THE COURSE PATTERN : THE VOCATIONALISED COURSE
4.1 The Pattern It is recommended that the pattern of the course and the allocation of time for the vocationalised spectrum be :-
Course Time allocation
1. Language(s) 15 per cent
2. General Foundation Courses 15 per cent
3. Elective subjects 70 per cent
4.2Language(s) Within the allocation of 15 per cent of the hours of instruction per week, learning of only one language will be possible depending on the facilities available in each school for teaching the language. Some thought should be given with regard to the content of the language course in relation to the content of the vocationalised courses chosen and/or offered.
4.3 General Foundation Courses In order to provide a more rounded course to those who chose vocationalised electives, a general foundation course which provides a broad background area of knowledge of life and history is recommended. Such a course will equip the student with the minimum knowledge which will broaden his outlook and provide him with essential information about various inter-related matters which are helpful for successfully pursuing any work on his own. Vocationalised knowledge and the development of related skills are per se not enough to enable a person to enter life and set up his own establishment, however, small it may be. The general foundation courses will fill in this gap, giving general information on the history of science and technology on the development of Indian culture or on the elements which are common to different vocational elective subjects. With regard to the latter, for example, the courses could include units on marketing of produce, entrepreneurship, co-operatives, credit facilities, management of small farms, small cottage industries and small establishments, adaptability to changing situations and general exposure to world trends. Special emphasis should be laid in the general foundation courses with regard to the requirements for rural vocations.
4.3.1 A specimen syllabus of this general foundation course based on the inter-related concepts of education, work and development related to productivity in different vocations is given in the following paragraphs which will need to be adapted to each set of local circumstances by State Boards. The course is meant to be taught for 2 years, 4 to 5 hours per week. Part 'A' of the course is common to all vocations. From Part 'B', the unit most related to the particular, vocations may be chosen.
4.3.2 The objectives of the course are to enable the student to :
(a) Become aware of the need for rural development and self-employment.
(b) Understand the place of agriculture in the national economy ;
(c) Develop skills and managerial abilities to run small- scale and cottage industries; and
d) Gain insight into the problems of unemployment, under- employment, underdevelopment and economic backwardness of India.
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4.3.3 The course content will comprise Part 'A' and Part' 'B':
PART 'A'
(1) Gandhian Concept of Education
-Education, work and development. -Education rooted in the culture and life of people. -Education through vocation-self-supporting education. -Education to impart self-reliance, self-financing, respect for manual labour and promotion of the all round development of the pupil. -Rural and urban vocations. -Developing and promoting rural vocations.
(2) Agriculture in the National economy
-Agricultural productivity and productivity trends. -Causes for low productivity in agriculture. -Factors which will step up agricultural productivity.
(3) Rural Development
--Need for rural development and village uplift. --Definition of under-development. Characteristics of under-development. --Poverty malnutrition, illiteracy, population pressure, inadequate housing. --Causes of economic backwardness in India., -Structure of India's rural society. -Characteristics of rural life in India-family and community life, religions and castes. -Rural problems and solutions-cultural and social aspects. --Provision to improve rural home living, health, child care, education, income, conditions of work, recreation and cultural activities. --Efforts to improve the economic conditions of rural families-better living and fuller life.
(4) Problems of Urban Slums-measures to overcome them.
(5) Health, Hygine and Sanitation
--Health-A national resource. Determinants of health, Indicators of health. --Personal and community hygiene-Environmental sanitation, safe water supply excreta disposal- proper drainage, good housing and clean air.
--Communicable diseases-preventive measures. Increasing facilities for treatment of communicable diseases. --Vital link between nutrition and health, concept of adequate food. III effects of poor diets- nutritional deficieny diseases. Methods of control and prevention. --Basic health services for the community-Provision of medical care, Improvement of environmental sanitation-Control of communicable diseases. Mother and child health services-School health services. --Health education at various levels.
PART 'B'
(Choose any one of the following 9 sections as app- ropriate)
(1) Small-Scale and Cottage Industries
-Definition and history of development. -Role of small enterprises in Indian economy.
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-Cottage and small-scale industries in the Five- Year Plans.
-Financing small-scale and medium sized industries.
-Policies and programmes to encourage small-scale and cottage industries.
(2) Entrepreneurship
-meaning. -Personal dualities needed. -Knowledge about employment opportunities. -Scope of various small business production. -Marketing, managerial, financial aspects. -Office management. -Financing agencies. -Financial facilities, how and where to get procedural details in starting a new industry. -Investment decisions market study, production, planning and scheduling, budgeting and man-power planning.
(3) Co-operatives and Credit Facilities
-Rural indebtedness, co-operative movement. -Short-term and long-term co-operative credit. -Achievements of co-operation in India.
(4) Marketing
-Marketing-concept and its significance in developing economy. -Markets and prices. -Marketing functions. -Types of markets and market services-Regulated markets, co-operative marketing and Government and Agricultural marketing.
(5) Sales Promotion
-Sales promotion through advertising. -Discipline, personal appearance, punctuality, administrative control. -Maximum information about own and competitor's product. -Understanding consumer behaviour and psycological techniques in selling.
(6) Unemployment, Under-employment and Man-Power Utilization in India
-Kinds and extent of unemployment. -Causes for unemployment. -Disguised unemployment. -Educated unemployment.
-Rural unemployment. -Remedial measures for unemployment in India.
(7) Human Relations--need for maintaining harmonious human relationships. Learning about facts and situations which promote sound human relationship.
(8) General Exposure to World Trends and Changes- Changes in education, social attitudes, values and economic sphere.
(9) Environmental Protection and Development
-Need for a safe environment for health. Impact of environment on man.
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-Air pollution-Impact of Petrochemical industries- Problem of air pollution in India.
-Water pollution-Status of water pollution in India. Water pollution due to Industrial wastes. Organic pollution in Lakes.
-Noise pollution-Harmful effects of noise on health and well being of living organisms.
-Approaches to solve environmental pollution. Recycling of wastes and environmental hygiene.
4.4 Vocational Electives 70 per cent of the weekly hours of instruction is allocated to the teaching of vocational elective subjects-about 50 per cent of these hours should be spent on practical work, with a certain margin of flexibility varying from vocation to vocation. Special attention has to be given to the self-employment factor. Vocational education at this level should, as far as possible, not duplicate what the ITIs, or Technical Higher Secondary Schools are at present offering. As the main thrust of the proposed vocationalisation is on rural, agricultural and related vocations, the question of spending a minimum of 2,000 hours, as is done in the case of technical vocations at present, should not normally arise. It should suffice if the desired competency can be acquired in the given time in the particular vocation. The course in vocational areas should be drawn up in such a way that the employability of the students will be enhanced. The duration of a vocational course should normally be two years in so far as the instruction in the schools in the formal system 'is concerned. The courses requiring lesser duration than two years, may be pursued through non-formal systems. such as part-time and evening courses, correspondence courses, etc., and the institutions should be free to offer such courses through non-formal channels.
4.5 Agriculture and Related Vocations Education for farming and rural living is an important aspect of the total educational programme in India. Vocational education in agriculture can fill a conspicuous gap in the education of farm boys and girls. Vocational agriculture is directed towards strengthening the farm and the farm family in its role of producing food, educating youth, contributing to the personal development of individuals, and helping them to become competent farmers and responsible rural citizens. It is proposed that those students who offer vocational course in agriculture study one course on fundamental principles of agriculture relating to crops, horticulture, animal science and allied developmental work done in the field of agriculture. Formal education in agriculture given by agricultural schools, colleges and universities has trained men predominently for jobs and only a small proportion of those trained have gone back to their farms. Therefore, it is essential to provide a series of courses for the future farmers so that they can select vocational subjects according to their own choice and need, which will be useful to them in their practical life.
4.5.1 The following courses already exist in the syllabii of the Central Board of Secondary Education and may be retained :-
(i) Inland fisheries. (ii) Basic programme in fruit and vegetables. (iii) Agriculture. (iv) Farm Mechanics and Engineering.
Besides the courses mentioned on previous page, the following additional vocational courses are recommended :-
(i) Soil and Water Conservation
Soil survey and land development; drainage, soil erosion and its Control, methods of soil conservation, viz., bunding contouring, strip cropping, methods of water conservation and methods of water harvesting.
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(ii) Repairing and Maintenance of Farm Machines, such as tractors, power tillers, pump sets, plant protection equipment, threshers, etc.
(iii) Post-harvest Technology
Introduction and importance of post-harvest technology, maturity and ripening processes, factors responsible for deterioration of harvested food materials, fruit and vegetable preservation, storage techniques, insecticides used for food storage; seed-treating and mixing equipment ; conventional flour milling, rice milling and dal milling equipment; different grinding equipment used in food processing industries; milk processing equipments.
(iv) Agri-based and Agro-based Industries
The production and distribution of fertilizers, seeds, pesticides and farm machinery, marketing, processing and transport and use of product, by product and waste- product of the agricultural commodities in their industries.
(v) Agricultural Chemicals
Nitrogenous, phosphatic & potassic. fertilizers, methods of manufacturing & properties; gypsum, pyrites, sulphur and lime as soil amendments; calcium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, molybdenum-their carriers & role in plant nutrition; characteristics of insecticides, acaricides and rodenticides-formulation, emulsion and solution of various insecticides, their strength & doses; characteristics of fungicides & nematicides and their formulations & use; classification & characteristic's of herbicides; fertilizer mixtures & fertilizer pesticides mixtures.
(vi) Animal Management-based course-including-
(a) Dairy Husbandry : Importance of live-stock, dairy buildings, breed of cows buffaloes, artificial insemination, care and rearing of calves, heifers ; care of cows & buffaloes during pregnancy & parturation ; feeding schedules, use of Agricultural by-products ; importance of milk, milk products in human nutrition ; milk processing ; elemenary knowledge of important live-stock diseases, elementary principles of treatment & care of sick animals ; importance of fodder & pasture crops ; natural grasslands of India ; technology of fodder production ; establishment of pastures & their management.
(b) Sheep and Goat Production : Different breeds of sheep & goat, housing & use of different equipment ; handling of sheep & goat, care & management feeding & fattening, feeding rams & bucks used for breeding purposes different diseases & their diagnosis ; breeding & improveent in sheep & goat, records and their use ; preparation & processing of sheep & goat products for domestic use.
(c) Poultry Farming : Poultry keeping & economics of poultry production, poultry house construction, poultry house equipment, management of laying stocks, diseases of poultry birds and their control; important breeds of poultry, incubation & hatching management, computation of feeds for chicks, growers, layers & broilers, farm records ; poultry products and their preparation.
(d) Pig Husbandry : Importance of pig husbandry, survey of local demands for pork products ; general principles of pig management ; pig breeding, management of sow & litter ; artificial insemination ; Principles of swine nutrition ; nutritional needs of pigs & hogs of various ages & productivity Diseases & parasites of pigs ; pork & pork products ; swine records.
(e) Veterinary aids, health and care of farm animals.
(vii) Horiticulture-based courses-including-
(a) Nursery management : Propagation techniques in various fruits, root-stock for raising different fruit crops ; nursery raising ; training and pruning of fruit trees.
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(b) Vegetable and Fruits (Olericulture & Pomology) : Principles of vegetable production, classification of vegetables ; kitchen gardening, school gardening and truck gardening ; cultivation of summer and winter vegetables ; propagation techniques, root stocks and nursery ; training and pruning of fruit trees ; visits to orchards cultivation of fruit crops ; fruit and vegetable preservation.