and it would also place some of the States in an awkward position. I would, however, press very strongly that such a procedure should be announced in order that teachers might take more interest in their work. If there are financial difficulties in implementing this idea, the Centre should come forward to assist.

The shift system has worked very satisfactorily in Kerala, and the Board should press for its acceptance.

The system of adult education has not been successful and resources should not be wasted on such a programme. A commission should be set up to inquire into the working of the programme.

The idea of community contribution is an old one, and has not been a great success. Community projects are being gradually given up. He would urge the Board and the committee not to lend themselves to innumerable suggestions but to concentrate on things that matter.

The Education Minister, Andhra Pradesh, explained that in regard to the question of incentives, the Education Ministers had agreed to the provision of incentives in principle, but wanted the form which it would take to be left flexible, so that while it would give them the necessary strength to introduce the reform in their own way, they would not be tied down to any particular form of incentive.

Discussing the enforcement of the law of compulsion, several State representatives pointed out that although a law did exist in their States, it had not been found feasible to enforce it. Nevertheless, the existence of such a law was in itself a big factor in improving enrolment.

As regards adult education, Dr. Mohan Singh Mehta clarified that the concept of adult education had broadened considerably over the past three decades, and it no longer meant the mere acquisition of the three R's. The concept of adult education was one of functional literacy, directly related to improving the functional efficiency of the agricultural or industrial workers.

(2) Resolutions: The resolutions were then passed subject to one or two verbal modifications and a minute of dissent from shri J.M.Lobo Prabhu. They are given below :

1. Allocations

The Board is of the view that provision of Rs. 1,500 crore suggested by the Planning Group is absolutely essential to achieve the minimum targets of enrolment and to maintain minimum standards in quality.

2. The Board is of the emphatic view that, in the present context, a sizeable sector of Central and Centrally-sponsored schemes should be retained as an integral part of the Fourth Five Year Plan in order to meet satisfactorily the requirements of qualitative improvement of education and to carry cut important programmes which require inter-State coordination on a nation-wide basis. The Board therefore particularly welcomes the declaration contained in the National Policy on Education that "in addition to undertaking programmes in the Central sector, the Government of India will also assist the State Governments for the development of programmes of national importance where coordinated action on the part of the States and the Centre is called for".

3. The Board is also of the view that the scheme of the State Institutes of Education is of such crucial importance that it should be continued in the Centrally-sponsored sector to the end of the Fourth Plan period. The Board requests the Ministry of Education to convey this request to the National Development Council and to urge upon it to reconsider its decision.

4. Elementary Education

The Board generally approves of the proposals of the Planning Group in this regard, subject to the following observations :

(a) The targets of enrolments suggested by the Planning group 6-11 and 70 lakh addtional pupils in the agegroup 11-14, are the minimum required.

(b) Additional provision should be made for special pro- grammes to promote girls' education.

(d) Adequate incentives should be provided to the teachers to enable them to contribute their best.

(e) The resources of the community should be mobilised in a larger measure, both as an end in itself and as a means to augment Public funds allocated to education. In particular, steps should be taken to utilise the services of part-time voluntary workers, especially educated women, in the community.

(f) The double-shift system takes two forms in practice. In the first. it aims at making a maximum use of existing facilities like accommodation, equipment, etc. but provides separate groups of teachers. In the other, the same teacher or group of teachers teach different sets of pupils. There is no objection to the adoption of the double-shift system of the first type. The second type may be given a fair trial in areas where conditions suitable for this experiment are found to exist.

(g) A minimum programme of qualitative improvement including revision of curricula, including the introduction of work-experience and national or social service, production of good textbooks, inservice education of teachers and strengthening of science education should be included in all Plans.

5. Secondary Education

The Board approves of the proposals made by the Planning Group in this regard subject to the following observations:

(a) Science education with special emphasis on the deve- lopment of scientific attitudes and skills should be given high priority.

(b) The enrolment of 33 lakh additional pupils is reasonable.

(c) The minimum programme of qualitative improvement envisaged in the Report in regard to curricula, text- books and evaluation should be implemented on a priority basis.

(d) In view of the fact that some States have decided to change over to the pattern of secondary education suggested by the Education Commission, the funds necessary for the purpose should be provided.

6. Higher Education

The Board broadly approves of the proposals of the Planning Group to the following modifications:

(a) It will be necessary to provide for the inevitable additional enrolment of students who come forward to join the colleges, especially because facilities for training and employment at the end of the secondary stage are not available and because the recruitment policies by employing agencies put a premium on university degrees. It was, however, emphasised that certain minimum standards must be insisted upon and full-time facilities should be provided only to the extent of available resources, But part-time and correspondence courses should be provided for others who cannot find admission to whole-time institutions.

(b) New universities should not be established without adequately considering the availability of resources for the purpose and prior consultation with the University Grants Commission and the Government of India. Where sufficient postgraduate students are available, university centres could be set up in the first instance.

(c) It is necessary to create a few centres of excellence where facilities at the highest possible level will be provided so that men of sufficient competence and ability could become available for occupying key posi- tions in different sectors of national life.

(d) There is urgent need to improve the quality of post- graduate education and research.

(e) A concerted effort is needed to rationalise the utili- sation of resources and to improve organisational and administrative techniques, teaching methods, curricula, examination system, etc.

7. Technical and Vocational Education

The Board emphasises the need for a much closer coordination between institutions for technical and vocational education on the one hand and agriculture and industries on the other.

8. Teacher Education

The Board emphasises the need to extend the duration of the primary teachers' teaching course to two years.

9. The Board recognizes the urgent need to improve the quality of teacher education at all levels and recommends that necessary provision be made for it in the Fourth Plan. It also expresses its concern over the huge backlog of untrained teachers and is of the view that it should be cleared by the end of the Fourth Plan through provision of correspondence courses (which should include an intensive personal contact programme). It is further of the view that training institutions should be encouraged to do extension work and that the provision necessary for this purpose should be made in the Fourth Plan.

10. Adult Education

The Board realises the importance of adult education in the context of national development and desires that adequate allocations should be made for it.

11. Youth Programmes

The Board is of the view that the programmes relating to non- student youth should receive a higher priority in the Fourth Plan.

Minute of Dissent by Shri J.M. Lobo Prabhu

1. That in view of the admission of some Ministers that the Compulsory Education Act has not been passed in their States and the admission of all Ministers that it is not enforced anywhere, the Constitution is infringed, without the people being aware of the position.

2. That in view of the "drop-outs" aggregating to 60 per cent in primary schools and the consequent wastage of both money and talents, the law of compulsion may as a beginning, be enforced on parents of students who enrol but leave school without acquiring literacy.

3. That to reduce "drop-outs" and to increase the enrolments of the teachers, the incentives considered necessary may be spelt out to include selection grades for all categories of teachers.

4. That the expansion of science education may be related to the staff available, which is now short by 40 per cent.

5. That considering the finding that the majority of Basic schools are not different from ordinary schools and considering that the efficiency of the technique has not been evaluation which is unfair to the poorer population which cannot af- schools of their choice, particularly in rural areas, there may be no further expansion until evaluation is made.

6. Similarly, since there is no definite record of the success of adult education, its evaluation may be made before more expenditure is incurred.

Committee No. II on the Implementation of the National Policy on Education

(1) Discussion: The Education Minister, Maharashtra, who was the convener of this committee presented the report in the discussion that followed, the members made the following points:

Smt. Durgabai Deshmukh :

In the operative part of the resolutions, while the States are being asked to review the educational development in their States, the contribution made by the voluntary sector should also be considered.

Shri N. D. Sundaravadivelu :

The State legislature had gone into the question of the three- language formula and had decided to adopt the two-language formula.

(2) Resolutions: The resolutions as adopted by the Board on the Implementation of the National Policy on Education are given below:

12. National Education Policy : A Significant and Welcome Decision

The Board places on record its keen appreciation of action of the Government of India in issuing, for the first time since Independence, a Government Resolution on the National Policy on Education. Keeping in view the contents of the Resolution and the background of extensive consultations, among others, with Members of Parliament, the State Governments

and universities that preceded it, the Board recognises that the Resolution represents the first important effort to indentify educational priorities at the national level.

13. Conditions Essential for Effective Implementation

For the effective implementation of the National Policy on Education it is necessary to make the general climate in the country more favourable to education and to educational progress. This is a matter of the highest importance and must receive the earnest attention of authorities, both at the Centre and in the States.

14. The Board wishes to emphasise that effective implementation of the National Policy on Education will require provision of adequate resources. The Board therefore urges upon the National Development Council, the Planning Commission, the Union Ministry of Education and the State Governments to make the necessary resources available for this purpose. It also recommends that every effort should be. made to supplement public funds allocated to education from other sources such as local authorities, voluntary organisations or public contributions.

15. Investment of monetary resources is necessary but not sufficient for educational development which requires the harnessing of human resources to the fullest extent possible. There should, therefore, be greater emphasis of programmes which need human effort rather than monetary investment. These, for instance, include: revision of curricula; preparation of instructional materials; discovery and diffusion of new methods of teaching and evaluation related to the objectives specified in the National Policy on Education; encouraging initiative and experimentation on the part of teachers and institutions; bringing the school and the community closer together through programmes of mutual service and support; improvement in guidance and supervision; etc. The Board recommends that the Central and State Governments should take all steps necessary to this end such as effective involvement of teachers, strengthening of State Education Departments, creating or strengthening the necessary institutional structures for these programmes of qualitative improvement at the national, State and district levels and adopting a broad-based and decentralised system of educational planning.

DISCUSSION ON COMMITTEE REPORTS AND RESOLUTIONS