Go2school:

Is standard of question paper for board examination degrading in India? Comment.

Primary Education in India is taking an all-round beating. Not the boards alone. Following can be some reasons:

1. Cramming of Facts - increase of breadth & decrease in depth
2. Objective, Multi-choice question / answers
3. Low quality teachers - teaching is not a vocation of choice / pride. Possibly never was, but money & prestige in other professions has increased
4. Two much flip flop by policy makers is taking its toll on students. Implementation needs to be well done & persevered with. One cannot change every now and then
5. For the boards, there has been an attempt to increase objectivity, to address the increasing numbers. Normalization of scores in subjective answers is a big problem. But the emphasis on cram-more and objective examinations is not helping the quality
6. Possibly the reverse influence of competitive exams on the boards is also not helping the cause

Education in India needs paradigm shift: Pitroda

Education in India needs to go through a complete shift from the quintessential concept of grades, exams, textbooks and teachers, and it needs to be more technical and accessible to all, said technocrat Sam Pitroda.

"When we think of education we assume grades, teachers, school, books etc. These things do not matter anymore. The paradigm in education needs to be changed," Pitroda told a gathering of diplomats, academicians and scholars here Friday evening.

"Today with the kind of technology that is developing everyday we can learn just about anything. I know this kind of model would have challenges and it may take upto 15-20 years time but it will happen," he added.

"We need to build a knowledge-based society and take education to the poorest of the poor, which I believe is the greatest challenge of all. Rural development is the key to this country true development and not the economic prosperity of the country," said Pitroda, chairman of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC).

"A knowledge economy needs minds and we have to create those minds."

Adding that the government has envisaged to allocate more funds towards the development of education in the 11th five-year plan, Pitroda said: "In the 11th five-year plan the prime minister has decided to increase the funds needed for education, almost four times of what had been provided in the last plan."

"I hope this would bring in more inclusiveness and make the education system more affordable," said the Chicago-based technocrat-entrepreneur.

"We, at the knowledge commission, are recommending some major transformational changes in the Indian education system which is bound to attract criticism and debates. But we must remember that we need to make education more equitable and inclusive," he emphasised.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up the NKC in 2005 with the objective of introducing radical transformation in the country education sector. It is expected to create a fundamental change in higher education, vocational training, libraries, e-governance, right to education and translations.

Some of the other recommendations of the NKC include development of the translation industry, teaching of English as a language along with the first language from Class I, building of a national knowledge network and creation of more universities.

Address policy divide on education

The national-level policy divide on higher education, as reflected in the divergent perceptions of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) and the University Grants Commission (UGC), calls for a fresh national debate on the strategies for the development of higher education in the country, All-India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations president Thomas Joseph has said.

A press note issued here by the AIFUCTO said the organisation welcomed the major recommendations of the National Conference on Development of Higher Education, organised by the UGC, which concluded recently in New Delhi.

While both the NKC and the UGC are for the triple objectives of expansion, inclusion and excellence, the former pits one objective against the other and in the process gives primacy to expansion and excellence at the expense of inclusion. The stress on a largely unregulated framework for encouraging private players and foreign collaboration in higher education and on maximisation of cost recovery from students in the NKC recommendations is evidence for this.

The offer of one lakh scholarships by the NKC would cover only 1 per cent of the present student population in higher education. The Vice-Chancellors (VC), at the conference, recommended that there should be greater focus on the establishment of new institutions in smaller towns, rural and remote areas and backward areas where the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is lower than the national average.

The VC’s conference stressed the need for greater public funding and has virtually ruled out further fee hikes, the press note said.

National universities The NKC has recommended the establishment of 50 national universities that will function as ‘exemplars for the rest of the nation.’ These institutions will not be burdened with affiliated colleges and will have the proper ambience for experimenting with the latest teaching-learning models.

The UGC conference on the other hand does not place emphasis on developing a few islands of excellence but speaks of raising average universities and colleges with a view to reduce the quality gap.

The Conference has also rejected the NKC’s recommendation for setting up an Independent Regulatory Authority for Higher Education (IRAHE).

The UGC would focus on disbursement of grants and maintenance of public institutions of higher learning. The VCs’ conference has declared that the UGC should be the sole regulatory authority for universities.

The mess in education

Everyone thinks the government should do more on education. But the case for State involvement in education is not that clear. Education is actually mostly a private good and not a public good. I study, I benefit. It is not like (say) national security, where the State builds an army and everyone benefits from being safer. In household surveys, the poorest quartile of Indian families spend a big chunk of their income on education for their children. This reflects the private benefits of education.

Unlike difficult industries like telecom, there are no network externalities in education. The only complexity in education is that while the student captures much benefit, a part of the benefit spills over onto society. This can justify some expenditure of public funds in education.

The choices for education policy fall into five alternative frameworks. The first is "Do Nothing" - where the State stays out of teaching. There is still a role for the State in curriculum development and running tests.

In the second framework, "Augment Purchase", the State gives money to citizens to buy more educational services. This can be scholarships or education vouchers. Here, the private sector produces educational services. However, the State thinks that some of the benefits of an educated child spill over to society at large, so the State augments the purchase of education services by parents.

The burden of choice of educationist is then put on parents, who are well motivated to care for the interests of their children. As an example, the unique rise of coaching classes in India reflects the dissatisfaction of parents with the educational outcomes being produced through schools on the bottom line, which is test scores. Private schools are better held accountable by parents in outcomes. Hence, India has built up a big private sector in education, ranging from private schools and coaching classes to NIIT and private colleges. The children of CPI(M) leaders go to private schools and attend private coaching classes, in an endeavour to perform at tests.

The third framework is "State Production But Do No Harm". Here, the State tries to produce educational services. But at the same time, it does not do damage to private schools. Now parents face a choice between free public schools versus unfree private schools. This is roughly the approach of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which might more accurately be termed "Sarkari Shiksha Abhiyan". SSA does not set out to solve the problem of education; it sets out to send more money into State production of educational services.

Free schooling from a government school, competing against unfree schooling from a private school, is perhaps like a situation where BSNL drops rates to zero. This is not fair competition. But more importantly, this may or may not be an efficient way to achieve our goals. We have to be clear on whether we want educated children or we want to keep government schools in business. As the recent Pratham data has demonstrated, while SSA has done well on getting children into school, they dont seem to learn much!

The fourth framework is "State Production While Damaging the Private Sector". Here, the State is not content with unfair competition, but tries to simultaneously wreak damage on private producers. As an example, the State now wants to force private schools to take on a quota of students prescribed by politicians. This is analogous to the State forcing private telecom companies to take on customers prescribed by politicians. In many situations, the State makes it difficult for students in private schools to appear in board exams.

Finally, the fifth framework is "Ban Private Participation". This is like the old DOT approach to telecom. In education, today, it is essentially impossible for a private party to start a university.

India faces a choice between these five frameworks on education policy: between (I) Do Nothing, (II) Augment Purchase, (III) State Production But Do No Harm, (IV) State Production While Damaging the Private Sector and (V) Ban Private Participation. We started out with a small public sector education system and were drifting into I -- do nothing. Then came SSA and we took a big plunge into III -- State production but do no harm. Now we seem to be deteriorating further into IV -- damage the private sector. All along, we have had a slice of V - ban private participation - through steep entry barriers in higher education.

The single key idea that needs to be brought to bear on education policy is loyalty to students and not to educationists. The purpose of education is to achieve educated children. Educated children are those with functional skills: they can perform in tests. All else is a means to that end - whether it is enrollment rates or "joy of learning" or mid-day meal programs. All questions on education policy should be judged by the extent to which they can deliver higher scores on internationally standardised tests for the average 15-year old in India. In this case, taking the private sector seriously is inescapable.

The SSA mentality, and the recent law-making efforts of the political class, are not consistent with the interests of students. The money spent on SSA will give better results if it was rooted in sound thinking about education. Our quest should be to strengthen the purchasing power of poor parents, to strengthen the information available to them about alternative schools and to increase competition between schools. As an example, the State can collect information on the performance at tests of all students of all schools, and release newspaper advertisements with a ranking of schools on scores in international standardised tests. This would help parents choose better. The State should build public transport systems, which brings a bigger range of schools within the choice set of parents, and thus increases competition between schools.

Putting educationists in charge of education policy is much like putting the DOT in charge of telecom policy. It is not surprising that we have profound policy blunders as a consequence. Telecom obtained a breakthrough in 1999, when control of telecom policy was wrested away from the DOT. In similar fashion, the path to sound policies on education requires a radical break from the vested interests of the existing providers.

GENERAL

The first seperate department for education was created in 1910 to look after the education in India. But it was after India achieved its Independence on 15th August 1947. A full fledged Ministry of Education was established on 29th August 1947. The nomenclature and responsibilities of the Education Department has undergone some changes since Independence. The present Department of Education is one of the four constitutent departments of the Ministry of Human Resource Development which was created on 26th September, 1985.

Education has been in prime focus throughout Indias development plans. Its importance can be gauged from the fact that it is included as a part of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution, which states that " the State shall endeavour to provide within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years".

Educational policy and progress are reviewed in the light of the goal of national development and priorities set from time to time. The National Policy on Educatuion was formulated in 1982, and was later updated in 1992, where specific responsibilities for organising, implementing and financing its proposals were assigned. The total budgetary expenditure on Education by the Education Departments of the Centre and States has increased from Rs. 644.6 millions in 1951-52 to Rs. 300,000 millions in 1995-96. There are, at present 130 plan schemes in the Department with a total Eighth Plan outlay of Rs. 74430 Millions.

The state of political and economic affairs too are responsible for determinig the educational policy. For example, in the second five year plan (1956-60) when heavy industries became the basic industries, the socialistic education was given and was put emphasis on conversion of basic education and secondary and higher educations. Also, when India saw the economic crisis and the school attendance rate fell in 1960s a big reconsideration on the whole education was done establishing the advisory committee including foreigners.

Today the system which was decided by the international conference party is revolved. It has 10-2-3 system and in some states it has 5-3-2 system or 4-3-3 system. The elemtary education is divided into the first term and the latter term. The secondary education is divided to the first term and the latter term, and the first term is for studying the extention of elementary education and the latter term is divided into the college entering course and vocational education course to study. It is the characteristic that scientific education and talent education are done. The rate of the students to enter the first term is 24.6%. For the higher education, 137 higher educational systems aim at the improvement of the qualities of education and research in scientific technology.

NATIONAL POLICY ON EDUCATION

Educational policy and progress have been reviewed in the light of the goal of national development and priorities set from time to time. In its Resolution on the National Policy on Education in 1968, an emphasis on quality improvement and a planned, more equitable expansion of educational facilities and the need to focus on the education of girls was stressed.

About a decade ago and a half later, the National Policy on Education (NPE-1986) was formulated which was further updated in 1992. The NPE 1986 provides for a comprehensive policy framework for the development of education upto the end of the century and a Plan of Action (POA) 1992, assigning specific responsibilities for organising, implementing and financing its proposals.

POLICY FRAMEWORK

Indias commitment to the spread of knowledge and freedom of thought among its citizens is reflected in its Constitution. The Directive Principle contained in Article 45 enjoins that " the State shall endeavour to provide within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years". Article 29 (i) provides that any citizen having a distinct language, script, special care of the economic and educational interests of the underprivileged sections, particularly, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is laid down as an obligation of the State under article 46.

Though education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution, the State Governments play a very major role in the development of education particularly in the primary and the secondary education sectors.

Structure and Progress of Education in India

The focus in on the broad dimensions and magnitude of the structure, organisation and progress in education. Further it also highlights growth and priority areas in education in India that point to the challenges of the future. There are about 888 thousands educational institutions in the country with an enrolment of about 179 millions. Elementary Education System in India is the second largest in the World with 149.4 millions children of 6-14 years enrolled and 2.9 million teachers. This is about 82% of the children in the age group.

Structure of School Education

A uniform structure of school education, the 10+2 system has been adopted by all the States and Union Territories of India. However, within the States and the UTs, there remains variations in the number of classes constituting the Primary, Upper Primary, High and Higher Secondary school stages, age for admission to class I, medium of instruction, public examinations, teaching of Hindi and English, number of working days in a year, academic session, vacation periods, fee structure, compulsory education etc.

STAGES OF SCHOOL EDUCATION IN INDIA

A. The Primary Stage consists of Classes I-V, i.e., of five years duration, in 20 States/UTs namely Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Delhi and Karaikal and Yanam regions of Pondicherry. The primary stage consists of classes I-IV in Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and Mahe region of Pondicherry

B. The Middle Stage of education comprises Classes VI-VIII in as many as 18 States.Uts viz., Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Delhi and Karaikal region of Pondicherry; Classes V-VII in Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and Mahe region of Pondicherry and Classes VI-VII in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Yanam region of Pondicherry. In Nagaland Classes V – VIII constitute the upper primary stage.

C. The Secondary Stage consists of Classes IX-X in 19 States/UTs. Viz., Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan , Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Delhi and Karaikal region of Pondicherry. The High School stage comprises classes VIII to X in 13 States/UTs viz., Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Orissa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep and Mahe & Yanam regions of Pondicherry. However, the Higher Secondary / Senior Secondary stage of school comprising classes XI-XII (10+2 pattern) is available in all the States/UTs though in some States/UTs these classes are attached to Universities/Colleges.

AGE RESTRICTION FOR ADMISSION

The minimum age for admission to class I of the Primary School stage is generally 5+ or 6+ years. In 22 States/UTs the minimum age for admission to Class I is 5+ years and in 7 States/UTs the minimum age for admission is 6+ years. There is no age restriction in the case of Mizoram. In Gujarat, the minimum age for admission is 5+ years (voluntary) and 6+ years (compulsory). In Lakshadweep, the minimum age for admission is 5 ½ years.

MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

Mother tongue or regional language is the medium of instruction at the primary stage of education in most of the States/UTs. Facilities for studying in a medium other than regional language vary considerable in different States and Union Territories.

TEACHING OF HINDI

Apart from Hindi speaking States, teaching of Hindi is compulsory in most of the non-Hindi speaking States/UTs, though the classes from which the teaching of Hindi is compulsory differ from State to State. Teaching of Hindi is not compulsory in the States of Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Karaikal region of Pondicherry.

TEACHING OF ENGLISH

Teaching of English is compulsory in all the States/UTs, except Bihar. However, the classes in which teaching of English is compulsory differs from State to State. In general, it is compulsory in Classes VI-X in most of the States/UTs.

PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS

In all the States/UTs Public Examinations are conducted at the end of X an XII Classes by the respective State Boards of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. The minimum age for the Secondary School Examination varies from 14+ to 16+ years in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. In Mizoram, the minimum age for secondary school examination is 13+ years. Other States/UTs either do not have age restriction or have not prescribed any age restriction. The minimum age for higher Secondary School Examination varies from 16+ to 18+ years in Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. In other States/UTs, either there is no age restriction prescribed or if it exists, it has not been indicated. In some of the States/UTs, the first Public Examination is also conducted at the Middle stage of School Education.

NUMBER OF WORKING DAYS

The number of working days of School Education in a year is generally more than 200 days in all the States/UTs.

ACADEMICS SESSION

The academic session begins from different months of the year in the different States and Union Territories. However, in most of the States, the long vacation periods are availed in the summer season while in some of the hilly States, these fall in the winter months.

COMPULSARY EDUCATION

Compulsory education has been enforced in four States and Union Territories at the primary stage of education while in eight States/UTs there is compulsory education covering the entire elementary stage of education. As many as 20 States/UTs have not introduced any measure of compulsion upto the year 1997-98.

FREE EDUCATION

A majority of States and Union Territories have introduced free education in Classes I-XII of their schools.

TUTION FEES PER ANNUM PER CHILD IN GOVT SCHOOLS

In the States/UTs where education is not free for classes IX and above, the annual fee varies considerably from the highest level of Rs. 360/- for classes XI and XII in the case of Meghalaya to the lowest at Rs. 48/- in the case of Assam.

Financing of education

From 1968 onwards, goal has been to set apart 6% of National Income on education. In spite of resource constraints as well as competing priorities, the Budgetary expenditure on education by Centre & States as percentage of Gross National Product has steadily increased from 0.8% in 1951-52 to 3.3% in 1994-95.

Para 11.4 of NPE, 1986 states "that the investment on education be gradually increased to reach a level of 6% of the National Income as early as possible. Since the actual level of investment has remained far short of that target, it is important that greater determination is shown now to find the funds for the programmes laid down in this policy. While actual requirements will be computed from time to time on the basis of monitoring and review, the outlay on education will be stepped up to ensure that during the 8th Five year Plan and onwards it will uniformly exceed 6% of the national income". The total budgetary expenditure on Education by the Education Departments of the Centre and States has increased from Rs. 644.6 millions in 1951-52 to Rs. 300,000millions in 1995-96. In terms of its share in total budgetary expenditure, it has increased from 7.9% in 1951-52 to 11.1% in 1995-96.

There are, at present 130 plan schemes in the Department with a total Eighth Plan outlay of Rs. 74430 Millions. The total plan outlay of the Department for the year 1996-97 is Rs. 33827 millions. There are 18 Centrally Sponsored Schemes which account for 65.7% of the total plan outlay. Mid-Day-Meal Scheme is the major Centrally Sponsored Scheme with 1996-97 outlay of Rs.14,000 millions. Other major Centrally Sponsored Schemes are Operation Blackboard, Non-formal Education, Teacher Education, Post Literacy and Continuing Education and Vocational Education with 1996-97 Outlay of Rs. 2790 millions, Rs. 1582.5 millions, Rs. 1170 millions, Rs. 755 millions and Rs. 820 millions respectively.

Revised Guidelines for Scheme of Studies, Seminars, Evaluation, etc. for Implementation of Education Policy.

OBJECTIVES

The implementation of the various parameters of the National Policy on Education (NPE) including its further elaboration in the Programme of Action (POA), 1992 requires wide dissemination of its objective as also a close association with the agencies working in the field of education including non-governmental and voluntary agencies and social activist groups. With a view to promoting greater coordination in implementation of the Policy, it is necessary to develop inter-disciplinary approach with support systems at the national as well as local levels.

2. In this context, it is necessary (a) to generate wider awareness of educational policies and Programmes in the country; (b) to initiate policy oriented studies and seminars enabling mid-course corrections, modifications and adjustments of policy interventions; (c) to involve associations of teachers, students, youth and women as well as media in the process of formulation of various programmes through sponsored seminars on related themes and topics; (d) to facilitate dissemination of innovative and good practices as well as successful experiments in the field of education; and (e) to facilitate review of NPE and POA.

SCOPE

3. The scheme is intended to provide financial assistance to deserving institutions and organisations, on the merits of each proposal so as to admit of financing a variety of activities having a direct bearing on the management and implementation aspects of the Education Policy. This would include sponsoring of seminars, conduct of impact and evaluation studies, make consultancy assignments in order to advise the Government on the best alternatives and models for making the system work, making of video films, etc.

While the monitoring and evaluation of various schemes sanctioned under the NPE, will be undertaken under the relevant schemes themselves, however, in case, where no provision exists for conduct of monitoring and evaluation studies such studies will be financed under the scheme.

It is also necessary to encourage specific activities of Registered Professional bodies of educationists and experts, which, through sharing of new knowledge and experience, enrich the process of education.

ELIGIBILITY

4. The following categories of institutions and organisations will be eligible to receive assistance under the scheme: -

i. Professional associations of women, youth, teachers, parents, students, media, trade unions etc., working in the field of education;
ii. Voluntary organisations and non-governmental agencies including social activist groups of repute engaged in research and innovations in the field of education;
iii. Universities including Deemed Universities and Institutions of national importance;
iv. Institutions of higher learning;
v. Postgraduate academic and Professional/Research institutions of repute affiliated to universities or otherwise set up and recognised by the Central or State Governments;
vi. State Councils of Educational Research Training and State Institutes of Education;
vii. State Boards of Secondary Education/Technical Education/Central Board of Secondary Education;
viii. Association of Indian Universities, Council of Boards of Secondary Education and similar organisations;
ix. Non-profit making trusts, educational publishers and Panchayati Raj Institutions.
x. Autonomous Bodies, Subordinate and Attached Offices under the Department of Education
xi. Registered Body of professionals in the field of Education.

5. Autonomous institutions/organisations, to be eligible to seek assistance under this scheme, must be non-profit making and be set up either under a Statute of Central or State Legislature or registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. In case of voluntary organisations registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, they should have been functioning for a period not less than three years on the date of applying for assistance.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

6. Assistance given by the Ministry will be institution-based and released to the head of the Institute/Organisation. The Project Director has to work in an honorary capacity. He can draw TA/DA and outstation expenses but not any honorarium. Staff appointed for a study are deemed to be employees of the Institution/Organisation; their remuneration, TA/DA etc. should be as admissible under the rules of the Institution/Organisation.

7.A Any institution/organisation eligible and desirous of undertaking studies under this scheme will apply to the Ministry in the prescribed form (Appended) along with an outline of the proposed study in accordance with the following guidelines: -

i. Objectives: The focus and orientation as well as specific objectives spelt out in detail.

ii. Justification: A precise identification of the problem, the hypothesis to be tested and the question to be answered.

iii. Relevance to an action programme: A statement in concrete terms as to how the results of the study will be relevant to improvement in formulation and implementation of the education policy, plan or programme.

iv. Approach and methodology: The extent to which the study is reflective or empirical; whether it is intended to collect primary data and if so, based on a sample survey or a case study; relevant sources or necessary data if the use of available data is envisaged.

v. Details of data collection and analysis: Concepts, definitions, important variables, sampling design if necessary, broad contents of scheduled/questionnaires of relevant lines of analysis, tabulation programme and synopsis of chapter plan of the report, if possible.

vi. Project duration: Time required for completing the study and submission of the report, period envisaged for preparation, field study/collection of data and drafting of the report.

vii. Staffing pattern: The number and types of supporting staff, the period for which are required and remuneration to be paid.

viii. Budget: Financial requirements broken down under different items of remuneration for staff, TA, stationery/printing of forms, computation and contingencies.

ix. Institute’s contribution: The extent of contribution proposed by the Institution/organisation towards the cost of undertaking the study.

x. Bio-data of staff: Sufficient information about the academic qualifications and research experience of the Project Director and the senior staff to be associated with the study.

7.B Any institution/organisation eligible and desirous of organising Seminars under this scheme will apply to the Ministry in the prescribed form (Appended) along with an outline of the proposed Seminar in accordance with the following guidelines: -

i. Background and justification: Background and justification as well as specific objectives spelt out in detail.
ii. Relevance of this Seminar to monitoring, management and implementation aspects of Education Policy.
iii. Anticipated outcome of the Seminar with reference to Education Policy.
iv. Budget proposal for the Seminar.
v. Institutions own contribution.
vi. Other contributors with amounts

SCREENING OF FRESH PROPOSALS

8. All proposals received for consideration under the scheme will be considered by a Grant-in-aid Committee under the Chairmanship of Additional Secretary which will meet at regular intervals to consider the project proposals so received. Composition of the Committee is given as under:-

I. Additional Secretary --- Chairman
II. Joint Secretary (Planning)
III. Representative of the concerned Bureau at the level of Director/DS (based on the subject matter of the proposal viz. elementary education, secondary education, technical education etc.)
IV. FA(HRD) or his nominee
V. Representative of Planning Commission
VI. Representative of NIEPA
VII. Representative of NCERT
VIII. Outside Experts co-opted by Chairman, if found necessary
IX. Director/Deputy Secretary dealing with the Scheme -- Convenor

PATTERN OF ASSISTANCE

9.A The Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Education) will bear the expenditure on the following approved items of expenditure connected with the study as a grant-in-aid:-

i. Remuneration for project staff
ii. Travelling and daily allowances for project staff
iii. Stationery and printing of questionnaires, schedules and forms.
iv. Hiring of office equipment like typewriters, computers etc. ( incase there is no participating institution or where the institution is not in a position to provide the same).
v. Contingencies including postage charges.
vi. Computation and tabulation charges.

9.B The Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Education) will bear the expense on the following items of expenditure connected with the seminar/conference/symposia as a grant-in-aid:-

i. Hiring of accommodation/venue
ii. Travelling Allowance/Daily Allowance
iii. Refreshments viz. Tea/Coffee with biscuits and working lunch during the day of Seminar to participants at the rates approved by Ministry of Finance.
iv. Documentation of Seminar Materials.
v. Contingencies -- Not exceeding 10%

QUANTUM OF ASSISTANCE

10. It is expected that the participating institution/organisation will provide on its/their own the physical facilities necessary for the project and also meet a part of the cost of study. Normally, assistance to a single impact study/evaluation will not exceed Rs. 5.00 lakh. The ceiling on expenditure on National Conference/Seminars will be Rs.3.00 lakh and International Conferences (or with substantial International participants/ members) will be Rs.5.00 lakh. The actual quantum would, however, be decided by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Education) in each case on the merits of the proposals received. The funds would be released in the case of studies in three instalments; first instalment - 50%, second instalment - 40% on receiving progress reports and expenditure statements and the last instalment - 10% after receiving the final report. The funds for Seminar will, however, be released in two equal instalments, the first instalment on execution of bond and the second and final instalment on receipt of Utilisation Certificate and Statement of Audited Expenditure. The Department of Education has discretion to increase the quantum of first instalment depending on merits. Cent per cent funding will be admissible only for proposals for studies, seminars, conferences and projects undertaken by the Department of Education or at the behest of the Department. Preference will be given to institutions/organisations which are willing to share/provide physical facilities for the seminars etc. and are prepared to make a matching financial contribution. Education Secretary, in consultation with Finance Adviser (HRD), is competent to relax financial ceilings on quantum of assistance.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

11. The following general conditions will be complied with by any institution/ organisation receiving assistance under the scheme: -

i. The institution/organisation will maintain the accounts and get the final accounts audited by Government auditors in cases of institutes whose accounts are audited by Government auditors or by a Chartered Accountant, as the case may be, and submit these to the Ministry, along with the Utilisation Certificate on the completion of a study/seminar. The accounting and auditing arrangements in respect of this scheme will be the same as those prevailing in the institution/organisation.

ii. The institution/organisation will not accept or apply for any financial aid from any other source towards the study/seminar approved under this scheme except with prior approval of the Department.

iii. Separate account will be kept of the project/seminar receipts and expenses even though some of the items of expenditure may be common with that incurred by the institution/organisation of other activities.

iv. The institution/organisation will be required to prepare a quarterly progress report on the study and submit the same to the Department along with a statement of expenditure actually incurred during the quarter. It will also be required to record a certificate to the effect that the expenditure has incurred in accordance with the sanctioned grant.

v. The accounts, equipment, etc. related to the project for which assistance is received under this scheme will be made available for inspection by an officer authorised by the Department. The accounts relating to the project shall be open to check also by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India or his nominee(s) at his discretion.

vi. The institution/organisation shall prepare and maintain a record of all assets acquired whole or substantially out of the grants received under the Scheme. Such assets shall not be disposed of, encumbered or utilised for other purposes without prior sanction of the Department.

vii. The institution/organisation will be required to complete the study and submit the final report to the Ministry within the stipulated duration of study. Normally, studies under this Scheme would be expected to be completed within one year after formal sanction subject to the grant of extension of time by the Department up to one more year in exceptional cases depending upon the merits of each case.

viii. The final report on the study will be evaluated by an Expert Committee to be set up by the Ministry and such of the reports as are recommended to and accepted for publication shall be published by the Department. The copyright in respect of all reports shall vest in the Government of India. In case, the institution desires to publish the report on its own, prior permission of the Department should be taken.

ix. In the case of seminars, three copies of the proceedings should be furnished along with Utilisation Certificate, etc.

x. The grantee shall be liable to refund the entire grant amount together with damages at the rate of 6% p.a. interest thereon for any violation of the terms and conditions mentioned in the Scheme/Government sanction, from the date of encashment of the cheque/bank draft for the amount sanctioned for the project, provided that the Government in its discretion may relax the date for the purpose of calculation of interest to provide for such interest to be charged or on a subsequent date.

xi. The decision of the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Department of Education) on the question whether there has been breach or violation of any of the terms and conditions mentioned herein as well as in the sanction letters, shall be final and binding on the grantee.