Recommendations of Hunter Commission on Primary Education.
Recommendations of Hunter Commission on Primary Education.
Recommendations of Hunter Commission on Primary Education.
On 3rd February 1882, the then Viceroy Lord Ripon appointed Sir William Wilson Hunter, a member of his Executive Council, as the President and formed the First Indian Education Commission or Hunter Commission. Since the expansion of primary education in this country was very slow from 1854 to 1882, the Hunter Commission gave special importance to primary education. According to the Commission, primary education is the most important tool for the expansion of public education. Therefore, the Commission presented some valuable recommendations regarding the development and expansion of primary education. The recommendations are -
1. Education Policy:-
(i) Primary education will be considered as a self-contained level of education. It will never be considered as a preparatory stage for secondary education.
(ii) The purpose of primary education will be to provide minimum education for the people of the country.
(iii) In those areas of the country where the system of employing illiterate persons is in operation, arrangements should be made for the employment of minimum educated persons. This will make the work of expanding primary education much easier.
(iv) The government should pay special attention to the progress and expansion of primary education.
2. Administration of Primary Education:-
(i) The responsibility and management of primary education will be vested in the District Boards and Municipal Boards.
(ii) Such autonomous institutions will form an Education Board in their respective areas and entrust it with the responsibility of establishing new schools and helping the native schools.
(iii) This Education Board will also take over the responsibility of the primary schools under the government.
3. Financial Recommendations:-
(i) Every District Board and Municipal Board should constitute a separate fund for primary education.
(ii) A large portion of the money received from local and provincial revenues should be spent on primary education.
(iii) Primary education will have priority and greater demand on the money allocated to the education sector.
(iv) The Government should also allocate one-third of the total allocation for education for primary education.
(v) The provincial government should bear the expenses required for school inspection and normal school management.
(vi) Arrangements should be made to collect salaries from people other than the poor.
(vii) Grants should be given to schools based on examination results.
4. Recommendations regarding curriculum:-
(i) The medium of instruction at the primary level should be the regional language or mother tongue.
(ii) The curriculum of primary level education should not be uniform throughout India. Rather, the needs of the local people should be kept in mind while selecting the content.
(iii) The primary level curriculum should include indigenous mathematics, accountancy, surveying, physical science, health science, art, agricultural science, etc.
(iv) The local authorities or directors should be given freedom in selecting the textbooks for the schools.
(v) Sports, exercise, school drills etc. should be included in the curriculum for the physical, mental and character development of primary school students.
5. Recommendations regarding teacher training:-
(i) For the improvement of primary education, emphasis should be laid on the expansion of the teacher training system.
(ii) A large number of ‘normal schools’ should be established throughout the country for teacher training. The provincial governments should bear the cost and responsibility of this.
Evaluation of the recommendations of the Hunter Commission regarding primary education:-
1. The Commission recommended in its report that primary education should be considered as the minimum education necessary for the public. Although it did not explicitly indicate that it should be made compulsory, it was implicitly accepted that primary education is especially necessary for public welfare.
2. The Commission recommended that primary education should be organized as a self-sufficient stage. Today, primary education is considered as a self-sufficient stage in any developing country.
3. The Commission recommended delegating the responsibility of primary education to local self-government bodies. This policy is also being followed in various countries at present. In some states of our country - such as West Bengal, Tripura, Kerala etc., several responsibilities for the management of educational institutions at the lowest level have been delegated to the Panchayats and Municipalities.
4. The Commission recommended linking the curriculum of primary education with the needs of the society. This policy is also supported by modern educationists.
5. The valuable recommendations made by the Commission on teacher training and school inspection are also very significant in the modern education system.
In short, many of the policies that are currently followed in primary education in our country were included in the Hunter Commission.
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