Kothari Commission: The First Policy to Create a Framework for School Education
Hits and Misses of Kothari Commission
India has come a long way to achieve a respectable literacy rate. From 12% at the time of independence to a promising 74.37% in 2018, these literacy rates are a product of various education policies that shaped the country’s education system over decades.
While all these policies had a positive impact on the educational landscape, the Kothari Commission is remembered as the first policy that touched upon several unattended aspects such as the structure of education and post-secondary institutions, etc. Here’s a look at this legendary policy that created a comprehensive framework for all future acts and policies.
Read on.
Why Was Kothari Commission Formed?
Post-independence, the Kothari Commission was formed to improve the overall quality of the Indian educational system. It was headed by Dr. Daulat Singh. Kothari. This commission aimed to assess the condition of the Indian education system and suggested changes as well.
The Need for Kothari Commission:
This commission is also called the ‘Education Commission’. And it was formed in July 1964. Later on June 29th, 1966, the commission finally submitted its report with the recommendations/suggestions.
Broadly, this commission addressed the issues of accessibility, curriculum, structure, and quality of education along with the expansion of higher educational opportunities. For this, it highlighted the ground-level picture of education in the country. And gave some important recommendations for its improvement. For the first time ever, the Kothari Commission tried to create a national pattern of education. Because, despite the growing awareness regarding education, the system failed to deliver the desirable results. After a careful analysis by the members, the recommendations were presented with a vision of national development. And many of its suggestions were later included in the NPE 1968 (National Education Policy) i.e. the first full-fledged education policy in India. Kothari Commission had 17 members in total, including some experts from international locations. This commission was also known as the Indian Education Commission.
Please note that the statistical information is procured from the Indian government’s flipbook on the Kothari Commission (Indian Culture Portal under the National Virtual Library of India project -funded by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.). You can check all these details here.
Indian Education Commission- The Goals
Employment
The major goal of this commission was to address the needs of the Indian population (around 500 million at that time). More importantly, at this point, 50% of this population was under the age of 18 years. Our policymakers acknowledged the need to harness the power of youth. It is noteworthy that, the youth population was also expected to be more than doubled by the next 20 years, i.e. 1985 (from 70 million to 170 million). The core idea was to make this population employable so as to contribute to the nation’s development.
Low National Per-Capita Income
Being a poverty-stricken country, India reached a per capita income of 348.6 by 1964-65. This was an increase of only 2.2% from the years 1960-61. The recommendations of this commission aimed at improving these figures through a strong education policy.
Here’s a look at the main recommendations of the Kothari Commission:
Structure of Education:
Preschool
The Education Commission suggested a structure of 1 to 3 years for preschool education. A duration of 10 years was defined for general school education. This duration was further segregated into various stages.
Primary:
The primary stage was suggested for 7 to 8 years.
Secondary
The lower secondary stage of general education was suggested for 3 to 2 years. At this stage, there was an option to choose 1 to 3 years of vocational education as well.
The higher secondary stage was suggested as 2 years of general education and one to three years of vocational education. This commission suggested 20% enrollment out of the total in vocational courses. For university courses, the commission suggested 3 years duration for the first degree. Besides, it also recommended the second degree after a duration of 2 to 3 years at the next level.
Examination Patterns
For examinations, the first one was to be conducted at the end of 10 years of school education. It was called ‘public external examination’. In addition, the study of specialized subjects was suggested in classes 11th and 12th. Schools providing 10 years of education were to be called ‘Secondary Schools’, and the ones with a 10+2 level were to be named ‘Higher Secondary Schools’.
Vision for Educational Reconstruction:
The commission recommended the proper utilization of existing facilities. It suggested increasing the number of typical school days in a year to 39 weeks for schools and 36 weeks for colleges and preschools. Other than this, it also recommended making use of the vacation time for camps, drives, and other similar enriching experiences.
It also suggested the optimum utilization of the facilities within the institutions (like libraries, labs, and workshops, etc.).
Three-Language Formula
For classes VIII to X, the Kothari Commission recommended a three-language formula i.e. for all non-Hindi speaking states, the languages taught at this level can be a mother tongue/regional language, Hindi at a higher or lower level, and English.
Important Recommendations for Teachers:
Another important recommendation of this commission was about the status of teachers and their remuneration in the country. It highlighted the need to lay minimum pay scales for teachers. And suggested taking all necessary steps to improve their social, economic, and professional status. It put forward a new proposal for pay scales, basis the qualifications and training of teachers. Besides, it also suggested retirement benefits and a periodic salary revision for them.
Here’s an example of the proposed remuneration scales:
| Secondary Course with 2 years of training | |
| Category | Remuneration in Rs. |
| Minimum | 150 |
| Maximum scale in a span of 20 years | 300 |
The commission suggested a 10 to 30% proportion of post-graduate teachers in lower secondary schools (depending on the school’s size)
Educational Opportunities:
The education policy in India was suggested with a provision for free and compulsory education for students up to the lower secondary education stage (through government local authority or aided private institutions).
Free textbooks and writing utensils to be given to the needy students. Besides, it also suggested book banks be developed in schools providing secondary education. The libraries at the secondary level institutions should contain an adequate number of books. In addition, grants to be given to talented students for purchasing books (other than textbooks).
It suggested scholarship programs across all stages of school education, mentioned as follows:
- 2.5 of the total enrollments at the primary stage.
- 15% of the students at the higher primary to the secondary stage.
- 25% (of the total enrollments) at the postgraduate stage by the year 1976
Additionally, it recommended some special enrichment programs for talented students to support their growth. The commission also suggested making optimum use of films, radio, and other AV aids. And in this way, it helped in popularizing alternatives like distance or online learning as well.
Drop-Outs, Women and Adult Education
Kothari Commission also acknowledged the condition of literacy in the country. And aimed at reaching a 100% literacy level in the next 20 years.
Suggested Reading- State Wise Literacy Rate in India 2024
To meet this target, the experts of Kothari Commission suggested:
- A universal schooling system for 5 years (6 to 11 years of age)
- Part-time education for drop-outs and out-of-school children between 11 to 14 years of age
- General education for young adults from 15 to 30 years of age
- Planned literacy campaigns
- ‘Village sisters’ to be appointed to help women attain education in rural areas
How did Kothari Commission help in restructuring the Indian education system?
This commission laid the foundation for the first structured education policy in India. It defined the schooling structure into the 10+2+3 pattern. And highlighted the condition of teachers along with the possible opportunities within the system.
From infrastructure to equity, it addressed the need to reframe our policies for the greater good of the Indian students. In addition, it also introduced new concepts for language learning and scholarships within the system.
What Went Wrong?
The recommendations of this commission were highly visionary. However, its idea of spending 6% of the country’s GDP was not taken into consideration. The public spending on education was not up to the mark. Besides, the experts could not provide an exact roadmap to implement the suggestions at the ground level. Due to many such reasons, the purpose of prioritizing education through the Kothari Commission could not be fulfilled completely.
Final Thoughts on this Education Policy:
Undoubtedly, Kothari Commission played a vital role in standardizing and defining the education policy in India. It is truly one of the most important pieces of work ever in the history of our education system. It was a visionary effort by the members of the Commission back then. However, this policy still suffered the setback of India’s poverty levels. Despite all odds, it did lay a solid foundation for the next important stride in Indian education, the National Policy of Education, 1968!
Read about the ground-level implementation of these recommendations in the next article in this series. Do check out this next part, ‘Key Highlights of the National Policy of Education, 1968’.
