 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

2.01 Education in our country was generally identified with liberal education and it was the Wood's Despatch (1854) which for the first time highlighted the need for introduction of occupational education for a sizeable segment of student population. But evidently this report did not make any noticeable impact until Hunter Commission was set up in 1882 to examine the problems of education as a whole especially of technical and vocational education. It recommended that at the high school stage there aught to be two distinctive streams first for preparing the students for entrance examination to the university courses and the second for practical occupations. These recommendations of the Hunter Commission, however, were not imple- mented. Thirty years later the Calcutta University Commission recommended that "the intermediate colleges must be regarded as fulfilling a double purpose. In the first place, it must provide training such as will qualify its students for admission to the university, in different faculties or in other institutions of higher or technological training. In the second place it must provide training suitable for students, who after completing the courses will proceed directly into various practical occupations. As the system develops we should expect to find an increasing number of students entering upon the intermediate courses solely with a view to preparing for various practical careers".

2.02 The Hartog Committee (1929) and Sapru Committee (1934) both emphasized the vital role of vocational education in the country's economic development. The Hartog Committee recommended diversified courses in the schools to enable the students to prepare for industrial and commercial careers at the end of middle school stage, as preparation to special instruction in technical and industrial schools. The Sapru Committee recommended 11 years of school education (5 years for primary, 3 years for lower secondary and 3 years for higher secondary) with vocational studies commencing after 11 years of education. The main purpose of the Sapru Committee was to find ways and means of solving unemployment problem through diversified courses at the secondary stage. But it too made little impact on the educational administration.

2.03 Again Wood-Abbot Commission (1936) examined certain problems of education, specifically the vocational problem, and it was on the basis of this Report that a net-work of polytechnics was created in the country. The duration of polytechnic courses was two or three years depending upon the courses offered in such institutions. These courses were offered in Engineering or Technical Schools. The Sargent Report (1944) restated more or less what the Sapru Committee had recommended. It further recommended that the first year of the intermediate should be transferred to the high school and the second year to the university and also to introduce two streams-(a) academic (b) technical with the objective "to provide good all round education combined with some preparation in the later stages for careers which pupils will pursue on leaving the schools".

2.04 The Radhakrishnan Commission (1948) recommended that in order to direct the students to vocations at the end of Class X, a large number of intermediate colleges should be opened. "The aim of these colleges would be to meet a variety of needs of our youngmen and women by giving a vocational bias to their courses by retaining at the same time their value in a system of general education as preparation for university courses". Here again the stress was on preparation for higher studies rather than making some of them terminal.

2.05 The Mudaliar Commission (1952) reiterated that "the secondary education is a complete unit by itself and not merely a preparatory stage, that at the end of this period the student should be in a position, if he wishes, to enter into responsibilities of life and take up some vocations". It also recommended diversification of the courses at the secondary stage. This resulted in the Creation of multipurpose schools, Unfortunately, for various reasons including lack of proper

appreciation of the scheme, inadequate preparation in terms of infrastructure and teaching staff and over-emphasis on preparation for university courses, the multipurpose schools were reduced to shadows of what were intended to develop. Again in 1955, the All India Council of Technical Education was set up to advise the Union Government on all aspects of technical education at the diploma as well as degree levels. It was about the same time that a net-work of Industrial Training Institutes to train the base level industrial workers was started. To bridge the gap between the I.T.Is and Polytechnics, Junior or Technical schools were started with a view to continuing education with technical training for certain types of operational jobs in industries. This scheme also gradually suffered neglect and at present only 200 schools are in existence.

2.06 Some basic academic considerations again compelled the Government to appoint the Education Commission of 1964 under the Chairmanship of Dr. D. S. Kothari to re-examine the entire educational system of the country keeping in view the national goals, improvement of quality and standard of education. The Kothari Commission considered the undesirable effects of uncontrolled admissions to the universities on the one hand and the resulting unemployment problem of the graduates on the other. It came to the firm conclusion that for majority of the occupations which the university graduates seek, the university degrees are not necessary and those jobs can be competently performed by well trained higher secondary students. Therefore, the Commission suggested that at the higher secondary stage there need be two distinctive streams: one preparing students for advanced education in the universities and the professional colleges and the other preparing for a variety of occupations immediately after completion of vocational studies which fit them into those vocations. In keeping with this recommendation the Commission suggested that for college preparatory general education courses the duration may be two years and the duration of studies and training for the vocational stream may range from one to three years or more. Given the proper planning, cooperation, coordination and implementation of the scheme, the Commission felt, it should be possible to divert at least 50 per cent of the students who successfully complete 10 year education to the vocational stream thus reducing the pressure on the universities on the one hand and preparing the students for employment including self- employment on the other. For a majority of vocational higher secondary students it would be a terminal stage in a sense although further educational facilities should be made available on a large scale so that those in jobs may benefit through part-time or evening studies.

2.07 The National Policy of Education Resolution (1968) agrees with these recommendations of the Education Commission on vocational education. To quote :

"There is need to increase facilities for technical and vocational education at secondary stage. Provisions of facilities for secondary and vocational education should conform particularly to requirements of the developing economy and real employment opportunities. Such linkage is necessary to make technical and vocational education at the secondary stage effectively terminal. The facilities for technical and vocational education should be suitably diversified to cover a large number of fields such as agriculture, industry, trade and commerce, medicine and public health, home management, arts and crafts and secretarial training."

2.08 The Central Advisory Board of Education, which is the highest body concerned with educational policy in the country, has also been exercised about this problem. While deliberating at its 37th Session held in November 1974, the Board observed that the amount of Rs. 10 crores provided in the draft Central Plan for the introduction of vocational courses at the higher secondary stage was inadequate and recommended that the provision should be substantially increased. The Board also observed that the new courses should be started after taking into account the existing facilities to meet the demand for middle level persons in the concerned district/State. They also suggested that the National Council of Educational Research and Training may work out model curricula and syllabi for such courses and provide guidelines to the State Governments.

2.09 The Central Advisory Board of Education at its 38th meeting held in November 1975, while noting with satisfaction the adoption of the educational pattern of 10+2+3 by most of the

State Governments, deemed it necessary to stress the crucial importance of the 2 year stage between the school and university stages of education. It reiterated that this stage should be regarded not merely as college preparatory but as a period for preparing an increasingly larger number of school leavers for different vocations in life. The Board was also of the view that guidance and financial assistance by Central Government would enable State Governments to take quick and effective action in this direction and recommended the same.

2.10 The Conference of Ministers of Education of the States and Union Territories held at New Delhi in August, 1977 recommended that the new pattern (10+2) be implemented all over the country before the end of the Sixth Plan. It also urged reorganisation of higher secondary education, especially its vocationalisation, by providing for suitable internal restructuring and modification of content and by developing strong links between education and the various development departments such as industry and commerce, agriculture, health and community development.