THE APPROACH AND STRATEGIES IN 
THE SEVENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN
 

1. The Approach to the Seventh Five Year Plan "recognises that mere expansion of existing structures, models, methodologies and institu- tions will not best serve the country's needs and that educational reforms and renovation aimed at introducing and reinforcing new pat- terns and designs of education that are flexible, varying, relevant and linked to widely diverse local culture and social environments will have to be taken in hand. The emphasis should be on innovation, on low-cost alternatives and societal involvement, all aimed towards linking education effectively to the needs of the people to employment and to development. The reforms should aim at continuous improvement of standards at all levels and even more importantly at greater equi- ty".

2. The Seventh Five Year Plan emphasises that one of its primary tasks must be the harnessing of the country's abundant human resources and improving their capabilities for development with equity. It recog- nises that programmes for alleviation of poverty, reduction of econom- ic and social inequalities and improving productivity can and should be integrated with educational development. The strategies for educa- tional programmes, training and their organisational design are ex- pected to be such as to release the latent power of human resources. The Seventh Plan would particularly focus upon women, youth and eco- nomically weaker groups so that they can make increasing contribution to the socio-economic development of the country.

3. An important aspect of human resource development is to match educational planning with manpower planning to avoid imbalances be- tween supply and demand in regard to trained and educated manpower. All existing training programmes would thus need to be reoriented. The Approach Paper recognises that the skills of rural artisans require upgradation to improve their competitive capability. Policies to attract and develop requisite manpower for hill and tribal areas are also to be pursued with vigour.

4. There are several references in the Approach Paper to the need for raising the level of literacy to improve the functional relevance of education and to expand opportunities for acquiring new skills espe- cially in the education for rural development and employment pro- grammes. It is envisaged that dovetailing of development activities with educational programmes would improve productivity and render education more relevant in the process.

5. It is obvious that the objectives and approaches of the Seventh Five Year Plan call for several new strategies. Education being a long-term process, has to have a certain continuity. The basic poli- cies and reforms of education have been considered in the past by several commissions and committees. The fact, however, remains that the interpretation and implementation of these policies has varied widely. Their adoption and effectiveness has been far less than de- sired. There is need for a fresh look at the implementation of the

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educational policy and measures that have been advocated from time to time. We must arrive at a broad consensus among all the States and other agencies concerned with education so that in the Seventh Plan basic programmes are introduced in substance and in earnest spirit all over the country. The specific shortcomings in implementation of various educational policies and programmes will have to be overcome and experience gained over the Plan utilised for this purpose.

Some of the more important strategies to be adopted in the Seventh Five Year Plan towards the achievement of the above goals are :

(i) The cultural and value component of the existing educational programmes will be reoriented to overcome the alienation of the edu- cated from the cultural traditions of the country to promote national integration and to strengthen the allegiance to the Constitution of India, its Fundamental Rights and Duties.

(ii) Determined efforts will be made to achieve effectively the goals of universal elementary education and eradication of illiteracy. Detailed block and school level planning with community participation and effective linkages with the local environment and developmental activities is envisaged as a major strategy to overcome the several obstacles associated with achieving the goal of universal elementary education and eradication of illiteracy. The inadequacies of existing delivery mechanisms at the grassroot level have to be overcome for the achievement of the above stated goals. It is the considered view of the Steering Group that in order to overcome these inadequacies the local community has to be involved through village development commit- tees consisting of community leaders, particularly from the target groups. Such involvement will be for purposes of identifying problems, assessing available inputs, implementation of programmes and continu- ous monitoring and evaluation. Community participation will thus mean not only support for official programmes but also active involvement in planning and implementation processes. It will also result in emergence of holistic multisectoral development approaches having direct bearing on survival of the poor and the deprived. The aim will be to improve the quality of life of the target groups. Administrative deficiencies like non-responsiveness to the public needs, absence of coordination etc. can be overcome as these committees can act as pressure groups. It is through these committees that education can be effectively linked to the needs of the people and to developmental programmes. In due course, this process should lead to administration playing essentially the role of facilitator and thus promoting the culture of self-reliance among the people. Mechanisms and structures for plan formulation at block and district levels will need to be modified to support and encourage the community participation approach to the delivery system, along the lines suggested above. Such partici- pation along with detailed school level planning plans that would have clear and specific targets. Such an approach would be helpful in achieving meaningful literacy and universal primary education includ- ing the means and strategies for achieving the same, and would identi- fy inputs and institutional support systems that are required.

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(iii) The preparation of block and district level plans and their meaningful and effective implementation with community participation will call for strengthening and reorientation of existing support systems, mainly through :

- arrangements for research, experimentation and demonstration

- inservice and pre-service training

- production of teaching learning materials

- supply of needed inputs and facilities

- use of mass media and audio-visual technologies

- academic and administrative supervision and guidance

- monitoring and evaluation

Such support systems need to be developed for all levels of education. Every state would be expected to make thorough review of existing arrangements and build up needed infrastructure and facilities, with- out which the various programmes envisaged in the Seventh Plan cannot be effectively implemented.

(iv) Well planned programmes would be initiated to remove shortcomings in existing educational institutions, so that essential needed facili- ties are provided and disparities are reduced to the extent possible. In particular NREP and other plan funds would be utilised, along with community contributions to remove the shortages and inadequacies in buildings, laboratories, workshops and play grounds as well as in equipment. Special arrangements for supply of inputs would be made wherever necessary (such as textbooks, science kits, paper etc.)

(v) An important focus of the Seventh Five Year Plan would be to raise the quality and relevance of education. In particular efforts would be made to raise the standards of science and mathematics teaching at all levels. Some important strategies to be adopted in this regard are given in Annex 1. The emphasis would be on attainment and achievement in terms of learning and not mere enrolment or attendance. In other words opening of schools, posting of teachers, and enrolment of stu- dents should not be the end of the educational endeavor, but the beginning of the educational programme. Learning attainments should be adequately evaluated to help in remedial action, wherever possible.

(vi) Non-formal education and open learning systems would be encour- aged at all levels. These programmes are envisaged for providing a net work of learning opportunities to those who cannot or do not avail of the formal system's facilities for one reason or the other. They would also provide opportunities for recurrent and life long education and constitute a major means of promoting greater equity. Special atten- tion will be paid to the quality of services provided by non-formal and open learning systems.

(vii) Education of Scheduled Castes and Tribes and those in hill areas will be specially promoted. Some specific recommendations in this regard are given in Annex 2. It may be noted that other Working Groups set up by the Planning Commission have also made recommendations in this regard.

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Women's education, which is an area of special importance, will be similarly promoted and recommendations for the same are given in Annex. 3.

(viii) Equal attention will be paid to identification of talented children, and provision of special facilities for the gifted as well as for organisation of special programmes to overcome learning diffi- culties experienced by specific groups, especially the poor and the backward.

(ix) Within the overall constraint of resources, incentive programmes, including provision of mid-day meals, will be expanded. Such incen- tives and assistance will go a long way in reduction of existing educational inequalities.

(x) In the secondary and higher education sectors special efforts would be made, for consolidation and improvement of standards and introduction of related pedagogical reforms. The linkage of education system with the world of work and the world of research will be en- sured through institutional mechanisms. Research within the university system will be strengthened and pursuit of excellence fostered as a matter of high priority.

(xi) Educational planning and manpower planning will be coordinated. Vocational education will be specially promoted so that education increasingly provides the skilled personnel needed by the economy and imparts a new dynamism to its growth by raising productivity. Every effort would be made to match, wherever possible, the content and methods of education, as well as the numbers educated to the manpower needs of the economy. Educational curriculum at every level will be made more relevant to the needs of the students as well to those of the prospective employers. Networks of information systems will pro- vide necessary feed back to educational authorities to ensure that mismatch in numbers, quality or relevance as between supply and demand for manpower is minimised. The resources of the industrial and commer- cial establishments and developmental institutions will be fully involved and utilized in providing vocational education to ensure relevance and quality.

(xii) Necessary reforms will be initiated to make vocational education more attractive and prestigious. Degrees will not be insisted upon as an essential qualification or precondition for jobs, where it has no specific relevance. The emphasis on relevant and meaningful curriculum and on standards at all stages will itself induce employing agencies not to consider the degree as a necessary qualification. Government as the largest employer in the country should take a lead in this regard and they as well as other leading employers should reorient their recruitment policies, so that possession of relevant vocational skills/education rather than a degree becomes the pre-condition for employment. Libraries, museums, science centres etc. will be developed to foster a truly learning society and improve access to relevant knowledge. Modern media would also be utilised for this purpose.

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(xiii) Student and non-student will be actively involved in mass campaigns for literacy and other developmental programmes. Their participation in Sports and Games would be encouraged and necessary facilities will be developed for this purpose.

(xiv) Education, although now a concurrent subject, is at present essentially within the sphere and competence of State Governments, also plan investments or new additional outlays on education are only a small part of the total outlay on education and the capacity of 'Plan' to influence or modify the total system is to that extent, rather limited. What is needed therefore is to look at the strategies from Plan and Non-Plan together, not only from a financial point of view of zero based budgeting, but with a view to arrive at a basic consensus and understanding among all the States and the Centre and all the agencies involved as to the substance or what is sought to be achieved and as to the means of achieving it in the next five years. It is recommended that the first year of the Plan should be devoted to achieving this consensus and arriving at a broad blue print of action that should help in the implementation of education programmes in the Seventh Five Year Plan.

(xv) Education is also subject to tremendous social pressures for expansion not necessarily in the right direction. These, if unregulat- ed, lead to perversion of priorities and objectives and diversion of resources from vital sectors. On the one hand planning has to take into account the social demand for education and on the other hand it has to channelise and orient such demand in desired directions. Thus while the plan priorities may be in primary and adult education or in consolidation and quality improvement in other sectors, the pressures may be towards quantitative expansion of secondary and higher educa- tion. Even within elementary education, the pressures are often to- wards proliferation of schools and appointment of teachers rather than in the direction of improving quality and relevance, reducing drop outs, providing inputs etc. In a country with vast educated unemployed such pressures are understandable, but the pressures coupled with the failure to regulate number in teacher training institutions could result in large numbers of small, non-viable schools and ineffective dispersal of funds. One of the priority areas wherein the consensus referred to in the previous para should be arrived at is in regard to enforcing "hard norms" in regard to quantitative expansion, whether in establishment of new institutions or expanding existing ones or creat- ing new posts of teachers. Without effective restraint on quantitative expansion, it may be difficult to re-orient the education system in and desired direction.

(xvi) Another aspect relates to adoption of low cost measures. There is the obvious need and tremendous scope for reduction of unit costs at all levels of education by use of part time personnel who are available and whose use is also very often justified by academic considerations. There may also be much scope for economy in construc- tion of buildings where new designs and local material can bring down the costs substantially. There are other opportunities for bringing down costs by links with industry or other developmental agencies and research institutions and by optimal use of existing resources, within institutions and in the community. There are also

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opportunities for mobilisation of resources. It is in view of these potentials and the emphasis on productivity in the Seventh Plan, that a separate working group on Resources for Education was constituted (See Chapter Resources). Yet the several suggestions made in this regard would remain on paper, as they have tended to be in the past, unless there is a consensus on the measures to be taken and the coop- eration of the teaching community is secured. There is no reason to believe that the teaching community, which is as committed to educa- tional advancement as anyone else, would be opposed to utilisation of part time teachers and other measures, which contribute to educational progress, what is needed here is a plan of action and monitoring of expenditures.

(xvii) To begin with it is of fundamental importance to have a review of on-going expenditures. The Central Advisory Board of Education had in the past called on the States to make a thorough and periodic review of teacher deployment. While there are understandable human problems in teacher postings and transfers which must be kept in view, it is necessary to insist, as a prior condition, that existing teach- ers should be properly deployed before funds are allocated for crea- tion of new posts of teachers.

(xviii) Another goal of the Seventh Plan would be to minimize the wastage of resources in education arising out of dropouts and stagna- tion. If third class passers are also considered as nearly sub-stand- ard output, the existing level of productivity of the educational system is extremely low and needs to be improved (even when we do not take account of the relevance of the output). Steady improvement in the performance of students should be thus among the major objectives of the Seventh Plan.

(xix) All the above mentioned aspects of educational policy and goals assume a certain level of efficiency in educational systems. Seventh Plan seeks to achieve and maintain high levels of performance so that efficacy of education in promotion of development and social regenera- tion can be sustained. More specifically educational efficiency is sought to (a) improve the quality of education, (b) decrease costs by organisational innovations, and eliminating wastages, (c) make educa- tion more responsive and accommodating to the technological changes.

(xx) In addition to the efforts aimed at optimal utilization of educa- tional resources, a substantial increase in budgetary allocations and plan outlays is inevitable if the plan objectives are to be achieved. Education has suffered far too long from gross inadequacy of funds and backlogs have accumulated to the point of undermining the morale and motivational climate of the system. The allocations proposed in this report represent a modest and conservative estimate, although it does represent a substantial step up from the extremely low allocations of earlier plans. Considering the high rates of private and social rates of return to education, and the crucial role of "human capital" in the modernisation, growth, social justice and self reliance - apart from the fact that in itself education is of utmost value - it is hoped that requisite allocation of funds would be made in the Seventh Five Year Plan.

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Annex.1

A NOTE ON IMPROVEMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

Science Education is a complex structure of many related disciplines, and it has a symbiotic relationship with mathematics. A good founda- tion in mathematics is essential for advance level science education. The development of Science Education including mathematics depends on the imagination of science educators and their desire to understand the means through which the education could be imparted to students so that the students could use the educational experience in day to day life situation.

Science education starts from the primary level of education and since many of our children do not continue their education after the primary level, the scientific temper developed at this stage among the pupils is an important factor for these persons.