 RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FOUR SEMINARS ON MONITORING & IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL POLICY ON EDUCATION

FIRST SEMINAR : IIT, April 14-16, 1988

Consolidation & Expansion of Institutions

1. Proper guidelines and norms should be prepared by the UGC and sent to universities to enable them to formulate their requirements in respect of courses and intake, as also in respect of equiping themselves in a phased manner.

2. A task force should be appointed by the UGC to establish institutions within the university system which will develop and maintain close ties with National Laboratories and other agencies.

3. No newly established college/university should be provided with grants by the Government unless plans for establishing it have been approved by the State Government and UGC.

4. All guidelines should be strictly adhered to.

5. A pattern of a common entrance examination may be developed and guidelines in this respect may be prepared.

Academic Staff Colleges

1. Since an Academic Staff College can not be established by a university out of its own resources on a permanent basis, an ASC can run only with the help of U.G.C. financial support.

2. At present arrangements of space, timings (lodging, board) are made on ad-hoc basis. Although university departments are cooperating, this cannot be supposed to be a permanent arrangement..

3. The ASC scheme is in the initial implementation phase and has room for improvement. It is hoped that an A.S.C. will make contribution to the change of environment in the university/college. The current orientation courses should be followed by refresher courses for senior faculty. The activities will advance a culture of higher learning and will counter the present-day obsolescence in academia.

4. Not all ASC's are able to acquire the services of resource persons. A comprehensive list of resource persons in different subjects and specializations should be prepared.

5. Financial provisions should be made so that colleges can release teachers to attend the ASC orientation courses.

6. The State Governments sometimes claim reimbursement of salaries of teachers for the period of their participation in the ASC programme. The U.G.C. should take up this matter with the concerned State Governments.

7. An advisory committee has been set up at the level of each ASC which monitors each ASC. It is also proposed that a Central Advisory Committee be formed for monitoring and coordinating the activities of all the ASC in the country.

8. Financial provision should be made so that colleges can release teachers to attend the ASC orientation courses.

Role of Higher and Technical Education in Human Resource Development

1. It is necessary to view higher and technical education in the perspective of the overall human resource development.

2. Higher Education should enable and encourage scholars to strive for only excellence coupled with integrity and independence.

3. All necessary inputs must be provided to encourage genuine scholars to enter into higher education as scholars, teachers and researchers.

4. Technical education should be strengthened.

5. Designing of courses and orientation for teachers should be considered an important aspect of improving higher education.

6. Realistic programmes for developing scientific laboratories and strengthening libraries must be formulated and implemented. It is necessary to conduct a nation-wide survey on the needs of higher education and technical education.

7. It is necessary to formulate a policy of judicious expansion and consolidation. Expansion must not take place at the cost of consolidation.

8. Every university must be encouraged to set up a Curriculum Development Centre.

9. Strict guidelines must be formulated and implemented for affiliation of colleges.

Distance Education

1. Distance education is not possible without availability of adequate quality material. It is necessary, therefore, to ensure that good quality material is produced for every distance education effort.

2. Distance education faculty has to have qualifications and aptitudes that are sometime different from those of teaching departments. Only those who have right kind of qualifications and aptitudes must be appointed in a distance education centre.

3. Every effort must be made to maintain standards in distance education courses. Low cost delivery should not be the only determining factor for establishing distance education centres. Very often really effective distance education courses can be more expensive than the traditional face-to-face programmes.

4. Parents, and the community need to be educated about the facets of distance education and its advantages for bringing education to a large number of people.

5. Distance education courses must be devised for tribals and other populations in remote areas in order to facilitate education for these communities.

6. Proper evaluation techniques must be developed for evaluating the material produced for distance education.

7. Distance education leading to a degree must also be linked with non-degree continuing education courses through the distance mode.

8. It should be possible to allow for non-degree distance education programmes for those who do not want to acquire a degree but wish to continue learning.

Youth Services, Sports and Physical Fitness Programmes

i) A comprehensive survey should be conducted as regards availability of existing infrastructure of sports facilities in the universities and colleges in terms of playing fields, stadia, gymnasia, swimming pools and playing facilities of other games like Tennis. Volleyball, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho etc.

ii) On the basis of the survey conducted, efforts should be made to make up the deficiency in a phased manner targetting the completion of the project by the end of the 8th Plan Period.

iii) A programme of physical fitness should be carefully designed and implemented in all the medically fit undergraduate students. To begin with, the battery of tests should be simple and conveniently administerable requiring minimum infrastructure of sport facilities like playing grounds, equipment and officials so that the intended programme does not not experience much difficulty in implementation at the take off stage.

iv) Achievement of minimum standards of performance in the physical fitness programme in the terminal tests, which should be conducted at the end of each academic year, should be made compulsory.

v) High priority should be accorded to sports in the total scheme of higher education.

vi) Sports should be introduced as one of the academic disciplines for undergraduate studies.

vii) Different schemes in the field of sports operating in the university system at present being handled by different agencies should be entrusted to one single university sports apex body, which, if necessary, may be newly created.

viii) Outlays for the development and promotion of sports in the higher education sector for the 8th Plan period should be substantially increased so as to improve the existing sad state of affairs of infrastructure of sports facilities in particular and the quality of sports in general.

ix) Ways and means should be devised to draw media attention particularly of T.V. to provide adequate coverage of atleast competitive sports programmes at the university and inter-university level.

SECOND SEMINAR : Manipur University, May 19-21, 1988

Mobility of Teachers and Students

1. The Seminar generally supported the notion of an Indian Educational Service. The Central Government should take necessary steps for the establishment of the Indian Educational Service.

2. A cadre of 4000 IES officers should be built up in a period of 10 years through (a) direct recruitment (b) promotion from State Cadres, (c) special recruitment and (d) emergency recruitment with equivalent service conditions as for IAS.

3. The Ministry of Human Resource Development of Government of India should ask for 200 IES candidates to be recruited in 1988-89 through Combined Competitive Examination for IES.

4. For the IES candidates, the grade of pay and other facilities must be on par with IAS.

5. These IES officers should occupy key positions in the field of education.

6. In 1988-89, 200 IES officers should be recruited through UPSC by Combined Competitive Examination for IES, 200 by promotion from State Cadres, 200 by special recruitment and 200 through emergency recruitment. Thus in 1988-89 a cadre of 800 IES officers may be built up and the same process may be adopted for 1989-90 for recruitment of 800 IES officers.

Teacher Mobility

1. It is recommended that universities should be linked with each other on inter-regional basis so that the exchange of teachers from one university to another university may be possible.

2. Teachers who have moved from one state university to another state university have experienced that their children are deprived of many facilities available to others in getting admission to professional and technical institutions and also in getting jobs. These difficulties have to be removed if teacher mobility is seriously intended.

3. Teachers who want to migrate or have migrated, to other universities, either permanently or temporarily, should be allowed to carry over their service from one university to the other, for purposes of promotion, seniority and retirement benefits, etc. like PF/Pension.

4. Chairs should be instituted in universities in different languages and the State Governments should sponsor this programme in the universities of other states.

5. Incentives for teacher mobility given in one university in hill areas, should be extended to all universities in hill areas (whether central or state) to enable other universities too to attract the best talent.

6. Every university must have a Research Cell headed by a Social Scientist of Professor cadre, and other supporting staff, for collecting, processing and analysing data related to all sorts of information regarding education, teachers, students and manpower requirement in the region and the State so that steps may be taken accordingly for the over-all development of education in the State.

Student Mobility

1. There should be surveys of employment opportunities in the university area and in the State. Courses should be restructured from the point of view of employment potentialities and perspective planning, to meet the requirements of the regional/national economy.

2. There should be exchange of information regarding employment opportunities among universities .

3. There should be a network in every university, for assessing and planning manpower needs.

4. The Central/State Governments and universities may be required to select students and send them to different places for pursuing some specific courses. These students may be provided sufficient financial grants

and hostel facilities. For this purpose every university/state government should select 5% to 10% students from each batch and send them to other universities/institutes for pursuing specific course/courses.

5. Students should be allowed to go to other universities/institutes for completing specialised courses for which facilities may not be available at the parent university.

6. Instead of duplicating facilities for highly specialised courses in all universities, such courses should be available at specified centres' only. Study and research in such courses, for students from all over the country, should be made possible through award of scholarships and adequate hostel and other facilities at the host institution.

7. Equivalence of courses/units in universities should be established and strengthened.

8. Youth festivals, inter-university sports, inter-state living and similar other youth programmes ought to be promoted.

9. For students moving to other states with a different language, scholarships covering the period of language orientation (say 5 months) should be provided.

10. In order to implement this programme AIU may take up the matter with the Central/State Governments and UGC for working out the modality of its successful implementation.

Improvement in Efficiency

1. Educational institutions should have sufficient space for class- rooms, library, laboratory and reading rooms.

2. Educational institutions should provide hostel facilities, sports complex for outdoor games, indoor games and gymnastics, hobby centres, good canteens, a cooperative store to cater to the needs of students and teachers, transport facilities and a health centre, facilities for students counselling and information bureau.

3. Each library (Central and-Departmental) should have sufficient number of text books, reference books, reprographic and bibliographic services, and should be managed by qualified and trained personnel.

4. Laboratories should be modernised with the latest equipment and sufficient number of technical and semi-technical staff (such as, laboratory assistants, demonstrators, laboratory technician, workshop supervisors, laboratory attendents, etc.) should be employed.

5. Each educational institution should have adequate number of administrative, technical and supporting staff.

6. Beautification of the campus (through plantation of trees, development of gardens, halogen lights, etc.) should also be emphasised.

7. The UGC should bear the expenses for buildings, furniture, books and journals, equipment for the laboratory and staff on 100% basis. For this purpose, the UGC should sanction Rs. 10 crores as a foundation fund to such universities which have been established recently or which do not have adequate infrastructure as proposed above.

8. Each university should be equipped with a suitable computer to increase its efficiency. (The computer can be used to issue marksheets/transcripts, certificates, admit cards, abstract of attendance, identity cards, & maintain information on books borrowed from library, payment of scholarships and keeping the accounts of fees and other dues). The UGC should bear the cost of the computer, building, air-conditioning, operation and maintenance on 100% basis.

9. Selected institutions (statewise) from all parts of the country may be linked with a network with terminals for academic and research purposes. By the end of the 8th Plan, such facilities should be extended to all universities and institutions of higher learning.

10. Users' needs should be assessed and the existing curriculum should be modified to meet optimally the needs of the users. New courses should be introduced wherever necessary.

11. For recruitment of teachers, the following qualifications should be taken into account:

a. Essential - The teacher should possess a consistently good academic record beginning from High School examinations and onward with an average of B+(55%)

b. Desirable - In addition to the above, a teacher should possess an M Phil/Ph.D. degree or research publications of sufficient merit.

c. College teachers must be recruited through Public Service Commissions or similar agencies or through the university. (Teachers should 'not be recruited on adhoc basis. In case adhoc appointments are unavoidable the term of adhoc appointments should not be extended beyond 6 months under any circumstances and the qualifications stated above should be adhered to)

d. In order to attract dedicated and outstanding talent to the profession, teachers should be paid a fair and attractive salary with other fringe and terminal benefits. The teachers should be ensured high social status.

e. Teachers should be encouraged to involve themselves in quality research and publications continuously and accelerated promotion schemes for such talented and conscientious teachers should be introduced.

f. The consultancy norms prevalent in IITs should be suitably modified and adopted.

12. Adequate training resources should be provided in order to make initial and inservice training mandatory. In addition to at least one Academic Staff College in each State, financial resources should be made available to each university for conducting summer courses, refresher courses, and orientation courses.

13. Institutions and individuals with outstanding and excellent performances as adjudged by an autonomous body composed of eminent academics and educationists should be recognised and rewarded Efforts should be made to elevate the standard of deserving institutions to a high level of excellence.

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

In addition to the general recommendations above, the following have been proposed for improvement of efficiency in technical education.

available for this purpose.

RECOMMENDATIONS