XII. TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN THE FOURTH PLAN
Introduction There has been phenomenal expansion both at the first degree and diploma levels. The annual admission capacity of the technical institutions for the first degree courses in 1951-52 was about 4,790 students and that for diploma courses in polytechnics 6,220 students. The expansion since then has resulted in an admission capacity of about 24,000 students to the first degree courses and over 48,000 students to the diploma courses. Because of the present unemployment situation and other problems, the Government of India has suggested to the States to reduce admissions to the first degree and diploma courses on a selective basis. Admissions to institutions that have been started recently as also to those institutions, where the necessary instructional facilities are inadequate, may be restricted. The present plan is to bring down the admission to about 15,000 to 16,000 students to the first degree courses and about 37,000 to 38,000 students to diploma courses. Should there be, in the course of the next 5-10 years, a radical change in the economic situation of the country demanding additional technical personnel, it would not be di- fficult to meet. the situation by restoring the admissions to the original level, namely 25,000 to the first degree courses and 48,000 to diploma courses.
2. According to tentative estimates, there are today about 50,000 engineering graduates and diploma holders who are unemployed. On the basis of the present enrolments in technical institutions, each year about 15,000 graduates and about 25,000 diploma holders will turn out. During the Fourth Plan period 1969-74, the total additional stock of technical personnel available will exceed 200,000 engineering graduates and diploma holders. The total stock of graduate engineers and diploma holders who are in employment at present does not exceed 300,000. Therefore, the immediate concern should be to formulate adequate measures to effectively utilise the manpower that will be available during the Fourth Plan period. This responsibility must be shared fairly and squarely by authorities/organisations responsible for various economic development projects in the Fourth Plan. It would be necessary to ensure that such measures are reflected in the plans and programmes of the concerned organisations/authorities.
3. During the period 1969-74, we should make intensive efforts to consolidate existing technical institutions and improve the standard and quality of training. To that end, the following specific programmes whould be undertaken :-
Faculty Development 4. Since the teacher is the heart of the programme of good education, we should organise on a continuing basis various programmes for the pre-service and in-service training of teachers. As for pre- service training, we should designedly reorient our present programme of training teachers for engineering colleges to suit the actual needs of institutions. We must bring to the training centres serving teachers who have not bad the benefit of postgraduate training and prepare them for the Master's degree and also equip them with professional competences. This would require a practical arrangement with engineering colleges to get the teachers on long study leave of two-three years. During that period the colleges should have adequate supernumerary posts to take care of the normal teaching work. An extension of the
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same process will include preparing selected teachers for the Ph. D. degree and equipping them for higher faculty positions. For the in- service training of teachers, a wide range of programmes are needed. These include summer institutes, sequential courses, practical training or apprenticeship in industry, seminars and workshops and so on. A network of facilities for in-service training on these lines must be organised throughout the country.
Reorganisation of Diploma Courses 5. Diversification of diploma courses and re-orienting them functionally to the training of technicians for industry is an urgent problem. To that end, our polytechnics should be brought designedly into intimate relationship with industry for conducting sandwich courses, co-operative courses, part-time courses and so on. We must identify on a continuing basis the precise needs of the industry for technicians and reflect those needs in the types of courses to be conducted by polytechnics, their curriculum and methodology. A built- in flexibility in our polytechnic education is needed to enable the institutions to be responsive to industrial needs. For that purpose, we must organise at selected centres special groups for curriculum development, preparation of teaching units and instructional materials, including textbooks and designs of instructional aids. Further, efforts must be made to rrain serving teachers for the new curricular changes and equip them with necessary competences for new forms of polytechnic education. The training programme should also include organised apprenticeship or practical training for teachers in industry and other organisations.
Post-graduates Engineering Studies and Research 6. Although a good beginning has been made in this field, through our Institutes of Technology and other centres, much still remains to be done to consolidate the courses and bring them upto the highest standards possible. We have today over 2,000 places for postgraduate courses and research but the necessary instructional facilities including faculty development have still to be organised. In extension of the programme and to establish first rate centres of postgraduate engineering studies and research, we must select 8-10 well-established engineering colleges that have experience of post- graduate activity and develop them into Institutes of Technology. Preliminary discussions on this question have already been held and the Government has agreed, in principle, to develop about 10 established engineering colleges in different parts of the country into Institutes of Technology in the next five years.
U.G.C.'s Assistance to University Departments 7. It has been estimated that the provision required for the development of university departments in engineering and technology, which are financed through the University Grants Commission an amount of Rs. 12.3 crores would be needed in the Fourth Plan. Provision has also to be made for the development of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Curriculum Development and Preparation of Instructional Materials
8. An all-out effort should be made at selected centres for the development of curriculum and preparation of instructional materials for the first degree and diploma courses. For degree courses, our Institutes of Technology, in association with selected engineering colleges in their respective regions would be very good centres. For polytechnics, our Technical Teachers Training Institutes in association with selected polytechnics in their areas would be the best centres. Groups of experts who have an understanding of the problem of engineering education and industrial needs should be set up
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at these centres to work intensively on curriculum development and preparation of instructional material. Simultaneously, they should also work on designing scientific equipment and apparatus needed by technical institutions for their laboratories, Prototype of apparatus and equipment should be made and their production should be undertaken either at a central workshop or in regional workshops to be set up sepecifically for the purpose.
Apprenticeship Training in Industry 9. The present unemployment among engineering graduates and diploma holders has not only indicated the weaknesses in our manpower policies but also emphasised the importance of apprenticeship, training in industry. On an emergency basis, we have increased the training facilities from about 2,000 places to over 7,000 places. It is proposed to organise 10,000 to 12,000 places in the Fourth Plan with the cooperation and support of industry. The crux of the problem of good apprenticeship, however, is adequate supervision. Lack of well laid out programme of training and its supervision by industry is the chief weakness of our present scheme and every effort should be made to correct it during the Fourth Plan period. To that end, we must set up apprenticeship boards in each State/region in close collaboration with industry and service the boards with adequate technical personnel. It is proposed to amend the Apprentice Act of 1961 to include the training of engineering graduate and diploma holders. The Central Apprenticeship Council duly reconstituted together with State Regional Apprenticeship Boards should be in complete charge of the practical training programme.
Vocationalisation of Secondary Education 10. This is an area in which new ground should be broken in the light of the recommendations of the Education Commission and on the basis of our experience of junior technical schools, multipurpose schools, technical high schools, and vocational schools. A detailed scheme for reorganising and developing secondary technical education has been formulated by the Ministry and sent to all State Governments. Keen interest has been evinced in the scheme by certain States and A.I.C.T.E. at its meeting held on 25th May, 1968, recommended to them to adopt or adapt the scheme to suit their needs and reorganise their vocational/technical schools. The important point is that there should be a close tie up between technical vocational schools and DGET for purposes of trade certification and apprenticeship in industry on the one hand, and on the other, with polytechnics for training the correct type of entrants to diploma courses. It is also important not to impose from the top a rigid, uniform and highly structured programme on the States but to leave it to the States to take the main initiative to formulate their own pogrames according to their needs and implement them within their own resources.
Setting up National Manpower Board 11. It has been recognised that there was need for setting up a National Manpower Board to formulate the national manpower policy and to assess manpower requirements for the future so that the expansion of technical training programmes could be modified from time to time in the light of that assessment.
Financial outlays for Technical Education Programmes 12. To complete the schemes that have already been undertaken, and for new schemes to be initiated along correct lines, an outlay of Rs. 213.00 crores is reeded, Rs. 107.00 crores in the Central sector and Rs. 106.00 crores in the States' sector. The tentative estimate for individual schemes are as indicated in the attached statement.
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FINANCIAL OUTLAYS FOR THE FOURTH FIVE YEAR PLAN OF
TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Estimate
in Rs.
crores
I. CENTRAL SECTOR
A. Central Government Institutions
1. Indian Institutes of Technology
For completion of schemes already undertaken
For further development including advanced
centres in aeronautics, ma- 10.0
terials science, etc.
2. Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad 0.5
3. National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology 1.8
4. Central Institute of Printing, Technology 0.5
5. All India Institutes of Management, Calcutta,and Ahmedabad 0.5
6. Centre for Industrial Design, (at IIT, Bombay) 0.5
7. School of Planning and Architecture
For completion of schemes 0.5
For further development
8. National Institute for Training in Industrial
Engineering 0.25
B.Development Programmes for Engineering Studies including
Post-graduate Courses and Research
9. Development and consolidation of post-graduate
courses and research in engineering and technology in state
and non-government institutions 10.0
10. Upgrading ten selected engineering institutions for
advanced studies and research on the pattern of IITs. 10.0
11. Part-time degree and diploma courses (completion of
schemes already sanctioned) 1.0
12. Development of non-government technical institutes acco-
rding to schemes already approved and in process of
implementation (Central Aid). 5.5
13. Practical Training of graduates and diploma-holders(Expanded
Programme) 16.0
14. Management Studies at universities and other centres 2.0
15. Development of Regional Engineering Colleges
(completion according to original plan and for
specialised courses) 10.0
16. Loans for construction of hostels (completion of projects
already approved and for limited expansion of
hostel accommodation) 10.0
17. Specialised courses to be conducted in cooperation with
industry as pilot projects and refresher courses for
personnel from industry 1.0
C. Quality Improvement Programmes through (central Effort
18.Technical Teachers' Training for college level teachers,
In-service training, summer institutes and other programme,
for faculty development both for college level and
polytechnic teachers 6.0
19. Technical Teachers Training Institutes for Polytechnic
Teachers 4.0
20. Research in technical education including
curriculum development, preparation of instrumental
materials and text-books, design of laboratory
equipments etc. 2.15
21. Improvement of salary scales of technical teachers
(spill-over of commitments) 1.0
22. Other miscellaneous items including planning and
supervision at the Centre 0.5
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D. Schemes Implemented by U.G.C.
23.Development of technical education in university
institutions including Post-graduate courses,
management studies etc. (on-going programmes) 12.3
24.Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 1.0
(For all other new programmes to be undertaken in
universities provision has been made under appropr-
iate items)
TOTAL OF THE CENTRAL SECTOR SCHEMES Rs. 107.00
crores
II. STATES' SECTOR
25.Development of technical institutions for the
first degree and diploma courses according to
schemes already undertaken and in process of im-
plementation 60.0
26. Revision of staff structure in technical institutions 5.0
27. Construction of staff houses 5.0
28. Scholarships to students 2.0
29. Students' Welfare and Amenities 2.0
30. Diversification of diploma courses, reorganisation of
polytechnic education including Commerce and consolidation
of polytechnics 12.0
31. Reorganisation of technical vocational schools
and vocationalisation of secondary education 15.0
32. Other schemes of technical education including
planning, administration and supervision 5.0
TOTAL OF STATES PLAN SCHEMES Rs. 106.0
crores
TOTAL FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION Rs. 213.0
crores
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