Recommendation Institutions like the NCERT and UGC should bring about a sea change in their style of functioning, confining themselves to the role of co-ordination and providing resource support. They should allow institutions in the State and sub-State levels to take initiatives and bring about' educational reforms in the areas of their competence., In a way relevant to the local circumstances. (It As keeping this in view that recommendations have been given in the relevant chapters for local area planning on 'matters such as formulation of curriculum packages, preparation of designs and courses for vocational education, designing of university level courses etc.)
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Centrally Sponsored Schemes 14.10.1 The NPE, having invited attention to the Constitution Amendment, 1976, including Education in Concurrent List, has spelt :Out its implications as substantive, financial and administrative. It has Also called for a new sharing of responsibility between the union Government And the States (para 3.13). Having mentioned that the resources, to the extent Possible, would be raised by mobilising donations calling upon the beneficiary communities to maintain school buildings and "supply consumable and effecting savings by efficient use of facilities, 'the Policy has emphasised (para 11.2) that the Government and the community in general would find funds for the crucial programes.
14.10.2 Pursuant,to the Policy and POA, several important Centrally Sponsored Schemes were taken up, particulars of which, are presented in the following Table:
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Table 1
Name of the Scheme Outlay approved Assistance made
for the Seventh available to the
Plan (for three States during the
years 1987-88 Seventh Plan (for
to 1989-90) three Years 1987-88
to 1989-90)
(Rupees in crores)
Operation Blackboard 742.25 373.32
Restructuring and reorganisa- 38.40
tion of teacher education
Establishment of DIETS 288.59
104.73
Strengthening of Secondary 132.19
Teacher Training Institutes
Strengthening of SCERTs 2.00
Non-formal Education 230.45 92.46
Environment education 37.50 2.71
Science Education 161.18 78.61
Vocationalisation 409.84 125.65
Education technology 115.90 28.95
National Literacy Mission 340.00 159.24
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Total ... 2,498.28 966.67
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14.10.3 When the question of justifiability of continuance of Centrally Sponsored Schemes came up for detailed consideration in the Committee, particularly in the context of its general approach to bring about decentralised planning modalities, on behalf of the Government the following points were very strongly urged for their continuance:
- The avowed objectives of bringing education under Concurrent List by virtue of Constitutional Amendment of 1976 include removal of educational disparities, universalisation of elementary education etc.
- A group of officials (Baijal Committee) constituted by a Committee of the NDC has justified the continuance of Centrally Sponsored Schemes, particularly the on-going ones, in the area of education.
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- In any case, the situation is not one of any over-centralisation. The on-going Centrally Sponsored Schemes account for an annual outlay of over Rs.300 crores. This is only 2% of the overall national outlay of Rs.14,000 crores per annum Plan and Non-plan for Education.
- Centrally Sponsored Schemes are confined to the crucial areas of elementary and school education. There are no Centrally Sponsored Schemes for Higher and Technical Education sectors.
- Earlier experience with the States in leaving education programmes to be funded by them without support from Centrally Sponsored Schemes showed that in crucial areas like vocationalisation of school education, no progress had been made. Education always tended to get relegated to background in the process of Plan formulation and budgeting by the States with the result that adequate resources were not being given for crucial areas. States most often ended up by providing for minimal expansions, virtually no maintenance of school infrastructure and mere payment of salaries to teachers and non-teaching staff.
- The Sarkaria Commission has specifically supported the continuance of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
14.10.4 While Centrally Sponsored Schemes may or may not be justifiable from the point of view of achieving the objectives of universalisation of elementary education, removal of educational disparities etc., in the overall framework of the Committee's recommendation for decentralisation and on account of the emphasis laid on 'local area planning' by the Eighth Five Year Plan Approach Document approved by the National Development Council, the Committee is unable to categorically support their continuance. However, the Committee is also conscious of the fact that sudden disruption of the initiatives already taken in crucial areas should be avoided. As a rule of practice, the Centrally Sponsored Schemes run for a full five year plan period. The on-going Centrally Sponsored Schemes started in pursuance of NPE, 1986 have been effectively under implementation only for a period of two years. In his address in the National Development Council meeting in June, 1989 the Union Finance Minister suggested classification of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes into the following three categories for the purpose of deciding on their future implementation:
a) Those which are to be continued;
b) those which should be transferred to the State Governments without any conditions; and
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c) those which should be transferred to the State Governments with funds being provided on an earmarked basis - that is, without flexibility to the State Governments for diverting the funds for expenditure on other schemes.
Recommendations: The on-going Centrally Sponsored Schemes started in pursuance of NPE, 1986 have been under implementation only for two years. They may continue till end of 1992-93. The status of implementation of these schemes may be reviewed well before the end of that year. In any case, no new Centrally Sponsored Schemes may be initiated unless they be for the purpose of securing decentralisation of education management at a grass-root level.
People's movement 14.10.5 The Committee has viewed education as a process that can make progress only if the people are empowered. The teachers, students, the academics-and the community will have constant interfac at every level and process of education. This is true of non- formalising the formal educational system, vocationalisation of school education, transformation of the university system into an instrument of social and economic change, pressing the technical education system into service for the community imparting adult education etc..
Making the system work 14.10.6 Any reform to be successful should have a system which is responsive and self-propelling. This is especially true of reform of the educational system in our country of diverse communities, languages and cultural traditions. It is keeping this in view that the Committee has designed its suggestions for revision of the Education Policy, particular mention should be made of the folowing features of the proposed modifications to the Policy:
- Decentralisation of planning and implementation and monitoring.
- Empowerment of the community, particularly women.
- A fair and equitable deal for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, women, the handicapped and minorities.
- Participation, by wide ranging groups of people in the process of education.
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- Functional autonomy for academic institutions and their staff.
The above features built into the system will invest it with the resilience required to respond to fast changing developments. They will also operate as self-triggering mechanisms which would make the system dynamic and work.;
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