- giving the highest priority to the programmes for the education of the common people Such as adult education (including liquidation of illiteracy, non-formal education of out-of-school youth) and universal elementary education including the, adoption of the common school system ;

- utilising the bulk of resources available for programmes for the education of the people so that they, and not secondary and higher education, receive the larger share of total educational expenditure ;

- changing the basic values underlying the system and orienting them to common people instead of the tipper and middle classes ;

- adopting the regional languages as media of instruction at all stages ;

- transforming the content of education to suit the ethos of work and production and the imperatives of national development ;

- improving the, access of students from economically handicapped groups to, secondary add higher education and taking suitable measures for optimizing their performance ;

- eliminating or reducing the subsidies in secondary and higher education that how go to the upper and middle classes ;

- increasing financial support to deserving students from deprived social groups ; and

- restructuring educational administration on the basis of decentralisation of decision-making authority so that the common people are

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actively involved in planning and implementation of their own educational programmes.

A major reason for our failure to bring about a radical reconstruction of educational system in the past has been the fact that we have ignored the close relationship between social and educational transformation and the consequent need for a simultaneous effort on both the fronts. The most significant aspect of our future strategy of educational development should, therefore, be to plan and implement a radical, simultaneous and complementary programme of social and educational reform."

The Educational Perspective

5.15 Within the long-term perspective of educational development (1981-2000), to the discussion of which we shall now turn, we shall deal only with three aspects of the situation, viz., (1) what are the problems and the nature of their tentative solutions highlighted by our past experience? (2) What are the major gaps in our knowledge or in the machinery of implementation? and (3) What are the special issues we will have to concentrate on in the days ahead ?

5.16 State Level Educational Perspectives: The one thing that stands out most conspicuously from our experience of the past is that, although the level from which educational plans can be most effectively implemented is the State level, the planning mechanisms are still very weak at this level and that no State has yet been able to prepare a long-term perspective plan of educational development. This is a great handicap for practical, day-to-day administration because, while the national policies can provide some guidance to the State Governments, the national plans of perspective development cannot provide a similar service and there is no escape from each State preparing its own long-term perspective plans of educational development suited to its own unique local conditions. The task to he undertaken now is therefore several-fold: we have not only to prepare a long-term perspective plan of educational development (1981-2000) for the nation as a whole but also similar complementary plans of perspective educational development for each State and Union Territory to cover the same period. If undertaken immediately in earnest, all these should be available in good time when work on the seventh plan will start (1981-82) and when also a new Lok Sabha would have come into existence.

Citizens for Democracy-Education for Our People, Allied Publishers, New Delhi, 1977, Paras 2.11-2.12.

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5.17 Expansion of Secondary and Higher Education Our review of educational developments since 1947 brings out another thing very forcibly : the most conspicuous aspect of educational development during the last 30 years is the uncontrolled expansion of secondary and higher education and the policy of open-door access which we have adopted at these stages. It is this basic policy that has upset all our plans of mass education and balanced educational development, loaded the society with educated unemployment on an unprecedented scale (with all its consequences), and created a first-rate crisis in the system of higher education which is having an adverse effect, not only on university education, but on all education. Unless we tackle this basic issue satisfactorily, no radical changes are possible within the educational system. There is, however, no concensus on this issue. A strong section among the academics and the backward classes hold the view that expansion of secondary and higher education is a powerful tool of social change and transformation, that it is also the principal means of' vertical mobility for the lower classes and poor people, that even educated unemployment is a blessing in disguise because it creates powerful pressures for social transformation, that no attempt should be made to control this expansion in any way, that no selective admissions should be adopted except at the post-graduate level and that every positive step should be taken to accelerate the expansion of secondary and higher education in the days ahead. They also point out that, inspite of all the expansion achieved so for, India cannot by any means be described as an over-educated country and that our stocks of educated manpower are still very much on the low side in comparision with the developed countries. It is also argued that we should separate the problem of employment from that of education and deal with it separately, as an economic issue, under plans of guaranteed employment to all adult citizens who are willing to work for eight hours a day, and not worry too much over educated unemployment or the process under which education converts rural, uneducated unemployment or under-employment (which is mute, unorganized and without a nuisance value) into urban, educated unemployment (which is vocal and organised, and has great nuisance value). The majority of politicians go with this view because it is expedient and also because it is very difficult and even dangerous to adopt the opposite stance. Under these circumstances, the first step indicated is to have a detailed dialogue between academics, the representatives of the backward classes, and the politicians to decide whether a regulation of the expansion of secondary and higher education is needed at all or not and if so, the form that it should take.

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5.18 What is the proper forum where a decision on this issue (and other similar issues) can and : should be taken ? So far the only forum we have used for the purpose is the Central Advisory Board of Education, Our experience of the past is that this is a weak forum. The Education Ministers do not generally belong to the political heavy-weight category In the Board, they admit that they are helpless to protect education adequately at the state level and request the Board to strengthen their hands against their own government. The resolutions of the Board, therefore, often remain unimplemented at the hands of the same Education Ministers who proposed and adopted them. We do not mean to say that the Board has no utility. On the other hand, it is an important instrument for the implementation of National Policies on Education and should be fully utilized for all that it can achieve. Our only point is that, for major policy issues and especially for those that affect society and education (or their mutual relationship), we must seek the help of other appropriate forums, just as we are using the Parliament and the State Legislatures for the formulation of the National Policy on Education (It would not be worth the paper it is printed on if it were to be a CABE document).

5.19 Our strong recommendation is that we should develop another and a more powerful forum which can meet when necessary and discuss major policy issues about education, viz., a conference of Chief Ministers of States convened by the Prime Minister (and also attended by all Education Ministers-Centre and States) and all Education Secretaries and Directors of Education. This issue about the regulation of the expansion of secondary and higher education is a highly political issue which should be discussed in such a conference rather than in the CABE. We know that the Prime Minister convenes conferences of Chief Ministers umpteen times and for ; consideration of almost every issue under the sun, But never have Conferences of Chief Ministers been called to discuss , basic educational issues. This is a weakness in our administrative system which should be corrected without any delay : we should look upon Conferences of Chief Ministers convened by the Prime Minister as an important forum for discussion of basic educational issues which are essentially political and use them as frequently as is necessary in addition to the CABE which has its own specific uses.

5.20 Of course, one cannot say in advance what such a conference will decide and what our future policy on this subject should be. However, we can indicate broadly the type of issues that should go before this conference.

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(1) Are we to regulate expansion of both secondary and university education or only of the latter ? The opposition to regulate expansion of secondary education is very strong, especially because children are only 13 or 14 years old when they complete elementary school and middle class parents just do not know what to do with them. In fact, the upper and middle classes use secondary schools (and even colleges) as baby-sitting establishments (if you describe these grown up children as babies) or as cattle-pounds (if you describe them as young colts) just as the poor people use elementary schools as baby-sitting institutions for children (of ages 6-8 years) who are not useful at home. But a mere regulation of enrolments at the university stage will not serve our purpose fully unless we regulate the expansion of secondary education also.

(2) The Education Commission suggested a compromise : the division of the secondary stage into two sub-stages- a lower secondary stage up to class X (where no attempt should be made to regulate enrolments and where, in fact, we should attempt to provide universal education by 2000 AD) and a higher secondary stage (classes XI-XI 1) where selective admissions should be introduced. This is, in many ways, an ideal solution. But several persons do not accept a division of the secondary stage into two sub-stages (although this is the common practice round the world). The issue will have to be joined and a definite decision will have to be taken.

(3) How will this regulation of the expansion of secondary and university education be attempted ? The Education Commission made several excellent suggestions on this subject which were summarily rejected in 1967-68 at the political level but are still valid. They have been reproduced below for ready reference

"(1) The capacity of a society to expand educational facilities in terms of real resources sets up minimum targets (Para 5.13). The Commission found that this salutary principle was generally ignored in practice and that enrolments were increased without increasing the facilities available. It was of the view that this attempt to expand education at the cost of standards was harmful and should be abandoned and recommended that enrolments in any institution should be limited to the actual facilities available therein.

(2) The public demand for secondary and higher education and even the desire to provide secondary and higher education to all

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talented students who deserve such education sets up high targets of enrolments which will be beyond our capacity to reach. The commission, therefore, recommended that we should try to ensure that our enrolment policy is based on social justice and that secondary and higher education becomes available at least to the most talented students (Para 5.13).

(3) The present policy of open door access has, had several undesirable consequences; (a) dilution of standards; (b) overproduction of some categories of personnel and under-production in others; (c) over-enrolment from urban families and upper and middle classes; and (d) under enrolment from the poorer sections. (Para 5.07). This Commission was of the view that these evils can be corrected only through a policy of selective admissions.

Against this background, the Commission made elaborate proposal for selective admissions which can be summarised as follows:-

(1) The attempt to introduce selective admissions at the university stage only cannot succeed in isolation. It must be accompanied by adequate preparation at the secondary stage.

(2) Secondary education, as discussed earlier, should be divided into two sub-stages : (1) a lower secondary stage ending with class X where no principle of selection should be introduced; and

(2) a higher secondary stage of classes XI-XII (where the child will be in the age-group 17-18) where selective admissions could and should be introduced.

(3) Selective admissions are not an end in themselves; their objectives are two : (a) to relate the out put of the educational system to man-power needs so that educated unemployment is reduced; and (b) to relate admissions to provision of facilities with a view to improving standards.

(4) Emphasis should be placed on proper planning of the location of higher secondary schools, colleges and universities and on fixing the maximum number of students that can be admitted to them in view of the facilities that actually exist. This will be a far more effective method of regulating enrolments than selective admissions as such.

(5) No selective admissions need be made where the number of

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applicants is already less than the number of seats available. But where applicants exceed the number of seats available, selection becomes inescapable and should be resorted to.

(6) Methods of selection should be improved. Better selection tests should be devised and special emphasis should be laid on social justice.

(7) The selective admissions are meant for full- time institutions only. Side by side, the facilities for part-time and own-time education should be fully expanded so that no individual who is qualified and desires to study further need be denied any education beyond Class X.

The Commission pointed out that a policy of selective admissions exists even now, but it is in force only in a small core of institutions of higher education with prestige and quality. Here the net effect of selections is to convert these institutions into 'elite' centres which are availed of mostly by the privileged groups. On the other hand an open-door access is provided in the vast bulk of the institutions of higher education which maintain indifferent standards and are mostly availed of by the Common people. The Commission wanted this 'dualism' to be reduced, if not eliminated altogether. From this point of view, it made two recommendations : (1) access to the good quality and prestigious institutions should, be made available to talented students from the non- privileged groups through a programme of reservations, special facilities (like personal guidance, etc.), scholarship and placement; and (2) the principal of selective admissions as described above should also be introduced in all the higher secondary schools and institutions of higher education where a policy of open-door admissions prevail, mainly with a view to prevent an undeserved or inappropriate use of these resources."*1

These proposals will have to be taken up for discussion and decision again at the political level. They cannot also be implemented by any single State, unless an all-India policy is available to support its stand. In fact,

This is an extract from the author's forthcoming publication : The Education Commission and After, Allied Publishers, New Delhi.

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as will be shown in a later section, we have reached a stage where no basic problem in higher education can be tackled except on A all-India basis.

(4) Some ideas which will reduce the pressures on, admissions to higher education are also being canvassed in the hope that the political powers that are unwilling to approve of direct selective admissions may be willing to support such indirect measures. For instance -

- it is suggested that jobs should be delinked from degrees to the extent possible and that higher education should be regarded as a disqualification for a job for which only secondary education is enough;