The
Education Commission (1964-66)
Drawing on
Nehru’s Mission and articulating most of his key themes, the Kothari
Commission
(1964-66) was set up under the Chairmanship of Dr. D. S. Kothari
to formulate a
coherent education policy for India. The Commission was most
comprehensive in
nature, it reviewed almost all aspects of the education system
without limiting
itself to any one particular aspect, unlike the Commissions that
came before and
after it.
Two of the
unique features of the Report are:
i) Its
comprehensive approach to educational reconstruction; and
ii) Its attempt
to project a blueprint of a national system of education for India.
According to the
Commission, education was intended to increase productivity,
develop social
and national unity, consolidate democracy, modernise the country
and develop
social, moral and spiritual values. The crucial role of education in
national
development appears in all its vividness throughout in the report,
appropriately
titled “Education and National Development”.
The Commission
identified the three important facets that would bring about the
desired
educational resolution, they are:
· internal
transformation so as to relate it to the life needs and aspirations of
the Nation;
· qualitative
improvement so that the standards achieved are adequate and
become
internationally comparable; and
· expansion
of educational facilities broadly on the basis of manpower needs
with emphasis on
equalisation of education opportunities.
It suggested the
restructuring of education into a uniform pattern of 10+2+3. It
adopted a “manpower approach” to the enrolment issue and
declared that the
principal
purpose of higher education was to cater to the needs of industrial and
other sectors,
even as it acknowledged its role in promoting social transformation.
The Commission
sought to reorient educational system to the masses to help
people come into
their own. It sought to end the dichotomy between work and
education to
make the products good workers as well as educated individuals.
It recommended a
minimum of 10 years of common curriculum for building
citizenship in a
democracy and for linking the “work of knowledge”
with the
“world
of work”.
In this concept, diversifies courses would be introduced only at
the +2 stage.
Major
recommendations of the Commission included emphasis on Science and
Mathematics,
introduction of work experience as an integral part of school
curriculum,
introduction of common school system, educational structure with 12
years of
schooling, free text-books at primary stage, provision of mid-day-meals,
promotion of
education of handicapped and special measures for ensuring equality
of educational
opportunities (regional, tribal and gender imbalances to be
addressed),
establishment of school complexes, neighborhood school, three
language
formula etc.
The Commission
emphasized the need of alternative channels of education to
eradicate
illiteracy and provide adult education. By laying more focus on
Mathematics and
Science rather than Social Science or Arts, the Commission
reinforced the
notion that India’s development needs are better met by scientists
than social
scientists.
For improving
the quality of education, the Commission focused on institutional
planning for
improving standards nationwide, promotion of new work ethic,
improved
teaching and learning materials and methods of teaching and evaluation,
and selective
development of schools.
Teacher Status
The Commission
emphasized that the most urgent need was to upgrade the
remuneration of
teachers substantially, particularly at the school stages. It
recommended that
the government should lay down minimum scales of pay for
teachers and
assist States and Union territories to adopt equivalent or higher
scales.
Teacher
Education
The Commission
urged that professional preparation of teachers was the key for
qualitative
improvement of education and recommended measures like:
· qualitative
improvement in teacher education programmes;
· introduction
of new courses for headmasters/teacher educators and
educational
administrators; and
· expansion
of teacher education institutions and recommendations of the training
facilities.
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