ANNEXURES I : EXTRACTS FROM "APPROACH TO THE FOURTH PLAN" AS APPROVED BY THE NDC IN THEIR MEETING HELD IN MAY, 1968
EDUCATION Immediate attention must be paid to implementation of the directives in the Constitution regarding primary education. The implementation will require provision of special facilities to backward areas and backward sections of the community and for the education of girls. The extent of wastage and stagnation in primary education is at present proving very costly. it would be necessary to device measures to reduce this substantially. In the field of adult literacy, it is proposed to emphasise the functional approach.
2. Since education is the main instrument of social change, opportunities for secondary and higher education must become increasingly available to all classes. At the same time, restraint of resources-financial and personnel-emphasises the need to economise in, and to rationalise the process of institutional spread and to make strenuous efforts at maintaining minimum standards of quality.
3. Considerations arising out of manpower planning have special relevance to the field of technical, vocational and professional education. The institutional and other facilities brought into existence to provide this education must be linked to estimates of future demand for trained manpower. This is because the educational effort in this field is relatively costly and excessive supply wastes national resources and because oversupply of highly qualified technicians leads to special difficulties in the cases of un- employment. The estimates of future demand can only be made on the basis of a commitment to a certain pattern of long-term development. Further, industry, business and commerce need also to be closely associated with this sphere of educational effort.
4. Enlargement of research activity is essential. All such activity should be coordinated fully between the institutions and universities specially with postgraduate work and that in its applied aspects, it is closely linked with the appropriate sectors of economic activity.
5. The relatively early stage at which a large majority of students in India find it necessary to leave education indicate the importance of providing facilities for part-time education., correspondence courses and other training programmes. These should be so designed as to facilitate lateral and vertical mobility of members of the working force.
6. Because of our poverty, it is not possible for the State to maintain free a system of widespread and varied educational services. While, it is necessary to provide special facilities for the poor, it is not financially desirable to afford free facilities to those who can afford to pay for the education of their children. Therefore, a system in which an appropriate charge for educational service is made, combined with a scheme of scholarships, freeships and loans appears the most appropriate. It is also desirable to encourage voluntary
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contributions for educational activity, especially in relation to non- recurrent and capital expenditure, from the community and individuals.
7. While programmes for the expansion of facilites at different stages will have to continue it is essential to lay greater emphasis on programmes of qualitative improvement. Among these, special attention will have to be given to the improvement of the skills and status of teachers, indigenous book production and promotion of student welfare'.
8. Another step is the extension of public services which raise the standard of living of the mass of the people. The two most important directions in which this has happened significantly during the last 15 years have been the spread of educational and public health facilities. Education is the most effective means for progress. An appropriate spread of educational opportunities is an extremely important instrument of social policy. It is noteworthy that backwardness in economic organisation and cooperative effort usually goes hand in hand with backwardness in education (Chapter VIII, Development and Distribution, para 4).
9. It is possible to incur expenditure on specialised programmes, such as school meals, nutritional programmes in favour of definite areas or categories of people and programmes for the welfare of children. If these are properly articulated, they may benefit specially the handicapped classes and categories. Subsidies have been given in the past through the lowering of foodgrains prices. It is obvious that we cannot afford general subsidies at any significant level and further that subsidisation, which is necessarily non- discriminatory achieves social purposes at too great a cost (Chapter VIII, Development and Distribution, para 5).