National policy on education (1986) critical analysis

• ‘a set of ideas or a plan of what to do
in particular situations that has been
agreed to officially by a group of people,
a business organization, a government, or
a political party.’, Cambridge English
Dictionary.
• An ideology in itself which gives a direction
basically.
Policy: Meaning

• Policies always have hidden agenda: look at it from a critical
perspective.(Socially, Politically and Economically)
• Myth: Policies are always perfect/good but the
implementation is not proper/ineffective.
• If our policies are not reasonable, logical and sensible and do
not match with the reality of the society we live in, not useful
for the up gradation of society one aspires to become, then the
implementation of such policies in an honest and rigorous
manner would be of no benefit and vice versa.
• In a nutshell, the logic, principles and ideology behind policies
is on one side and its implemantaion on another. Thus, there is
a need to critically look into these two sides of a policy
separately.
How policies should be studied?

DRAFT NATIONAL POLICY ON
EDUCATION (1979)
• Another serious attempt , after Education Commision and NPE 1968, was made to
formulate a comprehensive policy on education based on a national consensus when the
Central Government brought out the draft of a new National Policy on Education in 1979
which envisaged to recast education at all levels so as to make the education process
functional in relation to the felt needs and potentialities of the people. Highlights of the
draft policy include
• Universal Elementary Education, which further included; Common School System with
Neighbourhood School Plan
• Adult education
• Secondary education; vocational education
• Diversification and reduction of academic load,
• Three-language formula
• Medium of instruction
• Examination reform
• Community participation,
• Agriculture & Medical Education,
• Control of fee structure of Public Schools etc.
• It was intended to have a nationwide debate on the document before its eventual finalisation
as a critical Policy Statement to charter the development of education for the next two
decades i.e. upto the end of twentieth century. However, due to some political uncertainty
during the period, the proposed policy could not take off.

• The National Policy on Education (NPE) was
announced in 1986 after 1968 policy, to prepare India
for the next century or 21st century needs and
requirements.
The introduction of the policy makes it very humane and
shows faith in changes, as per their requirement. It starts,
“Education has continued to evolve, diversify and extend
its reach and coverage since the dawn of human history.
Every country develops its system of education to express
and promote its unique socio-cultural identity and also to
meet the challenges of the times. There are moments in
history when a new direction has to be given to an age-
old process. That moment is today.(1.1)

1. NATIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
• Firstly, it should be noticed that the ideas of the national system of education evolved
between 1906 when the Indian National Congress adopted its Resolution on national
education and 1966 when the Education Commission submitted its report were conceived
in very different social, economic and political contexts.
• It was further recommended by NPE 1968 after a great deal of controversial discussions
uopn this concept among the members of parliament and others.
• In NPE 1986, the concept of National System of Education implies that, up to a given
level, all students, irrespective of caste, creed, location or sex, have access to education of
a comparable quality. Effective measures will be taken w.r.t.:
 Common School System: Post-independence the concept of common school system was
recommended by Education Commission which used two expresions in this regard; the
common school system of public education and the neighbourhood school which was an
integral part of the former.
 Common Educational Structure: The 10+2+3 structure has now been accepted in all parts
of the country. Regarding the further break-up of the first 10 years efforts will be made to
move towards an elementary system comprising 5 years of primary education and 3 years
of upper primary, followed by 2 years of High School.
Recommendations

• National Curricular Framework: It contains a common core which will include the
history of India's freedom movement, the constitutional obligations and other content
essential to nurture national identity. These elements will cut across subject areas and will be
designed to promote values such as India's common cultural heritage, egalitarianism,
democracy and secularism, equality of the sexes, protection of the environment, removal of
social barriers, observance of the small family norm and inculcation of the scientific temper.
All educational programmes will be carried on in strict conformity with secular values.
• Equality of opportunity: To promote equality, it will be necessary to provide for equal
opportunity to all not only in access, but also in the conditions for success.
• Minimum Levels of Learning: Minimum levels of learning will be laid down for each
stage of education. Steps will also be taken to foster among students an understanding of the
diverse cultural and social systems of the people living in different parts of the country.
Besides the promotion of the link language, programmes will also be launched to increase
substantially the translation of books from one language to another and to publish multi-
lingual dictionaries and glossaries.
• Research and Development and Education in Science and Technology: special measures
will be taken to establish network arrangements between different institutions in the country
to pool their resources and participate in projects of national importance.
• Life-long Education through Open and Distance learning

• Role of different institutions in giving shape to the national system of education; UGC,
AICTE, NCERT, NIEPA, ICAR, IMC, and IISTE.
• A Meaningful Partnership between the Centre and the State: The Constitutional
Amendment of 1976, which includes Education in the Concurrent List, was a far-reaching
step whose implications--substantive, financial and administrative-- require a new sharing
of responsibility between the Union Government and the States in respect of this vital area
of national life. While the role and responsibility of the States in regard to education will
remain essentially unchanged, the Union Government would accept a larger responsibility
to reinforce the national and integrative character of education, to maintain quality and
standards (including those of the teaching profession at all levels), to study and monitor the
educational requirements of the country as a whole in regard to manpower for development,
to cater to the needs of research and advanced study, to look after the international aspects
of education, culture and Human Resource Development and, in general, to promote
excellence at all levels of the educational pyramid throughout the country. Concurrency
signifies a partnership which is at once meaningful and challenging; the National Policy
will be oriented towards giving effect to it in letter and spirit.
• Education For Equality: The new Policy will lay special emphasis on the removal of
disparities and to equalize educational opportunity by attending to the specific needs of
those who have been denied equality so far. It included Education for Women's Equality, the
Education of SCs amd STs, other educationally backward sections and areas, minorities,
and handicapped.

• Adult Education: Our ancient scriptures define education as that which liberates - i.e.
provides the instruments for liberation from ignorance and oppression. In the modern
world, it would naturally include the ability to read and write, since that is the main
instrument of learning. Hence the crucial importance of adult education, including adult
literacy. A vast programme of adult and continuing education will be implemented
through various ways and channels, including-
(a) establishment of centres in rural areas for continuing education;
(b) workers' education through the employers, trade unions and concerned agencies of
government;
(C) post-secondary education institutions;
(d) wider promotion of books, libraries and reading rooms;
(e) use of radio, TV and films, as mass and group learning media;
(f) creation of learners' groups and organisations;
(g) programmes of distance learning;
(h) organizing assistance in self-learning; and
(i) organising need and interest based vocational training programmes.

REORGANISATION OF EDUCATION AT DIFFERENT STAGES
• Early Childhood Care and Education: Recognising the holistic nature of child
development, viz., nutrition, health and social, mental, physical, moral and emotional
development, Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) will receive high priority and be
suitably integrated with the Integrated Child Development. Services programme, wherever
possible. Day-care centres will be provided. Programmes of ECCE will be child-oriented,
focussed around play and the individuality of the child. Formal methods and introduction of
the 3 R's will be discouraged at this stage. The local community will be fully involved in
these programmes. A full integration of child care and pre-primary education will be brought
about, both as a reeder and a strengthening factor for primary education and for human
resource development in general. In continuation of this stage, the School Health Programme
will be strengthened.
• ELEMENTARY EDUCATION: will emphasise two aspects : .(i) universal enrolment and
universal retention of children up to 14 years of age, and (ii) a substantial improvement in
the quality of education. It further included:
1. Child centered education
2. School facilities: Provision will be made for minimum essential facilities to all primary
schools, including at least two reasonably large rooms that are usable in all weather, and the
necessary toys, blackboards, maps, charts, and other learning material. At least two teachers,
one of whom a woman, should work in every school, the number increasing as early as
possible to one teacher per class. A phased drive, symbolically called- OPERATION
BLACKBOARD (1987) will be undertaken with immediate effect to improve Primary
Schools all over the country.

• Non-Formal Education: A large and systematic programme of non-formal education
will be launched for school drop-outs, for children from habitations without schools,
working children and girls who cannot attend whole- day schools.
• Modern technological aids will be used to improve the learning environment of NFE
centres. Talented and dedicated young men and women from the local community will be
chosen to serve as instructors, and particular attention paid to their training. Steps will be
taken to facilitate their entry into the formal system in deserving cases. All necessary
measures will be taken to ensure that the quality of non-formal education is comparable
with formal education.
• Effective steps will be taken to provide a framework for the curriculum on the lines of
the national core curriculum, but based on the needs of the learners and related to the
local environment. Learning material of high quality will be developed and provided free
of charge to all pupils. NFE programmes will provide participatory learning
environment, and activities such as games and sports, cultural programmes, excursions,
etc.
• Much of the work of running NFE centres will be done through voluntary agencies and
panchayati raj institutions. The provision of funds to these agencies will be adequate and
timely. The Government will take over-all responsibility for this vital sector.
• It shall be ensured that all children who attain the age about 11 years by 1990 will have
had five years of schooling, or its equivalent through the non-formal stream. Likewise,
by 1995 all children will be provided free and compulsory education upto 14 years of
age.

SECONDARY EDUCATION: PACE-SETTING SCHOOLS
• 5.14 It is universally accepted that children with special talent or aptitude should be provided
opportunities to proceed at a faster pace, by making good quality education available to them,
irrespective of their capacity to pay for it. Their broad aims will be to serve the objective of
excellence, coupled with equity and social justice (with reservation for SCs and STs), to
promote national integration by providing opportunities to talented children largely rural,
from different parts of the country to live and learn together, to develop their full potential,
and, most importantly, to become catalysts of a nation-wide programme of school
improvement. The schools will be residential and free of charge.
• This concept is not new to Indian education. The British Government had introduced , as
early as 1882, the concept of “model” institutions maintained by govt. which would provide
inspiration and practical guidance to other institutions to improve themselves. In post-
independence, the Education Commission held the view that if standards are to be maintained
and continually improved, it is necessary to create high quality pace-setting institutions in
every sector and at every stage of education. These institutions can generate excellence in the
first instance and it can the be extended to others. The commission described this process as
the seed-farm technology.
• Vocationalisation: Vocational education will be a distinct stream, intended to prepare students
for identified occupations spanning several areas of activity. These courses will ordinarily be
provided after the secondary stage, but keeping the scheme flexible, they may also be made
available after Class VIII. In the interests of integrating vocational education better with their
facilities the Industrial Training Institutes will also conform to the larger vocational pattern.
An emphasis in vocational education will also be on development of attitudes, knowledge,
and skills for entrepreneurship and self-employment.

Higher Education
• In the context of the unprecedented explosion of knowledge, higher education has to
become dynamic as never before, constantly entering uncharted areas.
• State level planning and coordination of higher education will be done through Councils
of Higher Education. The UGC and these Councils will develop coordinative methods to
keep a watch on standards.
• Research in the universities will be provided enhanced support and steps will be taken to
ensure its high quality. Suitable mechanisms will be set up by the UGC for coordinating
research in the universities, particularly in thrust areas of science and technology, with
research undertaken by other agencies. An effort will be made to encourage the setting up
of national research facilities within the university system, with proper forms of
autonomous management.
• RURAL UNIVERSITY: Based on Gandhian Basic Education and revolutionary ideas on
education.
OPEN UNIVERSITY AND DISTANCE LEARNING
• 5.35 The Open University system has been initiated in order to augment opportunities for
higher education and as an instrument of democratising education.
• 5.36 The Indira Gandhi National Open University, established in 1985 in fulfilment of
these objectives, will be strengthened.
• 5.37 This powerful instrument will have to be developed with care and extended with
caution.

DELINKING DEGREES FROM JOBS
• A beginning will be made in de-linking degrees from jobs in selected areas.
• The proposal cannot be applied to occupation-specific courses like Engineering,
Medicine, Law, Teaching, etc. Similarly, the services of specialists with academic
qualifications in the humanities, social sciences, sciences, etc. will continue to be required
in various job positions.
• De-linking will be applied in services for which a university degree need not be a
necessary qualification. Its implementation will lead to a re-fashioning of job-specific
courses and afford greater justice to those candidates who, despite being equipped for a
given job, are unable to get it because of an unnecessary preference for graduate
candidates.
• Concomitant with de-linking, an appropriate machinery, such as a National Testing
Service, will be established, in appropriate phases, to conduct tests on a voluntary basis to
determine the suitability of candidates for specified jobs and to pave the way for the
emergence of norms of comparable competence across the nation.
• TECHNICALAND MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
• INNOVATION, RESERACH AND DEVELOPMENT
• PROMOTING EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS AT ALL LEVELS

REORIENTING THE CONTENT AND PROCESS OF EDUCATION
• Cultural perspective
• Value education
• Languages
• Books and libraries
• MEDIAAND EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
• Modern communication technologies have the potential to bypass several stages and
sequences in the process of development encountered in earlier decades. Both the
constraints of time and distance at once become manageable. In order to avoid structural
dualism, modern educational technology must reach out to the most distant areas and the
most deprived sections of beneficiaries simultaneously with the areas of comparative
affluence and ready availability.
• Educational technology will be employed in the spread of useful information, the training
and re-training of teachers, to improve quality, sharpen awareness of art and culture,
inculcate abiding values, etc., both in the formal and non-formal sectors. Maximum use
will be made of the available infrastructure. In villages without electricity, batteries or
solar packs will be used to run the programme.
• The media have a profound influence on the minds of children as well as adults; some of
them tend to encourage consumerism, violence etc. and have a deleterious effect. Radio
and T.V. programmes which clearly militate against proper educational objectives will be
prevented. Steps will be taken to discourage such trends in films and other media also.

• WORK EXPERIENCE:
• Work experience, viewed as purposive and meaningful manual work, organised as an
integral part of the learning process and resulting in either goods or services useful to the
community, is considered as an essential component at all stages of education, to be
provided through well-structured and graded programmes. It would comprise activities in
accord with the interests, abilities and needs of students, the level of skills and knowledge
to be upgraded with the stages of education. This experience would be helpful on his entry
into the workforce. Pre- vocational programmes provided at the lower secondary stage
will also facilitate the choice of the vocational courses at the higher secondary stage.
• EDUCATION AND ENVIRONMENT
• MATHEMATICS TEACHING
• SCIENCE EDUCATION
• SPORTS AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
• THE ROLE OF YOUTH

THE EVALUATION PROCESS AND EXAMINATION REFORM
• The objective will be to re-cast the examination system so as to ensure a
method of assessment that is a valid and reliable measure of student
development and a powerful instrument for improving teaching and
learning. In functional terms, this would mean:
• i) The elimination of excessive element of chance and subjectivity;
• ii) The de-emphasis of memorisation;
• iii) Continuous and comprehensive evaluation that incorporates both
scholastic and non-scholastic aspects of education, spread over the total
span of instructional time:
• iv) Effective use of the evaluation process by teachers, students and
parents:
• v) Improvement in the conduct of examinations;
• vi) The introduction of concomitant changes in instructional materials and
methodology;
• vii) Introduction of the semester system from the secondary stage in a
phased manner; and
• viii) The use of grades in place of marks.

The Teacher
• The method of recruitment will be reorganised to ensure merit, objectivity and conformity
with spatial and functional requirements.
• The pay and service conditions of the teachers will comensurate with their social and
professional responsibilities and with the need to attract talent to the profession.
• A system of teacher evaluation - open, participative and data based- will be created and
reasonable opportunities of promotion to higher grades will be provided.
• Norms for accountability will be laid down for good performance and disincentives for
non-performance.
• Teacher's association must play a significant role in upholding professional integrity,
enhancing the dignity of the teachers and in curbing professional misconduct. National
level association wuld prepare a code of professional ethics for teachers.
Teacher Education
• The system of teacher education will be overhauled.
• New programmes of teacher education will emphasise continuing education.
• DIET's will be established to organise in-service and pre-service courses for elementary
school teachers and personnel working in non-formal and adult education.
• NCTE will be provided necessary resources and capability to accredit institutions of
teacher education and provide guidance regarding curricula and methods.
• Networking arrangements between teacher education institutions and university
departments of education.

The Management of Education
• An overhaul of the system of management and planning of education.
• Decentralisation and a creation of a spirit of autonomy for educational institutions.
• Including more women in planning and management of education.
• National Level: CABE will monitor the educational developement in the nation and
suggest appropriate changes through appropriate committees and other mechanism.
• Indian Education Services: IES will be established to entail a proper management
structure in education and to bring a national perspective.
• State Level: State Govt. may establish State Advisory Board of Education in consultation
with CABE. Training of educational planners, administrators and heads of institutions.
• District and Local Level: District Boards of Education will be created to manage
education upto higher secondary level. Within a multi-level frmaework of educational
development, Central, State, District and Local level agencies will participate in planning,
coordination, monitoring and evaluation. (Decentralisation)
• School Complexes will be promoted on a flexible pattern so as to serve as network of
institutions and synergic allainces to encourage professionalism among teachers and take
over inspection funtions in due course.
• Voluntary Agencies and Aided Institutions: Steps will be taken to prevent the establishment
of institutions set up to commercialise education.

NPE 1986 as Modified in 1992
1. Education and Women's Equality: Referring to women's education, the NPE clearly
states that education will 'play positive, interventionist role in the empowerment of
women.... foster the development of new values through redesigned curricula, textbooks,
the training and orientation of teachers, decision-makers and administrators ... '. The
thrust of the policy lies in intervening within the education system, as is also evident from
the policy parameters listed in the POA. The POA as a whole does not reflect a holistic
treatment of women's education in all its aspects.
2. In the discussion that follows, the Committee reviews the NPE and POA in the context of
women's education and makes recommendations with regards to the following
dimensions :
- Access to education and quality of learning,
- Content of education and gender bias,
- Vocational education,
- Training of teachers and other educational personnel
- Research and development of Women's Studies,
- Representation of women in the educational hierarchy,
- Empowerment of women,
- Adult education,
- Resources, and
- Management

Education for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other
educationally backward sections
• A series of studies should be instituted to investigate into the impact that the various
incentive schemes implemented in different States have had on enrolment and retention of
SC/ST children in the schools and Community profiles of educationally backward
communities should also be prepared based on study of their current educational status.
• Educational Complexes should organise a wide-ranging programme of specific themebased
workshops/work camps, using the best available resource persons in the area. This
programme should encourage school dropouts.
• It should be ensured that in Government and Government aided schools teachers from
SC/ST communities are, invariably in the order of 15% and 7.5% respectively. Recruitment
to reach these levels should also be closely monitored.
• Open universities including the IGNOU should establish distance education programmes for
imparting special coaching.
• The whole system of education of the handicapped through this modality ultimately results
in building up of comprehension, competency and creativity. Hence the nomenclature 'Three
C Model'. This model has been applied in Kerala since 1980 in about 50 centres for the
education of the handicapped.

Common School System
• The POA does not spell out any modalities or action programme for bringing the Common
School System into existence inspite of having its continous reminder in Education
Commission and NPE 1968.
• Phased implementation of the Common School System within a ten year time frame; and
essential minimum legislation, :particularly to dispense with early selection process, tuition
fee, capitation fee etc.
• Exploring ways of including the expensive private schools into the Common School System
through a combination of incentives, disincentives and legislation.
• Pace Setting Schools: Navodaya Vidyalayas
• ECCE: In order to broaden access and improve quality, ICDS (a monolithic model under
Centrally Sponsored Scheme)should move in the direction of becoming a participatory
network of decentralised ECCE centres managed by local groups, preferably poor women's
groups, under the umbrella of Panchayati Raj institutions, with the Government providing
support through essential funding (may be, on a per child basis), training, monitoring and
guidance.
• UEE: Operation Blackboard; Operation Blackboard must be given the status of one of
the priority strategies for UEE, but, at the same time, it should be ensured that investment is
made only on those items whose need has been established by the teachers and other related
persons on the basis of micro-planning and class room requirements. For posting women
teachers in the villages, it would be best to select them locally, wherever possible, or else
make provision for their accommodation, security and other support services.

• Authorise the school Head Master/Head Mistress to recruit 'Para-teachers' (Shiksha
Karmis) for reaching out either to unserved habitations or to those children who can not
attend the school in the day hours.
• In order to monitor progress towards UEE, it is essential that we move beyond the stage of
enrolment and retention. Data must be gathered on actual attendance in class rooms,
attainment in learning and equally, if not more importantly, on aptitude towards productive
work and attitude towards society. it is only by perceiving UEE in terms of such attributes
of education that the whole exercise would acquire a social significance.
• Vocational Education: Work Experience/Socially Useful Productive Work should be
integrally linked with various subjects both at the level of content and pedagogy.
• In order that the process of vocational education is enriched by a meaningful combination
of teaching of theory and practice and effective linkages are established with the 'world of
work', work benches' and practice schools' may be identified, accredited and involved.
• Higher Education: Government of India should themselves set an example by not
establishing more Central Universities without genuine justification for the same.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
It is pertinent to examine the basic characteristics of Educational Dualism in our country:
• UEE vs National Literacy Mission: The literacy programme is an example of how attention
has been diverted (changed) from the central issue of universalization of elementary education
(UEE). The literacy programme is akin to `mopping the floor while the tap is on' as it seems to
be waiting for half of the children in the age group of 6 to 14, who are out-of-school, to
become adult illiterates in the 15-35 age group (the official group for literacy mission), so that
the literacy programme can be thrust upon them.
• Education for Women's Equality- Erosion of women's education policy:- The 1986 policy
clearly states, "education will be used as an agent of basic change in the status of women" in
order to "neutralize the accumulated distortions of the past". The only programme that was
designed to reflect this policy insight was the Mahila Samakhya. But, the programme remained
marginal throughout the 1990s. For every Rs.100 allocated for elementary education in the
Union Budget, hardly 25 paise was given to it. In due course of time, even this miniscule
programme lost its basic direction. After the Jomtien-Dakar Framework and World BAnk
sponsored DPEP adopted MAhila Samakhya, it bacme merely a girl child enrolment
programme.
• Common School System to Parallel streams of education: The Common School System
was accepted in the first NPE 1968 in ordert to 'equalise educational opportunity' for all
children and to promote 'social cohesion and national integration'. In this sense, the policy
imperative of non-formal education amounted to violating not only the Constitution and the
NPE (1968), but also the NPE (1986) itself.

• Non-Formal Education: Further, there is a need to examine the bizarre logic behind the
conception of NFE. According to policy makers, the formal school system needs neither be
concerned with the enrolment of girls nor attempt to evolve into a major programme of
women's deveopment, as this gender-sensitive attribute should be the sole preserve of NFE.
• Pace-Setting Schools (Seed-Farm Technology): There is no definition of 'Excellence' is
given in the policy of 1986 w.r.t. Navodaya Vidyalayas. Further, it was mentioned in the
policy that only 80 excellent students out of every 10-12 lakh students will be admitted to
each Navodaya Vidyalaya in each district through a test conducted by NCERT. This implies
that the rest of the students would not come under the category of excellence.
Note: A committee of educationists was established where they explicitly warned the
Minister of Human Resource Narsingh Rao that 'number' is not the criteria of judging
excellence. These are primarily western practices and they can not be adapted in Indian context
as it is. As a result, these eminent educationists were asked to keep their advice aside and
quitely follow the path towards these pace setting schools by implementing it into practice as
adviced by the politicians.
• Para-Teachers(Shiksha Karmis)- Lowering the status of the school teachers: The
government used the term 'instructors' in order to avoid litigation. It was aware that the
underpaid NFE instructors can seek justice in courts by contending that, in comparison to
regular teachers, they are being discriminated, , as 'unequal pay for equal work' violates the
constitutional principle of right to equality.

• The newly elected central goevrnment headed by PM P.V. Narasimha Rao in July 1991
constituted a commiittee under CABE to 'review the implementation of the various
parameters of NPE 1986,taking into consideration the recommendation of the Acharya
Ramamurti Committee for review of the NPE. Thsi new committee was chaired by
Janardhan Reddy, the congress chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. The decision to
constitute the CABE committee is to purportedly review the previous committee's report
essentially amounted to not giving effect to the major policy changes recommended
therein; equity in elementary education and building up a common school system. The
CABE committee fulfilled its objective by rejecting all the significant recommendations
and the government managed to keep doors open for structural adjustment in the post-
jomtien phase
• Trivialisation of Educational Aims: Education being synonymous with literacy;
competency-based market-oriented narrow framework of Mnimum Levels of Learning
(MLL) imposed on curricular planning and assessment; education of girls viewed in terms
of only redusing their fertility rates, slowing population growth or increasing their
productivity; and basically education being viewed in a behavioural paradigm.
• Fragmentation of Knowledge: The 'world of work' separated from the 'world of
knowledge', thereby reinforcing the brahaminical-cum-colonial character of Indian
education; cognitive domain viewed in isolation of the affective domain and psychomotor
skills( for ex: MLL); primary education delinked from upper-primary stage, ignoring the
concept of integrated elementary education of eight yeras.

• Withdrawal from policy commitment to build a common school system: The policy
analysis shows that the multiple tracks or parallel streams are there to stay with us for as
long as the policy makers refuse to: (a) focus on transforming the mainstream formal
school system; (b) build a common school system; (c) repriorities the national economy to
ensure adequate resources for this central nation-building task.
• Examination Reform: With reference to evaluation, the committee suggested that
evaluation should not be on an annual basis, but it should be semester based. In this regard,
it suggested continuous evaluation, instead of the end of course annual examination. Yet,
this proposed suggestion can be challenged. It is important to mention here that the NPE
1986, had suggested continuous evaluation, but did not talk about removing the annual
examination system. Therefore, the Ramamurti Committee recommendations, regarding
examinations, are quite radical and new. The committee talked about CCE, where every
student will be evaluated on their continuous performance, instead of only on the end-of-
term examination. Here, it can be said, that the current examination system needs reforms,
but is continuous evaluation the right way or not, needs to be analyzed thoroughly and
critically.
• Vocationalisation of Education: The committee said that since general and technical
education is not being provided as per the needs and requirement, its standard is going
down. This is because of the countless growth of substandard colleges or institutions. This
unplanned growth is still going on.

• Funding: Many suggestions of the committee, in respect of funding are well-conceived,
but specific steps must be designed to give these ideas concrete shape. Central/State
allocation should be increased, as much as possible (6 per cent of GNP has been
suggested; even this may not be adequate and should be increased say upto 10 per cent);
all primary education should be fully state-funded; Non-formal education should be
funded fully by the State; at the secondary education stage, through education cess and
contribution of the community, approximately 40 per cent of the cost will be met at the
local level (in the command area of educational institution); sixty per cent of the cost is to
be met by the State & so on.
• Commercialisation: The 1986 policy led to encouragement in emerging sectors such as
Information Technology, which witnessed an upsurge, following the opening up of the
technical education sector, particularly in capacity expansion, in the private sector.
Although the 1986 policy spoke against commercialization of education, the explosion in
the number of private engineering and medical institutions, according to educationists, has
only given a, further, impetus to the menace of the capitation fee.

Concluding Remarks
• National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986 and the programme of Action (POA') based on
the Policy are documents comprehensively dealing with various facets of education. No
doubt, serious resource constraints have stood in the way of vigorous implementation of
the Policy. This constraint may continue to be felt in the foreseeable future.

Bibliography
1. Acharya Ramamurti Committee Report on NPE 1986
2. 'Dilution, Distortion and Diversion'- Anil Sadgopal
3. Education Commission (1964-66)
4. National Policy on Education (1968)
5. National Policy on Education (1986)
6. NPE (1986) as modified in 1992
7. 'The Education Commission and After'- J.P. Naik
8. 'Hamari Shiksha Neeti aur Hamare School'- Anil Sadgopal

National policy on education (1986) critical analysis

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National policy on education (1986) critical analysis