CLASS: B.Ed.

II
PAPER NAME: DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA AND ITS
CHALLENGES
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By : Ms. Anupama Yadav
Asst.Prof, Department of Education

UNIVERSITY EDUCATION COMMISSION 1948-49

The Government of India appointed a university Education Commission under the
chairmanship of Dr. Radhakrishnan in November 1948. The Commission made a number of
significant recommendations on various aspects of higher education and submitted its report
in August 1949.
Recommendations # 1. Aims of Education:
(i) To teach that life has a meaning.
(ii) To awaken the innate ability to live the life of a soul by developing wisdom.
(iii) To acquaint with the social philosophy which would govern all our institutions:
educational, economic and political.
(iv) To train for democracy.
(v) To train for self-development.
(vi) To develop certain values like fearlessness of mind, strength of conscience and integrity
of purpose.
(vii) To acquaint with cultural heritage for its regeneration.
(viii) To enable to know that education is a life-long process.
(ix) To develop understanding of the present as well as of the past.
(x) 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:
(a) The standard of admission to the university course should correspond to that of
intermediate examination,
(b) The maximum number in Arts and Science faculties of a teaching university be fixed at
3,000 and in affiliated college at 1,500,
(c) Increasing of working days to 180 in a year exclusive of examination days,
(d) Organisation of refresher courses, improving of library facilities, setting up of good
laboratories and workshops,
(e) Prescribing good books,
(f) Opening of occupational institutions,
(g) Experimenting with the evening colleges for working people and
(h) 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.
(i) 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.
(ii) The course be remodeled and more time given to school practice, and more weight to
practice in assessing the students performance.
(iii) A commerce student should be given opportunities for practical work in three or four
different kinds of firms.
(iv) 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.
(v) 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.
(vi) 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:
(i) All educational institutions should work with a few minutes for silent meditation.
(ii) 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.
(iii) In the second year, selection of some of a universal character from the scriptures of the
world be studied.
(iv) In the third year, the central problems of the philosophy of religion are considered.
Recommendation # 8. Medium of Instruction:
(i) 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.
(ii) The borrowed words and terminology of science and technology be properly assimilated.
(iii) 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,
(iv) For the Federal language, Devanagari script is employed and some of its defects are cut
off.
(v) The students need to be well versed with three languages—regional, federal and foreign
(English).
(vi) 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“.
It suggested improvement in the method of appointment of examiners, in paper-setting, in the
system of scoring and in the organisation of examination.
(i) A university degree should not be required for government administrative services.
Special test and examinations for recruitment to various services should be organised.
(ii) No credit is given, at present for class-work in courses, except sometimes in case of
practical work.
(iii) Three years will be involved for the first degree.
(iv) 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:
(i) 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.
(ii) Hostels be constructed in blocks of not more than 50 students per block, with common
rooms and dining halls for four or five blocks.
(iii) University union should be as free as possible from political activities.
(iv) An Advisory Board of student welfare be organised in universities which do not have
such a body.
Recommendation # 11. Women’s Education:
(i) 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.
(ii) Standards of courtesy and social responsibility should be emphasized on the part of men
in mixed colleges.
Recommendation # 12. Constitution and Control:
(i) University education be placed on the concurrent list in the Vll th schedule of the
constitution of India.
(ii) The concern of the central government with the universities be with regard to finance,
coordination 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 a new system of higher education in the following years
in the post-independence era.

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