Limitations of 10th & 11th 5 Year Plan

The Eleventh Five Year Plan, which was approved by the National Development Council on 1 9 De cembe r 2 0 0 7 re a f f i rms thi s commi tment . It pro v i de s a comp r e h e n s i ve s t r a t e g y f o r i n c l u s i v e development, building on the growing strength of the economy, while also addressing weaknesses that have surfaced. Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002–2007) ? Providing gainful and high-quality employment at least to the addition to the labour force; ? All children in India in school by 2003; all children to complete 5 years of schooling by 2007. Reduction in gender gaps in literacy and wage rates by at least 50% by 2007; ? Reduction in the decadal rate of population growth between 2001 and 2011 to 16. 2%;* ? Increase in Literacy Rates to 75 per cent within the Tenth Plan period (2002 – 2007) Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007–2012) The eleventh plan has the following objectives: Education ? Reduce dropout rates of children from elementary school from 52. 2% in 2003-04 to 20% by 2011-12 ? Develop minimum standards of educational attainment in elementary school, and by regular testing monitor effectiveness of education to ensure quality ? Increase  literacy rate  for persons of age 7 years or above to 85% ? Lower gender gap in literacy to 10 percentage point ? Increase the percentage of each cohort going to higher education from the present 10% to 15% by the end of the plan Thrust Areas in the 10th Five Year Plan GENERAL : To achieve a profound transformation of higher education in order that it becomes an effective promoter of sustainable human development and at the same time, improves its relevance with closer links with the world of work and achieve quality in its teaching, research, business and community extension functions including life long learning. SPECIFIC: To contribute to the transformation through improvement of the conceptions, methodology and practices related to: The relevance of higher education. Quality, evaluation and accreditation. Research and development. Outreach activities in business and community and life long learning. The knowledge and use of the new information and communication technology. Management and financing. Export of higher education, and reorientation of international cooperation. Strengthening of open and distance education system. Strengthening of research institutions. Mobilization of resources. Proposals/Recommendations for 11th Five Year Plan A Working Group on Higher Education was set up by the Planning Commission under the Chairmanship of Secretary (HE), vide order no. M-12015/2/2005-Edn. Subsequently, it was decided to constitute seven Sub-Working Groups on the following sectors of higher education:- 1. Central Universities 2. Deemed to be Universities 3. State Universities 4. Col leges 5. Distance Education 6. Quality of Higher Education 7. Research. Tenth Five Year Plan (2000-2005) The year wise allocation and expenditure for the 10th Five Year Plan period was as follows : The Tenth Five Year Plan was fixed at Rs. 30,162 Lakhs. The flow to TSP, SCCP and PWD projects were follows: 1. TSP – 145 Lakhs 2. SCCP – 225 Lakhs 3. P. W. D. – 200 Lakhs During 10th Five Year Plan period the following development works was undertaken by the Govt. : 1. Normalisation of Plan Posts. 2. Establishment of  The K. K. Handique State Open University 3. Introduction of 5 years L. L. B. Courses in B. R. M. Govt. Law College. 4. Establishment of F. M. Radio Station. 5. Introduction of Private University Bill. . Sanction of Rs. 10 Lakhs to each Provincialised colleges and Rs. 4 Lakhs to all provincialised Sanskrit Tols under the scheme â€Å"Buniyad†. 7. Financial assistance to all affiliated Non-Govt. colleges (133 numbers) and 16 Sanskrit tols under â€Å"State Priority Schemes†. Eleventh Five Year Plan (2005-2010) The draft XIth Five Year Plan has been proposed for Rs. 34,175 lakhs. The flow to S. C. C. P proposed for XIth Five Year Plan is Rs. 300 Lakhs. During the current financial year an amount of Rs. 70 Lakhs has been agreed for S. C. C. P for implementation of the above mentioned schemes. For the next financial year 2008-09, an amount of Rs. 1,831 Lakhs has been proposed and the flow to S. C. C. P. is proposed for Rs. 100 Lakhs. III. Major Initiatives in the Eleventh Five Year Plan Let us examine the provisions made in the Plan for the various sectors in Education. This section will also highlight the changes, if any, in the scheme structure and measures taken for better implementation. C. Secondary Education The Central Government has been managing four types of schools that have been allocated the following: Kendriya Vidyalayas (Rs. 1,326 crore), Navodaya Vidyalayas (Rs. 4,067 crore), Central Tibetan Schools (Rs. 6 crore) and National Institute of Open Schooling (Rs. 88 crore). The Union Government scheme ‘Strengthening of Boarding and Hostel Facilities for Girl Students of Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools (Access & Equity)' is to be restructured and merged with the new umbrella scheme of ‘Universalization of Access and Improvement of Quality of Se condary Education'. Further, the erstwhile schemes of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) in schools, girl child incentive, Integrated Education for Disabled Children, Vocational Education, etc. will be subsumed under a new umbrella Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) named SUCCESS. The Eleventh Plan apportions Rs. 9,282 crore to SUCCESS. It is worthwhile here to note that under this scheme it is proposed to set up 6,000 block-level Model Schools at the secondary level which would be largely managed and run by the corporate entities, trusts and reputed private providers. This, when seen in the light of growing share of private schools (from 15% in 1993-94 to 30% in 2004-05) and encouraging establishment of good quality schools in deficient areas in Public Private Partnership ( PPP) mode is reflective of the policy direction of the Planning Commission and the Central Government. Focusing on the girl child, A Girl Child Incentive Scheme with a provision of Rs. 1,326 crore is to be launched on a pilot basis in selected Economically Backward Blocks (EBBs). On the basis of quick evaluation, its expansion will be considered in the Eleventh Plan period. It is proposed that the merger of all girl child incentive schemes will be ensured. Herein, a critical aspect related to school education is teacher education and training. The Plan provides Rs. 3,536 crore to Teacher Education. In this regard, severe gaps have been observed in the management of District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs). Not only have most of the DIETs been headless, there is also a shortage of quality faculty in DIETs, thereby leaving much to be desired in the quality of teacher training. While the Plan document finds this detrimental to promoting quality in teaching, the solution suggested is heavily dependent on outsourcing the DIET faculty or DIETs adopting the PPP mode. D. Vocational Education The Eleventh Plan apportions Rs. 1,768 crore towards Vocational Education. As part of the strategy adopted by the Plan, there is greater emphasis on the services sector. This apart, over 95% of the unskilled and semi-skilled population will be provided continuous informal training. It is also suggested that a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) system be developed. E. Higher Education Apart from the existing 7 schemes in Higher Education, the Eleventh Plan has provided 9 new schemes along with outlining a Special Plan for Higher Education wherein uncovered regions are provided with Science, Medical and Engineering Universities. The Plan highlights the need for autonomy and accountability in the higher educational institutions and calls for quality improvement. While the Plan observes that there are inherent imbalances due to the private sector focusing on specific disciplines and regions of the country; it is worth noting that the Plan hopes that more than half of the incremental enrolment in higher education is made by private providers, thereby encouraging the role of private unaided higher educational institutions in the country. F. Technical Education In the field of technical education, the Eleventh Plan envisages establishing new institutes of management, technology, industrial research and training, planning and architecture. This apart, upgrading select existing technical institutes is on the anvil. The State technical institutes are also proposed to be strengthened. Another key area that has been highlighted is the lack of adequate polytechnics in the country. With 125 districts not having a single polytechnic, it is suggested that every district be covered, through Central funding as well as with PPP and private funding. Some critical issues with regard to these polytechnics include: static curricula, poor industry interface, lack of flexibility to respond to needs, obsolescence of equipment, lack of trainers and inadequate funding. Limitations in the Eleventh Five Year Plan with Regard to Provisions for Education â€Å"The Eleventh Plan would be a Quality Plan in respect of the education sector. † – Eleventh Five Year Plan While some advances have been made towards ensuring the basic issues of access, retention and quality is met, some problems persist. The Plan seems to adopt a piecemeal approach as there are multiple schemes having multiple goals and a constant friction persists between the Centre and the States with regard to funding norms allowing scant progress in terms of outcomes. The Eleventh Plan is increasingly stressing on privatisation in elementary and secondary, higher and technical education sectors in education. PPP is being seen as the preferred route to financing and implementing schemes. Another distressing trend observed in the Plan document is the encouragement given to private players ranging from setting up educational institutions and suggestions to outsource DIET faculty, establishing private polytechnics, etc. Further, acknowledgment of the need to levy (user charges) fees even in public (government-run) schools is worth noting. This, when seen in the light of the Plan proposing to be a Quality Plan, also proves to be contradictory as illustrated by specific instances. In the elementary sector, the Plan continues to seek the participation of teachers in implementing the MDM scheme thereby denying quality teaching to pupils. Under adult education, low motivation and lack of training of voluntary teachers is hardly seen as encouraging quality concerns. Increasing role of public private participation in secondary schools and continuing to have four types of public-funded schools, instead of having a common system of school, also do not promote uniform quality education. With regard to addressing gender concerns, initiatives focusing on Muslim women need to be enhanced. There is also a fear that having multiple schemes with divergent goals (vocational training ranging from small scale entrepreneurial development to computer literacy, etc. ) might dilute the primary objectives of ensuring education and training of uniform quality for all.