Let me at this point first, refer to what can, by common consent, be the basic objectives of the system of education as a whole.... These, in view, can be classified as:
i) development of the brain of every child to the maximum extent possible and generally to discover the scope of its potential;
ii) to help the boys and girls, during the earlier stages of primary and higher secondary education, to acquire sufficient knowledge of his/her capacity to enable them as knowledgeable and responsible members of the society irrespective of the profession or vocation they may happen later to join;
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iii) to equip the students in the said early stage both physically and mentally in such a manner as would endow, his family and, as he achieves a reasonably comfortable position in his vocation, to be able to render some free service to society;
iv) to enable the students to realise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship so that they can live as patriotic and disciplined citizens;
v) to enable them to acquire some knowledge of religion in its broad sense as well as the basic moral values;
vi) to inculcate in them the capacity of independent thinking and of making their own decisions on issues which they will have to face in life; and finally,
vii) to help them to achieve a high order of excellence in sophisticated lines of art, science and technology.
Teacher The importance of the role of teacher in improving the quality of education, the need for ensuring good working conditions to teachers so that they are able to contribute their best is well reflected in the quotes given below:
The mistake of a doctor lies burried in grave. The mistake of an engineer lies cremated in bricks, the mistake of the lawyer lies in lies, but the mistake of a teacher is reflected on the Nation.
(A School Teacher)
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Teacher is the kingpin of entire educational system. Teacher is the crux of all education.... If holding power is to be improved or efficiency increased, it has to be managed by teachers.
(A professional outside education)
Chief problem facing Indian education is non-performance of teachers at all levels. How to make them perform is the main question.
(A prominent politician)
We have to ensure that circumstances are created in which teaching community feels assured that it can function with self-respect and can, contribute its best to the development of new generations.
(An eminent educationist)
Quantitatively also, the responses in the category of teachers account for 12 per cent of total responses and is one of the five major categories of responses. It is to be noted further that 100 out of a total of 188 responses have come from the category of teachers and educational administrators. This indicates self-consciousness on the part of educationist about their own role in educational process.
The major sub-themes within this broad category are:
work ethos among the teachers
Recruitment of teachers
Training both pre-service and in-service
Posting and transfer policy
Salary and status
Promotional avenues
Welfare, rights and duties.
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Work Ethos The general feeling about the work ethos among the teachers is reflected in the observation of a principal of a reputed public school: Compared to other professions, teachers worm for lesser number of days in a year and for lesser hours per day. About the school teachers in the rural areas, the general complaint is that teachers either do not go to school or do no teach.
Working hours and working days of college teachers have generally been considered low by a large section of respondents. About college teachers, a common complaint is that they do not take classes regularly and are hardly concerned with any other activity of the college. We have in fact "part-time teachers and part-time students" is a quip observation.
It is suggested by one and all that number of teaching days must be increased to at least 180. Teacher attendance specially in primary schools should be strictly enforced. Also college teachers and professors must be made to stay in college and university for eight hours irrespective of classes to be taken by them. Such are the views of an advocate.
Regarding the quality of teaching also, specially at primary school level it is considered to be very bad. One of the respondents goes to the extent of saying that teachers at primary schools are semiliterate. Those students who go to secondary school are badly taught.
To improve the performance of teachers several suggestions have been made. Major ones are to have performance based incentives, and making the working conditions attractive. One suggestion coming from an eminent politician is a `Hire and fire policy.'
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Recruitment Criteria About one-fifth of the responses under the teachers theme relates to the sub-theme Recruitment indicating the importance of recruitment in ensuring right type of teaching personnel. Besides merit, as an important criterion for recruitment of teachers emphasis is laid on aptitude, character, devotion to duty, interest in reading as essential qualities of a teacher. In the selection of teachers, criteria like, caste, community and creed should not be a source of bias.
To ensure fair and objective selection many respondents feel that recruitment of teachers especially for higher education-should be processed through an All-India Commission, consisting of eminent scholars. separate Recruitment board for teachers is also suggested by some of the respondents. These Boards should conduct entrance examinations for inducting persons into training to be subsequently appointed as teachers.
A suggestion for an Indian Education Service on par with Indian Administrative Service has also come from a large number of respondents.
Training - Pre-service and In-service Teachers' training is considered the worst culprit in teacher performance and many respondents view it as "archaic, stereotype and dysfunctional". Aspects of training both pre-service as well as in- service, has been given importance by the respondents.
Strengthening of teachers' training and making it mandatory for college teachers are major suggestions. Need to re-orient the curricula of teacher training institutions in accordance with the changes in curricula and modern teaching technology has figured in some of the communications.
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Another important suggestion regarding pre-service training is that after +2 stage, teachers should be given 4 years training in psychology and methods teaching.
Besides training teachers and re-orientation of curricula of training institutions another major suggestion in this respect is in- service training of teachers and recurrent education of teachers so as to update their knowledge continuously. One suggestion in this regard is that after every 5 years, teachers must undergo rigorous training of 3 months. Short-term training is also suggested. Faculty improvement programme should be organised on continuous basis.
Posting and Transfer Although the issue of transfer is of crucial importance for teachers and one would have expected several communications on the theme, yet only 4-5 letters deal with this issue. Here the suggestion is to work out transfer norms and these should be in consultation with teachers. Regarding posting in rural areas it is suggested that no one should be posted in one's own village. he must be posted at least about 10 kms. away. It is also suggested that a teacher should be transferred after every three or five years within the state.
Salary and Promotional Avenues To ensure entry of competent and qualified persons into the teaching profession, the major suggestion is to ensure economic and social well-being of teachers by making their pay and remuneration attractive. Largest number of suggestions on the theme of teachers belongs to this category. It is suggested that teachers should be better paid and their salary should be comparable to personnel in other professions. To rationalise the pay structure, there should be parity in pay scales throughout the country.
Besides salary and pay scales, another aspect emphasised is promotional avenue. It is suggested that to be fair to teachers there
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should be three time-scale promotions. However, it is further observed that promotion be based on performance and commitment rather than on experience. Another variant is 50 per cent promotion and 50 per cent direct recruitment. There is also a suggestion for giving running salary grades to teachers.
Welfare Rights and Duties Teachers' welfare and rights, on the one hand, and duties on the other, have figured in a large number of letters. Among the welfare measures the suggestion is to improve salary, provide for promotional avenues, make provision for housing and medical facilities. It is also suggested that teachers' academic freedom should be honoured.
Along with welfare measures and rights, emphasis on prescribing a code of conduct for teachers figures prominently in the letters. Some respondents have directly asked for preparation of a moral code for teachers and its adoption. The major indictment against teachers is their participation in politics. The intensity of feeling in this regard can be gauged from respondent's observations: "No scheme of education is likely to achieve its objective unless teachers are completely divorced from politics". Their engagement in private tuition is also condemned. Feelings regarding the banning of the private tuitions are intense.
Some of the respondents have asked for banning the Staff Associations while others exhort the teachers' union to work not only for rights of teachers but also evolve a code of conduct for them.
Structure of Education The national Policy on Education (1968) envisaged adoption of 10+2+3 system of education. The respondents have stressed the need for a uniform structure across the country. This is stressed for more reasons than one. Firstly, they feel that it will create parity between different states as far as total number of years for reaching
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a particular level is concerned. For example in states where the new pattern does not exist, a student spends only 1.4 years for passing graduation as against 15 years proposed in the new pattern. Secondly, the absence of uniformity creates often very difficult situations in the matter of admission to higher stages when either the students are denied admission or are asked to spend one extra year to come on par with others.
However, there is a significant opposition to 10+2+3 system. The following quote represents a portrayal of this opinion:
The fact that 10+2+3 is proving neither very popular nor very useful (when introduced) constitutes a strong argument against its universalisation.... Rightly understood, the last two years of 10 years' schooling, age 15-18, and the +2 stage, taken together, do not form an, organic linkage between elementary education and college education.
The opinion cited above represents one school of thought, a fundamental opposition to the 10+2 structure of education. There is yet another line of thinking which represents the misgivings of a large number of respondents against the haste with which the 10+2+3 pattern has been thrust upon the states without adequate preparation. That their misgivings have not been ill-founded have been sought to be substantiated with the experience of their own states. A prominent politician deplores:
We have decided -to go in for an extended school to which we have given the name of 10+2 system. I can't speak for the entire country. But in the few States which I know the new school will fail, as the higher secondary school of Mudaliar Commissions' recommendations did. Haryana adjoins Delhi. how I wish I should take you to see things for yourself at the village level.
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Although, various alternative models have been suggested to replace the 10+2+3, the following models may be noted :
1. Four-tier educational pattern consisting of pre- primary, primary, secondary and graduate levels. Pre- primary will start at the age of 4 and, will be of 2 years duration. Primary will commence at the age of 6 and will be of 7 years duration. The secondary stage will begin at the age of 13 and will involve 4 years of schooling. The graduation will be of 3 years duration.
2. There should be 2 years compulsory break after the Xth grade under the programme title called "National Youth Development and Education Programme" in continuation of the education of each of our pupil. This break. should come immediately after the 10th grade and be made a compulsory part of graduation from high school.
3. There should be 8 years of elementary education, 4 years of middle schooling and 3 years of higher education.
4. Continuous 14 years of schooling without any division into stages.
There is a distinct feeling against the multiplicity of school boards conducting examinations. There is a widespread desire for a centralised structure of evaluation in the hope that the anamoly existing in different states can be checked. One of the student pleads:
As student.... I would request you. to kindly ask our party to ... gradually bring about the amalgamation of the numerous state boards to give rise to a single integrated nationally applicable education system. This I feel is the single most important factor which will generally benefit the student community and the future generation.
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Language The national policy on language as a subject of study and medium of instruction was reiterated in the National Education Policy Resolution, 1968. The various aspects of the National language policy incorporated in the Education Policy Resolution are: development of regional languages a sine qua non for education development, the vigorous implementation of the three - language formula at school level by all, the promotion and development of Hindi as the national and link language, according special importance to the study of Sanskrit for its contribution to national unity and appreciation of the cultural richness of Indian heritage, and continued study of English and other international languages to keep abreast with the advances in knowledge.
Nearly one out of every five respondents has found one or two aspects of the language policy deficient in our educational system. One of the important features which stands out prominently is that most of the citizens have a conviction that the cause of national unity and integrity can be assisted by implementation of the three language formula, study of modern Indian languages or adoption and promotion of Hindi as the national or link language.
Hindi and National language Although not region-specific, the number of respondents who urge the development and promotion of Hindi as an instrument of national unity and mobility is by far the largest. The views in this respect range from those who plead that Hindi should be adopted as the medium of instruction throughout the country, to those who advocate adoption of Hindi even in matters dealing with Science and Technology, Space and Communication. Another category would deem it fair to adopt hindi, along with English, in the entrance examinations to professional institutions. There is a third set of respondents' who feel that developing a common script for all languages, using the Devanagiri script, would answer both the problem of national language
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as well as achieve national unity and bring about easy mobility. Me failure to adhere to the Constitutional provision regarding Hindi has been a specific point of criticism with a large of respondents.
The importance of national language is prime concern to quite _ number of observers. They appear convinced that "in the absence of _ single national language, no educational policy will bring in the expected results". In identical spirit runs the observations of another respondent when he says.
India cannot be great in the eyes of other countries an especially in the eyes of English speaking countries unless we have a national language of our awn in which we can converse boldly and freely in every nook and corner of the country.