PROGRAMME OF ACTION

 INTRODUCTION

The Parliament during the Budget Session in 1986 discussed and adopted the "National Policy on Education 1986". A promise was made at that time by the Minister of Human Resource Development that he would present in the Monsoon Session a Programme of Action for the implementation of the policy. Immediately after the Budget Session, the Ministry undertook an intensive exercise to prepare the promised Programme of Action.

2. In the first place, 23 Task Forces were constituted and each was assigned a specific subject covered by the National Policy on Education (N.P.E.). Eminent educationists, experts and senior representatives of Central and State Governments were associated with these Task Forces. The subjects assigned to the Task Forces were as follows:

I. Making the System Work II. Content and Processes of School Education III. Education for Women's Equality IV. Education of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other backward sections V. Minorities' Education VI. Education of the Handicapped VII. Adult & Continuing Education VIII. Early Childhood Care and Education

IX. Elementary Education (including NFE and Operation Blackboard)

X. Secondary Education and Navodaya Vidyalayas Xi. Vocationalisation XII. Higher Education XIII. Open University and Distance Learning XIV. Technical and Management Education XV. Research and Development

XVI. Media and Educational Technology (including use of Computers in Education) XVII. De-linking degrees from jobs and Manpower Planning XVIII. The Cultural Perspective and Implementation of Language Policy

XIX. Sports, Physical Education & Youth XX. Evaluation Process and Examination Reform XXI. Teachers and their Training XXII. Management of Education XXIII. Rural Universities/Institutes

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3. The Task Forces were requested to examine the present situation in respect of the subjects assigned to them and to elaborate the implications of the specific statements contained in the N.P.E. The Task Forces were also expected to project the actions that would be necessary and indicate the broad targets and the phasing of the programmes. They were requested to indicate the broad financial implications with reference to each phase.

4. In spite of the constraint of time, the Task Forces accomplished their work with great care. They submitted their reports in July 1986. These reports were discussed in a series of meetings taken by the Minister of Human Resource Development. After these discussions were completed, a conference of Education Secretaries of the State Governments and U.T. Administrators was convened on the 20th July, 1986. Suggestions received during this meeting were carefully considered and the Programme of Action was prepared with reference to the main areas covered in N.P.E. The Central Advisory Board of Education met at New Delhi on the 1st and 2nd August, 1986. The document on the Programme of Action was discussed at this meeting, and several valuable suggestions were made by the Education Ministers of State Governments and U.T. Administrations and educationists who participated in the discussion. All these suggestions have been taken into account in the Programme of Action which is now presented to the Parliament.

5. This Programme of Action is meant to provide an indication of the nature of actions which will be needed in order to implement the directions of the Policy. It provides a broad strategy within which detailed schemes will be subsequently drawn up; it will also facilitate the preparatory work which will be required before such schemes can be worked out fully and put into operational form. The detailed projects will be taken up for formulation by the various departments and agencies, in consultation with all concerned, once the strategy outlined in the Programme of Action has been examined and endorsed by the Parliament. It is necessary to stress that what is presented here is not an inflexible structure but only a projection of directions with varying degrees of detail, A certain amount of flexibility is assumed which will help the implementing agencies in tailoring the Programme of Action to suit their contexts and to make necessary modifications on the basis of experiences and emerging scenarios. Implementation of the programmes will be a cooperative effort between the Centre and the States with full involvement of the community and the teachers and a constant process of consultations is envisaged.

6. The Task Forces had indicated in their reports broad financial implications. However, they need close scrutiny in consultation with all-concerned, including the Planning

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Commission and the Ministry of Finance. It will be noticed that the various Programmes of Action are spread over several years not only the 7th Five Year Plan period but also the 8th Five Year Plan, and beyond. The phasing of these Programmes has, however, to be left some what flexible, so that implementing agencies may be able to match the mobilisation of resources with the process of implementation.

7. The concept of National System of Education lays the greatest emphasis on elimination of disparities in the educational system and on improvement in the quality of publicly funded schools so that, ordinarily, parents may not feel the need to send their children to private high fee charging institutions. This is a direction towards which we shall have to move with speed and determination. Some steps have already been taken to launch 'Operation Blackboard' to demonstrably improve accommodation and facilities in under-provided primary schools in rural as well as urban areas. Establishment of District Boards of Education, District Institutes of Education and Training , and Village Education Committees will go a long way towards the school improvement programme, involvement of the community with the educational process, and creating a new form of accountability of the educational system. If implemented with sensitivity, vigour and persistence, the proposals contained in the Programme of Action regarding reorientation of the whole system to promote women's equality, special provisions for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other educationally disadvantaged sections, minorities, the physically and mentally handicapped, and for the areas which need special attention will enable the educational system to move towards the democratic and socialist ideals enshrined in the Constitution. These are indeed some of the main parameters of the strategy envisaged in the Programme of Action for making strides towards the Common School System, to which the Education Commission (1964-66) gave so much importance, but which has so far remained only a distant goal.

8. There is today, as never before, an upsurge in favour of national integration and adherence of certain national values and concerns: through introduction of a national core curriculum; an insistence on observance of secular, scientific and moral values; inculcation of an understanding of our composite culture, within rich diversity; creation of an awareness of the importance of protection of environment and observance of small family norm; and stress on commitment of the youth to manual work and social service. Reorgani- sation of the content and processes of education on these lines will, therefore, be a matter of foremost priority. A similar priority has been envisaged in the National System of Education towards effective universalisation of elementary education, eradication of illiteracy and skill developement in the, 15-35 age group, vocationalisation of education and preparation of the manpower needed for the develop-

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mental needs, improvement in quality at all levels, and scientific and technological research. The various chapters of the Programme of Action take note of these priorities and spell out broad implementation strategies.

9. Implicit in the effort for creation of a National System of Education is the requirement that the system should work at an optimal level of efficiency. This does,indeed, presuppose that all institutions will observe certain daily schedules; that examinations will be conducted in a fair and regular manner; that students' hostels will have an atmosphere of community living and learning; that the campuses of all educational institutions will give evidence of good maintenance and promote a spirit of creativity, etc. Essential though these things are, they would not suffice to meet the challenges posed in NPE. What is needed is a much greater rigour and discipline in academic pursuits, arrangements which facilitate autonomy for experimentation and innovation, circumstances which bring out the best among the teachers and the students, and above all a rededication of all - the political leadership, administrative personnel, the parents, teachers and students in the great task, of nation building.

10. Implementation of N.P.E. has to begin now wherever possible, in whichever way possible. Bigger schemes of quantitative expansion and quality improvement take time to get formulated and processed , and even longer to get understood and implemented. The process of preparation of those schemes has commenced, and will be followed up with necessary urgency. Meanwhile, every institution, every centre of non-formal education and of adult education, every teacher and student and every member of the society must examine what they can do. Some retired teachers can help out as substitute teachers,some housewives can impart literacy to their illiterate sisters, some institutions can extend their facilities to neighbouring institutions, some newspapers can start for their readers a weekly column on everyday science, and so on. While the Central and State Governments will fully shoulder their repsonsibilities and will give an account of it to State legislatures and Parliament, it is peoples' involvement in the educational reconstruction which will make the real difference. Time is of essence, and unless we act now, we stand in the danger of once again missing the opportunity of educational reform, so critical not only for the development of our nation, but for our very survival.

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