MINUTES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Board then took up the consideration of the agenda.
Item No. 1 :To record appreciation, of the services rendered by
those who have ceased to be members since the last meeting and
welcome new members.The Board recorded appreciation of the services of the following who ceased to be members of the Board :
1. Dr. V. S. Jha (Nominated)
2. Smt. Hansa Mehta (Nominated)
3. Smt. Zarina Currimbhoy (Nominated)
4. Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale (Nominated)
5. Shri H. C. Mathur (Elected by Lok Sabha)
6. Shri K. V. Ramakrishna Reddy (Elected by Lok Sabha)
7. Dr. W. S. Barlingay (Elected by Rajya Sabha)
8. Dr. Nihar Ranjan Ray (Elected by Rajya Sabha)
9. Lt. Col. V. Srinivasan, Director General
of (Health services, Government of India (Ex-Officio Member)
10. Shri D. C. Pavate Representative of Inter-Uni-
versity Board of India)
11. Dr. T. Sen (Representative of All India Coun-
cil for Technical Education)
12. Shri T. N. Tolani (Representative of All India Coun-
cil for Technical Education)
13. Shri K. C. Naik (Representative of Indian Coun-
cil of Agricultural Education)
The Board extended its welcome to the following new members:
1. Dr. C. P. Ramaswamy Aiyar (Nominated)
2. Shri Y. N. Dhebar (Nominated)
3. Shri Frank Anthony (Nominated)
4. Smt. Sarojini Mahishi (Nominated)
5. Kumari S. Panandikar (Nominated)
6. Shri P. Muthiah (Elected by Lok Sabha)
7. Smt. Renuka Ray (Elected by Lok Sabha)
8. Shri M. Satyanarayana (Elected by Rajya Sabha)
9. Shri. Satyacharan (Elected by Rajya Sabha)
10. Dr. Al. S. Chadha, Director
General of Health Services (Ex-Officio Member)
Government of India.
11. Dr. B V. Keskar, Chairman,
National Book Trust (Ex-Officio Member)
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12. Dr. J.M. Mehta (Representative of Inter-Uni-
versity Board of India)
13. Shri R. Choksi (Representative of All India
Council for Technical Educa-
tion)
14. Shri M. Fayazuddin (Representative of All India-
Council for Technical Educa-
tion)
15. Shri S. K. Mukherjee (Representative of Indian Coun-
cil of Agricultural Education)
Item No.2 : To report that the proceedings of the
29th meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education
held at Jaipur in January, 1962, were sent to the State
Governments and Union Territories.The Board noted the action taken.
Item No. 3: To consider the report of the Emotional
Integration Committee. The Board considered the Report of the Committee on Emotional Integration which was constituted by the Government of India in the Ministry of Education with Dr. Sampurananand as Chairman, and placed on record its appreciation of the Committee's work and the comprehensive and constructive way in which the Committee had formulated its recommendations on the terms of reference.
2. The resolution and determination with which the Indian people in every part of the country have responded to the challenge of Chinese aggression reflects the fundamental unity of the nation. It is however imperative that the basis of national unity and social cohesion should be continuously strengthened and consolidated. The factors which make for disharmony and lend support to fissiparous tendencies have to be recognised and actively combated. The Board endorsed the view of the Committee that education has a powerful role to play "in bringing our people the unifying elements both of our culture and economic needs". The tasks of national emergency have further highlighted the crucial importance of education in the national life.
3. The Committee has made in Chapter VI (School Education) And Chapter VII (University Education) recommendations regarding the specific programmes designed to promote emotional integration that should be undertaken in schools, colleges and universities. The Board endorsed these recommendations and emphasised particularly that--
(a) Schemes for the expansion of girls education and the training and employment of women teachers should be given high priority as measures essential for equalising educational opportunities; and both these should be implemented as centrally sponsored schemes as in the Second Five Year Plan.
(b) The establishment of more vocational schools and polytechnics is urgently necessary. Vocational schools of all types should
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be run by the, Union and State Ministries of Education in Co-operation with the Union and State Ministries dealing with the concerned vocational subjects. In this connection the Board strongly supports the recommendation of the Committee that higher secondary schools should be planned as multipurpose or comprehensive institutions providing (i) preparatory courses for students proceeding to college; (ii) all-round terminal education with a semi-vocational or semi- professional preparation and (iii) terminal education for a vocation.
(c) College and university students should be involved more actively in social service and productive work programmes.
(d) There should be no migratory restrictions imposed on students, and colleges and universities should aim at drawing students and teachers from as large an area as possible.
4. In regard to Youth Programmes referred to in Chapter VIII of the Report, the Board observed that the recommendations covered young people of the age-group 14-25 in school as well as out of school and agreed that this was the correct approach to the problem. It endorsed the recommendation that the Ministry of Education should initiate immediate action to plan a minimum programme of recreational and social activities for young people in the age-group 14-25 to cater for those in schools and colleges and also for those who have left school.
5. The suggestion of the Committee that, the scheme of compulsory national service for a period of one year before entering life or continuing higher education should be tried out as a pilot project, should be examined by the Ministry of Education in the light of the recent decision to make the N.C.C. universal and compulsory.
6. The Board accepted the recommendations pertaining to adult education.
7. The Board was in complete agreement with the view of the Committee regarding the key role of the teacher in promoting national integration and with the recommendations made by the Committee in Chapter X. The Board drew special attention to the need for the production of educational literature for the use of teachers in primary and secondary schools and in-training institutions. As regards the recommendation relating to the establishment of a pay revision committee on a national basis for fixing the minimum scales. of salary for teachers, the Board suggested that the Government of India should examine it further in consultation with the Planning, Commission and the State Governments.
8. The Board considered the recommendations relating to curricula and textbooks contained in Chapter XI & XII, and took note of the fact that the National Council of Educational Research and Training had already undertaken the preparation of text-books by panels of experts and teachers, and the National Book Trust was preparing a, series of reference books dealing with different States and Union Territories of India.
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9. Recognising the paramount importance of programmes of national integration the Board recommended that financial provisions for the implementation of the programmes should be made in the Plan on a priority basis and that suitable machinery should be established at the Centre to watch and coordinate the progress of these programmes.
10. The Committee has in Chapter VI of its Report recommended certain measures for reorganising the educational pattern. While agreeing on the need for a pattern of, education which would be broadly uniform the Board expressed the view that frequent changes in the educational pattern would be contrary to the aim of evolving such a broadly uniform pattern. The Board reiterated its recommendation made at the Jaipur Session (1962) that while it would be desirable to have ultimately a total period of 15 years of education, including 12 years of schooling, before the first degree is taken, and while the States that can command the resources for lengthening the period of education should be encouraged to do so, it is necessary that reorganisation on the lines envisaged in the report of the Secondary Education Commission should be speeded up. The Board had stressed that the total period of education should not in any case be less than 14 years with 11 years of schooling or pre-university education of terminal character.
11. Chapter V of the Committee's Report contains its recommendations on Language and Script. The Board noted that the three language formula recommended by it sometime ago had found acceptance with all the States and according to the reports received from the State Governments by the Ministry of Education, no particular difficulties are being exprienced in suitably phased implementation of the formula. The Ministers' Committee set up by the Education Ministers' Conference to review the working of the three language formula had also made its first report which was before the Board. In view of these circumstances the Board did not consider any revision of the three-language formula necessary.
12. The Board, agreeing with the view of the Committee that it is necessary to evolve an effective national policy in education the implementation of which should bring the States and the Union Territories closer together, strongly recommended that it was necessary and desirable that the recommendations adopted by the Board on any matter of educational policy of an All India Character or on the pattern or content of education should be implemented effectively by all concerned and that no, major change in the national pattern of education should be made without the Board first having Ian opportunity to consider it. The Board's views on this matter are not only in broad agreement with the recommendations of Dr. Sampurnanand Committee but also with the recommendation adopted by the Education Ministers' Conference (1962).
13. As regards the suggestion that in order to follow the implementation of the recommendations of the Central Advisory Board of Education, the Board may constitute a standing Sub-Committee at Ministers' level and a corresponding Sub-Committee at officers' level, the Board recommended that in order to achieve the desired objective two meetings of the Ministers' Conference should be held in a year instead of only one as at present.
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14. The Board took note of the fact that the Ministry of Home Affairs was in correspondence with the State Governments in connection with the proposal for an All India Educational Service.
Item No. 4 : Education and National Emergency The Board noted the report.
Item No. 5 : Appraisal of Compulsory Education Programmes and
allocation of funds for them. The Board considered the difficulties which had arisen in the implementation of the Compulsory Education Programmes due to lack of funds. The Chairman informed the Board that the Planning Commission had agreed in principle to provide an additional allotement of Rs. 10 crores for these programmes during the remaining years of the current Plan, of which Rs. 2 crores would be provided during 1963-64 outside the annual Plan ceilings of the States. There was full agreement that if the demand for additional enrolment was to be met and adequate qualitative standards maintained, it was essential that the additional funds should be provided throughout the Plan period over and above the Central and the States Plan ceilings.
In view of the increased enrolment at all stages of education, the Board recommended review of education plan in order to provide adequate resources over and above the State and Central allocations to meet the demand for additional enrolment and for maintaining adequate qualitative standards.
Item No. 6 : Introduction of productive labour in schools and
colleges. Shri Shriman Narayan, Member, Planning Commission observed that, while it was true that the system of basic education as visualised by Gandhiji had not been successful in the country for several reasons, there could be no two opinions about the soundness of fundamental principles on which basic education was founded by him.
Shri Shriman Narayan emphasised the great need for making education work-oriented, Particularly in the present emergency, He assured the Board that additional funds would be provided by the Planning Commission for schemes of productive work in educational institutions.
The Board approved the proposal to introduce productive labour in schools and colleges and recommended that a committee under the Chairmanship of Shri Pratap Singh Kairon, Chief Minister of Punjab, should be set up to work out a detailed scheme of practical character for implementation.
Item No. 7: To consider the report of the Expert
Committee appointed by the Government to work out
details of the Scheme of Correspondence Courses and
Evening Colleges. The Board considered the report of the Expert Committee appointed by the Government of India to work out details of the scheme in regard to Correspondence Courses and Evening Colleges. The Chairman pointed out the need for providing opportunities for higher education to those who are engaged in some kind of gainful
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employment. During the discussion, suggestions were made that the facilities of the courses should be made open to all persons whether employed or not. Women members were particularly anxious that the condition of employment should not be applied in case of women seeking admission to evening colleges. The question of minimum and maximum numbers of students in evening colleges for the purpose of earning Central grants was also raised and it was agreed that exceptions may be made in the case of evening colleges opened in smaller places. It was also suggested that evening colleges started by the State Governments should receive grants in the same way as are available to private colleges. It was also suggested that the grants should be for at least a period of 5 years and not for the duration of the present Plan. It was generally accepted that the evening institutions preparing for diploma courses should also be covered under the scheme.
The Board noted the experiment of correspondence courses and evening colleges and while accepting the report of the Expert Commitee it made the following recommendations:
(i) The need for expanding the Scheme to provide for more evening colleges should be borne in mind;
(ii) Central assistance should be given for five years instead of upto the end of the Third Plan only; and
(iii) A scheme for part-time courses should also be formulated by the Union Ministry of Education.
Item No. 8: Integrated programme of National
Discipline, Physical Education and other allied schemes.
The Chairman initiated the discussion by pointing out that there were serveral schemes like A.C.C., N.C.C., Rational Discipline Scheme and Scouting which had been introduced in schools. There was need for coordinating the activities under these schemes. The N.C.C. scheme operated at the collegiate level. At the school level, there was A.C.C. and N.D.S. The National Discipline Scheme (N.D.S.) combined physical education with other activities designed to inculcate patriotic feelings amongst the students. It was inexpensive and the total expenditure on it was met by the Centre. During the discussion, the question of placing the N.D.S. Instructors under the administrative control of the Head Masters of the schools was raised. It was also suggested that the training given in the physical education colleges and that under the National Discipline Scheme should be coordinated and no duplication or over-lapping should take place.
The Board recommended expansion of the N.C.C. at the college stage on a priority basis.
The Board welcomed the integrated programme of N.D.S. and physical education which incorporates the best features of the existing programme at the school level and recommended that in-service training of teachers for this work should be carried out expeditiously. The Board further desired that suitable books should be prepared centrally for the integrated scheme.
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The Board also, recommended that an Advisory Board should be set up to formulate general policies and programmes for the administration of the integrated scheme.
The Board recommended that the N.D.S. Instructors should be under the administrative control of the Head Masters of the schools in which they work. The Board expressed the view that N.C.C. (Junior) might be expanded if funds permitted.
Item No. 9: To consider the need to plan for Adult
Literacy and for increase of tempo of work. The Chairman referred to the useful work being done in the field of adult literacy in Maharashtra State by voluntary organisation. On his suggestion, the Deputy Minister of Education of Maharashtra explained in detail the adult literacy scheme in that State. During the course of discussion, it was pointed out that the literacy campaign had not received adequate attention. There were other difficulties also because the responsibility for the movement Was. shared by the Education and Community Development Departments. The Chairman pointed out that with the increase of population, the number of illiterates in the country was going up. It was necessary that voluntary efforts should be mobilised on a massive scale. He said that the Planning Commission was considering giving financial assistance to voluntary bodies for their organisational expenses. The Commission may be in a position to allot 5 to 6 crores of rupees for the purpose.