Unit VI Policy frameworks on education: Post-independent India

Unit VI Policy frameworks on education: Post-independent India

Major recommendations of Kothari Commission (1964-1966) - Iswar Bhai Patel Committee (1977)- Malcom Adiseshiah Committee (1978)- New Education Policy (1986) - Programme of Action (1992)- Sachar Committee (2005) - Salient features of National Curriculum Framework (2005)- National Knowledge Commission (2005).

Introduction

In pursuance of the constitutional mandate, the Government of India, has initiated several measures for social and economic reconstruction of the country. The educational reconstruction has been one among such measures. Various commissions and committees were appointed at different times to survey, study, review and recommend improvements in the existing system, policies and programmes of education.

Major recommendations of Kothari Commission (1964-1966)

Appointment of the Kothari Commission

Kothari Commission was appointed on 14^th July, 1964, consisted of 17 members, and Dr. D.S. Kothari, chairman of the U.G.C. was appointed as the chairman of the commission. Among the members of the commission 5 educationists were from England, America, France, Japan and Russia.

The Unique Features of the Education Commission

·         All the earlier commissions did not deal with education as a whole but focused attention on different levels of education. But this commission has a comprehensive review of the Entire Educational System.

·         The commission believed that education is the most powerful instrument of the national development. The crucial role of education in national development appears in all its vividness on every page of the report.

·         The international composition of the commission is also significant. So that the commission included 7 Indian members and 5 others; 1 each from Japan, France, U.K., U.S.A. and USSR. Besides, 20 consultants from different countries of the world were available.

Terms of Reference

Report of the Kothari Commission

·         Section I: deal with general problems.

·         Section II: deal with education at different stages and in different sectors.

·         Section III: deals with implementation of the various recommendations and programmes suggested by the commission.

·         Section IV: consists of supplementary papers.

The programmes of educational reconstructions proposed in this report fall into three broad categories:

·         Internal transformation of the educational system

·         Qualitative improvement of education and

·         Expansion of educational facilities

Recommendations of the Kothari Education Commission

i) Education and National Objectives         

In order to relate education, the commission recommended the following objectives;

1)      Increase in Productivity

2)      Promoting social and National Integration

3)      Education and Modernization

4)      Developing social, moral and spiritual values.

1)         Increase in Productivity

The Commission suggested that education must be related to productivity to increase national income. In order to link education and productivity the Indian Education Commission made the following recommendations:

a.       Science is the basic component of education and culture; so it should be made an integral part of school education.

b.      To inculcate the value of manual work the commission recommended the introduction of work experience in school education.

c.       To meet the increasing needs of technical personnel in Industry, agriculture and trade the commission recommended introducing vocational subjects in school curriculum. It also opined that the vocationalisation will bring education into closer relationship with productivity.

2) Promoting social and National Integration

The commission made the following recommendations for strengthening social and national integration through education:

a.       To make education a powerful instrument of national development, common school system of public education should be adopted.

b.      Bridge the gulf between the educated and the uneducated intellectuals and masses, social and national service should be made an integral part of school education.

c.       A language is a firm adhesive for social and national integration, suitable provisions should be made for teaching mother tongue, Hindi and other Modern Indian languages in schools.

3. Education and Modernization

The present society is the science based society and had rapid social change. In the situation of change, the school must always be alert if it is to keep abreast of significant changes. To keep pace with modernization the International Education Commission (IEC) is of the opinion that “greater emphasis must be placed on vocational subjects, science education and research.”

4. Social, moral and spiritual values

To cultivate the social, moral and spiritual values among students the commission made the following recommendations.

·         The Central and State governments should adopt measures to introduce education in moral, social and spiritual values in all institutions

·         In order to develop social, moral and religious values, some periods should be provided in the time table. Instruction of this type should be given by general teachers.

·         The University departments should be especially concerned with the ways in which these values can be taught wisely and effectively and should undertake preparation of the special literature for use by students and teacher.

ii) Removing the isolation of Teacher Training:

The commission recommended the teacher education must be brought into the main stream of academic life of the universities on one hand and school life and educational developments on the other.

1) Following were recommended to remove the existing isolation of teacher education from university life.

a. Education should be recognized as an independent academic discipline and introduced as an elective subject in courses for the first and second degree.

b. Schools of education should be established in selected universities to develop programmes in teacher education and studies and research in education, in collaboration with other University discipline.

2) To remove the existing isolation of teacher education from schools.

·         Extension work should be regarded as an essential function of a teacher training institution

·         Effective alumni associations should be established to bring old students and faculty together to plan programmes and curricula.

·         Practice teaching for teachers should be organized in active collaboration with selected schools

·         Periodic exchange of the staff of the cooperating schools and of the teacher training institutions should be arranged.

3) An intensive effort should be made to remove the existing separation among the institutions

·         Comprehensive colleges of education should be established in each state.

·         Establishing a state board of teacher education in each state to the responsible for all functions related to teacher education at all levels and in all fields.

iii) Improving Professional Education:

The commission has emphasized the importance of improving the quality of teacher education. It can be done through;

·         Organization of well-planned subject orientation or content courses in collaboration with university departments.|

·         Introducing integrated courses of general and professional education in universities.

·         Using improved method of teaching and evaluation.

·         Improving practice teaching and making it a comprehensive programme of internship.

·         Developing special programmes and courses.

·         Revising the curricula and programmes at all levels in the light of the fundamental objectives of preparing teachers for their varied responsibilities in an evolving system of education.

Duration of Training Courses:

The duration of professional courses should be two years for primary teachers who have completed the secondary school course. It should be one year for the graduate students; but the number of working days in a year should be increased to 220.

v) Improving the Quality of Training Institutions:

Secondary Teachers:

·         The staff of secondary training colleges should have a double master’s degree in an academic subject and in education. A fair proportion of them should hold doctorate degrees. They should all have taken induction or orientation courses in teacher education.

·         Qualified specialists in subjects like Psychology, Sociology, Science or Mathematic may be appointed on the staff even if they have not had professional training.

·         Summer institutes should be organized for the in-service training of staff.

·         No student should be allowed to specialize in the teaching of a subject unless he has studied it for his first degree or obtained an equivalent qualification prior to training.

·         States and Union territories should adopt a rule that teachers in secondary schools will ordinarily teach only those subjects which they had studied for a university degree.

·         Attempts should be made to recruit first and good second-class students to teacher training institutions and adequate scholarships should be provided for them.

General

§  All tuition fees in training institutions should be abolished and liberal provision made for stipends and loans.

§  Every training institution should have an experimental or a demonstration school attached to it.

§  Adequate hostel facilities for trainees and residential accommodation for staff should be provided.

§  Libraries, laboratories, workshops, etc., are very inadequate at present in most institutions, especially at the primary level. These need to be improved.

§  Expansion of training facilities.

In-service Education of School Teachers

·         The commission recommended that every teacher would receive at least two or three month’s in-service education in every five years of their service.

·         The programme of summer institutes for the in-service training of secondary schools should be extended.

Professional Preparation of Teachers in Higher Education

The commission recommended that the teachers should prepare themselves for higher education. They should learn higher education for improve their profession.

Standards in Teacher Education

For maintaining standards, the commission recommended that at the national level the UGC should take the responsibility for the maintenance of standards in teacher education. The State Board of Teacher Education should be responsible for the raising of standards at the state level.

IV.  Educational Structure|

The Commission recommended a new structural pattern of education. The new educational structure should be as follows:

·         One to three years of pre-school education.

·         A primary stage of 7 to 8 years divided into a lower primary stage of 4 or 5 years and a higher primary stage of 3 or 2 years.

·         A lower secondary stage of 3 or 2 years of general education or 1 to 3 years of vocational education.

·         A higher secondary stage of 2 years of general education or 1 to 3 years of vocational education,

·         50% of the total would be under vocational education,

·         A higher education stage of 3 years or more for the first degree course followed by courses of varying durations for the second or research degrees.

·         The structural pattern thus recommended by the commission is commonly known as 10+2+3.

Let us know the structural pattern of education;

·         Pre-school education from 1 to 3 years should also be given.

·         General education should last for a period of 10 years( 4 years of lower primary, 3 years of higher primary and 3 years of lower secondary education)

·         Higher secondary education should be fixed for 2 years

·         Degree course should be of 3 years

·         The age of admission to class I should not be less than 6+

·         The first public external examination should come at the end of the first 10 years of schooling

·         Secondary schools should be of two types:

Ø  High schools providing a 10 years’ course and

Ø  Higher secondary schools providing a course of 11 or 12 years

·         A new higher secondary course consisting of classes XI and XII should be introduced. The pre-university courses should be transferred from Universities and added to the secondary schools.

·         The Commission has been suggested the re-organisation of the university stage. At this stage, the three year degree has been favoured by the Commission.

Ishwar Bhai Patel Committee (1977)

Introduction

The All India Council of Technical Education at a meeting held during the year 1974-75, made   important recommendations relating to the establishment of appropriate links between industry   and educational research institutions, programmes of vocational education and the establishment of teacher training centres in the field of management education. With the passage of time, the Review Committee on the curriculum, for the ten years schooling, popularly known as Ishwar Bhai Patel Committee (1977), categorically recommended in its report for the compulsory introduction of Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) at the secondary schools.

Main concept the report (1977)

The Ishwarbhai Patel Committee Report (1977), while reviewing NCERT’s ten-year school curriculum framework (1975), observed that the curriculum should be capable of relating learning “closely to socially productive manual work and the socio-economic situation of the country” and making it available “in such a way that working and learning can always be combined.”

Preferring to term “purposive, meaningful, manual work” in the curriculum as Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW), the Committee observed: “The purpose of demarcating a distinct curricular area as Socially Useful Productive Work is to emphasise the principle that education should be work-centred”.

Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW)

Education  Commission, 1964-66, identified  work  experience  and  social  service  as  essential elements of purposeful education. These two elements were integrated into a holistic concept andwas  re-named  Socially  Useful  Productive  Work (SUPW) by  the  Ishwarbhai  Patel  Review   Committee (1978).

Aim of this curricular area

The aim of this curricular area is to provide children with opportunities of participating in social and economic activities inside and outside the classroom, enabling them to understand scientific principles and processes involved in different types of work and in the setting in which they are found in the physical and social environment. It must not be confined to the four walls of the school, nor can they be provided by the teacher only. Programmes should, therefore, be so planned and implemented that the local community, community development organizations and governmental agencies participate in them and cooperate with the school.

Curriculum for the Ten-Year School – A Framework’

The Ishwarbhai Patel Committee Report (1977) reviewed NCERT’s document entitled ‘The Curriculum for the Ten-Year School – A Framework’ published in 1975 and observed that the 10-year curriculum should be capable of:

·         Molding the learner after the image of citizen as visualised in the Constitution

·         Releasing learning from its bookishness and elitist character so as to relate it closely to socially productive manual work and the socio-economic situation of the country;

·         Emphasizing the qualities of simplicity, integrity, tolerance and cooperation in all aspects of life; and

·         Being available to every individual in such a way that working and learning can always be combined.

Impact of Socially Useful Productive Work

After the recommendations of 'Ishwarbhai Patel Committee' (July, 1977), which first coined the term 'Socially Useful Productive Work' or SUPW, the subject was first introduced to the school curriculum in 1978, by Ministry of Education, Government of India. A period was allotted in the time-table for this purpose. The main purpose of this scheme was to inculcate in learners, the liking and love for the dignity of labour. To begin with, there was much enthusiasm for the implementation of SUPW. But as time went on, initiative and zeal gradually slackened. In-fact, tangible result was not achieved. This explains the wide-spread continuing practice of confusing vocational education with the pedagogic role of work in curriculum.

Malcolm S. Adiseshiah Committee (1978)

A Committee was appointed under the Chairmanship of Macolm S. Adiseshiah on 1978, for higher secondary education and the report was entitled ‘Learning to do, towards the Learning and Working socially. It also recommended for SUPW at the school level and vocationalisation of the higher secondary education. It also pleaded eloquently for the effective implementation of relating education to productivity.

Major recommendations of the Committee

·         Learning must be based on Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) or through vocationalised courses

·         Vocational courses should be in agriculture and related rural occupational areas

·         In the general and vocationalised educational spectrum there should be no rigid streaming of courses. In accordance with the availability of facilities and the demand of the area, each school should be allowed to offer such general and vocational courses

·         The higher secondary stage should comprise of a general education spectrum and a vocational spectrum

·         The curriculum should be so structured that the courses lend themselves for imparting instruction interns of well-connected modules to enable the students to choose and combine them according to their needs

·         On a priority basis books should be written suiting to the local needs for imparting instruction in vocational courses

·         Semester pattern and credit system should be introduced in classes XI and XII;

·         To start with counseling and placement officers be appointed in clusters of 3 or 4 schools, particularly in rural areas

·         Services of persons who have had actual experience of on the job may be fruitfully utilized to teach vocational courses. Wherever necessary part-time teachers may be appointed. In respect of teachers of vocational courses there should not be insistence on post-graduate qualification; and

·         For bringing about proposed changes at this stage of education both pre-service and in-service teacher education programme should be properly organised.

New Education Policy (1986)

The National Policy on Education (NPE) or New Education Policy-1986 is formulated by the Government of India to promote education. The policy covers elementary education to collegiate education in both rural and urban India. The first NPE was introduced in 1968 by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the second by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986. This new policy called for “special emphasis on the removal of disparities and to equalize educational opportunity”

Goals of New Education Policy-1986:                     

·         To strengthen the principles of equity,  freedom and self-dependence.

·         To promote national unity and spirit of excellence

·         To develop a broad national outlook among the youngsters.

Main features of the policy

National System of Education:

To following criteria were recommended for the National System of Education

·         Promote Quality education

·         Follow the 10+2+3 pattern

·         Developing a national curricular framework

·         Fixing minimum level of learning

·         Competencies for each stage of education

·         Encourage Science education

·         Work experience at all level

Reorganization of education at all levels

Primary Education:

·         Enrolled and retained in schools

·         Public-centered methods

·         Operation Black-Board

·         Individualized Instruction

·         Eliminate ‘Stagnation’

·         Non-formal system of education

Secondary Education:

·         Vocationalization of  Secondary Education

·         Navodaya Schools

Technical education

All India Council for Technical Education(AICTE) was formed to enhance the technical education,

Higher education

• Autonomous colleges have been opened in large numbers
• Autonomy will be encouraged for departments in the universities
• Delinking of Degrees from Jobs have been followed in selected areas

To maintain Equality:

This policy provides equal opportunities to all for education. Navodaya schools have been opened for socially and economically deprived but to talented children. Regional imbalances are also being removed

 Education of Scheduled Castes:

Scholarships, hostel facilities, adult education programmes are being introduced to socially and economically deprived scheduled castes students.

Women’s Education:

New Education Policy gave special emphasis to women’s education. This statement owes that women are the keys to nation’s progress. Eradication of illiteracy, vocational curriculum, nutrition and child care courses, home management, etc., are given priority.

Education for Tribes:

This policy gave main emphasis to the education of tribes. Residential Ashram Schools have been opened for them; and scholarships for higher education are also given to them.

Adult Education:

Education Policy gave a programme for adult education to remove the illiteracy from the masses. For this, adult schools, libraries, distance education, T.V. programmes are being introduced.

Education for Other Backward Classes (OBCs):

 A large number of backward classes, minority classes have not been given any opportunity for education. Scholarships, hostel facilities, adult education programmes are being introduced to socially and economically deprived Other Backward Classes students.

Integrated Education for Disabled Children:

To integrate disabled children with mild handicaps with others in common schools, a revised scheme of Integrated Education for Disabled Children was started during 1987-88. Under it, cent percent financial assistance is given to State Governments/UT administrations/voluntary organisations for creating necessary facilities in schools.

Educational concessions to children of the defense personnel:

The Centre, State Governments and Union Territories offer educational concessions to children of the defense personnel and paramilitary forces killed or permanently disabled during Indo-China hostilities in 1962 and Indo-Pakistan operations in 1965 and 1971. During 1988, these concessions were extended to children of IPKF/CRPF personnel who were killed/disabled during action in Sri Lanka and children of the armed forces personnel killed/disabled in action in ‘Operation Meghadoot’ in Siachen area

Education of SC/ST/OBC:

The following are the special provisions for SCs and STs have been incorporated in the existing schemes:

§   Relaxed norms for opening of primary schools

·            A primary school within one km walking distance from habitations of 200 population instead of habitations of 300 population;

§   Abolition of tuition fee in all states in government schools at least up to primary level.,

§   Providing incentives like free text-books, uniforms, stationery, school bags, etc.,

§   Reservation of seats for SCs and STs in Central Government institutions of higher education including IITs, IIMs, Regional Engineering College, Central Universities, Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas, etc. Apart from reservation, there is also relaxation in the minimum qualifying cut off stages for admission in universities, colleges and technical institutions. The UGC has established SC/ST cells in 104 universities to ensure proper implementation of the reservation policy;

§   To improve academic skills and linguistic proficiency and raising their level of comprehension, remedial and special coaching is provided for SC/ST students

Education for Minorities:

In pursuance of the revised Programme of Action (POA) 1992, two new Centrally-sponsored schemes, i.e.,

(i)     Scheme of Area Intensive Programme for Educationally Backward Minorities, and

(ii) Scheme of Financial Assistance for Modernisation of Madrasa Education were launched during 1993-94

New schemes launched under NPE:

·         Serva Siksha Abiyan  for Universalisation of Education

·         National Testing Service

·         Minimum Levels of Learning (MLL)

·         Navodaya Schools

·         Delinking Degrees from Jobs

Programme of Action (1992)

The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986, aimed at making it “an effective instrument for taking the country into the 21st century”. It envisages improvement and expansion of education in all sectors; elimination of disparities in access and stress on improvement in the quality and relevance of basic education. A modified NPE in its Programme of Action, 1992, called for making the `plus two stage part of school education throughout the country.

Major Recommendations

(i) Universalisation of Elementary Education

Universal access, universal retention, and Minimum Levels of Learning (MLL) are the broad parameters to achieve Universalisation of Elementary Education. These are aimed at providing school facilities within a walking distance of 1 km. for children of primary schools, and 3 kms for children of upper primary schools and strengthening of alternate mode of education, non-formal education for school drop-outs, working children, and girls and Minimum Levels of Learning at the primary and upper primary stage.

(ii) Nutritional Support

Mid-day Meal Scheme was launched on August 15, 1995, intended to give a boost to primary education by increasing enrolment, retention and attendance in schools and at the same time augmenting nutritional levels.

(iii) Operation Blackboard

Improving classroom environment by providing infrastructural facilities, additional teachers and teaching - learning materials to primary schools are the aim scheme of Operation Blackboard. Significant progress has been made in the area of teacher training with 444 District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) sanctioned to provide pre-service and in-service training to elementary school teachers, for adult education and non-formal education personnel.

(iv) National Literacy Mission

Making 100 million persons literate was the target of National Literacy Mission (NLM) which was set up in 1988. Under Total Literacy Campaign ( TLC ) and Post Literacy Campaign ( PLC ) 68.57 million persons covering 447 districts were made literate. Out of these, 60 percent are women, 23 percent SCs, and 12 percent STs.

(v) Equal Opportunities

For equal opportunities to the minorities, a provision of Rs.8.8 crore has been made in the Annual Plan outlay of 1998-99 in the Area Intensive Programme for Educationally Backward Minorities, Modernisation of Madarsas and coaching classes by UGC. A programme to provide educational opportunities to disabled children on par with mild to moderate disabilities in the general schools system has been prepared.

(vi) Secondary Education

To improve the quality of secondary education, the number of secondary and senior secondary schools has increased from 0.07 lakh in 1950-51 to 1.02 lakh in 1996-97, resulting in not only an increase in the enrolment but also increase in the number of teachers, including female teachers. The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan manages Kendriya Vidyalayas.

(vii) Technical Education

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has issued regulations for establishment of new institutions and starting new courses to streamline Technical Education

(ix) University and Higher Education

To improve the quality of Higher Education, all the Central Universities except the Indira Gandhi National Open University are funded by the Central Government through the University Grants Commission. IGNOU is funded directly by the Central Government for promoting the distance education system.

Sachar Committee (2005)

For preparation of a report on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community of India, Rajinder Sachar Committee was appointed by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It was a high level committee.

.Recommendations of Sachar Committee

Sachar Committee report put forward some recommendations for the upliftment of minorities and implementation of these recommendations would strengthen the secular fabric of Indian society as well as increase patriotism due to their all-inclusive progress. Following are the recommendations:

1. Mechanisms to ensure equity and equality of opportunity and eliminate discrimination

2. Creation of a National Data Bank (NDB) where all relevant data for various Socio Religious Communities are maintained

3. Formation of an autonomous Assessment and Monitoring Authority to evaluate the extent of development benefits.

4. An Equal Opportunity Commission should be constituted to look into the grievances of the deprived groups.

5. Elimination of the anomalies with respect to reserved constituencies under the delimitation scheme.

6. The idea of providing certain incentives to a diversity index should be explored to ensure equal opportunities in education, governance, private employment, and housing.

7. A process of evaluating the content of the school text books needs to be initiated and institutionalized.

8. The UGC should evolve a system where part of the allocation to colleges and universities is linked to the diversity in the student population.

9. Providing hostel facilities at reasonable costs for students from minorities must be taken up on a priority basis.

10. The Committee recommended promoting and enhancing access to Muslims in Priority Sector Bank Advances.

11. Policy initiatives that improve the participation and share of the Minorities, particularly Muslims in the business of regular commercial banks

12. The community should be represented on interview panels and Boards. The underprivileged should be helped to utilize new opportunities in its high growth phase through skill development and education.

13. Providing financial and other support to initiatives built around occupations where Muslims are concentrated and have growth potential.

Salient features of National Curriculum Framework (2005)                                         

National Curriculum Framework (NCF) developmental process was initiated in November, 2004 by setting up various structures like National Steering Committee chaired by Prof. Yash Pal and twenty-one National Focus Groups on themes of curricular areas, systemic reforms and national concerns.

Different levels of stakeholders helped in shaping the draft of NCF. The draft NCF was translated into 22 languages listed in the VIII Schedule of the Constitution. The NCF was approved by Central Advisory Board on Education in September, 2005.

Major Observations and Recommendations

Chapter 1: Perspective

·         Knowledge should be connected to life outside the school

·         Learning should be shifted away from rote methods

·         Curriculum should be enriched to provide overall development of children rather than remaining textbook centric.

·         The national system of education in a pluralistic society should be strengthened

·         The curriculum load should be reduced

·         Curricular practices should be based on the values enshrined in the Constitution

·         Quality education for all children should be ensured.

Chapter 2: Learning and Knowledge

•    Holistic approach in the treatment of learner’s development

•    Inclusive environment in the classroom for all students

•    The learners should be made active through experiential mode.

•    Adequate room for voicing children’s thinking, curiosity questions in curriculum practices should be provided.

•    Knowledge across disciplinary boundaries to provide broader frame for insightful construction of knowledge should be connected.

•    Observing, exploring, discovering, analyzing, critical reflection, etc should be considered as important as the content of knowledge.

·      Activities for developing critical perspectives on socio-cultural realities need to find space in curricular practices.

•    Local knowledge and children’s experience are essential components of textbooks and pedagogic practices.

Chapter 3: Curriculum Areas, School and Assessment

Language

•      Implement 3-language formula.

·         Emphasis on mother tongue as medium of instruction.

·         Curriculum should contain multi-lingual proficiency only if mother tongue is considered as second language.

·         Focus on all skills

Focuses on teaching Mathematics, Sciences, Social sciences, Art Education, Health and Physical Education, Education for Peace, Work and Education.

Chapter 4: School and Classroom Environment

·         Availability of minimum infrastructure and material facilities for quality improvement

·         Specific activities ensuring participation of all children – able and disabled – are essential conditions for learning by all.

·         Participation of community members in sharing knowledge and experience in a subject area

·         Audio/video programmes on NCF-2005 and text-books.

·         Source-book on learning assessment.

·         Exemplar problems in Science and Mathematics.

·         Science and Mathematics kits.

·         Teachers’ handbooks and manuals.

·         Teacher Training Packages.

·         Developed syllabi and text-books in new areas such as Heritage Craft, Media Studies, Art

·         Education, Health and Physical Education, etc.

·         Initiatives in the area of ECCE (Early Childhood Care Education), Gender, Inclusive

·         Education, Peace, Vocational Education, Guidance and Counseling, ICT, etc. Decentralized planning of school calendar and daily schedule and autonomy for teachers professionalism practices are basic to creating a learning environment.

Chapter 5: System Reforms

•    Common school system is desirable to ensure comparable quality in different region of the country

•    A broad framework for planning upwards, beginning with schools for identifying focus areas

·      Meaningful academic planning has to be done in a participatory manner by headmasters and teachers.

•    Monitoring quality must be seen as a process of sustaining interaction with individual schools in terms of teaching-learning processes.

·      Teacher education programmes need to be reformulated and strengthened

·      In-service education needs to become a catalyst for change in school practices

·      Shift from content-based testing to problem-solving , Examination with a ‘flexible time limit’ and  setting up of a single nodal agency for coordinating the design and conduct of entrance examinations are reducing the stress

·      Vocational Education and Training (VET) need to be implemented

·       Availability of multiple textbooks to widen teachers’ choices

·       Sharing of teaching experiences and diverse classroom practices to generate new ideas and facilitate innovation and experimentation.

·      Development of syllabi, textbooks and teaching learning resources could be carried out in a decentralized and participatory manner involving teachers, experts from universities, NGOs and teachers’ organizations

National Knowledge Commission (2005)

On June 13, 2005, the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh constituted the National

Knowledge Commission (NKC) as a think-tank to advise the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on policy related to education, research institutes and reforms needed to make India competitive in the knowledge economy.

Objectives of National Knowledge Commission

Following are the main objectives of National knowledge Commission (NKC):

·         Transforming India into knowledge society

·         Strengthen the education system, promote domestic research and innovation, and facilitate knowledge application in sectors like health, agriculture, and industry

·         Leverage information and communication technologies to enhance governance and improve connectivity

·         Devise mechanisms for exchange and interaction between knowledge systems in the global arena.

The scope of National Knowledge Commission

The scope of NKC is confined to a variety of subject areas such as language, translations, libraries, networks, portals, distance learning, intellectual property, entrepreneurship, application in agriculture, health, small and medium scale industries, e-governance, etc. National Knowledge Commission has emerged as a powerful and democratic source of information and knowledge on the Internet.

Knowledge Paradigm

The National Knowledge Commission covers five focus areas of the knowledge paradigm. They are 

1. Access, 
2. Concepts, 
3. Creation, 
4. Applications and 
5. Services

I.          Access

NKC was established with an aim to provide equal opportunities by providing access to knowledge. It is the most fundamental way of reaching to the citizens. Access to knowledge deals with providing the accurate knowledge to general public in the following way:

1.      Right to Education : Following are the recommendation on Right to Education

·         Legislation at the national level is required to affirm the Right to Education

·         The Central Government must provide additional funds required to ensure the Right to Education

·         To ensure a minimum quality of education, it is important to have a schedule of norms for all schools to follow

·         It is necessary to specify norms for teacher qualification and training

2.      Language: It proposed to formulate a National Plan for the teaching of English as a language, in addition to the regional language, starting in Class I. It will also be ensured that student at the end of twelve years of schooling is proficient in at least two languages.

3.      Libraries: Libraries foster global access to information and they are central hubs of our knowledge. The following are its recommendations:

a) Set up a National Commission on Libraries

b) Prepare a National Census of all Libraries

c) Revamp LIS Education, Training, and Research facilities

d) Re-assess staffing of Libraries

e) Set up a Central Library Fund

f) Modernize Library management

g) Encourage greater community participation in Library management

h) Promote Information Communication Technology (ICT) applications in all Libraries

i) Facilitate donations and maintenance of private collections

j) Encourage Public Private Partnerships in LIS development

4.      Infrastructure: Recommended to enhance the ICT infrastructure. Set certain norms regarding infrastructure, number of teachers per school and per student, teaching methods and other facilities, etc. must be adhere to as necessary conditions

5.      National knowledge network: NKC recommended for Knowledge Networks, and Health Information Network as they purposefully led social entities that are characterized by a commitment to quality, rigor, and a focus on outcomes

6.      Portals: NKC initiated to set up portals on certain key areas such as Water, Energy, Environment, Education, Food, Health, Agriculture, Employment, Citizen Rights, etc.

7.      Health information network: A common Electronic Health Record needs to be created and disseminated widely

II.       Concepts

1.      School Education: Its recommendations suggested for providing universal access to quality school education as a cornerstone of development for Knowledge Society. It further insisted for making it Central Legislation at the national level to affirm the Right to Education, which is a fundamental right mandated by Article 21A of Constitution, Government of India.

2.      Vocational Education Training: NKC recommends for a model of imparting vocational education that is flexible, sustainable, inclusive, and creative. It suggests for significant increase in public and private investment in Vocational Education and Training (VET). It also put forward that the quality and image of VET needs to be actively promoted in order to view it as comparable, and relevant general secondary education.

3.      Higher Education: having 1500 universities nationwide and establishment of an Independent Regulatory Authority for Higher Education (IRAHE). The grant for higher education should increase to at least 1.5 percent of GDP, out of a total of at least 6 per cent of GDP for education. It also recommended for creation of 50 National Universities which provide education of the highest standard. Also gave suggestions on reforms in existing universities, restructuring of existing under graduate colleges and promoting enhanced quality of education

4.      Open and Distance Education and Open Education Resources: It is important to enhance the ICT infrastructure. Websites and web-based services would improve transparency and accountability. A portal on higher education and research would increase interaction and accessibility. A knowledge network would connect all universities and colleges for online open resources.

III.             Creation: Creating the knowledge or help in protecting the knowledge

1.    Intellectual Property Right: For the development of effective legal systems for IPR enforcement and availability of accurate and detailed ready-to-use IPR information. It also recommended for the development of a vibrant IPR culture in the processes of knowledge creation, application and dissemination connected especially with market demand and rewards

2.    Legal Framework for Public Funded Research: National Science and Social Science Foundation Innovation Entrepreneurship was set up for Legal Framework for Public Funded Research

IV.          Applications

1.      Traditional Health System : NKC suggested enhancing India’s Ayurveda, yoga and other traditional health-care systems, establishment of a 10-year national mission on traditional health sciences of India with an initial investment of Rs1,000 crore. It also recommended for enrichment of digitization of India’s medical manuscripts project ‘Traditional Knowledge Digital Library’ (TKDL).

2.      Agriculture: It is must to apply knowledge in fields of agriculture and agricultural education where productivity can be increased. It is necessary to set up portal for agriculture

3.      Enhancing Quality of Life: Enhancing Quality of Life,  NKC suggested quality in education

V.       Services

1.      E-governence: NKC’s major recommendations are to re-engineer government processes, and change the basic governance pattern. Similarly to select some important services that make a significant difference, simplify them and offer them with web interface.

Conclusion

It covers almost all the important fields and factors that affect India to become knowledge economy. It is highly appreciable that the main thrust of the report is on education for achieving rapid and inclusive growth with special emphasis on expansion, excellence and equity. For becoming a global knowledge leader and for taking ‘knowledge edge’, India needs to be in the forefront of creation, application and dissemination of knowledge.