Accordingly the Commission made valuable recommendations
for the development of primary education. The recommendations can be discussed
under six heads:-
(a) Policy
(b) Legislation and
Administration
(c) Encouragement of indigenous schools
(d) School
Administration
(e) Training of Teachers
(f) Finance
(a) Policy
:
(i) Primary education should be regarded as the instruction of
the masses. It should be closely related to the practical aspect of the life of
the masses.
(ii) Primary education should be imparted through the medium of
mother tongue.
(iii) The Government should extend more patronage to primary
education than before.
(iv) In selecting persons for appointment to the
government post of a lower order, preference should be given to the candidates
who can read and write.
(v) Primary education in backward districts,
especially in those areas inhabited by aboriginal races, to be extended by the
Department of Education through liberal grant-in-aid.
(b)
Legislation and Administration:
(i) The control of primary
education should be handed over to District and Municipal Boards.
(ii) The
local boards should deal with the whole system for primary education as regards
to finance, management, expansion and inspection of primary education of the
particular local area.
(iii) Transfer of all government primary schools to
the local boards was considered necessary.
(c) Encouragement of
Indigenous Schools :
(i) Indigenous schools need encouragement
for their improvement. Efforts should be made to encourage these
schools.
(ii) The Commission held the view that the Districts and Municipal
Boards consisting of Indians would be more sympathetic to the indigenous schools
than the Education Department and recommended that the work of assisting
indigenous schools should be assigned to them.
(iii) The Commission
recommended that a system of “Payment by Results” should be adopted in dealing
with indigenous schools.
(iv) The same standard of examination should not be
maintained throughout the whole state.
(D) School Administration:
Regarding the management of the schools the Commission
recommended.
(i) School houses and furniture should be simple.
(ii)
The managers should be free to choose the text books for their schools.
(iii)
School hours and holidays should be adjusted according to local needs.
(iv)
Instruction in primary schools should be simplified. Practical subjects like
native methods of arithmetic, accounts and mensuration, elements of natural and
physical sciences, agriculture, health should be introduced.
(v) Various
native games and exercises should be introduced for physical development of the
students.
(vi) Night schools should be established wherever
necessary.
(E) Training of Teachers:
(i) Normal
schools should be established for the training of primary school
teachers.
(ii) There should be at least one Normal School in each
division.
(iii) The cost of Normal schools should be met from provincial
fund.
(F) Finance:
(i) Every District and
Municipal Board should maintain a separate Fund for primary education.
(ii)
The Provincial Government should grant one third of the total expenditure to the
local bodies.
(iii) The cost of maintaining, aiding and repairing of primary
schools should be met from local fund.
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Recommendations on Secondary
Education |
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By now we are acquainted with the recommendations of the
commission on Primary education. Although the Hunter Commission recognized
primary education as the prime concern of the state, it also made important
recommendations on secondary education. These recommendations can be divided
into two heads ——- (A) Administrative Reform, and (B) Qualitative
Improvement
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| A) |
Administrative Reform:
The Hunter
Commission made some important recommendations to administrative reform of
Secondary Education in India. The recommendations can be summed as given
below:
(i) Government should gradually withdraw itself from the field of
secondary education.
(ii) Expansion of secondary education should be
entrusted to efficient private enterprise.
(iii) Government should sanction
great-in-aid to improve secondary education.
(iv) It was felt necessary that
the government should maintain some secondary schools, at least one Model High
School in those districts where they may be required in the interest of the
people.
(v) To encourage the private enterprise, the commission suggested
that the managers of Aided Schools might charge less fee in comparison to the
neighboring Government Schools.
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| B) |
Qualitative Improvement:
The
Commission made many useful recommendations for the qualitative improvement of
Secondary Education in India. Following are the major recommendations.
(i) The Commission recommended that the curriculum at the secondary
stage should be bifurcated as “A course” and “B course”.
(ii) “A course”
should be prepared for students to go for higher study in Universities.
(iii)
“B course” should be of practical type meant for commercial and non-literary
studies.
(iv) The commission did not refer to the use of mother tongue as
medium of instruction at the high school stage. It favoured English as the
medium of instruction
(v) The commission did not lay down any definite policy
with regard to middle school so far as medium of Instruction is
concerned.
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