PRINCIPLES, AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES OF EDUCATION
Ever since Independence, a major concern of the Government of India and of the States has been to give increasing attention to education as a factor vital to national progress and security. Problems. of educational reconstruction were reviewed by several commissions and committees. A comprehensive review. was made by the Education Commission (1964-66). which- was appointed by the Government to advise on the national pattern of education and on the general principles and policies for the development of education at all stages and in all aspects. As a result of discussions mid deliberations on the Report of the Education Commission, a general consensus had emerged and a National Policy on Education was enunciated by the Government in 1968. Educational activities in India continue to be guided by the above-said policy.
Educational objectives, during these years, lay more stress on further democratisation of,education, improving access to education, better educational opportunities for the disadvantaged, achieving more regional equity, increasing the range of educational opportunities, introducing increased vocational bias in the curricula, more relevance to socio-economic needs, developing alternate strategies, broadening the concept of continuing education, increasing access of women to all levels of education and awareness of environmental problems.
The most important problem in the field of education in India is the extent of illiteracy. According to 1981 Census although the literacy rate during the past 10 years has risen from 29.45% to 36.17%, the number of illiterates has also risen from 372 lakhs to 419 lakhs. Consequently our Sixth Five-Year Plan lays emphasis on minimum essential education to all citizens. Top priority has been given to the prograrmmes of universalisation of elementary education and eradication of illiteracy. These programmes are also included in the new 20-Point Programme of the Government.
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In the three decades of independence, there has been a tremendous expansion of educational facilities in the country. The number of institutions has gone up from 1,65,000 to 7,40,000. In the Sixth Plan, an attempt has been made towards consolidation of the facilities and improvement of quality in education.
Universalisation of Elementary Education The Constitution of India directs that the State shall endeavour to provide free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years within a period of 10 years from the commencement of the Constitution. For various reasons, this goal has not yet been realised. For its developmental effort, India has adopted Five-Year Plans. So far, the country has gone through the process of 5 Five-Year Plans. Currently, the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980-85) is in progress. According to the Policy frame of the Sixth Five-Year Plan, the main objective of educational development will be to ensure essential minimum education to all children up to the age of 14 years within the next 10 years. This objective has been reinforced by the 20-Point Programme announced by the Prime Minister of India on the 14th January, 1982. Point 16 of this Programme reads as follows :
16. Spread Universal elementary education for the age- group 6-14 with special emphasis on girls, and simultaneously involve students and Voluntary agencies in programmes for the removal of adult illiteracy.
Elementary Education has been accorded a very high priority in the Sixth Five-Year Plan with a total plan outlay of Rs. 905 crores (Rs. 851 crores in the State Sector and Rs. 54 crores in the Central sector) or 36% of the total outlay of Rs. 2,524 crores for education. Besides, elementary education as a whole constitutes an essential component of the Minimum Needs Programme (MNP) of the Plan.
Universalisation of elementary education requires that education be made relevant and meaningful to specific
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communities. In context, experimental projects being implemented are providing worthwhile experiences. It is hoped that the approaches being developed will go a long way in reaching the goal of providing relevant and meaningful education on a universal basis. These Projects include the following :
(i) Comprehensive Access to Primary Education which aims at meeting the minimum educational needs of a large number of out-of-school children in the agegroup 6-14. The main objective of the project is to develop and try out relevant and problemoriented learning materials for use in the non-formal education centres. The programme is being implemented in almost all the States.
(ii) Primary Education Curriculum Renewal Project aims at decentralising the formulation of syllabus for 6-11 age-group with special reference to educational needs of children of rural, tribal and urban poverty areas. The main aim of this Projects to experiment with (a) the decentralisation of the process of curriculum development through involvement of teachers, (b) to evolve diversified curriculum through a detailed socio- economic survey of the community leading to the attainment of a common core of competencies, (c) use of environment for meaningful learning, (d) involving local community in educational programmes and use of local resources for socially useful productive work.
(iii) Community Education and Participation Project aims at developing a package of educational programmes of encompassing the entire community drawing in the process on the resources already available in the community (such as the expertise and resources available with other development departments).
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(iv) In the area of Early Childhood Education, various research and developmental projects have been undertaken for strengthening pre-school education as an important support to elementary education by strengthening motivation of students for schooling and by developing school readiness. It has been demonstrated that early childhood education helps in reducing the incidence of stagnation and drop-outs.
(v) Another Project which is being implemented is Nutrition Education, Health and Environmental Sanitation. Under this project textual materials are being developed on nutrition, health and environmental sanitation which are important concerns in all communities. Further, teachers and the communities are being trained in improved practices the adoption of which depends more on knowledge than on resources.
Education, particularly school education, continues to be the responsibility primarily of States/Union Territories. At present, education in classes I-VIII, in all the Government, local bodies, and aided schools in all States/Union Territories of the country, is free.
In the base year of the Sixth Plan i.e. 1979-80, the enrolment at the primary stage stood at 710.2 lakhs or 83.72% of 6-11 age-group Population and 194.01 lakhs at the middle stage or 40.16% of 11-14 age-group population. The targets of additional enrolment during the Sixth Plan are 180 lakhs of 6-14 age-group population-117 lakhs at the primary stage and 63 lakhs at the middle stage. If achieved, enrolment at the end of 1984-85 would rise to 95% and 50% respectively at the primary and middle stages based on the age-group population projections according to 1971 Census figures. Available reports indicate the steady and sure progress towards. achieving the enrolment targets under the Sixth Plan, as the following table would show :
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1979-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85
(Actuals) (Achiev- (Achieve- (Achieve- (Likely (Target)
ments) ments) ments) achive
ments)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Age-group 6-11 710.02 727.16 753.25 775.93 805.97 838.77
Enrolment
Classes I-V
Enrolment as
percentage
of age-group
population (83.72) (85.23) (87.76) (89.87) (93.3) (95.73)
Age-group 11-14
Enrolment 4.01 204.31 218.13 235.81 254.78 272.37
Classes VI-VIII
Enrolment as
percentage (40.16) (41.72) (43.96) (46.90) (50.7) (53.23)
of age-group
population
Age-group 6-14
Enrolment 904.03 931.47 971.38 1011.74 1060.75 1109.14
Classes I-VIII
Enrolment as
percentage (67.91) (69.36) (71.71) (74.05) (78.01) (80.04)
of age-group
population
(Figures within bracket, indicate enrolment ratio)
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In addition to the enrolment position through the formal system indicated above, it is estimated that, for the country as a whole, coverage under the non-formal system is likely to be about 35 lakhs by the end of the current plan period. If achieved, the total additional coverage at the elementary stage is likely to be of the order of 240 lakhs.
The elementary age-group out-of-school children, more parti- cularly primary age-group, belong to weaker sections including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Such children are concentrated in the educationally backward States and backward areas/pockets of each State. Further, about 70 per cent of the out-of-school children are girls including Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe girls. The programme of Universalisation is, therefore, target-group-oriented with concentrated efforts in the educationally backward States and backward areas/pockets in a State. In this backdrop, the following steps have been, taken as part of the basic strategy :
(i) In the country as a whole, nine States have been identified as being educationally backward. They are : Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
(ii) Most of States/Union Territories have identified the backward areas/pockets for concentrated attention and have quantified the Sizes of non-enrolled scheduled caste and scheduled tribe children and fixed year-wise targets for enrolment.
(iii) Special efforts are being made by the States/Union Territories for accelerated coverage of girls including Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe girls.
(iv) Efforts are also being made by the States to increase the coverage under the incentive programme like provision of free textbooks and stationery, free supply of uniforms particularly for girls, attendance scholarships particularly for girls and mid-day
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meals programme for the benefit of children of the weaker sections.
All the States and five Union Territories are having nonformal education programmes for out-of-school children including non-starters and drop-outs. Non-formal education is being developed as a massive alternate supportive system 'to, formal schooling. The main thrust and maximum extent of coverage is in the nine educationally backward States, which are receiving special Central assistance since 1979-80 under a centrally sponsored scheme of non-formal education for elementary agegroup children.
Voluntary organisations in the nine educationally backward States running non-formal education centres on the State Government pattern and academic institutions, Government or private, in any State/Union Territory taking up innovative and experimental non-formal education projects are given Central assistance.
In order to increase enrolment of girls in the Non-formal Education centres, enhanced (90%) Central assistance is being given for the establishment of NFE Centres exclusively for girls in the nine educationally backward States.
For production of teaching-learning materials, guide books etc. for the massive non-formal education, programme for elementary age- group children in all the States/Union Territories, commodity assistance in the form of paper has been given.
To provide a further boost to the programme of universalisation of elementary education, and to give recognition for excellence in performance for the spread of girls' education, a scheme of incentives/awards is being implemented.
With a view to increasing enrolment of girls which is a critical target group, a scheme of Central financial assistance for appointment of women teachers in primary schools in the educationally backward States has been formulated and put into operation.
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In the context of universalisation of elementary education, Early Childhood (Pre-school) Education has assumed importance. While the pre-school child receives care in ECE Centre, his young caretaker, usually a girl, is free to join and attend school, thus removing one basic cause of drop-outs, particularly in the first two or three years of the primary stage. Realising the importance of the role of voluntary agencies in this area, the Union Ministry of Education has formulated and put into operation a scheme of financial assistance to voluntary agencies to run Early Childhood (Pre-school) Education Centres as adjuncts of primary/middle schools run' either by Government, local body or private management, particularly for the disadvantaged sections in rural/tribal/backward areas in the 9 educa- tionally backward States.
Prior to the inception of Integrated Child Development Service Programme, Balwadis were being used for the Preschool education of children in the age-group 3 to 5 years. The Balwadis were located in the rural areas and were being run by voluntary organisations. The importance of pre-school education for the social and mental development of the Child has been recognised by the social scientists. When ICDS was formulated, informal pre-school education was introduced as one of its components.
Non-formal pre-school education implies the Organisation of pre- school activities for children in the age-group 3 to 5 years in Angawadis, which stimulate the children to learn from the environment and through play and creative activities,
Literacy Programmes The problem of illiteracy is also being tackled through Adult Education Programme for the economically active age-group of 15-35. There are about 110 million adult illiterates in the age-group 15-35 in the country. The policies
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and strategies followed by the Government for removing illiteracy from this age-group are as follows :
(i) To cover districts having literacy below the national level and give priority to the target group of women, disadvantaged groups of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes;
(ii) To provide grants-in-aid to voluntary organisa- tions working in the field of adult education for running adult education centres;
(iii) To enlist larger participation of students and nonstudent youth in the adult education programmes;
(iv) To strengthen post-literacy programmes to avoid relapse in illiteracy on neo-literates;
(v) To provide adequate resource support for needbased teaching-learning material;
(vi) To train the adult education functionaries at various levels;
(vii) To establish proper linkages with other develop- ment departments like health, agriculture, animal husbandry and social welfare;
(viii) To utilise the potential of traditional and electronic media for creation of learning environment.
All the State Governments have been instructed to prepare operational plans indicating year-wise physical targets, adminis- trative and financial requirements to achieve the objectives of cent per cent literacy in the age-group 15-35 by 1990.
Rural Functional Literacy Projects have been opened in districts below the national literacy level. Each Project has 300 centres. This scheme is funded by the Central Government. However, the responsibility for its implementation rests with the concerned State Governments. At the end of June, 1983, 69,825 centres were running with an enrolment
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of 20,21,210 learners in the country. The State Governments have also opened similar projects in rural areas from the State Government funds and as on 30th June, 1983, 70,588 centres were functioning with an enrolment of 20,15,907 learners. Voluntary organisations have also been involved in the programme of 'Eradication of Illiteracy'. The role of voluntary agencies in adult education has several dimensions. The most important, of course, is the responsibility for organising adult education centres, including post-literacy and follow-up activities. Another area in which voluntary agencies have made an important contribution is resource development. Similarly, they also help in training of functionaries involved in adult education programme. In 1982-83 grants to 178 voluntary organisations were given for running 8,975 centres and enrolling 2,69,250 learners.
To enlist larger participation of students in the adult education programme, the University Grants Commission has prepared a detailed operational plan. India has a huge complex of 146 recognised universities and about 4.500 affiliated colleges. The University Grants Commission has decided to implement this programme in two phases. In the first phase, up to 1985, all affiliated universities and colleges are expected to organise 15 to 20,000 centres. In the second phase 1985-90, all universities and colleges are expected to be involved in this programme by opening at least 50,000 centres. It is felt that involvement of institutions of higher education in adult education will bring teachers and students in close contact with common people and their problems. Mobilisation of the vast energy of the students and of the academic community will impart great vitality to the adult education programme.
One of the major thrusts during 1982-83 has been initiating post- literacy and follow-up programmes at places where the regular adult education programme concluded. It was considered essential not only to prevent learners (who had acquired