Introduction || Planning Commission
Chapter-1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8 || 9 || 10 || 11 || 12 || 13 || 14 || 15 || 16 || 17 || 18 || 19 || 20 || 21 || 22 || 23 || 24 || 25 || 26 || 27 || 28 || 29 || 30 || 31 || 32 || 33 || 34 || 35 || Conclusion || Appendix A || Appendix B || Appendix C || Glossary

Chapter 30:
TECHNICAL EDUCATION

The broad policies governing personnel requirements and training programmes and assessment of manpower requirements for the Third and the Fourth Plans, which are among the basic conditions of economic development, have been discussed earlier. This Chapter sets out educational programmes in the field of engineering and technology and craftsmen training, which are designed to help in building up the trained technical personnel required for schemes of industrial development, teaching and research. In formulating these programmes, it has been recognised that advances in the field of science and technology will call from time to time for changes in patterns of training and for improvements in the system of education. Programmes for the Third Plan lay particular stress on increasing trained personnel in different fields at all levels, securing teachers in sufficient number, provision of scholarships and fellowships for talented students, introduction of part-time, short-term and correspondence courses, development of special courses, in certain fields, the proper utilisation of the available physical facilities, reduction of wastage and promotion of research.

2. In engineering and technology, provision has been made in the Third Plan for expansion of facilities at the degree and diploma levels so as to increase the annual admission from 13,860 for degree courses and 25,570 for diploma courses to 19,140 and 37,390 respectively. In addition, there is provision for different types of part-time and correspondence courses and for the establishment of some specialised institutes.

In the field of craftsmen training apart from the schemes of various Central Ministries, States and individual industries, the intake of the Industrial Training Institutes will go up in the course of the Third Plan from 42,000 to 100,000. The four existing Central Training Institutes for Instructors, including one for Women Instructors, will be fully developed and three new institutes will be set up to meet the demand for trained instructors.

3. In the Third Plan, as against programmes for education estimated to cost Rs. 560 crores, Rs. 142 crores are accounted for by schemes of technical education in the field of engineering and technology. As against 13 and 19 percent respectively in the First and Second Plans technical education represents about 25 per cent of the outlay on education in the Third Plan.

For programmes of craftsmen training, compared to Rs. 13 crores in the Second Plan a provision of Rs. 49 crores is made in the Third Plan for the development of industrial training institutes, the national apprenticeship scheme, evening classes for industrial workers and the training of craft instructors.

PROGRAMME OF EXPANSION

4. Considerable expansion of facilities for engineering education has taken place during the Second Plan. The number of colleges has gone up from 65 to 100, the annual admissions increasing from 5890 to 13,860. The number of polytechnics which offer diploma courses has risen from 114 to 196 and their annual admissions have increased from 10,480 to 25,570. Over the Second Plan the annual outturn of graduates has risen from 4020 to about 5700 and of diploma holders from 4500 to over 8000. In the main, trained manpower needed for the Third Plan must come from institutions already established by the end of the Second Plan. In the field of technical education, it may be said that each Plan is essentially a preparation for the next.

5. With a view to meeting the likely demand for engineering graduates and diploma holders in the Fourth Plan, educational facilities will be created during the Third Plan. There will be 17 additional colleges, including 7 Regional Engineering Colleges, Eight regional colleges were approved for the Second Plan and all but one have started functioning. Each regional engineering college has an admission capacity of 250 students. The regional engineering colleges will also provide for training in special branches of engineering and teqhnology such as mining, metallurgy, chemical engineering, etc., for which personnel in large numbers will be required in the Fourth Plan. The Third Plan provides for 67 new polytechnics, each with an admission capacity of 180 students or more. In addition, wherever feasible, the capacity of the existing institutions will be expanded. The following Table summarises the progress achieved so far and programmes for the Third Plan:

Engineering colleges and Polytechnics, admission capacity and outturn

Information concerning the expansion proposed in different States is given in the statement in the Annexure to this Chapter.

6. The Third Plan includes provision for part-time and correspondence courses in different branches of engineering and technology, and detailed programmes are being worked out. Normally, correspondence courses will cater to the needs of persons between the ages of 20 and 35, so that their benefits may go specially to mature students. Development of part-time and correspondence courses will assist students in an organised way in qualifying for the membership of professional bodies like the Institution of Engineers.

A pilot scheme has also been prepared for providing training on a part-time basis to 1000 diploma holders in engineering at 12 centres under the Ministry of Defence. They will prepare for Sections A and B of the Associate Membership Examinations of the Institution of Engineers. Sandwich courses in mechanical engineering which were introduced during the Second Plan as an experimental measure at Calcutta and Madras will be organised in other Centres and may be extended to new fields.

7. Advances in science and technology emphasise the need for the study in technological institutions of basic sciences, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc. This consideration has been stressed both by the University Grants Commission and the All India Council for Technical Education. In the Second Plan a Science Faculty consisting of the Departments of Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Geology and Geophysics was added at the University of Roorkee. The Institutes of Technology generally provide for well-equipped Departments in scientific subjects.

8. The Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur, which was started in the First Plan, was declared by an Act of Parliament as 'an institution of national importance' in 1957. The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, was further developed for post-graduate studies in engineering and has been deemed to be a university under the provisions of the U. G. C. Act since 1959. Institutes of Technology have also been established during the Second Plan at Bombay, Madras and Kanpur.

9. During the Second Plan post-graduate courses in engineering and technology were organised in 34 selected engineering colleges and university departments. An expert committee has been appointed to review the progress of post-graduate courses and research and to suggest the lines on which further development in the field should proceed. Provision has been made at the Centre to carry out the recommendations of the Committee. In addition, to encourage post-graduate work and training in engineering colleges, provision has been made in the State plans to enable individual institutions to initiate research work. Students taking up post-graduate studies in engineering and technology are to receive stipends, and scholarships will also be awarded tor research in engineering subjects.

10. In view of the demand for personnel in specialised fields of engineering and technology for the Third Plan, new facilities were organised during the Second Plan in selected technical institutions for mining, metallurgy, chemical engineering, geo-physios, petroleum technology and industrial engineering. In addition, facilities for specialised training in town planning, architecture, printing and business management were developed. The Central School of Planning and Architecture which was set up in Delhi in close cooperation with the Institute of Town Planners will be developed and completed in the Third Plan. The four Regional Schools of Printing at Allahabad, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras with a total intake capacity of 410 students offer full time and part-time courses in different branches of printing and lithography. These will be further developed and additional facilities will be provided in the Central School of Printing to be set up in the Third Plan and at the Delhi Polytechnic.

Post-graduate Courses in industrial engineering and industrial management were started at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, Bombay and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

Courses of Business Management are being established at several centres. It is also proposed to establish two All-India Institutes of Management.

The problems of commerce education have been recently studied by a Committee appointed by the All India Council for Technical Education with a" view to assessing the present state of employment of commerce graduates and to suggest a sound and reasonably uniform system of commerce education suited to the needs and resources of our developing economy. The Committee has recommended the institution of a diploma course in commercial practice at the post-matriculation stage or after the tenth class of secondary education in polytechnics or junior commercial schools for training personnel for the intermediate grades of administration in business and commerce. The Committee has also made recommendations in respect of under-graduate and post-graduate education in commerce, provision of facilities for practical training and for business administration and management studies.

11. For training competent technicians equipped to practise the methods and techniques of industrial engineering, it is proposed to set up the National Institute for Training in Industrial Engineering.

In the Third Plan, a Central Institute of Forging and Foundry Engineering will be set up at Ranchi to train specialists in this field in association with the heavy foundry and forging plant at Ranchi where facilities are available for practical training as well as for part-time teachers.

12. The Administrative Staff College was established at Hyderabad in the Second Plan as a joint and cooperative enterprise of Government, private industry and commerce for the training of senior executives and administrators.

The programme for the introduction of the five-year integrated degree course in engineering and technology will be completed in most or the universities. Among other schemes for which the Third Plan provides are increased hostel facilities, the strengthening of Boards of Technical Education in the States, and the development of art education.

13. In 1960-61, about 2180 seats were secured in industrial firms and undertakings for the practical training of engineering graduates and diploma holders. The scheme for the award of practical training stipends will be continued and enlarged in the Third Plan, It is at present estimated that about 25 per cent of the annual outturn of engineering graduates and about 12^- per cent of the outturn of diploma holders will be able to secure practical training facilities during the Third Plan as against 12 per cent and 3 per cent respectively in the Second Plan. In the case of mining, comprehensive training programmes according to the prescribed requirements will be arranged in association with the mining industry. Provision of hostels for these trainees will also be ensured wherever necessary.

14. A scheme for the establishment of junior technical schools for students in the age-group 14-17 was introduced in the Second Plan as an experimental measure and 38 such schools were set up. In the Third Plan 96 more junior technical schools will be established, for the most part as adjuncts to polytechnics. Technical institutions for girls and women are also provided for in the plans of States.

15. In the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Regional Colleges, scholarships have been provided for 25 per cent of the students. In other institutions, however, the available provision for scholarships for engineering and technological studies has been extremely limited. It is hoped to remove this deficiency to some extent in the Third Plan, which provides Rs. 8 crores for merit and loan scholarships in this field in addition to the existing provisions. It is expected that in the Third Plan, for the country as a whole, financial assistance will be available to over 18 per cent of the students admitted in technical institutions as compared to 5 per cent at the end of the Second Plan. Apart from other aspects, the larger number of scholarships will, in some measure, reduce wastage in technical institutions by enabling indigent students to qomplete their courses.

16. An important problem in the field of technical education is adequate supply of text books at reasonable prices, the methods of their production in the country and availability of foreign publications to the increasing number of students in technical institutions. Various aspects of this problem are at present being examined.

TEACHERS

17. The most important prerequisite for the development of technical education is the adequate supply of qualified teachers. There is at present an acute shortage of teaching personnel in engineering colleges and polytechnics. To reduce this deficit a series of measures are envisaged. The teacher training programmes both within the country and abroad which were begun in the Second Plan, will be expanded. Salary scales and general service conditions for teachers in technical institutions are being steadily improved. Schemes permitting advance recruitment of teachers and creation of supernumerary posts on the teaching staff of institutions should be enlarged. With the .development of postgraduate studies in engineering and technology, larger numbers of persons with specialised and research qualifications will become available for the teaching profession. It will be desirable for institutions to enlist the help of industry in obtaining the services of practising engineers and executives for part-time teaching. Refresher courses and seminars can help in raising the quality of teaching at every level.

TRAINING OF CRAFTSMEN

18. Industrial development not only calls for considerable increase in the numbers of skilled workers or craftsmen needed but also for a steady rise in the quality of their workmanship. There is greater emphasis on understanding of the processes involved as well as on specialised skill. i'he trend in various countries has, therefore, been to raise the level of general education and the minimum qualification required for entrance to a trade school. As stated earlier, during the Third Plan, about 1.3 million craftsmen will be required about 810,000 in engineering trades and the balance in non-engineering trades. At present craftsmen or skilled workers and operatives are trained in several types of institutions and in different ways. These include (i) Industrial Training Institutes under the scheme of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, (ii) Government Departments or agencies having their own training facilities such as Defence, Railways, Posts and Telegraphs and individual public enterprises, (iii) facilities for training provided by State Departments of Industries and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for small scale industries, (iv) Centres for training rural artisans under the community development programme, (v) numerous privately run industrial schools, and (vi) traditional methods of transmission of skill from one individual to another.

19. New industries now being set up require larger numbers of craftsmen who have gone through systematic training. At the end of the First Plan there were 59 traning centres for craftsmen in different States under the programme sponsored by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. These provided training facilities for about 10,500 persons. By the end of the Second Plan, the number of training centres increased to 167 with a total admission capacity of 42,000. In addition, special facilities were provided for training of displaced persons. In the Third Plan additional training facilities for about 57,850 craftsmen are proposed to be established bringing the total number to about 100,000. The number of training centres for craftsmen will increase to about 318 by the end of the Third Plan. Statewise programmes of expansion of these facilities are given in the Annexure. Under the National Apprenticeship Soheme arrangements for training about 12,000 persons are expected to be made. As mentioned earlier, apprenticeship is to be placed shortly on a compulsory basis and legislation for the purpose is being introduced.

Facilities for evening classes for employed industrial workers are also to be expanded from about 2,000 at present to over 11,000 seats. A Higher National Trade Certificate Course with a duration of 6 to 12 months depending on the nature of the trade is proposed to be organised as a further stage in the training of craftsmen beyond the trade certificate courses.

20. The requirements of the Railways and Defence Establishments are being met through their own training programmes. The Railways have arrangements for training both unskilled and semi-skilled workers Arrangements also exist for those industrial workers who have no recognised qualifications in the trades to obtain the National Trade Certificate by taking trade tests organised by the National Council for Training in Vocational Trades as private candidates. All State undertakings and a growing number of private industries have training programmes for meeting their own requirements. Facilities available in the Defence establishments are also proposed to be availed of for training craftsmen. For trades not covered by schemes mentioned above, Departments of Industries in the States will organise special training schemes under the small scale industries programme in accordance with patterns laid down by the National Council for Training in Vocational Trades. Training facilities provided by the Small Industries Service Institutes and their extension centres are to be expanded so as to meet the requirements of managerial, supervisory and extension personnel. Several Central Ministries and Departments associated with them have special in-service or practical training programmes. Among these, mention may be made of the National Laboratories, the Atomic Energy Establishment, Ministry of Irrigation and Power, the India Meteorological Department and the All India Radio. Besides, the training programmes of the All India Boards, for small scale industries, coir, silk, handloom and handicraft and those of Khadi and Village Industries Commission provide for the training of skilled and semi-skilled workers required in their respective fields. Training programmes for craftsmen are to be coordinated and their effective use provided through the National Council for Training in Vocational Trades.

21. For the training of craft instructors in vocational trades for programmes for training craftsmen in Industrial Training Institutes and elsewhere, three Central Training Institutes had been set up by the end of the Second Plan at Calcutta, Bombay and Kanpur. These bring the total admission capacity to over 500. In addition, for the training of women instructors there is a Central Training Institute at Delhi. In the Third Plans, these Institutes will be expanded to an admission capacity of over 1000 seats. In addition, three new institutes are to be established at Madras, Hydrabad and Ludhiana, so that at the end of the Third Plan there would be about 1800 seats for training instructors in different trades. The out-turn from these institutes during the Third Plan is estimated at about 7800.

ANNEXURE Distribution of technical institutions, by States, 1960-61 and 1965-66

Note : All-India institutions like the Institutes of Technology arc shown under States in which they are situated. *Includes all, institutions which were started by 1960-61.
** Includes private institutions likely to be set up during the Third Plan.