University Education Commission (1948-49)

University Education Commission (1948-49)

University Education Commission (1948-49) was the first Commission on education

after Independence. Its major emphasis was on higher education but it also

touched upon the issues related to school education. The Commission was

appointed under the chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishan, a great visionary of

modern era.

The Radhakrishnan Commission on University Education defined the vital tasks

of higher education. The aims of university should be to produce able citizens who

can take up national responsibilities successfully in various fields. The university

has to produce able administrators and suitable workers in various occupations

and industries. It has to provide leadership in various walks of life in the best

interest of the nation.

The Commission recommended that the standard of admission to University courses

should correspond to that of the present intermediate examination, i.e., after 12

years of study at school and intermediate college. It remarked that “our secondary

education remains the weakest link in our educational machinery and needs urgent

reforms.”

The Commission stated that the function of school education is to provide good

general education, it further spelt out the elements of good education “which will

not only prepare pupil for university work, but at the same time prepare him for

practical work to earn his living if he did not proceed to a university.

The Commission suggested that the functions of a school and a university should

be different. The function of a school should be to provide suitable education to

those who join higher education and also to those who do not have the intention

of proceeding further. Education of both sets could be combined together, whereas

some schools could train students for work in agriculture industry and commerce.

The University Education Commission laid great stress on the introduction of

general education throughout school. The Commission clearly wanted that school

should diversify its outcomes in such a way that many could effectively participate

in real life by taking up jobs or self-employment and only very few would continue

study beyond school.