Reports: NEW EDUCATION POLICY / RESOURCE QUESTIONNAIRE

QUESTIONNAIRE

CHALLENGE OF EDUCATION – TOWARDS A NATIONAL CONSENSUS

H. C. PAREKH
1983–84

1. ENROLMENT (PRIMARY & MIDDLE LEVELS) – ONLY 76%

Enrolment at Primary and Middle levels with respect to the corresponding age-group (6–14 years) is only 76% in India, as against 117% in China, 112% in France, 107% in Singapore, 106% in U.S.S.R., 101% in Japan and 98% in the U.S.A.

On the basis of the present population and conditions, raising the enrolment at these levels by one percentile point will need :

6353 additional SCHOOLS
22690 additional TEACHERS
Rs. 25 crores of additional EXPENDITURE p.a.

In the light of the above, do you feel that the enrolment at Primary and Middle levels in India should :

1.1 – remain at the present level, i.e. around 76% ? ☐

1.2 – be boosted to 100% ? ☐

1.3 – be boosted to beyond 100% ? ☐

2. MIDDLE LEVEL EDUCATION

(Age-Group 11–14 years – Std. VI – VIII)

Number (in lakhs) of	1950	1984
Primary Schools	2.01	5.09
Middle level Schools	0.13	1.26

Ratio of Middle level School : Primary Schools

1950 → 1 : 15
1984 → 1 : 4

This means that for every 15 Primary Schools, we had 1 Middle level School in 1950, whereas for every 4 Primary Schools we have 1 Middle level school in 1984.

Increasing 1 Middle level School for every 4 Primary Schools will mean :

1.26 lakhs additional SCHOOLS
8.78 lakhs additional TEACHERS
250 lakhs more CHILDREN could be ENROLLED in Middle level Schools.

In view of the above, do you feel that for every 4 Primary Schools we should have :

2.1.1 – Middle level school ? (present situation)

2.2.2 Middle level Schools ? ☐

2.3.3 Middle level Schools ? ☐

2.4.4 Middle level Schools ? ☐

As laid down in the constitution, education upto the age of 14 years (i.e. till Middle level) is the responsibility of the Government, i.e. it should be compulsory and free :

Do you subscribe to this view ?

2.5 Yes ☐

2.6 No ☐

3. ENROLMENT OF GIRLS (COMPARED WITH BOYS)

Enrolment as a percentage of eligible population is as under :

Level	Boys	Girls	Total
Primary level	110	76	93
Middle level	63	34	49
Secondary level	33	16	25

In view of the fact that 48% population of India is that of females, do you agree that :

3.1 Primary education for girls should be made compulsory ?

3.1.1 Yes ☐
3.1.2 No ☐

3.2 Secondary education should be free for girls ?

3.2.1 Yes ☐
3.2.2 No ☐

Making Primary education for girls compulsory will require additional resources in terms of :

65,900 Primary SCHOOLS
1,80,000 TEACHERS
Rs. 246 Crores of EXPENDITURE p.a.

4. OUTLAY ON EDUCATION

India spends 3% of its Gross National Product (GNP) on education.
Developed countries spend about 8%.
1968 Review Committee recommended 6%.

Do you think that the allocation on education as a percentage of GNP should be :

4.1 3% ? (present situation) ☐

4.2 6% ? ☐

4.3 8% ? ☐

4.4 10% ? ☐

India's GNP for the year 1983–84 is estimated at about Rs. 1,72,000 crores.

5. DIFFERENTIAL EXPENDITURE ON EDUCATION IN STATES

In 1983–84, per capita budgeted expenditure on education in some of the major States was as under:

State	Expenditure (Rs.)
U.P.	49.5 (lowest among major States)
M.P.	56.7
Bihar	69.2
Punjab	121.2
Kerala	130.4 (highest among major States)

All India : 81.0

This shows that poorer and backward States spend less amount on education.

In view of the above, do you agree to the following views?

5.1 No State should be allowed to spend less than the present national average of per capita outlay on education.

5.1.1 Yes ☐
5.1.2 No ☐

5.2 Education opportunities should be equally and evenly spread and grown in all the States.

– 2 –

5.2.1 Yes ☐
5.2.2 No ☐

5.3 Backward States should pump in far greater resources on education for upliftment of masses.

5.3.1 Yes ☐
5.3.2 No ☐

5.4 Depending on the prosperity and literacy level, States should decide the amount of per capita expenditure on education.

5.4.1 Yes ☐
5.4.2 No ☐

6. PRIVATE DONATIONS FOR EDUCATION

Private donations towards education as a percentage of total expenditure on education were as under:

Year	%
1900–1901	25.0
1950–1951	11.6
1980–81	3.0

6.1 Should private donations, in your opinion, as a percentage of total expenditure on education be in the range of:

6.1.1 0% – 10% ☐
6.1.2 10% – 20% ☐
6.1.3 20% – 30% ☐
6.1.4 > 30% ☐

6.2 Further, do you agree that all donations towards educational purposes must qualify for a weighted deduction (say, at the rate of 150%) under the Income Tax Act?

6.2.1 Yes ☐
6.2.2 No ☐

Total expenditure on education was Rs. 1537 Crores in 1980–81.

Observation (important)

This questionnaire is actually quite visionary for 1983–84.
You were already addressing issues that today dominate education policy:

Universal schooling (now RTE Act 2009)
Gender gap in education
6% GDP spending on education (still debated today)
State inequality in education spending
Tax incentives for educational donations
Private participation in education funding

In many ways, this document predates today's NEP 2020 debates by nearly 40 years.

7. AUDIT OF EDUCATION

Today, hardly any audit is being conducted on:

process of education
quality of teachers
expenditure in Institutes
facilities
machinery and equipment

In view of this, do you subscribe to the following views?

7.1 Bi-annual audit in prescribed forms must be conducted by a Committee consisting of educationists, industrialists and other prominent citizens appointed by affiliating universities/boards.

7.1.1 Yes ☐
7.1.2 No ☐

7.2 Those who fail to meet audit standards must be stopped to function (not merely derecognized).

7.2.1 Yes ☐
7.2.2 No ☐

8. REQUISITE NORMS FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES

There are hardly any well laid down and known NORMS for allowing new educational institutions' formation.

Do you agree that:

8.1 For each branch of education, broad as well as detailed guidelines must be specified?

8.1.1 Yes ☐
8.1.2 No ☐

8.2 No educational institution should be permitted to commence classes unless and until an independent, impartial Audit Team certifies that the requirements laid down as per NORMS have been fulfilled?

8.2.1 Yes ☐
8.2.2 No ☐

9. TEACHER – PUPIL RATIO

The Teacher – Pupil Ratio in India was as under in 1983–84:

a) Primary level schools – 1 : 64
b) Middle level schools – 1 : 58
c) Secondary / Higher Secondary schools – 1 : 47
d) Overall for the above – 1 : 57

Do you feel that an ideal ratio:

9.1 For Primary level Schools should be:

9.1.1 1 : 64 ? ☐
9.1.2 1 : 50 ? ☐
9.1.3 1 : 30 ? ☐

9.2 For Middle level Schools should be:

9.2.1 1 : 58 ? ☐
9.2.2 1 : 40 ? ☐
9.2.3 1 : 25 ? ☐

9.3 For Secondary / Higher Secondary Schools should be:

9.3.1 1 : 47 ? ☐
9.3.2 1 : 30 ? ☐
9.3.3 1 : 20 ? ☐

9.4 Overall Teacher–Pupil Ratio

9.4 Over-all for the above-mentioned levels should be:

9.4.1 1 : 57 ? ☐
9.4.2 1 : 40 ? ☐
9.4.3 1 : 30 ? ☐

For improving the overall ratio from the present level of 1:57 to 1:30, we shall need the number of teachers to go up from the present 33.02 lakhs to 62.73 lakhs, assuming the total enrolment being constant.

10. TEACHERS' MOTIVATION

Teachers are not sufficiently motivated to improve the quality of education and take an active interest in the educational process since:

even their physical needs like housing, proper salary, education for their own children, etc. are not met fully;
esteem needs are not met since they do not enjoy sufficient status in the social strata;
environment for meeting Self-Actualization needs does not exist.

To what extent do you feel the following measures would contribute towards raising teachers' motivation level?

Measure	Great	Fair	Little	None
10.1 Meet the basic physical needs of the teachers community	☐	☐	☐	☐
10.2 Make teachers accountable	☐	☐	☐	☐
10.3 Improve work ethos	☐	☐	☐	☐
10.4 Employ qualified teachers having integrity and devotion for the profession	☐	☐	☐	☐
10.5 Introduce performance-based promotion scheme	☐	☐	☐	☐

10.6

Create environment wherein they can undertake research and develop institutional instructional material and thereby have a sense of achievement.


10.6.1 Great ☐
10.6.2 Fair ☐
10.6.3 Little ☐
10.6.4 None ☐

11. INDUSTRY – INSTITUTE – INTERACTION – ADEQUACY

Some of the advantages of Industry–Institute interaction are believed to be that technical education will be more in tune with the real-life situation and the latest technology, and teachers would feel more inspired and motivated.

Do you feel that the level of Industry–Institute interaction in case of the following is:

	More than adequate	Fairly adequate	Inadequate	Zero
11.1 Non-technical graduate colleges	☐	☐	☐	☐
11.2 Technical colleges – Diploma level	☐	☐	☐	☐
11.3 Technical colleges – Degree level	☐	☐	☐	☐
11.4 Management Institutions	☐	☐	☐	☐
11.5 Research Institutions	☐	☐	☐	☐

12. INDUSTRY – INSTITUTE INTERACTION – METHODOLOGY

Given below are some methods by which Industry–Institute interaction may be increased.

Kindly evaluate these methods on a 4-point scale:

Very Good | Good | Fair | Ineffective

	Very Good	Good	Fair	Ineffective
12.1 Industries should adopt existing institutions for transfer of knowledge	☐	☐	☐	☐
12.2 Industry should organise training for teachers	☐	☐	☐	☐
12.3 Project-assignment work for students should form a large percentage of the curriculum	☐	☐	☐	☐

13. VOCATIONAL INSTITUTES – STATEWISE DISTRIBUTIONS

At present, 66% of the 1600 Vocational Institutes (Industrial) are located in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which have only 16% of the total population. Presently almost all these institutions are governed by the State Governments.

To what extent do you feel a more equitable distribution of Vocational Institutes is possible by the following measures?

	Great	Fair	Little	None
13.1 Industrial houses should be encouraged to set up Vocational Institutes	☐	☐	☐	☐
13.2 State Government should increase funds outlay for Vocational Institutes	☐	☐	☐	☐

14. LITERACY LEVEL – GROWTH RATE

Progress of literacy in India as measured by the percentage of literates to the population in the last five census years is as under:

Census Year	Total	Male	Female
1941	16.1 %	24.9 %	7.3 %
1951	16.7 %	25.0 %	7.9 %
1961	24.0 %	34.4 %	13.0 %
1971	29.5 %	39.5 %	18.7 %
1981	36.2 %	46.7 %	24.9 %

Growth in 1981 over 1941

Total	Male	Female
124.8 %	87.5 %	241.1 %

In the light of this, do you feel that the thrust of our education policy in this matter should be:

14.1 Keep growth in literacy rates at the existing levels ☐

14.2 Strive for much higher growth in literacy rates for males as compared to growth in female literacy rate ☐

14.3 Strive for much higher growth in literacy rates for females than what is obtained up to 1981 ☐

15. PHYSICAL FACILITIES

Following are the extent of basic facilities possessed by our educational institutions:

60.3 % of schools have blackboards
29.5 % of schools have libraries
46.6 % of schools have playgrounds
91.0 % of schools have buildings

What do you feel are the levels to which these facilities should be raised to?

15.1 Schools having blackboard

15.1.1 70 % ☐
15.1.2 80 % ☐
15.1.3 90 % ☐
15.1.4 100 % ☐

15.2 Schools having libraries

15.2.1 40 % ☐
15.2.2 60 % ☐
15.2.3 80 % ☐
15.2.4 100 % ☐

15.3 Schools having playgrounds

15.3.1 60 % ☐
15.3.2 80 % ☐
15.3.3 100 % ☐

15.4 Schools having buildings

15.4.1 95 % ☐
15.4.2 100 % ☐

16. EXAMINATION SYSTEM

Do you feel that the following statements are:

Completely True | Mainly True | Partially True | Completely False

16.1

The examination system at present encourages memorizing and cramming rather than understanding and learning.

☐ Completely True
☐ Mainly True
☐ Partially True
☐ Completely False

16.2

Examinations at the end of the year drive pupils to study only in the last lap.

☐ Completely True
☐ Mainly True
☐ Partially True
☐ Completely False

16.3

The examination system does not truly reflect the potential, aptitude and knowledge acquired by the pupil.

☐ Completely True
☐ Mainly True
☐ Partially True
☐ Completely False

17. EXAMINATION SYSTEM

A “Credit Point System” of promotion, as practiced in some advanced countries, permits everyone to set one's own pace of learning.

Students could be promoted to the next class on accumulation of a certain minimum number of credit points. This would enable bright students to complete formal education faster.

Would you agree that it is necessary in India to shift to the Credit Point System?

17.1 Yes ☐
17.2 No ☐

18. DIGNITY OF LABOUR

18.1

Would you consider it true that our present education system induces people to opt for white-collar jobs?

18.1.1 Yes ☐
18.1.2 No ☐

18.2

Do you feel that students should be made to engage themselves in physical work such as:

compulsory commissions in para-military sciences
practical learning of crafts
compulsory tree plantation
community upkeep of public amenities
upkeep of educational institutions

to restore the dignity of labour?

18.2.1 Yes ☐
18.2.2 No ☐

19. AGRICULTURAL VOCATIONAL INSTITUTE

At present, Agricultural Education is available only at the Graduates level, except for Agricultural Machinery (Mechanics) at vocational level in a very few ITIs.

This results in the rural population going into cities for entering vocational institutes relevant to industry only.

19.1

Is it desirable, in your opinion, to set up Agricultural Vocational Institutes in rural areas to impart courses such as:

Agriculture
Horticulture
Forestry
Canning
Food preservation
Animal husbandry
Poultry / Sericulture
Honey extraction
Bio-gas
Fish-seed cultivation
etc.

19.1.1 Yes ☐
19.1.2 No ☐

19.2

Do you feel such Agricultural Vocational Institutions could be financed by suitably taxing farm income?

19.2.1 Yes ☐
19.2.2 No ☐

20. ENROLMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Total enrolment in higher education in 1983–84 is estimated at:

33.59 lakhs out of 1243 lakhs total enrolment (2.7%)

Do you think that this percentage (2.7%) :

20.1 is adequate ? ☐

20.2 should be raised to 5% ? ☐

20.3 should be raised to 10% ? ☐

20.4 should be raised to 15% ? ☐

At the 1983–84 level of total enrolment, raising enrolment in higher education by one percentile point would require:

about 1940 additional colleges
about 81,240 additional teachers

21. PLAN OUTLAY ON ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

Share of Plan Outlay on elementary education from the total outlay on education has been as follows:

Plan	Share
1st Plan	55 %
2nd Plan	34 %
3rd Plan	37 %
4th Plan	31 %
5th Plan	32 %
6th Plan	36 %
7th Plan	34 %

21.1

Do you agree that the 7th Plan Outlay on elementary education is adequate?

21.1.1 Yes ☐
21.1.2 No ☐

21.2

If no, what in your opinion should it be?

........ %

Additional information:

Total 7th Plan Outlay on education: Rs. 5457 Crores
Allocation of 34% on elementary education:
Rs. 1830 Crores over five years
i.e. about Rs. 366 Crores per year

Additional notes in the document: