Decentralisation 9.9.0 The Government of India, during the Seventh Plan, funded the State Governments to the extent of Rs.347 crores for the purpose of increasing the salaries of the teachers in the universities and colleges. Upward revisions of pay scales was to go side by side with the teachers taking up certain increased responsibilities like increased work loads. in the order of the Government of India for the revision of pay scales as such, nothing was mentioned about the fulfilment of additional work load by the teachers. Subsequently, the University Grants Commission issued a statutory notification in which it was stated that work load norms would be as per the guidelines of the UGC to be issued separately. These guidelines (Regulations on the Standards of Education) were also issued by the UGC later on. As of now, there is no clear feed back regarding the-extent to which these guidelines have been implemented by. the Universities and Colleges.
Recommendation: In these circumstances, the UGC should immediately conduct a study on the extent to which conditions going with the revision of pay scales of the University and College teachers have been actually implemented and fulfilled.
Teacher Training 9.10.0 Teacher training in the university system is rather weak. All along, very rightly, emphasis has been laid on building up professional cadres of teachers from down at the level of primary school teachers. However, teachers who are recruited into the university and college system are not given adequate training as of now. No doubt in pursuance of NPE,
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1986/POA, 48 Academic Staff Colleges have been established. Asked about the adequacy of training for teachers in these colleges, Chairman, UGC in the course of his interaction with the Committee conceded that at present only orientation is given for a period of six to eight weeks and that this is inadequate.
Recommendation: In order to enhance the quality of the teachers in the university system, pre-induction training for a period of one year after recruitment should be organised. This training should be organised on a decentralised basis by the respective universities themselves.
9.11.0 In the area of research, selectivity, social and economic relevance and cost effective coordination as between agencies should be the cardinal principles to be followed. In specific terms
Recommendations: (i) In basic research it may not be really worthwhile to pursue and promote everything that seems interesting, important or feasible. The important criteria for the choice of areas should be promise of achievement of excellence and existence of special advantages that India or Indian scholars possess.
(ii) Where there is a potential for exploitation in the near or forseeable future in the context of national needs and priorities, special efforts should be made by supporting agencies, (in addition to encouraging basic research in relevant areas ) to ensure possible exploitation of these results through establishing proper linkages with user (Economic Ministries or Industry) and undertaking programmes jointly with them.
(iii) In certain selected areas of research all efforts must be made to identify a few educational institutions where talented students and faculty could be attracted for pursuing well-planned advanced courses so that these institutions become the centres of excellence for teaching and research. Such centres should be well publicized and well-equipped so that the best of talent knows about the challenges and opportunities available to them. At these centres, critical-sized research groups should be established around outstanding scientists and engineers.
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Such centres of excellence should receive support from the Department of Education and the UGC as well as from other agencies for carrying out research. Resources available for such facilities should be adequate. Facilities of national laboratories located in the vicinity should be made fully available to workers in the universities, who together with the scientists of these institutions should take up joint post-graduate programmes and research wherever possible. (These centres are envisaged differently from the University Departments for which the UGC gives special support to turn them into Advanced Study Centres).
(iv) Science and technology agencies must support universities not only in the form of time-bound research projects but also in the setting up of sophisticated research facilities in educational institutions and providing such other infrastructural facilities which will attract the best of minds from all over the country. S&T agencies should provide certain proportion of overheads (say 20%) to the institutions as part of the research grants. Without such overheads, the institutions will not be able to provide the infrastructure for high-quality research.
(V) It is important that research in humanities and social sciences is directed towards contemporary realities in the country. There is also need to initiate research which takes the Indian intellectual and cultural traditions seriously, not necessarily to accept them without question, but to learn from them in order to understand ourselves and to develop the composite culture of India envisaged in the Constitution.
(vi) We have to pay attention to those who aspire for careers in specialised areas of science, humanities, etc. Since we do not have many undergraduate institutions imparting instruction of the highest quality, a few select ones should be provided high-level support by the states and-the UGC in order to enable talented and motivated students to get proper training and opportunities for learning.
9.12.0 Extension work in universities, as of now, is largely in the nature of individual ad hoc activities undertaken by the teachers social work, adult literacy work, population education work, slum clearance, work relating to National Service Scheme etc. Mostly, these activities are undertaken during the vacation periods. What is needed, however, is extension work being organically linked with the regular process of teaching/learning/research.
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Recommendation: Universities should involve themselves in development issues in the concerned regions. They should become instruments of development in the respective regions. Consistent with this concept, curriculum, course development etc. should undergo significant changes. To be specific, for example, university teachers could involve themselves in improvement of rural schools so. that they become the real 'living link' between the universities and school going population in the regions.
The school experience gained should be built into the content and pedagogy of university education. For this purpose, the universities, so to say as stated elsewhere should affiliate themselves to educational complexes engaged in the improvement of the whole system of school down to the elementary level. This way the universities would also come to contribute to enrichment of knowledge. This would develop a cycle of overall development from content of education to competence building. In the process, students coming into the universities would also improve in quality and standards. There will be consequent overall improvement in the environment prevailing in the university system teachers looking upon their work as of interesting social relevance and better crops of students by themselves contributing to the quality of university education. In the opinion of the Committee, the slogan of the university should rather be "Vishwa Gyan Gaon mein Dhyan".
9.13.1 NPE, 1986 visualises delinking of university degrees from the requirement for recruitment to services. The POA envisages establishment of National Testing Service (NTS) to conduct tests on a voluntary basis to determine the suitability of candidates for specified jobs and to pave the way for evolving norms to judge comparable competence.
13.2 In this context the Department of Education has got a detailed project report prepared with reference to the guidelines of a Project Advisory Committee consisting of experts. Establishment of this institution has also been approved in principle by the Government in January, 1988 after examination of the project report. The salient features of the proposed National Testing Service are the following:
- Conduct of tests on a voluntary basis to determine and certify suitability of candidates for specified jobs that do not require a degree or diploma.
- Designing of tests with reference to job description.
- Making the service of NTS available to agencies organising admissions to higher courses.
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Functioning as a resource centre at the National level in test development, test administration, test scoring etc.
NTS is to be an autonomous registered society in the Department of Education. The draft Memorandum of Association and Rules for registering the society have also been prepared.
9.13.3 The Committee has gone into the matter of delinking degrees from jobs in the light of its perspective of decentralisation of management at all levels and examination reforms. These aspects of the Committee's perspective have been reflected elaborately elsewhere in the report. So this is not being gone into over and again.
Recommendation: In the view of the Committee testing of competencies is best left to the concerned user agencies whether they be employers or educational institutions. While there is need for a National Testing service, it need not be a body for conduct of tests in a centralised way. It need only be a development agency engaged in research and performing certain service activities including in terms of aid to building of models for tests. Model for test development, administration scoring etc. can be built up as part of the service functions of the Organisation. It can also be a clearing house of experiences in educational testing.
9.14.1 NPE, 1986 envisages a new pattern of rural universities to be consolidated and developed on the lines of Mahatama Gandhi's ideas on. education to meet the challenges of micro planning at grass-root levels for the transformation of rural areas. It also envisages support for institutions and programmes of Gandhian basic education. The POA spells out the contours of the programme for development of rural universities and institutes. The rural university/institute is described as a complex of institution to integrate education with productive and creative activities. Disciplines of sciences, technology, humanities and social sciences are to be integrated horizontally and also vertically at all stages of education, primary to higher. , The specific step recommended in the POA is initiative on the part of the Central Government for establishing Central Council of Rural Institutes, for providing resource support for the development of infrastructure as well as conceptual, methodological and academic inputs in the design and structure of programmes, development of teaching and learning materials, evaluation of procedures etc. The POA' also calls for the appointment of a Working Group by the Ministry of H.R.D. to formulate detailed schemes for the development of rural institutes and Gandhian Basic Education.
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9.14.2 Following up on the NPE and POA stipulations in respect of rural universities and institutes a project report was prepared by the Educational Consultants India Ltd. (Ed.CIL) assisted by a Working Group headed by Dr. M. Aram. Having examined the project report, the Department of Education has prepared a proposal for establishment of a Central Council for Rural Institutes. There is also a plan provision of Rs. 2 crores for the year 1990-91 for the implementation of a Central scheme for the purpose. Reportedly, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have agreed with the proposal for creation of this Organisation. The Planning Commission also would seem to have given their concurrence subject to the condition that the Central Council would have no accreditation functions and that for coordination/determination of standards the Central Council and rural institutes would be under the supervision of UGC.
Recommendation The Committee is in agreement with the proposal for giving support to rural universities and institutes. However, they should be brought under the umbrella of the State Councils of Higher Education. The State Councils, even as envisaged in the POA, are to give advice to the UGC in' respect of maintenance of standards. Therefore, they can perform this function in regard to rural universities and institutes as well. As already stated, the advice of the Planning Commission on the Department's proposal is also that maintenance of the standards should be left to the UGC. If the State Councils of Higher Education and the UGC together can help in the maintenance of standards and if the present practice of routing funds to rural institutes through the UGC is continued, there would be no need for establishment of a Central Council and the Committee recommends accordingly.
The State Councils may perform the following specific role in handling affairs relating to rural universities/institutes:
- Ensuring autonomy of the institutions in developing their own course content, research programmes and extension activities.
- Ensuring equivalence of the diplomas awarded by rural universities/institutes with university degrees in ,order to' facilitate horizontal and vertical mobility for its graduates.
- Coordination for involving the rural institutes with the district level rural development programmes.
- Facilitating affiliation of rural institutes with State level universities/Agricultural Universities according to their choice.
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9.14.3 While Agricultural Universities have set up a model of higher education more relevant to rural needs than ordinary universities by linking agricultural education, research and extension with the development needs of the region, they have not, obviously because of their basic objectives, involved themselves in areas of rural development other than agriculture.
Recommendation So Agricultural Universities may diversify their education programmes, particularly in areas closely connected with agriculture. The State Agricultural universities should be encouraged to set up centres/institutes for rural development.
9.14.4 The traditional universities also should play a meaningful role in rural development. The establishment of meaningful linkages between the function of the traditional universities in imparting and generating higher knowledge on the one hand and the social and economic development of the region around them on the other, will significantly help in the aimlessness and irrelevance enveloping university education. The traditional universities may also establish faculties of rural studies and research.
9.15.0 The Programme of Action under NPE, 1986, envisages establishment of a National Apex Body. Action has been initiated by the Department of Education, in this context, for the establishment of a National Council of Higher Education to bring about coordination between the UGC, the All India Council for Technical Education, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Medical Council of India and Bar Council of India. In specific terms, the objective of establishing this body, as reflected by the POA, is to deal with policy aspects of higher education and to undertake integrated planning and to reinforce programmes of post-graduate education and inter-disciplinary research'. Functions envisaged are tendering of advice to Government on policy, coordination of activities of the various bodies in different fields, encouragement of inter-disciplinarity and promotion of interfaces amongst different areas, allocation of resources, establishment and management of common infrastructure and coordination of policy concerning external academic relations.
Recommendation Going by these objectives and functions of the apex body, it does not seem necessary to create another institution at the national level to function as a super body, as it were. These objectives
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can be achieved and functions performed by an appropriate coordination mechanism that could be brought into existence by a mere Resolution of Government. This mechanism, in the opinion of the Committee, could have a two-tier structure (i) a Council of Ministers of Higher Education, the Ministers being those holding portfolios relating to education, agriculture, health, law and science & technology; and (ii) a Council of Secretaries dealing with these subjects and Heads of the concerned institutions apart from Finance secretary to Government of India and secretary, Planning Commission. Being a high powered body, the former Council may be presided over by the Prime Minister. One of the concerned ministers may be the Vice-Chairman by rotation. The Council of Secretaries and Heads of Institutions together may basically formulate the policies and submit the same to the Council of Ministers for approval.
Grievance Redressal