CLASS: B.Ed.

II
PAPER NAME: DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA AND ITS
CHALLENGES
NOTE: The content below is directly taken from internet websites; the details (links) of
which are mentioned in the references given in the end of this document; and the content is
for reading purpose only. This content is not the original work and is not for publication.
The name of the books (passed from Board of Studies) meant for reference and to be read are
already given along with the syllabus to the students.
By : Ms. Anupama Yadav

SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMISSION (1952-53)

The Secondary Education commission known as Mudaliar Commission was appointed by the
government of India in term of their Resolution to bring changes in the
present education system and make it better for the Nation. Dr. A. Lakshmanswami Mudaliar
was the Vice-Chancellor of Madras University.

Recommendation # 1. Organisational Pattern of Secondary Education:

1. The commission has observed, “We have to bear in mind the principle that secondary
education is a complete unit by itself and not merely a preparatory stage, that at the end of
this period, the student should be in a position, if he wishes, to enter on the responsibilities of
life and take up some useful vocations. The age at which the child is to begin his secondary
education and the age up to which it should be continued is therefore, a matter of
considerable importance. It is now generally recognized that the period of secondary
education covers the age-group of about to 17 years. Properly planned education, covering
about 7 years should enable the school to give a thorough training in the courses of study
taken by the student and also help him/her to attain a reasonable degree of maturity in
knowledge, understanding and judgement which would stand him/her I rood stead in life.”
Therefore, the commission recommended the following new educational structure for
secondary education after 4 or 5 years of primary or Junior Basic Education:
(i) A middle or Junior Secondary or Senior Basic stage which should cover a period of 3
years;
(ii) A Higher Secondary stage which should cover a period of four years.
2. Abolition of Intermediate Classes:
The commission recommended for abolition of intermediate classes. The senior intermediate
class (XIIth class) should be combined with the degree class and the junior intermediate class
(XIth class) with the high school class.
3. Diversification of Courses:
For diversification of courses, multi-purpose schools should be established as agricultural
schools, technical schools, commercial schools etc., to enable the students to acquire
education according to their interests, aims and diverse abilities.
4. Stress on Agricultural Education in Rural Schools:
Special facilities should be provided for agricultural education in rural schools. Horticulture
and Animal Husbandry as allied subjects of the agriculture should also be taught.
5. Technical Education:
(i) Technical schools should be set up in large numbers either separately or as part multi-
purpose school and these schools should be located near industries and should function in
close co-operation with the industry concerned.
(ii) Suitable legislation should be passed making it compulsory for the industry to provide
facilities to students for particular apprenticeship training.
(iii) Industrial Education Cess should be levied and the” proceeds of this Cess should utilized
for the development of technical education.
6. Other Type of Schools:
(i)Public schools should continue to exist for sometime say for about five years. During this
time, organization of these public schools should be in consonance with the general pattern of
education.
(ii) A number of residential schools should be established more particularly in certain rural
areas to provide greater opportunities for teacher–pupil contact and for development
recreational and extra-curricular activities.
(iii) A large number of schools should be established to meet the needs of handicapped
children.
7. Education of Girls:
The commission did not like having a different type of education for girls. But it
recommended for the study of Home Science in all girls’ schools. State Govt. should make
effort to open girl schools wherever there is demand for them.
8. Study of Languages:
(i) Three languages should be taught in the schools. The medium of instruction at the
secondary stage should be either the mother tongue or the regional language.
(ii) At the middle school stage, every student must be taught at least two languages. Hind and
English should be taught after the junior basic stage of education on the condition that no two
languages should be introduced in the same year. At the high school a higher secondary
stage, the student must be taught at least two languages, one of which being the mother
tongue or the regional language.
(iii) Hindi should be made a compulsory subject of study in the school course due to the
following reasons; Official language of the centre, languages of correspondence, an means of
promoting national unity and integrity.
(iv) English shall be the compulsory subject of study at the secondary stage in all the state
due to the following reasons: widely known among the educated, means of national unity,
useful in international sphere and harmful effect due to exclusion of English.
9. The centre should assume certain amount of direct responsibility for the contemplate
reorganization of secondary education and give financial aid for the purpose.
Recommendation # 2. Organisation of Secondary School Curriculum:
1. At the Middle-School stage, the curriculum should include:
(i) Languages,
(ii) Social Studies,
(iii) General Science,
(iv) Mathematics,
(v) Art and Music
(vi) Craft and
(vii) Physical Education.
2. At the High school Pre Higher Secondary stage diversified courses of instruction
should provide to the students and curriculum would be of two types:
(i) Core curriculum, which is common for all the students, includes language. General
Science, Social Studies and Craft.
(ii) In addition to the core curriculum every student has to take three subjects at the higher
stage out of the following seven groups:
1. Humanities (classical language, History, Geography, Economics and Civics, Psychology
and Logic, Mathematics, Music, Domestic Science),
2. Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Mathematics. Physiology and Hygiene
not to be taken with Biology),
3. Technical Applied Mathematics and Geometrical Drawing, Applied Science, Elements of
Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering),
4. Commercial (Book Keeping, Commercial Practice, Commercial Geography. Short-hand
and Type-writing),
5. Agricultural (General Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Horticulture and Gardening,
Agricultural Chemistry and Botany),
6. Fine Arts (History of art, Drawing and Designing, painting, Modeling, Music, Dancing),
7. Home Science (Home Economics, Nutrition and Cooking, Mother Craft and Child Care,
Household management and Home Nursing).
(iii) Besides the above, a student may take at his option one additional subject from any of the
above groups.
(iv) The diversified curriculum should begin in the second year of the High School or Higher
Secondary stage.
Recommendation # 3. Text Books:
(i) With a view to improving the quality of text books prescribed, a high power text books
committee should be constituted.
(ii) The committee should have the following functions : to prepare a panel of expert
reviewers, to appoint expert committees, to invite experts, to co-operate with similar
committee, to arrange for the publication, to maintain a fund, to grant suitable honoraria to
authors and to utilize the balance of funds for different purposes.
(iii) The text books committee should lay down clear criteria for the type of paper,
illustration, printing and format of the books.
(iv) The Central Government should set up a new institution to develop training in the
technique of book illustration.
(v) The central and state governments should maintain libraries for improving of book
illustrations.
(vi) Single text book should not be prescribed for every subject of study. A reasonable
number of books conforming to the standards laid down should be recommended.
(vii) In case of languages, however, definite books should be prescribed for each class to
ensure proper gradation.
(viii) No book, prescribed as a text book or as a book for general study, should contain any
passage or statement which might offend the religious or social susceptibilities of any section
of the community or might indoctrinate the minds of the young students with particular
political or religious ideology.
(ix) Frequent changes of textbooks and books prescribed for study should be discouraged.
Recommendation # 4. Methods of Teaching:
The commission believed that even the best curriculum and the most perfect syllabus remains
dead unless quickened into life by the right method of teaching and the right kind of teacher.
The methods should be dynamic and scientific.
The following recommendations were made:
(i) The methods of teaching aim at inculcating desirable values and proper attitudes habits of
work in the students besides imparting knowledge.
(ii) The methods of teaching should help the students for attachment to work.
(iii) The emphasis in teaching should shift from verbalism and memorization to learn through
purposeful, concrete and realistic situations. For this purpose, the principle “Activity
Method” and “Project Method” should be followed in practice.
(iv) Methods of learning should enable the children to apply practically the knowledge gained
in the classroom to various problems confronting them.
(v) Methods of teaching should provide ample opportunities for students to develop clear
thinking and clear expression both in speech and writing.
(vi) Emphasis should be given on acquiring knowledge through personal efforts and initiative
and training the students in the techniques of study.
(vii) A well thought out attempt should be made to adopt methods of instruction to the nee of
individual students as much as possible so that dull, average and bright student’s may all have
a chance to progress at their own pace.
(viii)They should be given adequate opportunity to work in groups and to carry out group
projects and activities to develop the qualities for group life and co-operative work.
(ix)In order to popularize progressive methods of teaching, ‘Experimental’ and
‘Demonstration’ schools should be opened.
(x) Co-curricular activities should form an integral part of education.
(xi) Library, class library and subject library should be utilized for promotion of study habit
Recommendation # 5. Discipline:
(i) The education of character should be envisaged as the responsibility of all teachers.
(ii) In order to promote discipline, personal contract between the teacher and the pupil should
be strengthened, and the pattern of self-government with observance of code o conduct
should be introduced in all schools.
Recommendation # 6. Moral and Religious Education:
The commission realized that religious and moral instruction plays an important part in the
promotion of character. Religious instruction in schools may be given only on a voluntary
basic and after the regular school hours. Such instruction should be confined to the children
of the particular faith concerned and be given with the consent of parents and the
management.
Recommendation # 7. Guidance and Counselling:
(i) Educational guidance should receive much greater attention on the part of educational
authorities.
(ii) Guidance service should be the work of various personnel’s like parents, teachers,
headmasters/headmistress, and principals.
(iii) In order to broaden the pupil’s understanding of the nature, scope and significance of the
occupation or industries, film should be prepared to show the conditions of industrial,
technical, agricultural or vocational aspects and this should be supplemented by actual visits.
(iv)The services of trained guidance officers and career masters should be made available
gradually and in an increasing measure to all educational institutions.
(v)There should be opening up training centres in different regions for training of guidance
officers and career masters to which each state may send a number of teachers and other
suitable persons for training.
(vi) A Central Research organisation may be established for carrying out research in
educational guidance and for the preparation of tests with particular reference to Indian
conditions and the needs of pupils.
(vii) In every state there should be a Bureau of educational and vocational guidance to plan
and co-ordinate various activities which have been recommended as above.
Recommendation # 8. Supervision and Inspection:
(i) The true role of an inspector should be to study the problems of school and view them
comprehensively in the context of educational objectives, to formulate suggestion for
improvement and help the teachers to carry out his advice and recommendations,
(ii) Special Inspectors should be appointed to inspect the teaching of special subjects like
Domestic Science, Art, Music etc.,
(iii) In addition to direct recruitment, inspectors should also be drawn from:
(a) Teacher’s of ten years experience.
(b) Headmasters of High Schools, and
(c) Duly qualified staff of training colleges who may be allowed to work as such for a period
of three to five years.
The duties of inspectors should be administrative and academic. The former related to the
annual inspection of records, accounts, office routine etc. For this purpose he must have
assistance of a competent staff.
The latter duties are to choose teachers to visit schools in the company of the inspector and to
spend two or three days with the staff to confirm about library and laboratory facilities, the
curriculum and the organisation of extra-curricular activities.
Recommendation # 9. Organisation and Administration:
(i) The Director of Education should be the officer mainly responsible to advise the minister
regarding the spread of education.
(ii) A committee should be constituted both at the centre and in each state in order to discuss
how best the resources of the department could be pooled for the furtherance of education of
all types.
(iii) There should be coordinating committee consisting of the departmental heads concerned
to consider methods of improvement and expansion in the fields of education.
(iv) There should be a Board of Secondary Education consisting of not more than 25
members with the Director of Education as its chairman. A sub-committee of the Board
should deal with the conduct of examination.
(v) There should be a Teacher’s Training Board for supervising and training of under-
graduates.
(vi) There should be another Board, namely Central Advisory Board of Education to function
as a coordinating agency to consider all India problems concerning education.
(vii) State or provincial Advisory Boards should be constituted on similar basis in each state
to advise the Department of Education on all educational matters.
Recommendation # 10. Health and Physical Education:
(i) A properly organised medical service should be available in all states.
(ii) A thorough medical examination of all pupils and necessary follow up and treatment,
where necessary, should be carried out in all schools.
(iii) Some of the teachers should be trained in the first aid and general principles of health.
(iv) Proper nutritional standards should be maintained in the hostels and residential schools.
(v) The school should assist, where possible, in the maintenance of sanitation of the area,
(v) Physical activities should be made to suit the individual.
(vi) All teachers below the age of 40 should actively participate in many of the physical
activities of students.
(vii) The training in physical education should be comprehensive enough to include all
aspects of health education.
(viii) The existing facilities for training of teachers of physical education should be expanded
by increasing the seats in the existing colleges,
(ix) Full records of physical activities of students must be maintained.
Recommendation # 11. Improving the Systems of Examination and Evaluation:
I. The number of external examinations should be reduced.
II. There should be minimization of subjectivity by introducing objective tests of attainment
and by changing the type of questions.
III. Cramming should be discouraged and rational understanding should be encouraged.
IV. It is undesirable to set two papers of 03 hours duration each on one day and the same day.
V. In order to find out the pupil’s all round “progress, a proper system of school records
should be maintained for each and every pupil.
VI. In the final assessment of the pupils due credit should be given to the internal tests and
the school records of the pupils.
VII. The system of symbolic rather than numerical marking should be adopted for evaluating
and grading the work of the pupils in external and internal examinations and in maintaining
the school records. A five point scale may be used: A (excellent), B (good), C (fair and
average), D (Poor), E (very Poor).
VIII. There should be only one public examination at the completion of secondary school
course.
IX. The system of compartmental examination should be introduced at the final public
examination.
X. A candidate who has passed the examination and wishes to qualify in any additional
subject(s) may appear at a subsequent examination.
XI. The certificate awarded should contain the results of the school tests in subjects as well as
the gist’s of the school records besides the results of the public examination in different
subjects.
Recommendation # 12. Teacher Education:
1. There should be only two types of institutions for teacher training.
(i) For those who have taken the school Leaving Certificate or Higher Secondary School
Leaving Certificate, for whom the period of training should be of two years; and
(ii) For graduates for whom the training may, for the present, be of one academic year, but
extended as a long-term programme to two academic years.
2. Graduate teacher training institutions should be recognized by and affiliated to the
universities which should grant degrees, while the secondary grade training institutions
should be under the control of a separate Board appointed for the purpose.
3. The teacher trainee should receive training in one or more co-curricular activities.
4. Importance should be attached to teaching practice in schools.
5. During the period of training all the pupil-teachers should be given suitable stipend by the
state.
6. The training colleges should, as a normal part of their work, assist to the in-service
teacher training by providing the following:
(i) Refresher courses,
(ii) Short intensive courses in special subjects,
(iii) Work-shop,
(iv) Seminars and
(v) professional conferences.
7. Training institutions should be in close with the Department of Education and the schools.
8. For research work in all aspects of Pedagogy, every training college should have under its
control an experimental or demonstration school.
9. Recruitment to training colleges should be carefully made so as to admit only those who
hold the highest promise of becoming successful teachers.
10. The selection of students for teacher training may be made some months in advance of
the opening of the course. The period of training may be increased to a minimum of 180 days
by eliminating the number of unnecessary holidays.
11. The commission strongly advocates residential type of training colleges for all students.
All these colleges should provide adequate residential facilities to cultivate community life
and foster self-reliance.
12. In order to meet the shortage of women teachers, special part-time training courses should
be provided.
13. The normal period of probation for a trained teacher should be one year.
14. Teachers possessing same qualifications and performing same work should be treated
alike as far as salary is concerned.
15. The system of triple benefit scheme, i.e. Pension- Cum-Provident Fund-Cum-insurance
scheme should be introduced in all States.
16. Arbitration Boards of committees should be set up to look into the appeals of teachers.
17. The superannuation age should he 60 for physically fit and competent teachers with the
approval of the Director of Education.
18. The children of teacher should be given free education throughout the school stage.
19. Through a system of co-operative house building societies, teachers should b>e provided
with quarters so as to enable them to live near the school.
20. The practice of private tuition by teachers should be abolished.
Recommendation # 13. Management of Schools:
(i) The managing Boards of all schools should be registered and should consist of a limited
number of persons with headmaster as an ex-officio member.
(ii) No member of the Board should directly or indirectly interfere with the internal
administration of the school.
Recommendation # 14. School Building and Equipment:
(i) The open spaces available in cities must be conserved and be utilized as playground by
groups of schools.
(ii) Normally, in designing buildings for schools, care should be taken to see that an area of
not less than 10 sq. ft. is provided per student in the class room.
(iii) The optimum number of boys to be admitted to any class should be 30 and the maximum
should not in any case exceed 40; the optimum number in the whole school should be 500
while the maximum should not exceed 750.
Recommendation # 15. Hours of Working and Vacation:
1. As a rule the total number of working days in a school should not be less than 200, the
working hours per week should be at least 35 periods about 45 minutes each; the schools
should work regularly for 6 days in the week. One of the days being a half day when the
teachers and students might meet informally and work together on various extra-curricular
and social projects.
2. Normally during the year there should be a summer vacation of 2 months and breaks of 10
to 15 days at suitable periods during the year. Report of Secondary Education Commission is
truly called as “Bible for teachers” an is a landmark in the development of education in
India.
In-spite of its various drawbacks, commission has paved the golden way to improve the
system of secondary education and major of the recommendations have been incorporated in
to the present education system.

REFERENCE LINKS:
• http://kkhsou.in/main/education/national_policy1992.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Curriculum_Framework_for_Teacher_Educati
on
• http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/education/university-education-commission-1948-
49/76820
• http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/education/secondary-education-commission-1952-
53/76815
• http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/education/recommendations-of-indian-education-
commission/84839
• http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/education/11-salient-features-of-national-policy-
on-education-1986/76821