PLANNING, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION MACHINERY
60. To put through the programmes indicated in the previous sections, and even to improve returns from the existing programmes, it is of the utmost importance that the administrative machinery should be streamlined. This will require a careful evaluation of the present strength of the -cadres of the Central and State Governments, their recruitment and training policies and the incentives provided to personnel at various levels and the, provision of remedial measures. Special attention is needed to reduce the work-load to inspectors so that effective supervision cap be broadened and modernised to include professional guidance to teachers. It, would be desirable to broad- base the area of recruitment of educational administrators both at the Centre and State levels so that people working in universities and similar institutions can be drawn upon for administrative jobs and people in the administrative wing can go to teaching jobs for a few years to facilitate cross-fertilisation of ideas. This will promote a close relationship between administrative practices and the needs of the educational institutions. Besides, strengthening the administrative and inspectorate staff, it would be desirable to arrange for their training and retraining. For junior administrative personnel, training programmes could be arranged at the State level, but for senior administrators, it is proposed to set up a National Staff College for Educational Administrators which would, besides providing training programmes through seminars and workshops, also undertake research in problems relating to comparative studies of various procedures and practices in the different States and in other countries with similar problems as our own, so that lessons can be learnt from the relevant experience.
61. A careful review of procedures will also be necessary so that through de centralisation of the decision-making authority quick decisions can be taken at the appropriate levels right along the lines down to the institutional levels. The administrative machinery, in order to be able to cope with developmental tasks, has to develop the capacity to change and grow in response to the. call of new programmes and policies. For that programmes and policies have to be periodically reviewed and modified in the light of evaluation. That would require a carefully designed and strong planning and a statistical cell to assist the Director of Education. This cell could keep the procedures and the practices of the administrative machinery at all levels under constant review.
62. Planning is a continuous process. Therefore, in the Fourth Plan itself steps should be taken to streamline the planning machinery and in the first instance to make it effective at least at the district level though the attempt should be to take it right down, to the institutional level.
63. In view of the importance of this subject, a Working Party on Educational Planning, Administration and Evaluation was set up by the Planning Commission. The Report of the Working Party has since been received and it is proposed to implement the programmes suggested by the Working Party in the Fourth Plan.
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