INTRODUCTION
 

1.1 During the year (1986-87), the National Policy on Education was finalised after an intensive national debate. The Policy adopted by Parliament in May 1986 was followed up by an elaboration through the Programme of Action which was placed before Parliament and adopted in August 1986. The Policy and the Programme of Action give shape to the Address of the Prime Minister in 1985 when he declared that our educ- tional system needed to be reconstructed as a dynamic force for na- tional growth and integration and a national consensus of reform had to be built.

1.2 While a major start was made with some of the programmes like the National Open University, Navodaya Vidyalayas, finalisation of the National Core Curriculum, Mass Programme of Functional Literacy, Mass Orientation of School Teachers, Establishment of Autonomous Colleges, consolidation and quality improvement in Higher Education, removal of obsolescence and modernisation in Technical Education, during the year 1986-87, for all practical purposes, the year 1987-88 is the first year of implementation of National Policy on Education. Detailed guidelines for implementation of the schemes: Operation Blackboard, Restructuring and Reorganising Teacher Education, Establishment of District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), Vocationalisa- tion of Education, Improvement of Science Education were worked out in consultation with the State Governments and circulated to all State Governments and UT Administrations. State Level Empowered Committees were constituted in each State for considering project proposals and Central assistance has been released to various States and Union Territories under the different schemes.

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