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.

Recommendations:

Recommendation # 1. Aims of Education:

• To teach that life has a meaning.
• To awaken the innate ability to live the life of a soul by developing wisdom.
• To acquaint with the social philosophy which would govern all our institutions: educational, economic and political.
•  To train for democracy.
• To train for self-development.
• To develop certain values like fearlessness of mind, strength of conscience and integrity of purpose.
• To acquaint with cultural heritage for its regeneration.
• To enable to know that education is a life-long process.
• To develop understanding of the present as well as of the past.
• To impart vocational and professional training.

Recommendation # 2. Teaching Staff:

There would be four categories of teachers—Professors, Readers, Lecturers and Instructors. Promotion from one category to another to be solely on grounds of merit. The commission recommended higher salary and better service conditions like benefit of provident fund, residential accommodation, hours of work and leave etc. for the four categories of teachers.

Recommendation # 3. Standard of Teaching:

The commission recommended that:

•  The standard of admission to the university course should correspond to that of intermediate examination,
• The maximum number in Arts and Science faculties of a teaching university be fixed at 3,000 and in affiliated college at 1,500,
• Increasing of working days to 180 in a year exclusive of examination days,
• Organisation of refresher courses, improving of library facilities, setting up of good laboratories and workshops,
• Prescribing good books,
• Opening of occupational institutions,
• Experimenting with the evening colleges for working people and
• Seminars for PG students.

Recommendation # 4. Courses of Study:

Without unnecessary delay, the principles and practice of general education be introduced so as to correct the extreme specialization which now is common in our intermediate and degree programmes. The commission emphasized on student’s acquaintance with their physical environment, effective use of language, introduction of basic ideas of science and appreciation of higher values.

Recommendation # 5. Post-Graduate Training and Research:

The commission laid emphasis on increased facilities for post-graduate research and training. A Ph.D. student should have adequate grasp of his subject both in breadth and depth. University teachers should give the community punctuality, efficiency and devotion to duty in relation to their teaching work and new ideas and newer methods in relation to their research work.

Recommendation # 6. Professional Education:

The commission advocated increased facilities for the study of professional courses like agriculture, commerce, engineering, technology and law.

1.    The study of agriculture in primary, secondary and higher education be given high priority in national economic planning. So far as possible agricultural education be given in a rural setting.

• The course be remodeled and more time given to school practice, and more weight to practice in assessing the students performance.
• A commerce student should be given opportunities for practical work in three or four different kinds of firms.
• The number of engineering schools be increased to more for training of grades 4 and 5 (i.e. foremen, craftsmen, draftsmen, overseers, etc.). While establishing new such type of colleges attention should be paid on the actual need of the nation. Uncritical repetition and blind imitation of existing ones here and abroad should be avoided.
• A three-year degree course is offered in special law subjects. Students pursuing degree courses in law shall not be allowed to carry other degree courses simultaneously except in a few instances where advanced students have proved their interest and are studying related subjects in law and some other fields.
• The maximum number of admission to a medical college be 100, provided the staff and equipment for that number are available

Recommendation # 7. Religious Education:

• All educational institutions should work with a few minutes for silent meditation.
• In the first year of degree course, lives of the great religious leaders like Buddha, Confucius, Zoroaster, Socrates, Jesus, Shankara, Mohammed, Kabir, Nanak, Gandhi etc. be taught.
• In the second year, selection of some of a universal character from the scriptures of the world be studied.
• In the third year, the central problems of the philosophy of religion are considered. 

Recommendation # 8. Medium of Instruction:

• The Federal language be developed through the assimilation of words from various sources and the retention of words already entered into Indian languages from different sources.
• The borrowed words and terminology of science and technology be properly assimilated.
• The medium of instruction for higher education should be regional language and English be replaced as early as possible by an Indian language which cannot be Sanskrit on account of vital difficulties,
• For the Federal language, Devanagari script is employed and some of its defects are cut off.
• The students need to be well versed with three languages—regional, federal and foreign (English).
• English be studied in High Schools and in Universities in order that we may keep in touch with the living stream of every growing knowledge..

Recommendation # 9. Examination:

Criticizing the existing system of examination, the commission opined, “If we are asked to give one single reform in university education, we shall say it should be that of examinations“.

• A university degree should not be required for government administrative services. Special test and examinations for recruitment to various services should be organised.
• No credit is given, at present for class-work in courses, except sometimes in case of practical work.
• Three years will be involved for the first degree.
• The standards for success at the examination should, as far as possible, be uniform in the various universities and should be raised. 70% or more 1st class, 55% to 69% 2nd class and at least 40% for third class.

Recommendation # 10. Students: Their activities and welfare:

•      Two years of physical education be required for all students, men and women, except those who are physically unfit or who are in the NCC.
•      Hostels be constructed in blocks of not more than 50 students per block, with common rooms and dining halls for four or five blocks.
•       University union should be as free as possible from political activities.
•     An Advisory Board of student welfare be organised in universities which do not have such a body.

Recommendation # 11. Women’s Education:

• Students of female category should tie helped to secure their normal places in a normal society, both as citizens and as women, and to prepare for it. College programmes should be so designed that it will be possible for them to do so.
• Standards of courtesy and social responsibility should be emphasized on the part of men in mixed colleges.

Recommendation # 12. Constitution and Control:

• University education be placed on the concurrent list in the Vllth schedule of the constitution of India.
• The concern of the central government with the universities be with regard to finance, co-ordination of facilities in the special subjects, adoption of national policies, ensuring minimum standards of efficient administration and liaison between universities and national research laboratories and scientific surveys etc

Recommendation # 13. Finance:

The university grants commission (UGC) should be set up for allocation of grants to Universities.

Recommendation # 14. Rural Universities:

Special attention is paid to the development of higher education in rural areas.

Recommendation # 15. Miscellaneous:

• For student discipline, the commission urged all agencies—students, parents, teachers, state governments and political parties—to perform their duties earnestly. Earnest efforts should be made to remove the educational deficiencies that contribute to student unrest.
• The proper sphere of university autonomy lies in the selection of students, the appointment and promotion of teachers and the determination of courses of study, methods of teaching and the selection of areas and problems of research.
• For the appointment of vice-chancellors, the commission suggested that VC should be a distinguished educationist or eminent scholar with adequate administrative experience. All the posts of VC should be whole time with salary. The retirement of VC should be 65 years. The term of office of VC should be five years and he should not be appointed for more than two terms in the same university.
• An Inter-University Board should be created. All statutory or deemed universities should become members of the IUB automatically. The degrees or diplomas granted by a deemed or statutory university in India should receive automatic recognition from all the other statutory or deemed universities
• For the spread of agricultural education, the commission suggested for establishing at least one agricultural university in each state. Besides, agricultural polytechnics at post-matriculation level should be organised on a priority basis. A UGC type organisation for technical education with a full time chairman should be established with adequate representation from UGC, professional bodies, industry and concerned ministries.
• For educational research, it is desirable that a National Academy of Education consisting of eminent educationists on the lines of national institute of science should be set up to promote educational thought and research.
• An Educational Research Council should be set up in the ministry of education for the promotion of research. Therefore, the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Commission were the guiding posts for designing new system of higher education in the following years in post-independence era.