ORGANISATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL
 SYSTEM
 

Educational structure has become comprehensive and differential. The educational system is being reorganised to the changing needs and realities. Educational system has undergone several assessments in order to improve and to become responsive to the challenges of modernisation and goals of national developments. Demographical changes have been made. Alternate strategies of education have resulted in restructuring of education and emergence of alternate structures. Alternate nonformal structures as complementary to formal structures have been developed parallel as complement or supplement to formal education structure.

Educational content/curricula/teaching-learning materials are becoming more functional and less academic, more diversified and less omnibus, and more operational and less disciplinary. The approach for developing the learning materials has become an integrated approach to knowledge with focus on reallife problems. Divergent learning materials are being developed. Local specific learning sequences are being experimented. Content is being based on relevance, flexibility, needs, and local specifics. Curricula are being revised to contain new areas of

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population education, health and nutrition education, community education, and value-oriented education.

Educational methodologies are undergoing substantial changes due to correspondence education, computer-assisted instruction, educational technologies, micro-teaching, distance learning, non- formal education, programmed instruction, personalised instruction, radio-vision, systems approach, ungraded schools/ units, video- education, work-experience, instructional television and open school education. Open education has been instituted for depressed areas and under-served sections of the population. Part-time eductation is in progress. Electronic media is evolving its own pedagogical methodologies and strategies. Multiple approaches are being evolved to cater to the needs of dis-interested learners, slow learners and defiant learners. Language laboratories and children's media labs are revolutionising educational methodologies.

Educational Broadcasting in India is now available from forty- four stations which originate the programmes and 27 Auxiliary Stations which relay them. This indicates the importance given to educational broadcasts in our country.

All India Radio's Educational Broadcasts for schools are mainly designed as a support to the curricular Organisation of various States and Union Territories of the country. The scope of the programme is both enrichment and direct teaching type. The objective is to re- enforce and consolidate the learning/teaching situation in the class rooms by means of new techniques, help of specialists and approaches which are normally beyond the capacity of an average school. Besides giving support, the programme also gives a lead by up-dating and filling curricular gaps and bridging contemporary developments in the scope of the programmes, thereby closing the gaps between the class room and the outside world.

Planning is done State-wise or Territory-wise with the help of experts from the respective education departments on an yearly basis.

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Programmes for primary schools are planned on the basis of the environment of the children and are of enrichment type, trying to bring some life and outside world in the class rooms, whereas the secondary school broadcasts are more syllabus-oriented and textbooks based.

The format of programmes is of various types, such as talks discussion, feature, drama, interview, debate, quiz, music etc. A programme service for teachers is also available to familiarise the teachers with the new challenges in the curricula, the latest educational methodology, and practices and also to up-date the teachers content-wise on the subject they teach. Broadcasts for post secondary school listeners are put out either as a separate university service or as part of the programmes for youth.

All India Radio is giving more and more importance to the planning and production of Science Programmes with a view to acquainting the listeners with up-to-date scientific knowledge, build in scientific temperament.

All India Radio is committed to support the National Adult Education Programme with appropriate programme in terms of motivation, training and publicity.

Ministry of Education has set up a Centre for Educational Technology, which has helped to bring the educators and broadcasters closer with a view to solving the educational problems of a vast and diverse country like India more effectively and meaningfully.

Educational evaluation is rapidly changing towards testing and measurement of higher abilities instead of memorisation, knowledge and understanding. Emphasis is being shifted from summative evaluation to formative evaluation with good deal of guidance, counselling and remedial instruction. From the evaluation, of the cognitive areas, there is a move towards assessment of non-scholastic areas as well. At places, criterionreferenced evaluation uses specific criteria for evaluating learning tasks.

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Curriculum development movement dates back to the 1960s. The main thrust in the, early phase was in sciences and mathematics. This was followed by the work-oriented curriculum of the 1970s which aimed at equipping the students with efficient work habits, skills and healthy attitudes towards work, manual work in particular. Present thinking in the 1980s veers down to the fact that curriculum is to be value-oriented to bring about the desired changes in values and attitudes in the learners. The school curricula are becoming need- based, life-related, childcentred and environment-oriented.

The science education development has been under implementation since 1967 for upgrading of science kits, promotion of science clubs, Organisation of science exhibitions and summer institutes in science. These activities are supplemented by inservice training programmes for teachers, supply of laboratory equipment, improvisation of teaching aids, electronic kits, and science films and radio broadcasts.

Population education project since 1969 has been attempting to introduce population education concepts in all stages of school education. Innovative structures and approaches to population education are advocated. India is probably the first country to have formulated a population policy as early as 1962 to ensure that the younger generation does not grow up without adequate awareness of the population problem and a realisation of, its national responsibility in this regard. Efforts are being made to develop textual materials in population education for various school classes, preceded by base- line population education surveys in the country.

Use of satellite television for instructional purposes was start- ed in 1975. Indian Space Research Organisation and/or Space Application Centre worked partially for production and fully for transmission of educational programmes in several parts of rural areas in India during 1975-76, on an experimental basis. With the launching of INSAT-IA/IB in 1982-83, NCERT continues training programmes in telecommunication, electronic

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systems, space applications, video-tape recording, film technology, and satellite communications. Courses are undertaken in ETV programmes, script-writing, portable video, multi-media packages, school broadcasting etc.