BACKGROUND-GEOGRAPHICAL HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL
1. India, also known as Bharat, is the seventh largest and the second most populous country in the world. Bounded by the Himalayas in the north, the country stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer tapers off into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal in the east and the Arabian Sea in the West. Lying entirely in the northern hemisphere, the mainland extends between latitudes 8(digree)4' and 37(digree)6' north and longitudes 68(digree)7' and 97(digree)25' east, measures about 3,220 km. from north to south and about 2,977 km. from east to west and covers an area of 32,76,141 sq. km. It has a land frontier 15,168 km. long and a coastline of 5,689 km.
2. North of Kashmir, India is bounded by the Muztagh, the Aghil and the Kuenlun mountains. For the rest she is bounded by the Himalayas except in the Nepal region. She is adjoined in the north by China and Nepal. In the east the East Pakistan (surrounded by the States of West Bengal and Assam and the Union Territory of Tripura) and Burma. In the north-west, West Pakistan and Afghanistan border on India. In the south, the Gulf of Manaar and the Palk Strait separate India from Ceylon. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands in the Arabian Sea are parts of the territory of India.
3. The mainland comprises three well-defined regions: (i) the great mountain zone of the Himalayas, (ii) the Indo-Gangetic plain, and (iii) the southern peninsula.
4. The Himalayas comprise three almost parallel ranges interspersed with large plateaus and valleys some of which, like the Kashmir and Kulu valleys, are fertile, extensive and of great scenic beauty. Some of the highest peaks in the world are to be found in these ranges. The high altitudes limit travel only to a few passes, notably the Jelep La and Natu La on the main Indo-Tibet trade route through the Chumbi valley, north-east of Darjeeling. The mountain wall extends over a distance of about 2,414 km. with a varying depth of 240 to 320 km. In the east, between India and Burma and India and Pakistan, the hill ranges are much lower. The Garo, Khasi, Jaintia and Naga hills running almost east-west join the chain of the Lushai and Arakan hills running from north to south.
5. The Indo-Gangetic plain, 2,414 km. long and 240 to 320 km. broad, is formed by the basins of three distinct river systems, the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. It is one of the world's greatest stretches of flat alluvium and also one of the most densely populated areas on earth. There is hardly any variation in relief. Between the Yamuna river at Delhi and the Bay of Bengal, nearly 1,600 km. away, there is a drop of only 210 metres in elevation.
6. The peninsular plateau is marked off from the Indo-Gangetic plain by a mass of mountain and hill ranges, varying from 455 to 1,200 metres in height. The more prominent among these are Aravalli, Vindhya, Satpura, Maikala and Ajanta. The peninsula is flanked on one side by the Eastern Ghats, where the average elevation is about 610 metres, and on the other by the Western Ghats where it is from 915 to 1,220 metres, rising in places to over 2,440 metres. Between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea lies a narrow coastal strip, while between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal there is a broader coastal area. The southern point of the plateau is formed by the Nilgiri hills where the Eastern and Western Ghats meet. The Cardamom hills lying beyond may be regarded as a continuation of the Western Ghats.
Climate 7. The Indian Meteorological Department recognizes four seasons: (i) the cold weather season (December-March); (ii) the hot weather season (April-May); (iii) the rainy season (June-September); and (iv) the season of the retreating south-west monsoon (October-November).
SECOND ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY 5
8. There are four broad climatic regions based on rainfall. Practically the whole of Assam and the West Coast of India lying at the foot of the Western Ghats and extending from the north of Bombay to Trivandrum are areas of very heavy rainfall. In contrast to these, the Rajasthan desert extending to Kutch, and the high Ladakh plateau of Kashmir extending westward to Gilgit are regions of low precipitation. In between these areas at the extreme ends of the rainfall range are two areas of moderately high and low rainfall respectively. The former consists of a broad belt in the eastern part of the peninsula merging northward with the north India plains and southward with eastern coastal plains. The latter comprises a belt extending from the Punjab plains across the Vindhya mountains into the western part of the Deccan, widening considerably in the Mysore plateau.
The Demographic Background 9. In 1951, India's total population was 36,09,50,365. According to the 1961 census it was 43,90,72,582 which shows an increase of 21.64 % in the ten intervening years. According to the present estimates, the population in 1966 was 49,47,81,200. Thus, there has been an increase of 5,57,08,618 during the period between 1961 and 1966. The density of population according to the 1961 census was 138 per sq. km. Among the States, the highest density of population was 435 per sq. km. in Kerala, the lowest being 26* per sq. km. in Jammu & Kashmir. In the Union Territory of Delhi, however, it was 1793 whereas in Andaman and Nicobar Islands it was 8 per sq. km. The present estimates of density of population in every State and Union Territory are given in Table 1.
Administrative Units 10. The Administrative Units in the country at the time of the Second Educational Survey, that is on 31 December, 1965, included 16 States and 10 Union and other Territories as listed below:
States 1. Andhra Pradesh 2. Assam 3. Bihar 4. Gujarat 5. Jammu & Kashmir 6. Kerala 7. Madhya Pradesh 8. Madras
*In Nagaland, however, the density of population was 22 per sq. km.
9. Maharashtra 10. Mysore 11. Nagaland 12. Orissa 13. Punjab** 14. Rajasthan 15. Uttar Pradesh 16. West Bengal
Union and Other Territories 1. Andaman & Nicobar Islands 2. Dadra & Nagar Haveli 3. Delhi 4. Goa, Daman & Diu 5. Himachal Pradesh 6. Laccadive, Minicoy & Amindivi Islands 7. Manipur 8. NEFA 9. Pondicherry 10. Tripura
11. According to the 1961 census, of the 43.92 crores constituting the population of India (including Sikkim), 35.98 crores, i.e. about 82 per cent live in villages and 7.88 crores, i.e. about 18 per cent live in cities and towns. It has been estimated that the population in 1966 was 49,47,81,200. According to the present Survey, the population in the rural areas in 1966 (excluding Nagaland, NEFA and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, where the work of the Survey is still in progress, and Sikkim which is outside the scope of the present Survey) has been estimated as 39,65,80,123 which shows that about 80 per cent of the total estimated population are in rural areas.
Economic Structure 12. India is a country with a developing economy, rich in natural resources and manpower. The economy is still predominantly agricultural. About half of the country's national income is derived from agriculture and allied activities which absorb nearly three- fourths of its working force. Since independence, the aim has been to accelerate the pace of industrial development, increase agricultural productivity and achieve all-round progress under the national Plans. The per-capita income in 1963-64 at 1948-49 prices was estimated at Rs. 299.8 which at the 1963-64 prices was Rs. 370.7.
**On I November, 1966, the erstwhile State of Punjab was divided into two States of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh and a part merged into Himachal Pradesh (The work of the Educational Survey had been completed in the erstwhile State of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh before the reorganization of the State. Therefore, the data for the erstwhile Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have been presented as they were before 31 October, 1966).
6 BACKGROUND-GEOGRAPHICAL HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL
13. According to the Fifth Report (National Sample Survey Report No. 74) published in 1963, the total number of operational holdings in rural India was estimated at about 6.2 crores, commanding a total area of 33.6 crore acres with an average size of 5.43 acres. According to a survey of land utilization conducted by the National Sample Survey in the fifteenth round (July 1959-June 1960) the results of which are detailed in the National Sample Survey Report No. 79, India (excluding some hilly and forest areas in Assam, Manipur, Tripura, and the Ladakh district of Jammu & Kashmir) had an estimated gross area of nearly 27.8 crore acres under seven major cereal crops in the autumn, winter and spring seasons of 1959-60.
14. Notwithstanding the various diversities and differences, the country possesses an underlying unity and homogeneity of culture and outlook which is uniquely Indian. This unity is a basic fact while the differences are superficial. Education has played and continues to play a vital role in maintaining and promoting the basic unity.
Education in Ancient, Medieval and Pre-Independence India* 15. Education in ancient India was mainly the education of the Vedas which consisted in the perfect acquirement of the texts through oral repetition from a teacher. The Brahamans, the Upanishads and the Dharmasutras in succession became the springs of education. The Amar Kosa and the works of Aryabhata, Panini, Katyayana Kautilya, Patanjali and the medical treatises of Charaka and Susruta belong to the massive literature of this period.
16. Buddhist education, not based on Vedic study, then followed and monasteries and viharas became the centres of learning. Taksasila, Nalanda, Valabhi and Kanchi developed to be the main centres of higher learning. The University of Nalanda was located in a splendid building, had a good library and an observatory. Scholars from Korea, Japan, Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, etc. came there for studies.
17. With the advent of Muslim rule `maktabs' and `madarsahs' were opened. A maktab was a primary school attached to a mosque where Koran and elements of religion were taught. A madarsah was a school of higher learning, a few of the status of a university where higher education in science, philosophy, law, etc. was imparted. Some of the Hindu centres of learning in the east and south continued their work throughout the middle ages. Surveys conducted in the British
*Education in Eighteen years of Freedom Ministry of Education, Government of India, 1965.
period give a valuable record of the indigenous system of education in early 19th century. Hindu and Mohammedan higher seats of learning known as 'tols' and 'madarsahs' were found side by side with popular elementary schools known as `pathsalas' and 'maktabs'. 18. The origin of the system of education which is prevalent today can be traced to the beginning of the 19th century when the British rulers accepted that "the great object ought to be the promotion of European literature and science amongst the natives of India; and that all the funds appropriated for the purpose of education would be best employed on English education alone". They also accepted that provision should be made for the continuation of schools and colleges where indigenous learning was imparted. The new schools that were opened became popular immediately because of the great interest shown in English education by some of the educated Indians and leaders. The education imparted in these schools became a guarantee for entry into Government service. The introduction by the British Government of this new system of education with its new objectives was the foundation of the present system of education in India. A steady, dependable source of help from the State, rather than the sporadic support of influential individuals, placed educational activities on an organized and planned basis. "Education is to be for all, irrespective of caste and status" was a new principle accepted by the State. Notwithstanding its merits, the system of education introduced by the British necessarily had limitations. It was conceived and implemented by an alien government for a subject people, and its ideal was not universal education which a national government would have been expected to pursue with earnestness and determination.
19. The immensity of the problems of education which free India had to face can partly be assessed by looking into the literacy figures at the time of independence in 1947. During a century of systematic State-aided educational effort, only 12.2 per cent of the people in the country had been made literate. Of the total population, only 8.2 per cent were in some type of institution and 5.5 per cent were boys while 2.7 per cent were girls. In 1947, there were 173 thousand primary schools with an enrolment of 14.11 million and 18,140 secondary schools (including middle schools) with an enrolment of 2.9 million. The total expenditure on education in 1947 was Rs. 57.66 crore. The educational expenditure per head of population was Rs. 1.94, of which only Re. 0.69 was met by the Government. If with these disappointing figures we consider the question of quality at each stage of education, the picture becomes even more dismal. The secondary schools which started as preparatory institutions for
SECOND ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY 7
universities in the 19th century retained in the mid-twentieth century their old aims and purposes.
Independence and Education 20. An important development immediately after independence was that the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution provided that "the State shall endeavour to provide for free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of 14 years". Education has since been an integral part of the Five Year Plans. The goal of economic growth in the Plans had a powerful impact on educational development. Stress on education has increased because of the demands of the growing economy in the various fields. Also, the tremendous increase in the general awareness of the people has created demand for rapid expansion of educational facilities.
21. During the post-independence period,the percentage of literacy rose to 24.0 in 1961. The number of primary schools increased from 1,72,661 in 1946-47 to 3,87,100 in 1964-65. The number of middle schools increased from 12,843 in 1946-47 to 69,474 in 1964-65. The total enrolment in classes I to V increased by about 50.4 lakhs between 1946-47 and 1950-51. It increased further by 60.2 lakhs in the First Plan, by 98.2 lakhs in the Second Plan and by 133 lakhs during first four years of the Third Plan. The enrolment at the middle stage increased by 10.8 lakhs between 1946-47 and 1950-51, by 11.7 lakhs in the First Plan, by 24.2 lakhs in the Second Plan, and by 22.07 lakhs in the first four years of the Third Plan. Judged, however, in the context of India's target of providing free and compulsory education for all children in the age group 6-14 years, these figures show that the country has still a long way to go. 22. The expansion at the secondary stage has been even greater than that at the elementary stage. The total number of secondary schools increased from 6,682 in 1949-50 to 24,967 in 1964-65. The enrolment at this stage increased from 10.83 lakhs in 1949-50 to 44.87 lakhs in 1964-65.
23. The above figures tell only a part of the story. There has been tremendous growth in the field of education, the demands are many, and much still remains to be done.