local authorities with education which grew up in the British Indian Provinces and the other of not associating them with education which grew up in the Indian princely States. The arguments for and against such association have been repeatedly stated and need only be mention- ed here in brief. It is generally agreed that local authorities do succeed in evoking local interest and local enthusiasm and effectively bring local knowledge to bear on the solution of problems. Their financial contribution to the support of education is not large. But it is not negligible either; and it is substantial in the case of richer municipalities like Bombay City. Their main weaknesses, however, are the harassment caused to teachers, through frequent transfers and postings, and through involvement in local factions and politics. This is the one reason why almost all teachers' associations have represented to us that the local authorities should not be placed in charge of educational institutions. This evil increases as the delegation of authority goes to lower levels, e.g., it is definitely greater when the authority is delegated to the block level than to the district level.

18.13 In the post-Independence period, two attempts have been made to redefine the role of local authorities in education and to evolve a uniform national policy. Unfortunately, these have not succeeded, partly because the two Committees which examined the problem made somewhat conflicting recommendations. The Committee set up under the chairmanship of Shri B. G. Kher rejected the British Indian view that the creation of local authorities and their association with primary education was necessary as a training ground for democratic self-government. It was emphatically of the opinion that education should not be made a guinea-pig on the altar of de- mocracy or decentralization and recommended that the interests of mass education should be the only criteria to decide whether authority over primary education should be delegated to the local bodies, and if so, to what extent. Although aware of the frequent maladministration of education by local bodies and particularly of the harassment which was often caused to teachers, it felt that these weaknesses could be overcome through appropriate measures and recommended that local bodies should be associated with the administration of primary education, with adequate safeguards to protect the interests of teachers, because such associations would further the cause of mass education and bring the goal of universal education near'.218

18.14 Before the recommendations of the Kher Committee could be implemented or even adopted, a different set of recommendations on the subject was made by another Committee, the COPP Team on

218 Report of the Committee on the Relationship between State Governments and Local Bodies in the Administration of Primary Education, 1951.

18.15 EDUCATIONAL PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION 821

Community Development, which was set up under the chairmanship of the late Shri Balwantrai Mehta to review the community development programme and its future organization. It was of the view that local interest and local initiative in the field of development would not be adequately involved unless 'a single representative and vigorous democratic institution' was created at the appropriate level 'to take charge of all aspects of development work in the rural areas' and invested with adequate powers and appropriate finances. Such a body, said the Committee, 'must not be cramped by too much control by Government or Government agencies. It must have the power to make mistakes and to learn by making mistakes, but it must also receive guidance which will help it to avoid making mistakes'. In accordance with this basic approach, the Committee recommended that strong local bodies should be created in rural areas and vested with adequate authority to administer all developmental programmes, including primary education.

18.15 The problem of integrating these two different traditions and the divergent recommendations of these two Committees became urgent when the State reorganization brought together areas from the erstwhile British Indian Provinces and the princely States. But so far it has not been possible to solve it and to evolve a uniform national policy (or, in some cases, even a uniform State policy). The present position shows a mixture of both the traditions, not infrequently, even in the same State. In urban areas, the municipalities have been associated with education in Andhra Pradesh (Andhra area), Bihar, Gujarat (Bombay area), Madhya Pradesh (Maha Koshal area), Madras (Madras area), Maharashtra (Bombay and Vidarbha areas), Mysore 219 (Bombay and Madras areas) and Orissa (old Orissa province area). In rural areas, the panchayati raj institutions have been introduced and placed in charge of education in all States except Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Mysore, Nagaland and Punjab. The method of association is also not uniform. The municipalities are generally in charge of primary education; but they can also undertake other educational activities at their discretion. The panchayati raj institutions have been entrusted with lower primary education in some States (e.g., West Bengal); with the whole of primary education in some others (e.g., Madras); and with both primary and secondary education in two States (Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra). Authority over education has been delegated to the block level in some States (e.g., Rajasthan and Madras); and to the district level in some others (Maharashtra). The systems of administration and grant-in-aid also show similar variations.

219 The Mysore Government has recently decided to relieve the municipalities of this responsibility.

822 EDUCATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 18.16

18.16 In our opinion, the policy in these matters will have to be decided on a pragmatic basis with reference to ultimate goals and local conditions. The close involvement of schools with their communities is a principle of great educational significance; and this is the direction in which we should move. At the same time, the difficulties caused to teachers under local authority management cannot be ignored and at least in the transitional stage, adequate safeguards would have to be provided to teachers. Local authorities should realize their responsibilities and ensure that they help rather than hinder the cause of education. Here we are more inclined to agree with the Kher Committee that the decision to associate local authorities with the administration of education should be taken not on political but on educational grounds and that the only justification for such a decision should be a conviction that it would promote the cause of education and bring the goal of providing universal education nearer. Similarly, local authorities should not be encouraged to think that they can claim to administer education as a matter of right and that this right will continue with them in spite of bad administration or harassment of teachers. The normal practice should be that a local authority is given the right to administer education as a privilege subject to two conditions-promoting the cause of education and good administration-and that this privilege would be withdrawn if either of these conditions is violated. there is no need to insist, as is often done at present, that a uniform policy must be adopted in all parts of the country simultaneously. It would be in the larger interests of education to adjust the experiment to local conditions and to permit each area to progress at a pace and in a manner best suited for its growth.

18.17 Recommendations. in view of these broad principles, we recommend that the future role of local bodies in education may be defined as follows:

(1) As an ultimate objective it is essential that schools and their local communities should be intimately associated in the educational process. This will harness local knowledge, interest and enthusiasm for the development of education. Besides, local bodies can make a significant contribution to the total expenditure on education.

(2) It would, however, not be proper to look upon this democratic decentralization as an end in itself and to press for its universal and immediate adoption without reference to local conditions.

(3) The immediate goal in this respect-and this should be adopted immediately as a national policy in all the States-is to associate the local communities, namely village panchayats in rural areas

18.17 EDUCATIONAL PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION 823

and the municipalities in urban areas, with their local schools and to make them responsible for the provision of all non-teacher costs with the help, where necessary, of a suitable grant-in-aid from the States. The detailed proposals on this subject are discussed elsewhere.220

(4) The ultimate goal to be reached is the establishment, at the district level, of a competent local education authority which may be designated as the District School Board (to be constituted under an Education Act which we are recommending) and which would be in charge of all education in the district below the university. level. This should also be accepted as a national policy. The jurisdiction of this authority should cover the entire area of the district with one exception, namely, the big municipalities in the district with a population of 1,00,000 or more which should preferably have a similar authority for their own areas. The detailed proposals on this subject are discussed below.

(5) The transition from the immediate to the ultimate objective cannot be made in one jump but will have to proceed through a number of carefully planned stages. it cannot also be made simultaneously in all States and perhaps not even simultaneously in all the districts of a State. The difficult decisions regarding the type of local authority to be created, the level at which powers are to be delegated, the extent and nature of delegation, the powers to be retained by the State Government, the system of grant-in-aid, etc., are so complex that each State will have to decide them for itself, not even necessarily for the State as a whole, but perhaps separately for each district. While, therefore, the Centre may advise the States to move towards the ultimate objective as soon as practicable, it would be wrong to pressurize all States to adopt common policies in the matter. There is no inherent virtue in such a uniformity; and it may lead to better administration to recognize that, while the immediate and ultimate objectives may be assumed as national goals, there need be no uniformity with regard to the- details of the transition from the immediate to the ultimate objective. These should be left for decision at the State level in view of local conditions.

(6) In all such association of the local authorities with education adequate safeguards should be provided to ensure that the teachers are not harassed and that they do not get involved in local factions and politics. Experience has shown that, for this purpose, it is necessary to vest the control over the teachers, not in the local authority, but in its Administrative Officer (who

824 EDUCATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 18.18

should be an officer of the Education Department seconded to serve under the local authority), to associate him closely with the District Education Officer in the discharge of this responsibility and to frame a fairly detailed system of rules and regulations to smoothen and guide the day-to-day administration.

(7) It is necessary to remember that it is not enough to decentralize the administration of education and to vest it in the local authority. The programme will not succeed unless intensive steps are taken to educate local leadership on the right lines, to provide the local authority with trained and competent officers who would have certain independence in the performance of their duties and to make the necessary resources available to the local authority to fulfil the responsibilities placed upon it. This will be a major task for the State Education Departments.

18.18 District and Municipal School Boards. The need for the establishment of local educational authorities at the district level has been pointed out already. 221, We shall now discuss some details about their composition, powers and responsibilities and finances. The jurisdiction of the district school board should cover the entire area of the district with one exception, namely, the big municipalities in the district with a population of about 1,00,000 or more which should preferably have similar boards for their own areas. A district school board should consist of-

(1) Representatives of the Zila Parishad elected by itself;

(2) Representatives of the municipalities in the district (which do not have a separate school board of their own) elected in the prescribed manner;

(3) Educationists nominated by the State Government or elected by the Zila Parishad from out of the panel approved by the State Governments; and

(4) Ex-officio members, such as officers of education, agriculture, industries or other departments which administer vocational schools.

Persons in categories (3) and (4) should be about half of the total membership. A senior officer of the State Government (Class 1) should be the whole-time secretary of this board, which should be provided with the necessary administrative and supervisory staff.222

18.19 The functions of this board would cover all school education in the district-general as well as vocational; it will directly administer

221 Chapters VI and X.

222 Where Zila Parishads do not exist, the composition of the District School Boards will have to be decided differently to suit local conditions. It may consist of persons nominated by the State Governments and others representing local interests.

18.24 EDUCATIONAL PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION 825

all government and local authority schools within the district, and it will also remain in charge of giving grants-in-aid to all private institutions in the district in accordance with the rules framed by the State Government for the purpose.

18.20 Within the framework of the instructions given by the State Government, it should be a responsibility of the district school board to prepare plans for the development of school education within the district and it should also be the principal agency within the district to develop school education, the finances and guidance required for the purpose being provided by the State Government and the State Education Departments.

18.21 In big towns with a population of 1,00,000 or more, it would be desirable to establish municipal school boards on the above lines since these would be viable administrative units. It would also give an opportunity to the local people, who are better educated, more well-to-do and vocal, to take positive interest in developing an edu- cational programme for their children. The composition, powers and responsibilities of these boards should be similar to those of the district school boards.

18.22 Each school board will maintain an education fund. The Zila Parishads (or municipalities) will approve the budget of the school boards. They will also raise the resources expected of them and credit them to the school board. In all day-to-day administration, the school board would be autonomous. The same relation would hold good between a municipal school board and its municipality.

18.23 The recruitment of teachers will be done by a special committee consisting of the chairman of the board, its secretary and the district education officer. The transfers should be effected by the same committee, subject to rules framed by the State Government, the general policy being to reduce transfers to the minimum and to allow teachers to develop loyalties to individual institutions. The salaries, allowances, and service conditions of teachers will be regulated by the State Governments and will be common to all the districts. These measures will provide safeguards to teachers; and the fact that all school teachers are serving together under the boards (and not primary teachers alone as at present) will be a further strength and an additional safeguard.

18.24 It may be advantageous, in some cases, not to burden the school boards with full administrative responsibilities all at once. In such cases, the entire administration of the schools may be left with the officers of the Department (especially the personnel administration) and the school board may be given powers with regard to planning and development. Additional powers may be conferred on it as it gains experience and competence.

826 EDUCATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 18.25