TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
NPE/POA stipulations 10.1.1 Reorganisation of technical and management education is envisaged in the NPE (para 6. 1) in the context of the anticipated scenario by the turn of the century.
10.1.2 The POA has suggested broad strategies covering management of the system, thrusts and directions in regard to various levels of technical education, interaction networks., infrastructural development" staff development, inn vations, research and development. Important amongst these are:-
- Development of technician education, diversification of undergraduate courses special attention to postgraduate education, strengthening and expansion of technical teacher education and training, provision of facilities for continuing and distance education? women's education, interaction networks etc.
10.1.3 Specific measures suggested are:
* Improvement of laboratories
* Provision of libraries
* Provision of building amenities.
* Statutory authority for AICTE
* Creation of national manpower information system * Autonomy for institutions
* Entrepreneurship development.
* Curriculum development.
* Technical education for women
* Distance learning
* Strengthening of Community Polytechnics
* Linkages with industry and R&D organisations. * Modernisation and removal of obsolescence etc.
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committee's perspective 10.2.1 In the area of technical education, the question that should basically be raised is 'technology for whom'. Technical education should serve the real needs of the people as against the needs projected by the consumerist society. A total reassessment of technology and its use in the rural area is also necessary. What is needed is a social direction being given for technical and management education. Technical education should not result in man becoming the tool of technology. Rather, technology should become the tool of man. The human face of technology should receive unfailing projection.
10.2.2 A rethinking is also called for in management education. It should cater to the real needs of our rural society and disadvantaged sections. It should not be unduly preoccupied with industrial and business administration.
10.2.3 Technical education also has an interventionist and catalytic role to be performed in the areas of planning for the curriculum, courses, campus life etc. Voluntary agencies engaged in technical education for women in rural areas should be helped.
10.2.4 While India should make advances in technologies care should be taken to see that a culture of eternal dependence on foreign technology is not created.
10.2.5 As high quality technical education is being provided in major institutions like the IITs, RECs, that too at highly subsidised costs, a policy to ensure availability of the services of graduates from these institutions within the country atleast for a stipulated period deserves to be devised.
10.2.6 Modern technical and technological education should be informed by the country's own past wisdom.
The present scenario 10. 3.1 The past four decades have been marked by phenomenal expansion of technical education facilities. India has come to have one of the largest systems of technical education in the world. The annual admission capacities of degree and diploma levels respectively are 37,000 and 75,000.
10.3.2 Several institutions of excellence have come to be established - IITs, IIMs, IISc. Quite a few highly specialised institutions also have come to be established like the National Institution for Training in Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Indian school of Mines (ISM), School of Planning & Architecture (SPA), National Institution of Foundry and Forge Technology (NIFFT) and National Institute of Design (NID). A large number of programmes also have come to be established in the areas of quality improvement and service to community through the technical education institutions. The National. Technical
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Manpower Information System has been created to provide upto date and meaningful manpower projections on a continuing basis.
10.3.3 However, serious imbalances and distortions have come about in the growth of technical education. The scenario of technical education has been presented in a telling way in the agenda papers for the Conference of Central Advisory Board of Education (July, 89). In the same terms, it was also presented before the Committee by' the Technical Education Bureau of the Department of Education. This scenario is exhibited below:
- While a large number of habitations in the country are even today without any facilities for technical education, about 38% of the degree level institutions and 30% of the diploma level institutions recognised by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) are concentrated in four states namely, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Almost all the engineering colleges and polytechnics unrecognised by the AICTE are in these four States; and many of them are sub-standard institutions run on commercial basis.
- The enrolment of girls in technical education institutions at degree level is only about 12%, while at diploma level it is about 17%.
- The enrolment of SC/ST students in degree level institutions is less than 5% and in diploma level institutions less than 9%.
- In most of the institutions, both at degree and diploma levels, there is hardly any R and D activity. R & D activities generally take place in the IITs, IISc (Bangalore) and a few universities and colleges.
- There is serious unemployment among engineers and technicians. At the same time, there is a shortage of highly trained engineers in engineering design, advanced materials, turbo-machinery, computer science and micro-electronics. There is a mis- match between production and demand. With the anticipated industrial growth and economic development by the turn of the century, we may have to produce many more qualified engineers and technicians than at present.
- Wastage in the system is enormous. An analysis of the intake and out-turn figures of recognised institutions shows that wastage at degree level is about 30%, at diploma level 35% and at post- graduate level 45%. The situation in unrecognised institutions is worse.
- There is acute shortage of faculty. About 25 to 40% of faculty positions remain un-filled.
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- Even our premier institutions are struggling to keep themselves up-to-date. The infrastructural facilities available in the vast majority of our technical education institutions, are alarmingly inadequate. The quality of training in most of the institutions is poor. Many of the courses offered in these institutions are outdated. Teaching competency is low, while the management system continues to be rigid.
- High quality engineers and technologists trained in emerging areas in some of our prestigious institutions migrate abroad. In addition, many good graduate engineers take up management and other professions.
- Technical education institutions by and large function in isolation. In spite of all that has been talked about on the matter, linkages and interaction between technical education institutions and user agencies (such as industry, R & D organisations and development sectors) are not sufficiently rong.
Post policy implementation 10.4.1 Particulars of investments made in the central sector for education during the three years, 1987-88 to 1989-90 are presented in the following table:
Table 1
(Rupees in crores)
1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 1987-88 to 1989-90
1. Plan 167.43 168.00 136.23 471.66
2. Non-plan 96.22 140.34 142.94 379.50
3. Total for Tech- 263.65 308.34 279.17 851.16
nical Education
4. Thrust area schemes* 75.34 70.69 47.24 193.27
(a) IITs 87.03 98.29 103.94 289.26
(b) RECs plan and 28.20 27.08 31.20 86.48
Non-plan
(C) IIMS 10.60 11.41 15.21 37.22
Total of IITs, RECs 201.17 207.47 197.59 606.23
and IIMs.
% of (4) to (3) above. 28.57 22.93 16.92 22.71
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10.4.2. Bulk of the budget and expenditure in technical education are accounted for by the Plan Schemes for thrust areas and plan and non- plan provision for IITs, RECs and Indian Institutes of Management. Expenditure on thrust area schemes, during 1989-90, accounted for 34.67% of the total plan expenditure on technical education.
* The thrust area schemes are:
i) Strengthening of facilities in crucial areas of technology where weakness exists.
ii) Creation of infrastructure in areas of emerging technologies.
iii) Programmes of new/improved technologies.
Thrust area schemes 10.4.3 The Committee reviewed in detail the 'thrust area' schemes both because of their importance and substantial size of their funding under plan as reflected by the above table. These schemes are implemented by obtaining projects from technical education institutions. The projects are got prepared with reference to guidelines provided for the same. They are cleared on a selective basis and assistance released on the advice of National Experts Committee. Monitoring of implementation of the projects is done at present twice in a year, taking up for review implementation of the various projects for which assistance is granted. The review is effected with reference to specific subject areas. Subject experts are associated in the matter of evaluation of implementation of the projects. The Evaluation Sheets in respect of the individual projects taken up for review do not necessarily reflect any significant analysis of the output of the projects. The evaluation seemingly gives importance for the level of expenditure incurred against amounts sanctioned. often, grading of performance of individual projects is summarily given in terms of observations such as 'satisfactory', 'highly satisfactory' etc. In quite a number of cases the beneficiary institutions have simply 'failed to report for evaluation, having received assistance from the Government. The number of projects and concerned institutions taken up for evaluation in the annual Review meetings is also quite large. It is unclear whether such reviews and evaluation do really help in making a realistic assessment of whether value is being obtained for money spent.
Recommendation A detailed evaluation of the thrust area- schemes should be undertaken by a national level expert committee with the following specific terms of reference:-
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i) Whether funds provided for identified crucial projects have been properly spent in terms of purchase of equipment and their utilisation, civil constructions etc.
ii) Whether the objectives of the projects have been achieved.
iii) Whether investment in individual projects has been optimal (grants given in regard to a number of projects are small amounts and there is a seemingly thin spreading of resources)
iv) Rearrangement of priorities, if any, that may be needed in funding projects
V) Advising on strengthening of monitoring system so as to get meaningful feedbacks regarding the success of the projects.
Community Polytechnics 10.4.4 Another important scheme in the technical education sector particularly from the point of view of benefits to the rural sector and the adult unemployment is that of community polytechnics. There are 110 community polytechnics in the country. Since the inception of the scheme in 1978-79, reportedly over one lakh persons have been trained under the scheme; over 5000 villages have been benefited by technical services; and over 6000 villages by transfer of technology.
10.4.5 A National Expert Committee headed by Shri S.S.Kalbag gave a report on Appraisal of Community Polytechnics in 1987. This report itself was given in pursuance of NPE, 1986, which stated that 'the Community Polytechnic system will be appraised and appropriately strengthened to increase its quality and coverage'. The report, inter alia, gave the following important recommendations.
- All the training programmes being carried out in villages through tutors from the village youth trained initially by the staff of the Community Polytechnics.
- Implementation of multi skill training 'programmes to meet rural job requirements more effectively.
- Village centres to take up programmes relating to nonformal technical training, TRYSEM, SUPW, techno- economic surveys etc.
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- Creation of information system so as to facilitate preparation of transfer of technology document, bring about linkages between village problems and science & technology establishments through Technical Teacher Training Institutes.
- Recurring grants being made proportional to the output of the community polytechnics.
- Community Polytechnics to get inputs of local technological problems from village centres and refer them to the regional information centres located in the Technical Teacher Training Institutes where identification will be done of the agency which could handle the problem; the Regional Information Centres in-turn to be linked to the National Centre to be located in CAPART.
- Provision of funds through diversified sources Ministry of H.R.D./State Education Departments to provide core-grants, CAPART, Department of Science & Technology etc. to provide for project funds, TRYSEM to provide funds for training etc.
10.4.6 The report of' Kalbag Committee estimated the financial requirements for the years 1988-89 and 1989-90 at Rs. 10.20 crores and Rs. 12.25 crores respectively (Non-recurring as well as recurring requirements included). Inter alia, this outlay was to include establishment of 350 Community Polytechnics and 2000 village centres during 1988-90.
10.4.7 Concrete action on the implementation of the recommendations of Kalbag Committee is yet to be taken. Though the Department of Education has examined the report, the decision taken in a meeting of the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) was that proposals for strengthening and expansion of Community Polytechnics could be taken up during the Eighth Plan.
Recommendation To the extent that three years have passed by after the report was received, the Department should update the financial requirements and take up the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee well within the first year of the Eighth Five Year Plan.
AICTE 10.5.0 The All India Council for Technical Education has come to be invested with statutory authority. There has been wide
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spread grievance all over India that in taking decisions on requests for approvals of new institutions and courses, there have been inordinate delays due to over centralised style of the Council's operations.
Recommendation Emergent steps should be taken to ensure that the regional offices of the AICTE are headed by senior functionaries so that they are effective in discharging their responsibilities for coordination with the state authorities. These offices should also be given adequate devolution of authority and functions so that they operate efficiently and speedily with the help of the regional offices.
IITs 10.6.0 The IIT Review Committee has submitted its report in 1986. Though four years passed by since the submission of the report, concrete action does not seem to have been taken on the report. Important among the findings/recommendations of the Committee are the following :-