Education and Development Strategy in South and Southeast Asia 9780824891473

Table of contents :
Preface
Contents
CHAPTER ONE Development: A World Movement
CHAPTER TWO Land, People, and Background
CHAPTER THREE Development: Its Meaning, Implications, and Motivations
CHAPTER FOUR The Economic Value of Education
CHAPTER FIVE Educational Planning as a Development Strategy: A Conceptual Framework and Some Guidelines
CHAPTER SIX National Plans for Development in South and Southeast Asia: Philosophy, Goals, and Basic Features
CHAPTER SEVEN National Plans for Development in South and Southeast Asia: Educational Targets and Performance
CHAPTER EIGHT National Plans for Development in South and Southeast Asia: Problems and Strategies
APPENDICES
NOTES
INDEX

Citation preview

Education and Development Strategy in South and Southeast Asia

Education and Development Strategy in South and Southeast Asia by Muhammad Shamsul Huq EAST-WEST CENTER PRESS HONOLULU

Copyright © 1965 by East-West Center Press Library of Congress Card Number 65-20584 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Printed in the United States of America by Kingsport Press, Inc., Kingsport, Tennessee

Preface

T H E NATIONAL PLANS for development mirror the hopes and aspirations of the people of newly emergent countries. They are also the blueprints of some of the most exciting economic and social experiments that the world has ever known. In many cases, developments under these plans are as massive as the problems raised by them are challenging. Those who participate in designing and implementing these plans have, indeed, a unique opportunity, and also a great responsibility in identifying these problems and seeking remedies that will insure the most fruitful utilization of the scarce resources. The present study is the outcome of an inquiry into some of these problems basic to the objectives and methods of planned development vis-à-vis the strategic role of education in South and Southeast Asia, with special reference to Pakistan, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The inspiration for including such an extensive and rapidly changing area in the present study came from a previous study of the region, though different in scope, which I had the privilege of undertaking jointly with three other Asian educators, in 1959, on behalf of UNESCO. (This study formed the basis of what later came to be known as the "Karachi Plan.") Speaking more specifically, the present study is an attempt to examine the national plans of these four countries in the context, on the one hand, of their historical and cultural background, and, on the other, of an analysis of the meaning of development, and of findings of research on the economic value of education. The study also includes a brief account of the experiences of the United States, Japan, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in achieving

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Preface

their present growth, seme guidelines and strategies in educational planning, an examination of the vexing question of priorities, a n d some of the special problems in education, including the financing of education. T h e study was m a d e possible through the facilities made available by the East-West Center ( H o n o l u l u ) and my government. T o both, I am deeply grateful. I d o u b t if the study could have been completed within the short space of six months b u t for the singularly congenial climate and the "opportunity for reflection, research, and writing" that I enjoyed as a Scholar-in-Residence at the Institute of Advanced Projects, East-West Center, University of Hawaii. In this connection I gratefully acknowledge the personal interest evinced by Professor Cole S. Brembeck (State University of Michigan) and M r . B. A h m e d ( E d u c a t i o n Secretary, East P a k i s t a n ) in my participation in this program, and the willing and unfailing assistance I received f r o m Vice-Chancellor E d w a r d Weidner and Director A r t h u r F e r a r u and other staff m e m b e r s at the Institute of Advanced Projects, East-West Center. My grateful thanks go to all those who assisted m e in the difficult task of collecting materials for this study, especially the following: T h e G o v e r n m e n t of Indonesia and its Embassy in the United States; the G o v e r n m e n t of the Republic of the Philippines and its Embassy in the United States; D r . M. N . H u d a (formerly M e m b e r , Pakistan Planning Commission, now Finance Minister, G o v e r n m e n t of East P a k i s t a n ) ; Professor M. N . Islam ( D a c c a University); D r . A . Rauf (Bureau of Education, West P a k i s t a n ) ; Professor H a r o l d A. Anderson (University of C h i c a g o ) ; the B u r e a u of Educational Information and Statistics, E a s t Pakistan; the Regional C e n t e r of UNESCO at B a n g k o k ; Professor Nicholas D e Witt ( I n d i a n a University); Mr. M . Hutasoit (Secretary-General, Indonesian National Planning C o u n c i l ) ; D r . Margaret C o r m a c k ; a n d my colleagues on this prog r a m : D r . K. G . Saiyidain, D r . W a y n e C. G o r d o n , D r . Poyen Koo, and D r . S. M a h m u d . I a m also t h a n k f u l to D r . Azizul H u q ( H e a d of the Department of Mathematics, D a c c a University and Visiting Professor at the University of H a w a i i ) , who helped m e in some of the important statistical calculations—though the responsibility f o r the selection of the statistical data and their interpretation was entirely mine. M y sincere thanks are also due to D r . Vitaliano Bernardino for his kind assist-

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ance with some valuable materials on the Philippines and with facilities to visit a number of educational institutions in that country. I am deeply indebted to Professor Theodore Schultz (University of Chicago) for the time he so graciously spared for an extremely profitable discussion on the chapter, " T h e Economic Value of Education," in which I have drawn considerably on his works. I am also grateful to Professor Frederick Harbison (Princeton University) for a very fruitful session on some of the topics included in this study on human resource development. My gratitude is also due to Dr. A d a m Curie (Harvard University) for many valued suggestions. Miss Jeanette Matsui and Miss Arline Higa worked untiringly in typing and retyping the manuscript. My sincerest thanks go to them. Last but not least, I must mention the inspiration and assistance that I constantly received from my wife who, along with our younger son, was with me in Honolulu when I was engaged in preparing the manuscript. In conclusion, it remains to be stressed that this study was undertaken by me in pursuit of my personal academic and professional interest, and that neither the Government of Pakistan nor any other governments (however much I valued the assistance received from them) were in any way associated with it. The views expressed in this study are, therefore, entirely my own, except where specifically attributed to other sources. If some of the comments in respect to any country are critical of the official standpoints, they spring from a purely academic appraisal and a deep concern for the rapid advance of the countries in the region. They are not intended in any way to detract from the heroic efforts that these countries are making to move forward. M u h a m m a d Shamsul H u q Dacca, Pakistan

Vice-Chancellor

July, 1965

Rajshahi University

Contents

Chapter 1. D e v e l o p m e n t : A World M o v e m e n t

1

2. L a n d , P e o p l e , and B a c k g r o u n d

8

Indonesia 8 The Philippines 17 The Indo-Pak Subcontinent

22

3. D e v e l o p m e n t : Its M e a n i n g , Implications, and M o t i v a t i o n s

44

Development and Environment: Advanced and Underdeveloped Countries 45 Economic Analysis of Development 47 Psychological and Sociological Analysis of Development 54 Studies of Achievement Motivation 56 The Role of the Entrepreneur 60 Guidelines for Development Planning 63 4. T h e E c o n o m i c V a l u e of E d u c a t i o n The Role of Education in Creating Capital 67 Education as Investment 69 The Economic Value of Education in the United States The Economic Value of Education in Japan 83 The Economic Value of Education in the U.S.S.R. 92

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5. E d u c a t i o n a l P l a n n i n g as a D e v e l o p m e n t Strategy: A C o n c e p t u a l F r a m e w o r k and S o m e G u i d e l i n e s Education and Economic Well-being 96 Education and the Over-all National Plan 98 Cultural and Vocational Education 100 Preparing the Plan 102 An Input-Output Model 106 Allocation and Priorities 110 Supply and Demand in Education 112 A Modified Approach to Educational Planning 113 Primary and Secondary Education 116

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Contents Targets in Educational Planning 118 Priorities and Some Strategies 120 Adult Education 122 Competing Claims of Quality and Quantity in Education Development-mindedness 126 Fifteen Guidelines for Educational Planning 127

123

6. National Plans for Development in South and Southeast Asia: Philosophy, Goals, and Basic Features 130 National National National National

Plans Plans Plans Plans

for for for for

Development Development Development Development

in Pakistan 130 in India 150 in Indonesia 156 in the Philippines 158

7. National Plans for Development in South and Southeast Asia: Educational Targets and Performance 162 Pakistan's Educational Plans 162 India's Educational Plans 183 Educational Planning in Indonesia 187 Educational Planning in the Philippines 192 Chinese Development and Education Plans 196 A Summary of Features and Performance 199 8. National Plans for Development in South and Southeast Asia: Problems and Strategies 203 Universal Primary Education and the Karachi Plan 203 Population Growth and Planning for Accommodation 215 Education for Girls 218 Educational Backwardness within Countries 220 Wastage in Primary Education 221 Planning for Enrollment Distribution 224 Balancing the Program in Educational Development 226 The Financing of Educational Development 236 The Problem of Quality in Educational Development 240 Wastage in Secondary and Higher Education 242 Teacher Education 245 Content and Curriculum 248 The Special Problem in Higher Education 251 The Problem of Affiliated Colleges in Pakistan 253 Possibilities for Future Development in Pakistan's Higher Education 258 Appendices

265

Notes

269

Index

281

CHAPTER ONE

Development: A World Movement

I F W O R L D W A R II unleashed the horrors of death and destruction on a scale never seen before, it also brought in its wake a great movement for reconstruction and development. In its speed of progress and impact on the nations of the world, this movement is without parallel in recorded history. In Europe, it achieved unique success in rebuilding the warravaged countries, and generated an unprecedented measure of international co-operation, as epitomized initially in the Marshall Plan and recently in the European Common Market. Outside Europe, the movement found expression in the resurgence of the peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Nations slumbering —in some cases, for centuries—suddenly found themselves in ferment. They literally were swept away by a new passion, hitherto unknown, for freedom and progress. T h e winds of change blew from country to country, raising storms in the minds of the people, shaking age-old customs and time-encrusted institutions to their very foundations, and heralding what has come to be known as the "revolution of the rising expectations" among the great masses of men. The emotional element in this upsurge of enthusiasm is beyond question. It is striking, however, that in most cases the urge for progress is matched by a sense of realism and a readiness to make sustained efforts through carefully planned programs. The fervor and courage with which the people of these awakening areas—twothirds of the world's population—have plunged themselves into the struggle against crushing poverty, disease, and ignorance has 1

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provided a new dimension in the concept itself of human progress and development. L o o k i n g historically at the progress man has made since the dawn of civilization, w e might say that the last two thousand years appear to be packed with his achievements. T h e present century seems to mark the pinnacle of man's success in establishing his mastery over nature, and securing for himself through advances in science and technology the ingredients of a better, richer, and healthier life than was known ever before. What is a matter of supreme significance indeed is that the benefits of such a full life have been brought within the reach of the masses of people in several nations. Y e t , more than two-thirds of the people of the world as a whole still remain outside the pale of these benefits. Man's progress, no matter how remarkable, can hardly be regarded as any ground for complacency when it is seen in world perspective. 1 It does, however, bring a message of hope for the future. The knowledge and technical know-how that the newly emergent nations need for their development are already stored for them to be shared. It is heartening to see, on the one hand, the massive developments resulting from the determined efforts of the people in these nations themselves, and, on the other, the concern and willingness to help them as demonstrated by the more advanced countries. Development programs today represent the most important, allembracing activity in the life of the emergent nations. In scale, magnitude, and national involvement,

financially

as well as emo-

tionally and culturally, they surpass anything ever undertaken in the past. They also represent an ever-growing area of co-operation among the nations, providing altogether new meaning and content to the "one world" concept. T h e progressive development of these areas has taken on the character of a true world movement. If this movement for development succeeds in achieving its goal — b r i n g i n g to all people freedom from wants, from fear, from disease and ignorance—it will be the most important step forward into a new era in the history of mankind, based on "peace through happiness." T h e outcome of the efforts now going into development will be crucial, therefore, in shaping the future of our world. T h e task that confronts the newly emergent nations is as stupendous as it is challenging. These nations, some of which are still

Development:

A World Movement

3

in the very nascent stage, are trying to telescope time, to cover within decades what the advanced nations took centuries to accomplish. They must overcome also the law of growth, which operates in favor of the more advanced nations in the sense that the more developed a nation is, the faster it can move forward. The enormity of the task for the emergent nations is brought into focus clearly by these basic facts about underdeveloped regions: 7) Of the present world population of over three billion, more than two billion (i.e., two-thirds of the total) live in the underdeveloped countries of Asia, Africa, Central America, and South America.^ Their present combined income is only one-third of the total world income, the per capita income being less than $100.00. 2 ) The economic situation of these people actually is more critical than indicated by the per capita income. "For what the economic indices are worth, they show that between the poorest 1.5 billion people—the bottom half of the human population—and the average standard of living prevailing in the rich countries the disparity is on the order of one to 10. More significantly, the indices show that the disparity between the two classes of nations is widening." 3 3) The rapid rise in population, at an annual rate of 2.1 per cent in Africa, 2.7 to 2.8 per cent in Latin America, 2 per cent in East Asia, and 2.3 per cent in Southeast Asia, tends to make the problems of development even more formidable. 4) The majority of this population has hardly any education. The percentage of illiteracy ranges from 80 to 85 in Africa, Southwest and South Central Asia, and from 40 to 44 in Latin America, as compared with from 1 to 4 in North America and Western and Central Europe. 5 ) As a high birth rate neutralizes, to a large extent, the benefits from measures of development, so low longevity and high incidence of sickness reduce the value of the productivity of trained manpower. 6) The underdeveloped countries, which constitute the overwhelming majority of the present 115 members of the United Nations, vary widely in their needs and resources, as much as in their social, political, and cultural institutions. In the words of Professor John Kenneth Galbraith, "economic development is a process—one that extends in range from new nations of Africa but slightly removed from their tribal structure to the elaborate economic and social

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apparatus of Western nations. At each stage along this continuum there is an appropriate policy for further advance. What is appropriate at one stage is wrong at another." 4 7) Another important factor, often overlooked, is the psychology of the people in regard to development, and this in turn is influenced profoundly by the political climate both within the particular country and outside. For one thing, import of technology involves binational and often international co-operation and understanding. Not infrequently, political considerations seem to enter into the process, thus exposing the perspective for planning to the danger of being distorted by the overly nationalistic outlook, not only of the country needing the technological aid but also of the country offering or likely to offer it. The purpose of the present study is a limited one: to examine the role assigned to education in the development of the region commonly known as South and Southeast Asia, and to bring out in this context the major objectives and guiding concepts of educational plans, means adopted for implementation, and results achieved. Because of the complexity even within this region, and the limited time and resource materials available, this study is based on selected countries —with special reference to Pakistan, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines—which have some similarities in needs and present levels of development. The countries studied, taken together, have over 81 per cent of the total population of the Colombo Plan countries in the region. The study attempts to highlight the experiences of these countries as they tackled the major problems in educational development. It is hoped that this information will be valuable to educational planners, besides contributing, at least in some measure, to a better understanding of what is involved specifically in the task of educational development in this region. An attempt also has been made to suggest a conceptual framework for educational planning as an integral part of the over-all plan for national development. The study draws on the experiences of advanced countries like the United States, the U.S.S.R., and Japan, and at the same time keeps in view the conditions peculiar to the developing nations in the region. Any general theory of planning in an absolute sense, we must stress, is ruled out by the fact that

Development:

A World

Movement

5

development is a continuous dynamic process; it takes different patterns and courses, and is influenced by the varied and changing conditions in the different countries. E a c h of these countries has its own unique historical and cultural background, and its own social, political, and economic institutions to inspire and guide its development goals. According to these goals, e a c h country has evolved its own plans for development based on its needs and resources. The selected countries, however, have many qualities in common: 1 ) They all went through a fairly long period of political and economic exploitation of the masses of people, either by an alien colonial power or by a feudal ruling group within the country. 2 ) Although their emergence as national sovereign states is a phenomenon of recent occurrence, most of them are heirs to a heritage of culture and civilization steeped in history. 3) Now regarded as poor and backward, some of them were once great powers. The fame of their wealth earned for this region the appellation of "the gorgeous East," and inspired the quest which led to the discovery of the New World and created the preconditions for the Industrial Revolution in Europe. " T h e 17th-century English writer Thomas Mun, exaggerating and oversimplifying, maintained that the world commerce of his day consisted in the exchange of the mineral wealth of the new Indies in the West for the luxuries and refinements of the old Indies in the East." 5 T h e r e is no doubt that this commerce between the West and the E a s t opened up new markets and resources, thus serving as a great lever for industrial growth in Europe. For the East, this was the beginning of a period of stagnation and progressive economic decline. It was reduced gradually to the status of an exporter of its primary products, raw materials and minerals, and an importer of the finished goods. The two opposite movements thus set into motion by the historical events of the period from about the middle of the sixteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century largely account for the wide gap existing today between the advanced countries of the West a n d the developing countries of South and Southeast Asia. T h e developing countries have made some headway in their journey from a predominantly agricultural economy to a stage of semi-industrialization. Though they are yet far from the goal of self-

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sustaining economy, they are pressing forward, as far as their resources will permit, with the process of progressive industrialization and improved agricultural production. 4) They have an administrative base to support their developmental efforts, and also an organized educational system. Neither can be regarded as adequate, however, especially in view of the rapidly growing needs of these countries. Forty to forty-five per cent of the children of school age are still out of school. T h e majority of the adult population had no schooling and are illiterate. 5 ) In the expansion of education, the most critical problem is coping with the rapidly growing population of school age. While the high birth rate continues to be a characteristic demographic trend in this region, the rate of mortality among infants and children has been checked substantially with the improvement in health and sanitation during the last few decades. As a result, in the present stage of transition, the ratio of child to adult population is considerably higher than in most of the advanced countries. F o r example, the ratio in Southeast Asia is around 15 per cent ( 1 9 per cent in the Philippines) as against 8 per cent in the United Kingdom. Historically viewed, education has been held in high esteem throughout the region, mainly because of the importance attached to learning in all the great religions to which the people of the region were exposed during their long history. T h e educational systems of the region have gone through many great upheavals and disruption. Each ruling power has tried to establish reforms according to its own concepts of education. The system now existing in a particular country will bear resemblance to the system of the Western country with which it was last associated most closely. In many cases, however, this resemblance applies to an earlier stage of education in the given "model" rather than the system now in existence there. Modern Western education has suffered no loss of esteem in these countries during the recent period of change in political status. On the contrary, the demand for such education, particularly in the fields of science and technology, is greater than ever before. At the same time, there also is an increasing awareness among the emergent countries of their own cultural heritage. They recognize the need to inspire their social and educational systems with the values o n which this heritage has been built over the centuries. This heritage is the

Development:

A World Movement

7

product of all the great religions that arose in the East and brought the world from time to time, beginning with the axial period, their eternal messages of equality, tolerance, justice, and universal brotherhood of mankind. This heritage found expression in some of the greatest civilizations, the Aryan, Chinese, and Islamic, all of which left impressions on the world of their times as deep as that of Western civilization on the modern world. As newly emergent national sovereign states, naturally the countries in Southeast Asia have their own national and political aspirations. These have profound emotional value for the people, and are manifest in the urge they show for national unity, stability, and rapid progress. Plans for development of education in a particular country, therefore, are bound up with its historical and social background as well as with its over-all national objectives. These elements are surveyed in the following chapter.

CHAPTER TWO

Land, People, and Background

Indonesia The Indonesian Republic is composed of a group of over 1,850 islands, located between Asia and Australia and the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The islands fall into three main groups: the Greater Sunda Islands, including Sumatra and Java; the Lesser Sunda Islands, including Bali; and the Maluku (Molucca) Islands, including West Irian. The total area of the country is 1,491,564 square kilometers, 1 about one twenty-second of the continent of Asia. The larger 350 islands have an area of more than 100 square kilometers each. The country's extreme longitudes ( 9 5 ° - 1 4 4 ° E. Long.) and extreme latitudes (6° N. L a t . - l l ° S. Lat.) lie 5,000 kilometers and 2,000 kilometers apart, respectively. Indonesia's population was 95.65 million in 1961. Over 65 per cent of Indonesia's people live in Java and Madura. The minority groups include 2.5 million Chinese, as well as some Europeans, Arabs, and Indians. The average density of population is 63 people per square kilometer for the country and over 400 people per square kilometer for Java. 2 A large part of Indonesia is mountainous, and its numerous volcanoes and heavy rainfall (1,000-3,000 mm. a year) bring fertility to the soil. The country's forest resource is considerable, covering 25 per cent of Java, 62 per cent of Sumatra, and 62 per cent of East Indonesia. A fertile soil, tropical climate, and adequate rainfall contribute to the successful raising of other crops (e.g., pepper, copra, capoc, tobacco, nutmeg, coffee, rubber, tea, sugar cane, and 8

Land, People, and Background

9

cocoa). Because industry is still undeveloped, most manufactured goods have to be imported in exchange for these agricultural products. HISTORY OF THE INDONESIAN PEOPLE Prior to A.D. 100. "During this period, Indonesia was already inhabited by the Javanese, Sudanese, Minangkabau, Atjeh, Batax and others. On the basis of research into their languages and customs, it is thought that they all stemmed from the same Austronesian race, and had the same place of origin [Southeast Asia], . . . They already knew the use of iron and how to cultivate rice and raise cattle. They were also a seafaring people." 3 Their society was community centered, and their religion was a form of animism. In spite of the common origin, the groups developed different cultures and ways of life. This was due partly to climatic and geographical factors, and partly to the impact of other cultures, which penetrated the islands from the East as well as the West. A.D. 100-1500: Hindu Period. The Hindus, who already had developed a high level of civilization, came to Indonesia to trade, attracted by its wealth. They profoundly influenced the life and culture of the islands, particularly Java, Bali, and parts of Sumatra, for about 1,500 years from the first century A.D. "In the areas over which they ruled, the Hindu and Buddhist religions were adopted by the people; the caste system was introduced; agriculture was introduced; the Sanskrit languages started to influence the local languages and the democratic system of government which had prevailed before the advent of the Hindus was replaced by a monarchial system." 4 1400-1600: Muslim Period. The Muslim traders from India and Iran brought Islam to Indonesia. The cult spread so rapidly that soon it became the main religion in the country, very deeply affecting the way of life of the people. "For example, the Arabic script was adopted in Sumatra where it is still used. The caste system was abolished except in Java where until the Japanese period, it could still be found in weaker form in the feudal system." 5 1500-1600: Portuguese and Spanish Period. The fame of the country's wealth continued to attract newcomers to Indonesia, among them the Portuguese and Spanish. They conquered only a small part of the country, however, and did not stay long. Their

10 Education and Development Strategy influence is visible mostly in the Maluku Islands where Christianity was adopted as a religion. A few Indonesian words have Portuguese or Spanish origins. 1600-1942: Dutch Period. The country came under the Dutch as a result of their victory over the Portuguese. Indonesia was ruled by the Dutch East India Company (the V.O.C.) until the end of the eighteenth century, when administration of the islands was taken over by the Dutch government and vested in the newly formed Netherlands East Indies Government. Gradually, the whole of the archipelago came under the control of the Dutch, who were guided by the desire to make as much profit as possible. The educational and cultural interests of the people received very scant recognition until the end of the nineteenth century. Government policy toward the needs of the people began to show slight improvement as a result of the pressure of Dutch liberals. "Though Indonesia remained a Dutch colony for about three and a half centuries, the cultural influences of the Dutch on the Indonesians cannot be compared with those of Hindu or Moslem rulers, being restricted to a very small educated group. The overwhelming mass of the population remained in a state of great backwardness (about 90% of them being illiterate) and their standard of living was very low." 6 1942-45: Japanese Period. During this short period of occupation, the Japanese culture could produce hardly any lasting effect on the way of life of the people, particularly in view of the mental resistance shown by the Indonesians. "On the contrary, the trials and exploitations the Indonesians had to suffer strengthened their desire for freedom," and Indonesian leaders took full advantage of this situation in spreading national consciousness among the people. When the Japanese surrendered to the Allied forces on August 17, 1945, the Indonesian leaders, Sukarno and Hatta, supported by the people, seized governmental power and proclaimed the independence of their country. The Republic of Indonesia. The attempt of the Dutch to reoccupy Indonesia resulted in a war which lasted from 1947 to 1949. Then, as a result of mediation by the United Nations, the de jure Dutch sovereignty over Indonesia was transferred formally to the Indonesian government. The new republic, started with a federal form of government, changed over to a unitary form in 1950.

Land, People, and Background

11

EDUCATION IN INDONESIA Hindu and Muslim Periods. The educational system developed in Indonesia bears the impress of the various influences which shaped the Indonesian society. During both the Hindu and the Muslim periods, education was predominantly religious in its aim. The institutions during the Hindu period were called pesantren, housed in simple buildings close to the tjandis, places of worship. These buildings also served as meeting places "where problems concerning the community and religion were discussed." The schools charged no fees and were maintained by the community. "More is known about the educational institutions established during the Islamic period, since they were left practically undisturbed by subsequent rulers. They were called 'langgar' or 'Surau,' sometimes also 'pesantren.' Except for the fact that the Islamic faith was taught instead of Hindu, these schools resembled 'pesantren' of the Hindu period in their method of teaching, their conditions and teacher-pupil relationship." 7 The pupils treated the teachers with great reverence. "The daily routine began very early with prayers. After the students had attended to their domestic duties, classes were started and a period of independent study followed. After a rest period, afternoon lessons were started, followed again by a period of independent study. The pupils were expected to fulfill their religious duties, which included saying their prayers five times a day, and were also entrusted with all the domestic duties of the school." 8 Portuguese and Spanish Period. The first schools on European lines were established during the Portuguese and Spanish period. The priests who accompanied the Portuguese in their wars of conquest established such schools in the Maluku Islands with a view to "converting the native population to the Catholic faith." In these schools, religion was the main subject, but the three R's also were taught. These schools began to decline after the departure of the Portuguese for lack of financial support. Dutch Period. The Dutch East India Company established schools with the object of spreading the Protestant religion. These schools were found only in the Maluku Islands, some of the lesser Sunda Islands, in Batavia (now known as D j a k a r t a ) , and in Semarang, that is, "in those regions where the population had adopted Christianity." 9

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The Dutch schools were held for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. The medium of instruction was Dutch at first, but later changed to Malay. There was neither any distinct system of classification of pupils nor any fixed curriculum. T h e subjects taught included religion, singing, reading, writing, arithmetic, and "moral education." These schools were confined to Christian students; attendance was not regular, nor was the teaching competent. The Dutch schools, therefore, had a very limited effect on the education of the country. The situation continued to be the same under the Netherland East Indies Government until the issue of instructions contained in Statute Book Number 4, of 1818, concerning schools for European children and those for Indonesian children who had adopted Christianity. The next important step was taken in 1830, with issuance of an order by the governor-general requiring all regents and residents to establish native primary schools with a curriculum consisting of moral education, reading, and writing. In the absence of any specific financial grant, however, this order was not very effective. In 1848, the government assumed responsibility for the provision of education for the native population. For the first time, funds were set apart for the specific purpose. In 1855, instruction was issued to the governor-general to improve and extend education and to establish at least one school in each regency. The establishment of a Department of Education in 1867 marked the definite recognition by the Dutch government of its responsibility for education. In 1871, a royal decree with regulations covering various aspects of education was issued. Important recommendations for improvement were made: 1 ) The number of teacher training schools was to be increased. 2 ) The primary schools were to educate the children of the masses also. 3) The local vernacular was to be used as the medium of instruction; where this was not possible, Malay was to be used. 4) Reading, writing, and arithmetic were to be the basic subjects taught. 5) The optional subjects were to be advanced arithmetic, geography, history, physics, biology, agriculture, drawing, surveying, singing, and the Dutch language.

Land, People, and Background

13

6) All educational expenses—less the school fees received— were to be paid by the government. (This regulation was withdrawn at the beginning of the twentieth century when village schools were introduced.) 7) Religion was not to be taught as a school subject. The government also adopted a strict neutral policy in regard to religions by stipulating that only those schools open to all religious sects would be eligible for financial assistance. By a regulation decreed in 1868, Indonesian and other "foreign" children—subject to their fulfilment of certain requirements—were admitted to the Dutch schools. As a result of all these measures, the number of schools increased rapidly, especially in Java. The rest of the country, however, did not receive much attention. The period from 1860 to 1878 saw the establishment of the first government secondary schools for the Dutch population. An important factor which provided an impetus to the growth of education was the Agrarian Law of 1870. This law allowed private individuals and companies to obtain land for cultivation; thus, it stimulated economic growth and produced an increase in government revenues. These revenues were soon to shrink because of war expenditures. Dutch conquest of territories beyond Java at the end of the nineteenth century meant a setback to educational progress in Indonesia, for there were sharp reductions in the education budget. As a consequence, the educational policy was revised by the Royal Decree of 1892 "which divided the native primary schools into first and second class schools, the former being for the upper classes of Indonesian society and the latter for the masses." Schools for the masses, located in the villages, offered only the three R's. Schools for the aristocracy, to be established at the headquarters of residencies, regencies, and districts, provided a more extensive curriculum, including the three R's, history, geography, physics, and drawing. The village schools were to be maintained by the village communities with merely a subsidy from the government, whereas the entire cost of the other schools was met by the government. In the new economy drive, the teacher-education program was cut down considerably and teachers' salaries were reduced. The policy of limiting government aid to private schools open to

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Education and Development Strategy

children from all religious denominations was also revised. As a result, any school that advanced the intellectual abilities of its pupils could ask for a government subsidy, even if the school taught a particular religion. By 1894, certain restrictions were imposed on the admission of Indonesian children to Dutch schools. For example, children were required to be over seven years of age and have a sufficient knowledge of the Dutch language. Besides, the tuition fees were high and Dutch children were given preference over the Indonesians. The Twentieth Century. A change in the educational policy of the colonial rulers was brought about by the impact of the growth of liberal ideas in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. For the first time, provision was made for acquainting the natives with Western science and culture, though only the upper classes of Indonesian society profited from this development. Because of the cost involved in the expansion, in 1915, of the system of five-year second-class schools for the village population, a new type of school for 6- to 9-year-olds was introduced, with twoyear extension schools for those completing the village schools. "As, however, most pupils did not go further than the village school, it was much more economical to maintain a relatively large number of village schools with much smaller numbers of extension schools than to maintain the second class schools which were gradually abolished." In 1903, two-year post-primary education courses had been added to the Dutch primary schools and were attended by Dutch pupils. At the Dutch native schools, the Indonesians also were admitted to the post-primary courses, later extended to three years. In 1914, these post-primary courses were separated from the Dutch primary schools to form independent schools known as Mulo (schools for advanced primary education). Gradually, the need was felt for the expansion of the course offered by the Mulo and, in 1919, a three-year high school (called "AMS") was established as a continuation of the three-year Mulo. Completion of this high school qualified a student to enter the university. In 1921, the linking school (five-year course) was introduced to serve as a connection between the village school (three-year course) where the medium was the local language and the Mulo where the medium was Dutch. These five-year schools, however, were very few

Land, People, and Background

15

in number. As a result, by far the greatest number of children did not proceed beyond the village school. Indeed, only a small number finished the extension school. During the twentieth century, the educational system became more oriented towards Western culture. This century also brought the establishment of new educational institutions: Technical School, Djakarta ( 1 9 0 6 ) ; School of Law, Djakarta ( 1 9 0 9 ) ; Culture School, Bogor ( 1 9 1 1 ) ; Agricultural High School, Bogor ( 1 9 1 2 ) ; Technical School, Surabaja ( 1 9 1 4 ) ; Commercial Course, Surabaja ( 1 9 1 4 ) ; Culture School, Malang ( 1 9 1 8 ) ; Domestic Science School ( 1 9 1 8 ) ; and Commercial High School, Djakarta ( 1 9 3 5 ) . Prior to independence, four distinct types of educational systems could be identified in Indonesia: ( 7 ) Dutch schools, meant primarily for the Dutch children and run on the system established in Holland; ( 2 ) schools for the native population; ( J ) religious schools maintained by private Muslim organizations; and (4) Chinese schools, including both nationalist Chinese and Dutch Chinese schools. The village schools in the second system were far from efficient. The teachers themselves had very little education: two years of training after extension school (six-year course). T h e vast majority of the nation's children attended these schools, and most of them relapsed into illiteracy a few years after leaving school. Furthermore, these schools did not teach the Indonesian language—at that time, Malay—whereas in the top class of the extension school, Malay was the sole medium of teaching. T h e Dutch native school (called " H I S " ) offered a seven-year course, in which the subjects were the same as those in the Dutch primary school. T h e medium in the first three classes was the local language, but Dutch was taught as a subject. F r o m the fourth class on, Dutch was used as the medium and Malay was taught as a subject. Those who finished the Dutch native school could enter the Mulo (three years, with an additional year to acquire Dutch for those who did not know i t ) . Those who completed the " A M S " course (another three years) could enter the university. In other words, Indonesians were required to go through seven years of secondary education— as against five years for the Dutch—to enter the university. As already pointed out, the system had benefited only a few: the

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Education

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aristocracy, government officials, and the wealthy. The vast masses of people had in fact remained outside the pale. The Republic of Indonesia. Independence brought a sharp realization of the inadequacies in the existing educational system. The need was keenly felt to reform and develop the educational system in conformity with the philosophical concepts of the "Pantja Sila" on which the new state of Indonesia was based: "recognition of the Divine Omnipotence, humaneness, national consciousness, belief and faith in democracy, social justice for all." 10 The great emphasis placed on the role of education is indicated by the following excerpts from Article 30 of the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia: 1 ) Every Indonesian citizen is entitled to education. 2)

H e will be free to make his choice of education.

3)

There is no restriction on education except for the supervision to be exercised by the public authority in accordance with the law.

Article 41 of the Provisional Constitution further provides that: 1 ) T h e authorities shall promote the spiritual and physical development of the people. 2)

T h e authorities shall, in particular, aim at the speediest possible abolition of illiteracy.

3)

T h e authorities shall provide for public education with the objectives of the deepening of the national consciousness, the strengthening of the unity of Indonesia, the stimulation and deepening of the sense of humanity, of tolerance and respect for the individual's religious convictions, and the provision within school hours of the opportunity for religious teaching in accordance with the parents' wishes.

4)

T h e authorities shall aim at the speedy introduction of compulsory primary education.

During the Dutch period, the administration of education had been shared by several bodies. T h e Department of Education maintained and operated the Dutch native schools and extension schools. Village schools were left to the care of the local communities, particularly the Indonesian princes. 1 1 Curriculum and textbooks, however, were prescribed by the central authority of the government. At present, "defense, finance, law and foreign affairs are entirely in the hands of the central government, but matters concerning

Land, People, and Background

17

agriculture, social affairs and public works have been transferred partly to the provinces and partly to the regency and village." Some functions transferred to the autonomous units still remain under the supervision of the central government. As regards education, the position is stated in Government Regulation Number 65 of 1951 by which the following powers were vested in the provinces: to establish and maintain primary schools, to grant subsidies to private primary schools, to establish and maintain courses for the advancement of the general knowledge of the people, to establish people's libraries, to establish the provisional teacher-training courses (called " K P K p k b " ) , to promote youth welfare, and to promote local arts. T h e regencies were entrusted with the following functions, among others: to abolish illiteracy, to grant subsidies to private organizations undertaking abolition of illiteracy, to establish and maintain courses for the advancement of general knowledge on a primary education level, to establish people's libraries, to promote local arts, and to promote in every possible way the establishment of courses for various trades which are necessary in certain areas. T o implement these regulations, each province has a department of education, the head of which is responsible to the local administrative board.

The Philippines Seventy-one hundred islands clustering together about a thousand miles from continental Asia, comprising a land area of

115,600

square miles, constitute the Philippine Republic. Of these islands, 2 , 7 7 3 are large enough to be named, and only about a thousand have human habitation. T h e Philippines lie in the torrid zone a little to the north of the equator. There are two main seasons—the dry season, beginning with the cool, pleasant days of December and ending with the hot and stuffy month of May, and the wet season, from rainy June to stormy November.

Rainfall is abundant,

and two-thirds of

the

country is covered with virgin forest with an estimated annual output of 4 8 6 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 board feet of lumber. The country has large deposits of both metallic and nonmetallic

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Education

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minerals, surpassing Alaska in gold production. Other mineral resources—copper, lead, coal, manganese, and chrome ore—are abundant also, so that the country is justifiably famed as the "El Dorado of the Orient." 12 Among its agricultural products, tobacco (in Cagayan Valley in the north) and rice (in the central plain of Luzon) are foremost, and included among principal exports of the Philippines. The country is served by many navigable rivers, lakes, and natural harbors. THE PEOPLE A N D THEIR HISTORY

The population of the Philippines was 25,000,000 in 1961 (19,234,182 in 1948). The bulk of the people live along the seacoast. The highest density of population is in the Island of Cebu, and the lowest in the Island of Mindanao. Average density for the country as a whole is 215 per square mile. Over 90 per cent of the population are Christians, most of them Roman Catholics. The Muslims constitute the next largest group. Racially the Filipinos are of Malay origin. Their culture was influenced profoundly by the Chinese, Hindu, and Islamic civilizations before the coming of Christianity and Spanish rule in the sixteenth century. "The pre-Spanish Filipinos possessed an Arabic-like system of writing for which they used bamboo canes, barks of trees, banana leaves and sharp sticks. Although they had no organized system of education, it was not unusual for adults to know how to read and write." 13 Inculcation of reverence for the god Bathala, obedience to authority, loyalty to the family or clan, love for parents and elders, and respect for truth and righteousness were the chief aims of education.14 The Spanish occupation of the islands exposed the country to Latin civilization and Christianity. Schools were opened by the Spanish missionaries to impart religious instruction. Christianity spread rapidly in all parts, except western Mindanao and Sulu where "Mohammedanism had gained a strong foothold difficult to dislodge. In the south, even to this day, 'Moro panditas' (priests) still preach the monotheistic gospel of Islam." 15 With the transfer of rule to the Americans and the introduction of democratic ideas, the country underwent far-reaching changes in its political, economic, and educational systems. The government of

Land, People, and Background

19

the Philippines followed the pattern of the United States government, in many respects, though the provinces and cities did not enjoy the same measures of autonomy as the American states. The Filipinos spoke about eight languages and dialects. The Spanish missionaries had taught the Castilian tongue and the Americans, in the absence of a common language, introduced English. Now, serious and systematic efforts are being made to promote the use of "Filipino," the newly adopted Filipino national language. This is Tagalog, one of the major vernaculars spoken in central Luzon. EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Filipinos have gone through at least five different systems of education during the past five centuries. Though no definite information is available about the system of the pre-Spanish period, apparently there was one which enabled the Filipinos to make "some progress in learning to read and write before the Spanish conquest." i e Spanish Period. Very little was done in the field of education during the Spanish period until 1863, when a royal decree was promulgated requiring the government to reform the educational system in the Philippines. Prior to 1863, the Spanish government merely issued "royal orders to missionaries to educate the 'Indios' " (the Spanish name for the indigenous people). 17 This Decree of 1863 was not properly implemented and the reforms, mainly for lack of financial support, remained inoperative in most parts of the islands. 18 The new system, however, at least provided for three classes of primary schools: ( 1 ) those in towns with a population of 5,000, ( 2 ) incomplete primary schools in barrios with a population of 500, and ( 3 ) those in the smallest barrios.19 The curriculum for boys was to include Christian doctrine, principles of morality, the three R's, Spanish, geography, history of Spain, local music, rules of deportment, and practical agriculture. The Superior Council of Primary Instruction, which later became known as the Superior Board of Public Instruction, was to be responsible for supervision of the schools. Under the Decree of 1863, a normal school was opened in 1865. The first normal school for women was opened in 1869 in Manila. Educational growth was very slow because of the lack of an

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Education and Development

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adequate supply of teachers, instructional materials, and funds, "By 1898, there were 2,167 primary schools attended by 200,000 boys and girls." 20 In 1889, education had been declared compulsory for all children between six and twelve years of age, but without any provision for enforcement of compulsion. Revolutionary Government. The revolutionary government of the short-lived Philippine Republic during the war with Spain and later with the United States assigned great importance to education in its program of reforms. The Maldos Congress established, among other things, a comprehensive public school system, a military school, and a university. A position of director of public schools to advise the president was proposed. Compulsory primary instruction was adopted as a national policy. 21 But the new government could actually achieve very little during its short regime ( 1 8 9 7 - 9 8 ) . The Twentieth Century. The goal of the educational system established during the American period was stated in the instructions of President McKinley issued to the Philippine Commission on April 7, 1900: It will be the duty of the Commission to promote and, as they find occasion, to improve the system of instruction already inaugurated by the military authorities. In doing this, they should regard as o: first importance the extension of a system of primary instruction which shall be free to all, and which shall tend to fit the people for the dutes of citizenship and for the ordinary avocations of a civilized community.

The local dialects used as the media of instruction in the initial stage were to be replaced by English as " a common medium of communication." The Spanish system was considered unsuitable by the Americans because of its predominantly religious bias and the close relationship with the church. T h e system of free public nonsectarian schools established n the Philippines by the Americans grew rapidly and "was instrunental in developing a people with a relatively high degree of literacy for the time and in stimulating enough common interests that the readiness of the people for commonwealth status, and eventually for nationhood was recognized." 2 2 The curriculum for Filipino public schools during the early diys of the American period was patterned on those used in the United

Land,

People,

and Background

21

States. Gradually this curriculum was modified and adapted to local needs and conditions. One significant feature was that industrial education was included in the program of studies in all elementary grades, and vocational courses were offered in secondary schools. Normal schools were established for the preparation of teachers. Special vocational schools (trade schools, agricultural schools, and farm schools) were set up to meet the economic needs of the country. The growth of education in the Philippines during 1910-30 is indicated by the following table: 23

E N R O L L M E N T BY C U R R I C U L U M IN PHILIPPINES, 1910-30

THE

INTERMEDIATE YEAR

1910 1920 1930

GENERAL

TEACHING

16,706 52,971 191,116

731

FARMING

TRADE

II- K E E P I N G

1,285 2,511 1,172

544 2,068 4,150

392 15,550

BUSINESS

79

SECONDARY YEAR

GENERAL

NORMAL

ACRI-

TRADE

CULTURE

1910 1920 1930

2,747 10,676 52,389

339 1,843 7,266

ELEMENTARY

1898-1900 1909-1910 1920-1921 1930-1931 1947-1948

6,900 584,234 924,410 1,143,708 3,090,956

137 4,050

HKEEPING;

73 266 5,231

SECONDARY

3,404 18,813 79,054 178,954

423 4,848 COLLECE

279 1,786 2,384

COM-

NAUTICAL

MERCE

245 344 595

58 84 TOTAL

6,900 587,638 943,502 1,224,548 3,272,294

During the Japanese occupation, an attempt was made to impose the Japanese political philosophy on the people. This did not leave any enduring mark on the educational system, although the Japanese emphasis on vocational and technical training did in certain areas.24 The Philippine Republic. The establishment of the new Philippine Republic after World War II saw the development of national plans for an educational system to suit the country's needs and aspirations. These plans embodied a modification of the system established during the American period. The educational institutions during the colonial regimes had

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Education

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"taught what the conquerors believed to be the best for a people. Spain, the United States, and Japan—each told us what was good for us, designed a school system for the entire country, and prescribed the means to realize these objectives. Spain placed the teaching of Christianity above everything else; America believed her mission here was to train us for democracy; and Japan sought to draw us into an East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." 25 The major aims of education in the new republic were outlined in Section 5 of Article XIII of the Philippine Constitution: All educational institutions shall be under the supervision of and subject to regulation by the state. The government shall establish and maintain a complete and adequate system of public education, and shall provide at least free public primary instruction and citizenship training to all adult citizens. All schools shall aim to develop moral character, personal discipline, civic conscience, and vocational efficiency, and to teach the duties of citizenship. Optional religious instruction shall be maintained in the public schools as now authorized by law. 2 6

Enrollment in the primary schools in the Philippines had risen to five million by 1950-51. During the same year, the cost of all education met out of the national budget was 38 per cent of the total public expenditure for the year. In 1958-59, total student enrollment in the Philippines was 479,000 (i.e., over 12 per cent of the age group). The total enrollment in vocational schools of all types rose from 18,000 before the war to 57,000 by 1959-60. 2 7 "The educational system in the Philippines is highly centralized, although during the last three years, there has been a significant tendency towards giving teachers and local school officials increasing freedom and participation in the formulation of school policies, in developing a better curriculum and in experimenting with newer methods of teaching and administration. The system is headed by the Secretary of Education, a member of the President's Cabinet; under him are the directors of public and private schools, who are responsible for the supervision and control of all schools." 2 8

The Indo-Pak

Subcontinent

The Indo-Pak subcontinent has been the cradle of the great civilization known as the Indus Valley Civilization, dating back to 3,000

Land, People, and Background

23

B.C. During this long period of history, many races—Aryans, Scythians, Mongolians, Arabs, and Turks—came to the land at various times and left on its growing civilization the stamp of their respective cultures, languages, and religions. Each of them profoundly influenced the people's social, economic, and political institutions, as well as the course of their history. The earliest inhabitants, presumably of the Dravidian stock, developed a very rich civilization, akin in many respects and believed to be contemporaneous with the Sumerian civilization. Excavations at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa (West Pakistan) have provided ample evidence that this civilization flourished around 3,000 B.C. The people apparently lived good lives, had sound ideas about sanitation and public health, possessed a fine sense of aesthetics, and attained a high level in the art of town planning and construction. Such a high cultural level obviously could not have been achieved without education. Whatever was the educational system that might have existed, it apparently did not survive the vicissitudes of time and the ravages of war that came in the wake of the Aryans. The later history of the subcontinent may be divided into four periods, for the purpose of this study: pre-Muslim, Muslim, British, and the present. EDUCATION IN THE PRE-MUSLIM PERIOD

In the pre-Muslim period, the art of continuous and systematic recording of history had not yet developed. Still, some idea about the social and educational structures of this period can be gleaned from the religious and mythological literature. The educational system prevailing among the early Aryans is known ordinarily as the Brahminic system. Under this, education was for a long time confined to the Brahmins or the priestly class in the hierarchy of the Hindu religion. The early Aryans, who depended on a pastoral economy, divided themselves into a number of vocational classes. These, in the course of time, hardened into rigid castes, namely, Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (nobles and warriors), and Vaisyas (agriculturists and traders), with the great mass of non-Aryans—including the original inhabitants of the land— classed as Sudras (untouchables). The aim of education was to prepare the Brahmins for their vocation as priests. "Each experienced priest (Brahmin) probably taught his sons or nephews the ritual

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Education

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lore and hymns which were in the family by letting them repeat them over and again after him until all had been committed to memory, and probably each family guarded the secrecy of its own sacred tradition." 29 Toward 500 B.C., it appears, young Kshatriyas and Vaisyas also began to receive education from Brahmin teachers in preparation for their respective vocations. Three types of institutions gradually grew up: the Pcirishad (assemblies of elders, almost exclusively the Brahmins), the tols (religious schools of Sanskrit learnings, as a rule confined to the Brahmins), and the pathsalas (primary schools). The primary schools were open to all except the untouchables and the aboriginal inhabitants. "It is impossible to find any indication that these classes ever came within the range of the vast system of public schools which existed in the country from the ancient times." 30 The primary schools existed in all large villages and usually consisted of a dozen or twenty pupils with a teacher assembled under a tree, in a temple, shed, or some other kind of building set apart for the purpose. The teacher was an official of the community and received either rent-free lands or a share of the village harvest. His chief function was to offer worship to the village deity on behalf of the villagers, and his subsidiary function was to instruct the children of the three higher castes in the three R's and the precepts of the Puranic legends. This type of education was limited in its scope; it was very formal, with emphasis on mechanical memory; and its methods were extremely rigid, a practice that persists even to this day in many places. Nevertheless, it appears to have produced some outstanding scholars who achieved notable success in extending the frontiers of knowledge, particularly in the fields of mathematics and astronomy. For example, the concept of zero was their invention, and this in turn formed the foundation of the work of the Arabs and later of Europeans which resulted in revolutionizing the world of mathematics. Learning was very highly valued within the society, and the ideal of Vedic asceticism, as practiced by the Brahmins, greatly influenced the social and cultural life of the people. The advent of Buddhism marked a new chapter in the history of education. Buddhism did not recognize either the Vedas or the hierarchy of castes headed by the Brahmins. Its teachers were not

Land, People, and Background

25

Brahmins (except those converted to Buddhism). Education was open to all comers. The goal of education was a life of solitary meditation, even though most monks (bhikhus) lived communally in monasteries. The duration of education was about fourteen years, starting when the child reached the age of six. The curriculum for children up to the age of ten included religious worship, Pali formulae, composition, grammar, including verb roots (Dhatu), and cases and conjunctions. The older boys studied Vritti-Sutra, a commentary on the foregoing grammatical study. Boys destined for a lay life left the monasteries when they were twelve years or younger, while those electing a monastic life stayed permanently. Education greatly flourished during this period and there are "records of well-known seats of learning almost like modern universities, where thousands of students and teachers lived together and pursued the path of learning." 31 The famous among them were located in Nalanda and Vikramshila in Bihar (India) and Taxila (West Pakistan). The Buddhist system flourished until A.D. 629-45, as observed by the Chinese traveler, Hiuen Tsiang. But Brahminism was on its way to a revival. It began to reassert itself gradually and Buddhism eventually succumbed, leaving a deep impression on the thought and ideals of the people. Although the curriculum and methods of this kind of education cannot be regarded as very broad, the contribution of the Buddhist system lay in effectively challenging the concept that education was a privilege to be confined to the few. The advances made in raising the level of education also were notable achievements of this period. EDUCATION IN THE MUSLIM PERIOD

Islam came to the subcontinent with the Arab traders and sailors early in the eighth century A.D., in the coastal regions of Sind (West Pakistan), South India, and Noakhali and Chittagong (East Pakistan). The first military invasion in the Sind region took place in A.D. 712, under Muhammad Bin Quasim. But the real beginning of Muslim rule is marked by the conquest of the northwest part of the subcontinent by Mahmud of Ghazni in the eleventh century. Though the political power changed hands from one dynasty to another, Muslim rule continued without interruption until 1757, when British rule was established over part of the subcontinent.

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Education

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The influence of Islam could be seen not only in the far-reaching reforms of the governmental organization, but also in the entire social and educational system. The Islamic conception of the universal brotherhood of mankind, equality, and dignity of the individual provided new values and bases for social and cultural reforms, and had a profound effect on the philosophy and outlook of the people. As a result, extensive changes were effected in the educational system also. The emphasis placed by Islam on education as a duty incumbent on every woman and man naturally led to the rapid expansion of schools. The current philosophy of education was colored by the teachings of Islam. It also was inspired by the great Muslim contributions to the world's knowledge in literature, history, philosophy, mathematics, science, and medicine. Among the basic teachings of Islam that have an important bearing on education are these precepts from the Holy Quran and the Sayings of the Prophet: Brotherhood of truth is one in all ages; it is narrow men who create sects. T o be true in word and in deed is to follow God's call. But, our striving should include study and teaching for brethren's benefit. Acquisition of knowledge is incumbent upon all the faithful, men as well as women. Seek knowledge from cradle to the grave. Acquire knowledge even if it be in China.

Viewed against the social conditions prevalent at that time, the implications of such educational goals were, to say the least, revolutionary. The rigidity of the centuries-old social system, however, yielded to the fervor with which the new rulers pursued and applied these principles. Though it may sound strange, it is nevertheless true that the new conquerors took the first steps to democratize the educational system by opening the doors to the vast mass of population who had in the past been denied this advantage. One important result of this policy was the rapid expansion of education and the creation of a social climate in which education and scholarship came to be held in high esteem. There were numerous examples of significant individual contributions to the advancement of learning. As was inevitable under a monarchical form of

Land, People, and Background

27

government, however, the policy of the court was the central factor on which the progress of education depended. By and large, the Muslim rulers of the subcontinent were great patrons of education, and made liberal budgetary provisions for financing educational programs. Their courts were thronged by scholars of renown, who formed a learned society with the monarch presiding, and provided the motive force in the cultivation and promotion of education. This body, for all practical purposes, functioned as an advisory council in educational matters. Another striking fact is that even in the Middle Ages, when no other government had a regular department of education, Muslim India appeared to have had one 32 to look after both educational and religious institutions. It also is remarkable that during the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlak (1351-1388), an amount of 13,000,000 rupees was spent in pensions and gifts, "of which 3,600,000 tankas (rupees) were given to the learned and religious." 33 Throughout the Muslim rule, education and religion were associated very closely, since education is considered as obligatory in Islam. As a result, schools and colleges often were grouped around mosques; in many cases, the schools were supported by religious endowments. "A large number of primary schools were housed in mosques or attached to them, the Pesh-imam (officer-in-charge of the mosque) being also the head of the school. But, Islam recognized no priesthood or priestly class, and placed great emphasis on education as a preparation for life in this world." 34 Thus, the educational system of the Muslims differed from the Brahminic and Buddhist systems in three fundamental ways: 1) Because there was no priestly class, the system was not in any way dominated by priests. 2) The schools were open to all. (In the Buddhist system also, some persons such as debtors, slaves, and persons in the King's service were excluded.) 3) The schools were open not only to Muslims but also to nonMuslims. Furthermore, the ban placed by the Brahmins on the cultivation of Sanskrit was removed. The Muslim rulers followed an extremely liberal policy in education. They encouraged the translation into Persian and Arabic of works on widely varying subjects, and patronized the development

28

Education and Development

Strategy

of the regional languages as was never done before. It was during the reign of Husain Shah ( 1 4 9 2 - 1 5 1 8 ) that the renaissance of the Bengali language took place. 3 5 In like manner, the Muslims brought about a fusion of Hindi (the language of the Hindus) with Persian, thus creating the new language of Urdu. The effect of such liberalism could be seen in the wide diffusion of education and enrichment of the native languages. The educational system was organized in two stages: ( a ) elementary and ( b ) higher, including the secondary stage, known respectively by the maktabs and madrasahs, with provision for both resident and day scholars. In addition, there were special " Q u r a n schools" attached to mosques. Here children learned to read the Quran and received elementary instruction, mainly religious in character. Education often was provided at home by people with means to engage instructors for the purpose. The curriculum for the elementary stage included religious instruction, reading, writing, and arithmetic. The subjects taught in the secondary and higher stages of the madrasahs included "ethics, arithmetic, economics, art of administration, physics, logic, natural philosophy, algebra, divinity and history." 36 The wastage in the elementary stage apparently was considerable, however, for it attracted the personal attention of the Emperor Akbar ( 1 5 5 6 - 1 6 0 5 ) , who tried to remedy the situation by introducing a new method. This method required the child to do four exercises daily: the alphabet, the combinations, a new hemistich or distich, a recapitulation of the previous lesson. Next, he read short lines of verse in which these combinations occurred. At this stage, he was encouraged to read independently, with occasional assistance from the teacher. Finally, he received lessons in a new hemistich for a few days. The child soon could read fluently with full comprehension. T h e concept of auto-instruction involved in this process is indeed very remarkable to have been advocated as f a r back as four hundred years ago. The growth of education reached its peak during the rule of Aurangzeb ( 1 6 5 8 - 1 7 0 7 ) , who was a great patron of education. F o r his time, he held very progressive views. F o r example, he advocated more extensive use of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction. His curriculum included a comprehensive knowledge of

Land, People, and Background

29

the history of mankind, the languages of the neighbor nations, an adequate conception of the nature of the universe and the principal features of the various regions and countries on the earth, and philosophy to elevate the soul so that it would be "neither insolently elated by prosperity nor basely depressed by adversity." 37 The Muslims excelled in history, among other subjects, and raised the art of writing history to a higher level of excellence than ever attained before. It is all the more unfortunate that their history of the period contained so little in the nature of a statistical survey of the growth of education, outside the excellent accounts by individual scholars and educational institutions. Surveys undertaken at the end of the Muslim period indicate that an extensive system of education had developed. Indeed, had the successors of Aurangzeb followed his policy, universal literacy soon might have become a reality. For example, "Max Muller, on the strength of official documents and missionary reports concerning education in Bengal prior to British occupation [1757], asserts that there were 80,000 native schools in Bengal [now largely East Pakistan] or one for every 400 of population." 38 Another survey conducted between 1835 and 1838 by W. Adam, a Christian missionary educator, showed the existence of 100,000 schools in what was then Bengal. BRITISH PERIOD

The century that followed Aurangzeb's rule may be regarded as the darkest period in the history of education and, for that matter, of the subcontinent as a whole. With declining court patronage, the promoters and teachers of educational institutions were thrown more and more on their own limited resources for the maintenance of their institutions. Teaching tended to become increasingly formal, mechanical, and indifferent, and the educational system as a whole began to decay. The establishment of an alien rule, and the devastating wars and intrigues which preceded and followed, contributed to this decay. Eventually there was virtual disintegration of the country's existing educational and social structure. The new rulers brought with them their own values, based on the eighteenth-century social system of England; much of this was completely alien to the philosophy which guided the life and outlook of the people. The new policy of

30

Education

and Development

Strategy

economic exploitation of the country gradually led to the destruction of many of the indigenous industries. Among these was the worldfamed muslin industry, which flourished in Bengal. The area in and around Dacca (now capital of East Pakistan) was an important center for this cotton fabric production. After the great revolt of 1857, Muslims were excluded from the army, and their share of civil posts gradually was reduced to an insignificant figure. By 1871, out of a total of 2,111 posts, 1,338 were held by Europeans, 681 by non-Muslims, and only 92 by Muslims. 39 Hasty and ill-conceived changes in the land system seriously hurt the economic structure of the country. "The greatest blow which we dealt to the old system was in one sense an underhand one, for neither the English nor the Muhammadans foresaw it. This was the series of changes introduced by Lord Cornwallis and John Shore, ending in the permanent settlement in 1793." 40 The Muslims, politically vanquished and economically ruined, sought refuge in religion. They tried to compensate for these wounds to their pride by withdrawing into their own social institutions; they shunned foreign influence more than ever before. Education in the Eighteenth Century. Events of this period provide the clue to the sociopsychological causes of the many problems which later were to challenge educational reformers. Prejudice against modern education, excessively formal curricula, waste and stagnation in education policy, precarious financing, and illpaid and ill-qualified teaching staffs are some of these major problems. In the initial stage, the new rulers were naturally far too preoccupied with problems of consolidating their conquest to be interested in the educational welfare of the country. Beyond this, however, their determination to increase government revenue led them to appropriate the rent-free lands comprising the educational endowments. Thus, they removed the last remnant of financial support available to the majority of educational institutions already in existence. "The panic and hatred which ensued have stamped themselves forever in the rural records. Hundreds of ancient families were ruined, and the educational system of the Mussalmans, which was almost entirely maintained by rent-free grants, received its death blow. The

Land, People, and Background

31

scholastic classes of the Muhammadans emerged from the eighteen years of harrying ruined." 4 1 The Muslims soon found themselves in the unhappy position where all the social scales were turned against them. "Before the country passed on to us, they [Muslims] were not only the political, but the intellectual power in India. They possessed a system of education which, to use the words of the Indian statesman who knew them best, however inferior to that which we have established, was yet by no means to be despised; was capable of affording a high degree of intellectual training and polish; was founded on principles not wholly unsound, though presented in an antiquated form; and which was much superior to any other system then existing in India: a system which secured to them an intellectual as well as a material supremacy. During the first seventy-five years of our rule, we continued to make use of this system as a means of producing officers to carry out our administration. But, meanwhile, we had introduced a scheme of public instruction of our own; and as soon as it trained up to a generation of men on the new plan, we flung aside the old Muhammadan system, and the Mussalman youth found every avenue of public life closed in their faces." 42 It may be noted here that never afterwards was it possible for the government to make full amends for the economic, social, and political disabilities created for the Muslims during this period. As a matter of fact, this was a major factor contributing to the emergence of Pakistan as the only means of liberation from a system which restrained the freedom of Muslims and prevented them from enjoying equality of opportunity for development and self-expression. The policy followed by the new rulers was one of nonintervention. Their first positive steps in education were the establishment of the Calcutta Madrasah in 1782, and the Sanskrit College at Benares in 1791, "so that there should be trained a number of men competent to quote Muhammadan and Hindu law." These measures apparently were actuated by the new government's need for persons capable of interpreting the native laws. Education in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century. The obligation of the government in the field of public education was not recognized until 1814, when the East India Company sanctioned an annual grant of a lakh of rupees ( £ 1 0 , 0 0 0 ) for the

32

Education

and Development

Strategy

"revival and improvement of literature, the encouragement of the learned natives of India, and for the introduction and promotion of a knowledge of the sciences among the inhabitants of the British territories of India." (It may be noted in retrospect that this was only one thirty-sixth of the amount that had been spent four hundred years before during the rule of Firoz Shah Tughlak—even on the assumption that the value of the rupee had not diminished in the meantime.) The dispatch of the company sanctioning this grant also referred with approval to the tradition of the country according to which "the instruction of the people is provided for by certain charge upon the produce of soil and by other endowments in favour of village teachers, who are thereby rendered public servants of the community." 43 The company apparently was ill aware that the political and economic changes that had come in the wake of British conquest, particularly the new land settlement in 1793 (Permanent Settlement), had proved fatal to this and many other national traditions and institutions. Lord Moira, the Governor General of India, was moved by what he saw of the schools and teachers, and their continuous struggle to survive. He made a stirring plea for the government to come to their aid. In his minutes of October 2, 1815, he wrote: "The humble but valuable class of village school masters claims the first place in this discussion. These men teach the first rudiments of reading, writing and arithmetic for a trifling stipend. . . . I must think that the sum set apart by the Honourable Court [of Directors] for the advancement of science among the natives would be much more expediently applied in the improvement of schools than in gifts to seminaries of higher degree." 44 This wise advice went unheeded by Lord Moira's superiors and also by his successors. They rather became involved in the controversy that raged during the following twenty years between the Anglicists advocating Western education and the Orientalists favoring the tradition of the East. Finally, in 1835, a decision was made by the government; beyond question, it said, Western education was needed to revitalize the country's educational and social system. The educational policy adopted was not directed, however, to the reorientation of the native system. This it bypassed completely. Instead, a limited system, based entirely on the Western pattern, was

Land, People, and Background

33

set u p to serve primarily the interests of the government rather than the people. The author of the policy, Lord Macaulay, was very clear in stating the goals: " W e must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern—a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect. To that class, we may leave to refine the vernacular dialects of the country, to enrich those dialects with terms of science borrowed f r o m the Western nomenclature, and t o render them by degrees fit vehicles for conveying knowledge to t h e great mass of the population." 45 This dealt such a blow to the native educational system that never could it fully regain its natural stature as a national system of education. The policy did, of course, open a small window through which Western education reached a fraction of the people, the official elite. But the objective of having this education filter down to the people remained forever unfulfilled, and what resulted was rather a progressive decline of education among the masses. T h e situation nearly seventy years later was assessed by the Governor General, Lord Curzon, as follows: "Ever since the cold breath of Macaulay's rhetoric passed over the field of Indian languages and Indian textbooks, the elementary education of the people in their own tongue has shrivelled and pined." 46 Following Macaulay's new policy in education, a resolution had been adopted by the government for starting high schools in the principal towns (headquarters) of the districts (zillahs). These schools were to teach English as well as science through the medium of English. Different provinces interpreted this resolution differently. Some prohibited the use of the native language altogether. Bengal, however, interpreted the resolution to imply the preferential treatment of English but not the exclusion of the mother tongue. F o r teaching the mother tongue, therefore, a vernacular teacher was attached to each of these government schools in Bengal. T h e native system of schools was excluded totally from participation in public funds. It is significant that this new policy was adopted and pursued against the recommendations of W. A d a m , a missionary educator appointed by the government to undertake a survey of education in Bengal during the years 1835-38. This survey, the first of its

34

Education

and Development

Strategy

kind, throws considerable light on the extent of deterioration of education caused by the policy of utter neglect during the first sixty years of alien rule. Mr. Adam classified the schools that he found in existence, in the first half of the nineteenth century, into three types: indigenous elementary schools, non-indigenous elementary schools, and indigenous schools of learning for advanced work. The total number of schools in Bengal was estimated by him at 100,000. The enrollment of children of school age (five to fourteen years) varied from 2.5 per cent in backward districts to 16 per cent in the advanced districts, the average being approximately 7 per cent. H e found the majority of teachers "simple-minded, but poor and ignorant." H e recommended the encouragement of these schools by the payment of grants, their co-ordination with the central Anglo-vernacular schools, and the establishment of a normal school to train teachers as well as the provision of small jagirs (rent-free lands) to support trained teachers. He also restated the plea put forward earlier by Lord Moira that the greater part of the grant for education ( £ . 4 0 , 0 0 0 in 1 8 3 8 ) should be spent on implementing these recommendations. Mr. Adam put up a strong rebuttal of the "downward filtration theory" of education in the following words: Instead of beginning with schools for the lower grades of native society, a system of government institutions may be advocated that shall provide, in the first place, for the higher classes on the principle that the tendency of knowledge is to descend, not to ascend, and that, with this view, we should at present, seek to establish a school at the head station of every "zillah" (district), afterwards "pergannah" schools, and last of all, village schools, gradually acquiring in the process, more numerous and better qualified instruments for the diffusion of education. The primary objection to this plan is that it overlooks the entire system of native educational institutions . . . which existed before our rule, and which continue to exist under our rule, independent of us and of our projects, forming and moulding the native character in successive generations. In the face of this palpable fact, the plan assumes that the country is to be indebted to us for school, teachers, books—everything necessary to its moral and intellectual improvement, and that in the prosecution of our views, we are to reject all the aids which the ancient institutions of the country and actual attainments of the people afford towards their advancement. The efficiency of every successive higher grade of institution cannot

Land, People, and Background

35

be secured except by drawing instructed pupils from the next lower grade which, consequently by the necessity of the case, demands prior attention. Children should not go to college to learn the alphabet. To make the superstructure lofty and firm, the foundations should be broad and deep; and, thus building from the foundation, all classes of institutions and every grade of instruction may be combined with harmonious salutary effect. 47 The Committee of Public Instruction, which consisted of ten European members, was willing to try out Adam's plan in a selected area. The Court of Directors in England, however, accepted the views of Macaulay as endorsed by the government in power at the time, adding that Adam's ideas might be tried with success after the educational needs of the upper classes had been met. "The foundation was thus laid for a lopsided educational system, and the effects of this mistake could not be wholly corrected by later efforts. The worst effect could be seen in the numerous indigenous schools which, deprived of state support, progressively deteriorated in efficiency." 48 Considered against this background, it is not difficult to understand why primary schools in East Pakistan (now the major part of what was formerly Bengal) are so inefficient, and the teachers so ill paid. The adoption of a foreign language as the medium of instruction under the new system raised a barrier between the educated and the people. Worse still, it hit the cultivation of the mother tongue in all stages of education. Education tended to become bookish, mechanical, and formal. The aim of securing jobs with the government and with commercial firms so dominated the system that it led the educated away from the villages to the towns and cities, and thus brought about further decline of the rural areas. The system lacked balance in that it was not articulated with an adequate element of scientific and technical education. What was still more tragic was that even in the limited field of its academic objectives, it did not create the spirit of inquiry, the urge for research. A system not designed in origin as a national system, and unplanned and slipshod in its later growth, it disregarded altogether the factors that colored and swayed the emotions of the people—their thoughts and aspirations. Among those educated under this system, the majority were not prepared to understand and meet the problems of the community to which they belonged. They, therefore, felt frustrated.

36

Education and Development

Strategy

Some sought an escape from their responsibility through a philosophy of despair or apathy, and some were mentally split between conflicting notions of value. Education in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century. The claims of education for the people found recognition for the first time in the Dispatch of 1854, which "commended to the special attention of the government of India, the improvement and far wider extension of education in both English and Vernacular," and included the following specific suggestions: 1) The constitution of a separate department for administration of education. 2 ) The establishment of institutions for training teachers for all classes of schools. 3) The maintenance of existing government colleges and high schools and the increase of their number when necessary. 4) The establishment of new middle schools. 5 ) Increased attention to vernacular schools, indigenous or otherwise, for elementary education. 6 ) The introduction of a system of grants-in-aid. 7 ) Attention to the importance of placing the means of acquiring useful and practical knowledge within reach of the great mass of people. 8) The teaching of English wherever there was a demand for it, but not substitution of English for the mother tongue. 9 ) The establishment of universities to ensure uniform standards in the field of higher education. Following these recommendations, the first universities were established in 1857. They were corporations set up purely as examining bodies; students actually were taught in the affiliated colleges, after they had been admitted to their examinations. It may be noted here that a number of the colleges in which the teaching was carried on had already come into existence between 1817 and 1854. Those at the divisional headquarters had been set up by government bodies, and others had been established privately. It is indeed an irony of fate that these colleges became tied in 1857 to a system which was to be discarded by England in 1858. The next landmark in the subcontinent's history of education was the Educational Commission of 1882. Implementation of its major recommendations resulted in considerable improvement and expan-

Land, People, and Background

37

sion of schools. For example, the number of schools managed by the District Boards rose from 13,318 in 1887 to 14,531 in 1892. Enrollment increased from 564,802 to 639,883 during the same period. These steps taken for expansion and improvement of public education during the latter half of the nineteenth century represent the very first serious efforts in this direction. Their achievement cannot seem very substantial in terms of net gain to education, but this is due partly to the conditions created by past mistakes and only partly to the lack of a realistic and determined approach by the sponsors of the measures themselves. In 1900 and 1901, the number of children at school had only risen to 15 per cent of the children of school age, as compared with the IV2 per cent estimated by Adam in 1835-38. In sum, the cumulative effect of the social, economic, and educational changes through which the country went during this period of history was an ever-widening gap between herself and the countries of the West, for they had made great advances during the same period. In spite of the many weaknesses in the native educational system, the country had maintained more or less an equal level with the countries of the West well through the middle of the eighteenth century. Then historical events, one after another, set into tragic motion the forces of decline and decay in the entire life of the subcontinent. The Twentieth Century. As the new century opened, the subcontinent found itself reduced to the position of an "underdeveloped country," nor did this change appreciably even under the more liberal policy followed during the rest of British rule. Lord Curzon's wisdom and farsightedness were responsible for many sound measures aimed at the improvement of education, among these the appointment of an Indian Universities Commission in 1902. Unfortunately, one of this Commission's most important recommendations—namely, that the universities should assume teaching functions—was left unimplemented. On the other hand, school enrollments showed a steady increase during the first decade of the century. In 1907, there were six million more children enrolled than in 1902. Furthermore, the imperial grant was raised from 4 million rupees in 1902 to 7.5 million rupees in 1905. The new policy in education initiated under the vigorous leadership of Lord Curzon led to a gradual expansion of the central

38

Education

and Development

Strategy

administrative organization. The post of Director General of Public Instruction to advise the central government on educational matters was created in 1899. To cope with the increased volume of work, a separate Department of Education was created under the administrative control of the new Education Member of the Executive Council in 1910, and the post of Director General of Public Instruction was abolished. In 1915, however, the post of Education Commissioner to the Government of India was created, along with a Bureau of Education. World War I meant a great setback for education as it did for all other nation-building activities. But it lent new vigor to the national movements and also brought about changes in the attitudes of the people. This was to have far-reaching repercussions in political developments later on, leading to the administrative reforms of 1919-21. Under these reforms, administration in the provinces of some departments—including education—was entrusted to ministers enjoying the confidence of the provincial legislatures with a nonofficial majority. Among the notable developments in education after World War I was the enactment of legislation in 1919 for the introduction of free primary education within the municipalities, and, in 1921, the extension of this to the village unions. According to the recommendations of the Calcutta University Commission of 1919, legislation adopted the policy to set up new unitary teaching universities, and to entrust teaching functions to those universities which formerly had been purely affiliating and examining bodies. The educational system grew in size during the following thirty years, though with very little significant change in the quality of education, and, quantitatively, this growth was outpaced more and more by the increase in population. World War II hit the educational system very hard indeed, partly as a result of serious inflation on the subcontinent. Teachers were affected most adversely. Their salaries, already low, were reduced to less than one-fifth of their prewar value, while the cost of living allowance did not give back to them more than a negligible fraction of what they lost in real wages. Education, in general, also suffered badly because of the occupation of many educational buildings by the government for war purposes. Scarcity in the supply of books, equipment, and educational materials was another serious problem during the war.

Land, People, and Background

39

The Independence Movement received new momentum during and after the war, however, for the ranks of workers for the cause swelled by the thousands. The educated unemployed, with fewer jobs to go around after the war, turned their attention to politics. During the next two years, the Independence Movement grew in strength and dimension so rapidly that by June, 1947, the British government recognized it as irresistible. Displaying great political acumen and statesmanship, the government hurried through the British Parliament an Independence Act under which Pakistan and India—on August 14 and August 15, 1947—emerged as two independent sovereign nation states. Pakistan. The emergence of Pakistan marked the fulfillment of the hopes and aspirations of 80 million people of the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Derived from a common history and culture that grew up through the centuries, these hopes crystallized under the leadership of the late Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Father of the Nation, into the idea of a separate state. In this state these people would be free to follow a pattern of life based on the democratic principles of universal brotherhood, equality, tolerance, and social justice as emphasized in Islam. The country of Pakistan had a total population of 93.8 million in 1961. Its area of 365,504 square miles is divided into two provinces: East Pakistan, with an area of 55,126 square miles and a population of 50.85 million, and West Pakistan, with an area of 310,378 square miles and a population of 42.97 million. The two provinces are commonly known as two "units" or "wings" since they are separated by over 1,200 miles of foreign territory. The two regions of Pakistan differ in physical and economic features. The rugged mountains and great desert wastes of West Pakistan stand in striking contrast to East Pakistan's vast deltaic plains covered with verdant vegetation and a network of rivers and rivulets. The union as one nation of two far-flung regions clearly demonstrates the inner strength of the people's faith in the principles and values they have cherished for a thousand years. It provides a glowing example that emotional and spiritual ties, deep-rooted in a common ideal and cultural heritage, can transcend barriers of distance and differences in physical and climatic conditions. These same principles and values inspired and sustained the people after independence in making heroic efforts to build from

40

Education

and Development

Strategy

scratch the basic institutions indispensable for the survival of a free nation—government, transportation, communication, housing, and schools. The general social situation prevailing in Pakistan in the years immediately following independence is described by the Commission on National Education ( 1 9 5 8 - 6 0 ) in the following words: Unfortunately, in those hectic days of invention and adaptation, there was no opportunity to take a long look, to ask certain questions, or to analyze dispassionately our past experience and future aspirations. We did not realize then that the attitudes and habits of a hundred years cannot be altered by the scratch of a pen on a document of state. Neither did we comprehend fully that progress and patriotism reflect to a large degree basic attitudes and values. After the first surge that launched the nation, the magic was gone. Slowly the old attitudes that had been absorbed into the bloodstream of the nation during the past century returned to plague our national life and impede our progress. One by one, we witnessed the reappearance of the old attitudes of passivity, indiscipline, opportunism and regionalism. The twelfth year of independence, 1958, started amid widespread dissatisfaction with what had been accomplished. As new fields of endeavour were opened, government was expanded. One did not get the picture of a people imaginatively and energetically working toward the solution of their social and economic problems. . . . Too many of those who were educated in our colleges and universities saw their future only in government service. Too few had the initiative of conceiving and carving out a career out-side the protective walls of government. Though the period of foreign rule was past, the concept of a ruling oligarchy persisted in the minds of the people. This account, rightly critical of the tendency noticed among many to relapse into habits and attitudes formed by them during an alien rule, highlights one of the major problems to be tackled by the nation's leadership so that speedy progress may be made in the fruitful implementation of national plans for development. The account should not be construed to mean, however, that the nation altogether lacked in human potential of the right type, or that progress made after independence was insignificant. As the same Commission points out in Paragraph 14: Although progress had fallen short of everyone's hopes and expectations, a great deal of good work had been done, and the nation had

Land, People, and Background

41

advanced much further than the spate of criticism would have indicated. Both within the government and outside it, a large number of dedicated men laboured with imagination, integrity, and tireless energy to push forward nation-building projects. Their contribution to our early development should not be under-rated for it was made in the face of great odds, under a stream of criticism usually, without recognition, and often with little cooperation either from their staff or from their superiors. T h e problems of transition of a society or nation f r o m the status of d e p e n d e n c e to that of f r e e d o m are many. N o n e is m o r e intractable than those stemming f r o m the deep-seated psychological factors which shaped people's habits and attitudes during the century and a half preceding. Events during the initial years of transition clearly demonstrate that in point of time, the emergence of a people as a free nation does not synchronize with liberation f r o m the mental shackles to which, slowly and gradually, the people became conditioned over the years of their subjection. Winning f r e e d o m f r o m colonial rule does not and cannot all of a sudden snap all of these shackles. Their p r o f o u n d influence becomes visible in the f o r m of m a n y conflicts. F o r example, the new nations have the goals and ambitions of a free people, but lack their qualities of character. T h e y seek rapid economic growth, but are wanting in knowledge and skills, habits of prudence and industry, drive and enterprise. T h e y are habitually critical of what the government does, and yet look to the government for nearly everything they need. Publicly they disapprove dishonesty and corruption, but privately they tolerate them. T h e y cry for d e m o cratic rights, but are unable to subordinate private self-interest to public duty. These are the traits of character which a subjected people invariably acquire, and the longer the period of subjection, the stronger they grow and the m o r e difficult they are to shake off afterwards. Progress during this period of transition has m a n y ups and downs. High h o p e s alternate with d e e p frustrations. E n t h u s i a s m f o r r e f o r m may rise and fall in quick succession. Agitation against o u t m o d e d institutions m a y exist side by side with opposition to reforms. T h e still predominantly negative a p p r o a c h to problems m a y generate considerable discussion, b u t insufficient readiness for positive action. T h e educational scene has been m a r k e d by these same characteristics. I n the words of the Commission on National E d u c a t i o n :

42

Education and Development

Strategy

Among those outside the educational systems, there was little recognition of the fact that at independence, the nation was thrown into competition with the rest of the world and that its future status depended on how well it met this competition with the skills of its manpower. Although our leaders were now the architects of policy rather than the implementors of the policy of others, education was neither in fact or theory given the importance that would enable it to meet this challange. Those within the educational system failed to develop new attitudes, habits and skills consistent with the needs of a people who controlled their own destiny. Our curricula, teaching methods, administrative structure and system of examinations continued to reflect the old ways. As a result of the nation-wide urge for education, however, the educational system continued to grow, though in a lopsided fashion, with criticisms mounting but constructive action to effect reforms wanting. It should be borne in mind that the period of transition was also, in effect, the period of break-through. It was a period of inquiry and discovery, challenging old traditions, testing new values, raising many questions, and searching for answers. The efforts in this direction are well illustrated by the work of several committees and commissions, such as the Land Reforms Commission (West Pakistan), the Pakistan Administrative Reorganization Commission, and the Constitution Commission. In the field of education specifically, examples are the Central Advisory Board of Education, the Punjab University Commission, the East Pakistan Educational Reconstruction Committee, the Educational Reforms Commission (East Pakistan), and the Commission on National Education. If the results fell short of expectations during this period of transition, the progress was by no means insignificant. The path to speedier progress in the future was paved by many enlightening discoveries. It was learned, for example, that freedom was no magic wand to bring progress, which only hard and sustained work with skill and competence can win. The gaps between will and action, between goals and resources, between theory and practice were recognized among the greatest hurdles. Realization also dawned on the country's leaders that the objectives of national development were not attainable by any doctrinaire or copybook method. Were these objectives to be won, they must have planned and sustained

Land, People, and Background

43

efforts, and a pragmatic approach. Action at each step needs to be tested by its results before the future course is charted. It is against this general background that the plans for national development in Pakistan must be viewed and examined.

CHAPTER THREE

Development: Its Meaning, and Motivations

Implications,

T H E OBJECT O F THIS chapter is to discuss briefly what "development" means and what it implies. An attempt is made also to explore the factors that motivate development, as distinct from the process of development itself and the characteristics of different stages of development. In common parlance, "development" often is identified with economic growth, especially in reference to the so-called "underdeveloped" countries. In fact, however, the term has come to acquire a more comprehensive meaning, embracing not only economic but also human and social development, based on the concept of maximum well-being of the individual. Thus, a country may be so rich economically as to rank among the countries with the highest per capita income; but its wealth may be distributed so inequitably that the mass of its people live almost at the bare subsistence level, and its social, economic, and political systems may be so undeveloped that the vast majority of people suffer from the myriad ills of ignorance, disease, injustice, and inefficient and archaic methods of production. Such a country—and one does exist—cannot be regarded as "developed" as the term is now understood and used in the present study. Development implies change in economic, political, and social systems as may be warranted for ensuring optimum use of a country's resources, human as well as physical, to raise the level of living of the people. Development is, therefore, a means to an end that is man and his welfare. 44

Development:

lis Meaning, Implications,

Development and Environment: Underdeveloped Countries

and Motivations

Advanced

45

and

Development is a dynamic concept. Its goal is ever-increasing progress based on the philosophy, aspirations, and resources of a people. In this sense, development is a continuous process, with significance even for the so-called "advanced countries" of the world which also seek further progress in diverse manner. People may hope, for example, through their efforts further to extend the frontiers of knowledge, to explore and unravel the mysteries of the universe, and to discover new values and more meaningful lives. For the "underdeveloped" countries, development is symbolized by the fuller, healthier, richer, and better life achieved for the common man in some of the Western countries through advances in science and technology. The general standard of living of the common man is an important index of the degree or stage of development. This standard of living is measured, among other ways, by per capita income, expectation of life, average consumption of goods and services, facilities of transportation, and level of education. (Education level is listed third among the twelve indicators set up by the United Nations Expert Group on the Definition and Measurement of Living Levels.) 1 It should be mentioned, as a note of caution, that criteria such as those suggested here are used as an index only, and cannot be regarded as any full measure of the living standard. For there is much in the standard of living that eludes measurement. The educational and cultural contents of living, and the contributions that the value system underlying a society as a whole makes towards a fuller life, are very real; yet, they are so intangible that they hardly can be measured even though they certainly can be felt and perceived in the form of motivations, habits, attitudes, and interpersonal relationships. This makes it necessary to have a flexible and dynamic view of development that may vary from country to country and even from time to time in its quality. Freedom appears to be an important precondition to development. Our survey of the historical and educational background of the four selected countries in Southeast Asia provided, though negatively, strong evidence in support of this view. The policy of economic

46

Education and Development

Strategy

exploitation during the colonial rule in these countries led to their progressive economic decline. S o m e measures of development in communication

and education

introduced by the colonial

rulers

actually were intended to serve the imperial interests of administration and trade. Gains to the people were incidental and insignificant. M o r e importantly, forces set in motion during the years of colonial rule gradually developed habits and attitudes not at all conducive to development efforts in which the people became involved following their independence. It may be argued that freedom itself is not a condition of development. F o r example, China and Thailand were not under any colonial rule and yet they remained underdeveloped. T h e fallacy in this line of argument lies in the failure to recognize the distinction between cause and condition. While freedom is a necessary condition precedent to development, it certainly is not valid to claim freedom as the cause of development. W e shall make an attempt later to describe at least some of the major factors that cause development. It is necessary here to stress that all countries which are developed are politically sovereign countries

(although

the converse of this is

not

necessarily t r u e ) . Moreover, there is no example of a subject country which during the period of subjection achieved a level of development comparable to that enjoyed by the advanced countries. T h e comparison of developing countries with those which are already advanced serves a useful purpose in bringing into sharp relief the major deficiencies and needs of the less developed. T h e r e is a tendency, however, to use such comparisons for evolving a theory of development based on the following formula: 1 ) Select an advanced country as a model. 2)

Determine the level of development attained by this country and the stages through which it passed to attain this level.

3)

In like manner, determine the present stage of the country

4)

B y a simple method of deduction, establish what this country

under development. will need for its further development, and copy the process of development as well. Such thinking in the past has led, in some cases, to the concentration of efforts on the import of technical knowledge and skill from economically advanced countries. Attempts have been made to build

Development:

Its Meaning, Implications,

and Motivations

47

up, on an entirely alien base, façades of political and social institutions resembling those in the "model" advanced country. Such ventures are foredoomed to failure. They overlook the fact that even among the advanced countries, two entities can never be regarded as having developed identical economic, political, and social institutions, or as having traveled identical courses through the same stages of growth. It is a matter of clear fact that each nation has its own pattern of growth under conditions of historical and social background that are different from those of other nations. No two countries have identical manpower units, in terms of skill, age, knowledge, health, and energy, nor have they employed them in quite the same way. Some countries reached the peak of their development and after that made little progress. Some rose, declined, and again rose. It is impossible, in other words, to separate the function of development altogether from its environment. In like manner, goals of development of a country need to be stated in terms of the cultural, social, and economic conditions peculiar to it, and a plan must be devised to transform development concepts into action under these conditions. This does not imply the acceptance of all traditional values and norms. On the contrary, changing those that hamper development and strengthening those that promote it form the core of a sound plan. The goals and the plan of development must be conceived and designed in the setting provided by the over-all social, political, and economic conditions of the country concerned.

Economic

Analysis of

Development

The basic question before the developing countries is this: What causes development? There is no doubt that economic growth is a major factor. Its importance to the developing countries trying to break through the morass of poverty and concomitant ills hardly can be overemphasized. An insight into the process of economic growth is provided by W. W. Rostow's analysis of the five broad stages of growth. These stages, as he quite rightly warns at the very outset, are "an arbitrary and limited way of looking at the sequence of modern history; and they are, in no absolute sense, a correct way. They are designed, in fact, to dramatize not merely the uniformities in the sequence of

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modernization but also—and equally—the uniqueness of each nation's experience." 2 The five categories of societies representing these five stages of economic growth described by Professor Rostow are, briefly, as follows: 1 ) The traditional society either had no access to modern science and technology or was unable to employ them regularly and systematically. As a result, there was a ceiling on the level of attainable output per head. What caused a rise or fall in the population and also in their living standard, within limits, was not only the sequence of harvests but also the incidence of war and pestilence. The society developed varying kinds of manufacture, but these were not based on modern science and technology and their productivity, as in agriculture, was low. In such a society, the larger share of resources went to agriculture. The society itself was based on a hierarchical social structure bound up with the agricultural system, with very limited scope for vertical mobility. Family and clan relationships occupied an important place in the whole organization. People were to a large extent given to fatalism, but short-run option was not altogether excluded. Although this society possessed some form of central government, real power rested in the regions with those who owned or controlled land. Professor Rostow cites the following as examples of traditional societies: "the dynasties in China; the civilization of the Middle East and the Mediterranean; the world of medieval Europe." 3 2 ) Societies in the process of transition are those in the period during which the preconditions for take-off are developed. These conditions were developed in Western Europe in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries with the application of modern science to production methods in agriculture and industry, sparked by the opening up of world markets. In modern history, however, this stage in many countries was created as a result of the invasion of the traditional society by more advanced societies. "These invasions—literal or figurative—shocked the traditional society and began or hastened its undoing; but they also set in motion ideas and sentiments which initiated the process by which a modern alternative to the traditional society was constructed out of the old culture." 4 Whether motivated by a sense of national dignity, private profit,

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welfare of the people, or interests of the children, people in this stage recognize the need for economic progress. There also are changes, even if on a limited scale, in the educational system to meet this need. Entrepreneurs appear, banks and other institutions to mobilize capital grow, investment increases, the scope of commerce widens, and modern manufacturing concerns come into being at different places. In many cases, however, characteristics of traditional society and modern economic activities may be found to exist side by side, presenting a sort of anachronistic picture. Politically, an important feature of this period is the formation of a stable and effective national government in place of the traditional landed regional interests. This is also "almost universally, a necessary condition for take-off." 5 3 ) Societies in the take-off stage have finally overcome the barriers to steady progress. Growth is a normal condition, its pace increasing at an accelerated rate. The stimulus for take-off in Great Britain, the United States, and Canada came mainly from technological advances, Professor Rostow says, but in the general cases, build-up of social overhead capital, a spate of technological developments in agriculture and industry, and the emergence of a political power willing to recognize the high importance of modernization of economy combine to produce this stage. The take-off sets in motion a chain activity. Industries grow rapidly. A large part of their profits is ploughed back into industry in the form of new plants, employing more workers, raising the demand for services supporting them and for other goods, and thus leading to an extension of urban areas and the growth of more industries. The new class of entrepreneurs also grows in size, exploiting hitherto untapped resources, using new methods of production, and thus providing further impetus to economic growth. During this period, the rate of effective saving and investment may rise from approximately 5 per cent of the national income to 10 per cent or more. 4) The drive to maturity is the fourth stage of growth. Take-off is followed by a long interval of sustained progress, even though some fluctuations may be experienced. Other characteristics of this stage are that modern technology is extended to all economic activity; investment amounts to 10-20 per cent approximately, enabling the rising output to outpace the growth in population. About sixty years

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after the beginning of take-off (or about forty years after the end of take-off), the stage of maturity is attained. This is based on the experience of Germany, Great Britain, France, and the United States. "But, clearly, no dogmatism is justified about the exact length of the interval from take-off to maturity." 6 For example, Canada and Australia have entered the stage of high mass consumption before reaching maturity. Economy in this fourth stage demonstrates its capacity to move beyond the original industries of the take-off period, and it develops the technological and entrepreneurial skills to produce anything it chooses. 5) The stage of high mass consumption is a phase of economic growth marking the shift towards durable consumers' goods and services. America is beginning to emerge from this phase, whereas Western Europe and Japan have entered it, according to Professor Rostow, and the U.S.S.R. is standing on the border. The attainment of maturity results in increasing the real income per head in such a measure as to bring a command over consumption which is no longer confined to basic food, shelter, and clothing. It increases the proportion of urban to total population. There also are more people working in offices, or in skilled factory jobs, who are keen on enjoying the consumption fruits of a mature economy. A further extension of modern technology is no longer an overriding objective with such societies, many of which are now allocating increased resources to social welfare. What is beyond consumption? "Beyond, it is impossible to predict, except perhaps to observe that Americans, at least, have behaved in the past decade as if diminishing relative marginal utility sets in, after a point, for durable consumers' goods; and they have chosen, at the margin, larger families." 7 So, consumption remains the goal of production. The stage of high mass consumption is the ultimate goal of the economic growth that the developing countries are seeking. But what moves a country in the way of its economic growth? What causes economic growth of a people at one time and decline at another? What helped the accumulation of wealth in Northern Europe and North America at a faster rate and at a much higher average level than ever before witnessed anywhere? Climate and resources cannot fully explain the differences. For example, France and Poland had per capita incomes, respectively,

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of $418 and $190 in 1948. These amounts are in marked contrast with $777, the per capita income of the United Kingdom, and the $805 of Sweden, though these four countries did not have any marked differences in climate and resources. Nor can the concept of cultural diffusion, advanced by some anthropologists as an explanation, be considered adequate. According to this theory, for example, technological advances made during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries should spread by "diffusion" because as and when other people see the benefits of these advances, they adopt them. This theory does not explain, on the one hand, the reason why such advances occurred originally in some places and, on the other, the reason why they did spread to certain countries but not to others. China knew about the developments in the West from the time of Marco Polo on, and most of the countries in the Middle East were very close to Europe. Yet none of them showed any eagerness to adopt the new technology until recently, whereas, in contrast to them, Japan began to modernize her educational system and production methods at a rapid rate even though contact with the West originated at a later date (the Meiji period). "Climate" and "race" have been favorite theories of historians. The racial theory does not hold good either, since it does not explain why a people belonging to the same race are more energetic at some times than at others. "Thus it is hard to imagine, for example, that the gene pool in Florence and Northern Italy was markedly different in the 17th century from what it had been in the 15th and 16th; yet the Renaissance was largely over and the 'race' was no longer productive." 8 Explanations based on "climate" and "environment" are equally defective. "Was the climate of Northern Italy suddenly more stimulating for one to two hundred years? Or what happened to the climate in Greece in the 8th or 7th century B.C. to stimulate culture growth there, and not in adjacent geographical areas . . .? " 9 In like manner, the Muslims in the Middle East, who created a great civilization in the Middle Ages and contributed to Europe's knowledge in the sciences, were unsuccessful in taking advantage of the developments in Europe and improving their economic status, though their climate and race had undergone very little change. The explanation of the differences in economic progress should be sought in a people's motives and values, customs, social and

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political institutions. " I n fact, in our time the political question h a s become paramount. It is widely felt that the reason why some c o u n tries have not developed as rapidly as others is because they h a v e been improperly governed, that is, exploited either by colonial p o w ers or by interna] minorities." 10 Yet, a theory based on differences i n politics seems to run into difficulties if it is applied to the form of government. All the advanced countries do not have the same f o r m of government. For example, the United States, the U.S.S.R., and Japan have three different types of government. The economist's explanation of economic development is based on his concept of a model society in which the enlightened selfinterest of man operates under pressures on the economic system and leads to activities that result in increased productivity. T h e application of this theory is illustrated by N. S. Buchanan and H. S. Ellis in reference to the agricultural revolution in England in the early nineteenth century. The improved methods and techniques of farming were adopted rather slowly in spite of the example of their evident success, and in spite also of demonstrations, lectures, and a supply of literature explaining the new methods and their benefits. "It took longer still for them to spread over Europe from England. The hard economic realities of cost, income and profit, or the necessity of getting a living probably had as much to do with converting the average landlord, squire, worker, or peasant to the new practices as friendly explorations or the gracious patronage of royalty. Don't people usually change and adapt their ways under pressure?" 1 1 The general approach of the economists, whose differences in thinking certainly are not denied, can be viewed under four m a j o r heads: ( 1 ) capital accumulations, including technological improvements, ( 2 ) population changes, ( 3 ) division of labor, and (4) entrepreneurship. The Industrial Revolution in England provided good ground for the economists, beginning with A d a m Smith, to think that increased productivity was the outcome of better machines and equipment and that it led to increased material well-being. T h e same view was expressed again by the neoclassical economists in the late nineteenth century, based on their observation of the great impact of technical improvements on the economy. T h e importance of technology was stressed also by Karl Marx, though he did so to prove his theory that advance of technology was bound to lead to growing

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conflict between the capitalists and workers. Because the capitalists would be anxious to install more machinery in order to capture for themselves the "surplus value" created by labor, Marx claimed, the workers, finding that machines were replacing them, would rise and seize power. Population growth also was regarded in early economic theory as an important factor affecting growth. Adam Smith and David Ricardo believed that rising wages would induce people to multiply faster with a view to meeting the continuously increasing demand for labor. 12 A growth in population generally was regarded as the outcome of economic growth rather than a stimulus to such growth. In the present century, a large population has been viewed as a factor retarding the growth of the underdeveloped countries. Keynes, however, pointed out that an increasing population might stimulate growth by increasing demand and thus stimulating investment. The relative stagnation of France in the 1920's and 1930's was ascribed by some to France's static population. In short, economists have considered population to be a factor of great importance to economic growth whether in their view it retarded growth or accelerated it. The role played by division of labor, or specialization and rationalization of productive functions, in the development of large-scale methods of production—in which thousands of workers are employed, each, however, performing only a small part of the work— has been recognized by all economists as a major fact in economic growth. Economists view the entrepreneur as the pivot of the whole production system. Marx, too, regarded the profit motive as the "prime mover" for what he considered to be the bourgeois capitalist class, leading it to its inevitable doom. Schumpeter regarded the entrepreneur as the key figure in economic development, the moving force behind economic growth, who was actuated by the desire to promote new goods and new methods of production, or to exploit a new source of materials, or to capture a new market. His motive was not always merely profit. Sometimes it was his desire to start a new dynasty, his pleasure in winning a competitive battle, or the joy of creating. Thus, Schumpeter's concept of an entrepreneur is not that of an entirely rational man, moved by the self-interest and rational calculations of the profit motive alone. 13 This brief survey of the economists' explanations of economic

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growth demonstrates how they are accustomed to use a priori reasoning, not empirical methods, in their analyses. It also points up the growing belief among economic theorists that the sources of economic growth and also the major causes of the underlying motivation stay, strictly speaking, outside the economic system itself. Apparently it was not clear to them why technical inventions of practical importance should appear more frequently at one period in history than in another, and why once having appeared in one country, they should spread more rapidly to country A than country B. Or consider the position of neoclassical economists like Alfred Marshall. They placed great emphasis on the importance of saving so that profits could be reinvested in the expansion of business. Marshall, at least, recognized that thrift is not something which people automatically practice when it is in their interest to do so.

Psychological Development

and Sociological

Analysis

of

Propensities to save and invest, and other attitudes necessary for economic growth, appear in the end to be not economic but psychological variables. G. M. Meier and R. E. Baldwin, in refuting the views of the neoclassical economists, argue that the latters' economic model is based on assumptions like political stability, the will to develop, thrift, fixed tastes, or the rapid flow of knowledge, which are all noneconomic variables and hence seriously detract from the value of the general model to the underdeveloped countries. 14 Some economists (for example, Rostow) openly recognize the need for linking economic theory with sociological and psychological analyses. W. A. Lewis 15 goes even further in stressing the influence of psychological factors on economic progress. He recognizes the desire for goods as a psychological factor that determines how hard people will strive to increase their material well-being. He points out that asceticism diminishes the desire for material goods by lowering consumption and placing a positive value on prayer and other noneconomic activities. Such a conclusion at least on the surface seems to be opposed to the view held by Max Weber, the well-known German sociologist, that Protestant asceticism boosted productivity, since people spent less on themselves and thus were left with more money. 18

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Not surprisingly, the noneconomic variables have received greater attention from the sociologists who have concentrated mainly on the social structure of modern, advanced industrial societies as distinguished from the underdeveloped, traditional societies. Special terminology has even been devised to describe the two types of society. For example, a leading sociologist identifies the two types of societies by their major characteristics as briefly summarized below: 17 UNDEVELOPED

DEVELOPED SOCIETIES

SOCIETIES

1 ) A c h i e v e m e n t n o r m s : p e o p l e are

1)

evaluated b y their "achieved status"

evaluated by their "ascribed status"

(by what they can 2)

Universalism:

do).

anyone

Ascriptive

norms:

people

are

(in terms of w h o they a r e ) . is

able

to c o m p e t e f o r a n y job.

2)

certain

people

are permitted to d o only

Particularism:

certain

3) Specificity: relationship b e t w e e n

jobs, as in a caste system.

a n y t w o persons is specific (limited

3)

to the labor c o n t r a c t ) .

ships are b o u n d up with other re-

DifTuseness: e c o n o m i c relation-

lationships s u c h as kinship, politics, religion, or other social structures.

The contribution of a study like this lies in dramatizing the contrast between the two types of societies. Like all sociological generalizations, this contrast obviously oversimplifies a very complex social situation. What it presents are two "ideal" types into which very few of the underdeveloped or developed countries actually in existence are likely to fit exactly. Further, such a description "has never really seriously attempted to bridge the gap between idealized 'pattern variables' as tools of analysis and social norms as present in the minds of men. Stated another way, it is not always clear just how a characteristic of social structure like stress on 'achieved' versus 'ascribed' status should be reflected in the attitudes of members of that social structure so that one can check empirically whether those attitudes are in fact present in a society where they are theoretically supposed to be present." 18 Besides, rigid sociological descriptions of this kind are likely to lead one to believe, though erroneously, that the social characteristics of the developed countries probably were the cause of their rapid economic growth, and hence to infer—also erroneously—that the underdeveloped countries could achieve comparable economic growth by duplicating the social, economic, and political institutions of the

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advanced countries. Indeed, as mentioned earlier, these institutions are not identical in all the advanced countries even in essence.

Studies of Achievement

Motivation

The question of what causes rapid economic growth has received some attention also from the psychologists. They naturally trace these causes to psychological factors associated with achievement motivation. People with high achievement motivation have been known in history to have achieved rapid economic progress, whereas low achievement motivation has been responsible for holding back the progress of others. In a number of studies and experiments, psychologists have tried to uncover the origin of the psychological forces behind economic growth. Their findings indicate that the cultural values on which the family and social systems are based have an important part to play in the economy. One of these studies 1 9 was based on children's stories of the modern nations of the world, on the assumption that such stories represent popular culture and are not intended for any special class of children. Twenty-one stories were selected at random from each of 23 countries covering the period 1920-29, and the same number from each of 40 countries for the period 1946-55. Electrical output was taken as the measure of economic growth. Many limitations to a study like this can be demonstrated. What is significant, however, is that these stories did reflect the achievement need or aspiration of the nations concerned in that the estimates of the level of the need for achievement based on the stories for the period 1920-29 showed a positive correlation with subsequent economic growth. Seventyeight per cent of the countries scoring above the mean in this "need for achievement" test in 1925 were "overachievers" in respect to electricity output. National levels of the need for achievement in 1950 and the subsequent rates of economic growth were studied similarly. Electrical output again was chosen as the most representative measure of economic growth because accurate data is available. Generally speaking, countries rated high in the felt need for achievement (n Achievement) in 1950 gained more rapidly in electrical output between 1952 and 1958, and vice versa.

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The result is not altered substantially if output figures are expressed in per capita terms, although four countries are reduced to the position of underachievers and six are raised to that of overachievers. "Countries like Poland and Pakistan remain overachievers even when their rates of output are divided by high rates of population increase." 20 Apart from its independent confirmation of the results from the 1920-29 sample of countries, the finding based on the 1950's has a special significance in that "more countries are involved, including many poor ones, and the countries that were high in n Achievement [need for achievement] and rate of growth in the early period are not in the later one.'' 2 1 Another kind of approach is made by studies of the past economic growth of societies that achieve great success. Among these societies are that of ancient Greece, Spain in the late Middle Ages, England from the late Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution, and the United States (1800-1950). A well-known study of this type is the one of ancient Greece made by D. E. Berlew. Based on selected Greek literature of the imaginative type, it provided evidence that "changes in achievement motivation and only achievement motivation or its correlate, future orientation, foreshadowed both the rise and fall of Greece." 22 As regards the causes of rise and fall in the achievement motivation, these were traced to social conditions prevailing at the time. Though it was not known why in early Greece the achievement motivation was initially high, the cause of its decline is better understood. It has been ascribed, in part, to the limited democracy which excluded the slaves and the practice that came in the wake of prosperity of entrusting the upbringing of the children to the nurse and the pedagogue, both of whom were slaves. Because of their own status, these dependents were incapable of developing self-reliance in the children or of imparting achievement training. In the case of Spain, a study also based on literary material 2 3 yielded results almost identical with those obtained from the study of ancient Greece. Achievement motivation in Spain was highest during the early period (1200-1492). It dropped during the peak of economic growth (1492-1610), foreshadowing the coming economic decline of the next period ( 1 6 1 0 - 1 7 3 0 ) . The economic history of England, of course, provides the best recorded materials available to a researcher. The study by N. M. Bradburn and Berlew 24 is an attempt to get a continuous record of

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the achievement motivation in England from roughly 1400 on, in fifty-year periods, up to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (around 1830). The literary material used in this study included drama, accounts of sea voyages, and street ballads, selected for the reason that they represented popular imaginative literature. The estimates, though rather crude, show three well-defined phases in the economic growth of England. The first period, 1 6 0 0 - 9 0 , was one of moderate achievement. The second period, 1 7 0 0 - 8 0 , showed stagnation or underachievement. T h e third period, f r o m 1800 on to the Industrial Revolution, was a time of phenomenal growth. As to achievement motivation in England, the findings show that it was high between 1500 and 1625, the period during which England freed herself from excessive dependence on the Netherlands and English traders had ventured into Europe, Asia, and Africa to open u p new markets. This high level preceded England's rapid economic growth during 1600-75. It is significant that seventeenth-century England also produced many men of eminence in literature, music, and science. The period between 1700 and 1750 showed another increase in achievement motivation, accompanied by a Protestant revival. "Once again in the first half of the 18th century as in the first half of the 16th century a strong Protestant movement coincides with a high n Achievement level and both are followed in a generation or so by a greatly increased rate of economic growth." 25 Professor David C. McClelland further holds that the nonconformist group, because of its high achievement motivation, provided an impetus to increased entrepreneurial activity, which culminated in the Industrial Revolution around 1770. Thus, as he stresses later, "the connection seen by Max Weber between the Protestant Reformation and the rise of the entrepreneurial spirit . . . can now be understood as a special case, by no means limited to Protestantism, of a general increase in n Achievement produced by an ideological change." 26 The contribution that the liberal teachings of Islam, properly interpreted, can make to increasing achievement motivation in Pakistan is also suggested. The historical events relating to achievement motivation in the United States during 1 8 0 0 - 1 9 5 0 should be of particular interest to the developing countries since the period saw a number of countries going through the "take-off" into rapid economic growth. These are

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the United States, France, Germany, and Japan, with the United States providing very good evidence in support of the theory that this economic take-off was preceded by a rising achievement motivation. A study made in 1961 27 of American reading textbooks typical of each twenty-year period from 1800 to 1950 showed a rise in achievement motivation from 1800, reaching a peak in 1890 and thereafter dropping significantly. These findings are slightly different from those of McClelland and Frederick mentioned earlier. The time periods in the two studies are not identical, however, and the earlier study attempted international comparisons. The 1961 study concentrated on changes over gross units of time within a single country and as such was less liable to sampling error. In point of time, indexes of high achievement motivation and occurrence of more technological innovations in the nineteenth century were closely associated, and both preceded the general rise in economic activity leading to American prosperity of the twentieth century. Some studies have attempted to uncover value attitudes promoting economic development. 2 8 Their findings are that economic growth is associated with a modern social structure having the following characteristics: ( 1 ) human resources are allocated on the basis of what is called "universalistic" criteria of efficiency and ability, and not by "particularistic" criteria of race, creed, caste, family, clan, or color; ( 2 ) there is increasing division of labor or "specificity" of a person's relations to others; ( 3 ) people are evaluated in terms not of who they are but of what they can do; ( 4 ) the "elite" and ultimately the people become concerned with the common good, the nation rather than their own private ends. Furthermore, ( 5 ) the people are objective and calculating in respect to means and ends; ( 6 ) they are rationally interested in the planned and efficient use of resources; ( 7 ) they are optimistic of the future; and ( 5 ) they recognize the value of material needs (in contrast, for example, with those who believe in renunciation of material well-being). Another factor that appears to influence economic growth, according to Professor McClelland, is "other-directedness," i.e., sensitivity to the opinion of others through participation in group activities as distinguished f r o m individualistic activities based on "sociocentric" values or virtues (such as loyalty and friendship). His study of four countries 29 (though the number was too small to justify any firm conclusions) indicated that at least in those countries, other-direct-

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edness was learned apparently through relatively greater participation in peer group activities with emphasis on self-development values, whereas in the more traditional societies, less dependence on the opinion of others, and hence less need for group activities, does not make people sensitive to other opinions, and the stress is on such sociocentric virtues as kindness, loyalty, and obligations as prescribed in the traditional social institutions. The study does not seem to establish whether the effect of other-directedness is as strong as that of achievement motivation on economic growth, since Germany, which according to this study was not so other-directed, appears nevertheless to have reached the stage of high mass consumption (indicating high economic growth) between 1900 and 1920, the same period during which the United States reached the same stage. 30 Though the level of economic growth of Germany may be regarded as less than that of the United States, it was higher than that of Japan, which, along with the United States, was found to rate high in other-directedness in this study.

The Role of the

Entrepreneur

The motives and attitudes of the entrepreneurs also constitute an important force in economic growth, in view of the key role played by the entrepreneurs in all economic activities. A comparative study of the business executives in the United States, Italy, Turkey, and Poland is of particular interest in this connection because these countries are in different stages of growth. They also are different in achievement motivation, which tended to decline in Italy and Turkey as compared with the United States. Poland however, falls in a separate category with a high level of achievement motivation among the Polish managers. This seems to suggest that "some force, probably patriotism or Communism or both, has been at work to raise it." 31 According to the study, American managers showed twice as much concern for achievement as for affiliation, whereas the Italians showed higher concern for affiliation than for achievement. The Turkish managers also showed a greater concern for affiliation. But, as the study itself warns, one must guard against overgeneralization about managers in the different countries, for it was also shown that "the Polish managers are even less concerned with affiliation than the Americans." 32

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T o the developing countries, one value of these studies lies in their highlighting desirable attitudes among the business executives. A m o n g such attitudes and assumptions are these: ( a ) that merit is m o r e i m p o r t a n t than seniority in giving promotions; ( b ) that qualified workers should be promoted to managerial jobs; ( c ) that people should be optimistic about the f u t u r e ; ( d ) that planning is necessary; ( e ) that corporations are not exclusively for profit; and ( / ) that time conscientiousness is desirable. A n o t h e r factor that profoundly influences the class of entrepreneurs, and thus also the economic growth of a country, is whether or not high h u m a n resources with high achievement motivation are attracted to this class or profession. It has been f o u n d that a factor which m a d e the Industrial Revolution in England easier was the high prestige of commercial activities and the nation's long familiarity with them. 3 3 In like m a n n e r , the entrepreneurial and business groups in the United States enjoy relatively high social status, and attract the high quality of h u m a n resource needed for the country's economic development. 3 4 T h e following findings of a comparative study of the average need f o r achievement scores of managers and professionals in the United States, Italy, Turkey, and Poland 3 5 should be of interest to the developing nations: 7 ) T h e managers in the United States scored significantly higher in achievement motivation than the professionals did ( 6 . 7 4 against 4.77). 2 ) Their score also was substantially higher than that of the managers of two other countries, namely, Italy ( 4 . 1 8 ) and T u r k e y ( 1 . 7 6 ) , but only slightly higher than that of P o l a n d ( 6 . 5 8 ) . 3) In Poland, the achievement score of the managers also was much higher than that of the professionals ( 6 . 5 8 against 4 . 8 5 ) . 4) In Turkey, the achievement score of the professionals ( 3 . 5 2 ) was higher than that of the managers. T h e implication is—-if the findings are accepted as a reliable index to conditions in the c o u n t r y — t h a t in an underdeveloped economy, business groups do not attract people of high achievement motivation c o m p a r e d with the professional groups, so that a change in this situation seems to be clearly necessary to provide a stimulus to economic growth. It may be noted here that B r a d b u r n , who collected data for the comparative study, also tested twenty-

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three leading Turkish businessmen 36 of much higher and more successful positions than the middle managers tested earlier. Their average score was also higher ( 3 . 8 7 ) , indicating that the outstanding businessmen had higher achievement motivation than the less successful younger managers did. What this suggests is that the lower ranks of business management, as compared with some other professions, do not attract a sufficient number of men with high achievement levels—a situation not uncommon in developing countries in general. The comparison of five countries further showed that, whereas in United States private industry the business leaders are drawn more widely from groups below the upper class, in Turkey a very high proportion of them (54 per cent) come from "the tiny segment of the Turkish population enjoying the highest occupational status." 37 For rapid economic growth, it is evidently necessary to encourage recruitment to entrepreneurial positions on the basis of talent and achievement motivation openly from all sections of the society. The psychological studies, some of which have been surveyed briefly here, have opened a new vista in thinking about the motivations behind economic growth. " T h e profit motive, so long a basic analytic element among Marxist and western economists alike, turns out on closer examination to be the achievement motive, at least in the sense in which most men have used the term to explain the energetic activities of the bourgeoisie. The desire for gain, in and of itself, has done little to produce economic development. But the desire for achievement has done a great deal, and ironically it was probably this same desire that activated the lower middleclass leaders of the Russian Communist Party as well as the bourgeoisie they criticized so intensely." 3 8 " F o r a century we have been dominated by Social Darwinism, by the implicit or explicit notion that man is a creature of his environment, whether natural or social. Marx thought so in advocating economic determinism, in arguing that a man's psychology is shaped in the last analysis by the conditions under which h e must work. Even Freud thought so in teaching that civilization was a reaction of man's primitive urges to the repressive force of social institutions beginning with the family. Practically all social scientists have in the past several generations begun with society and tried to create man in its image. Even Toynbee's theory of history is

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essentially one of environmental challenges, though he recognizes that states of mind can create internal challenges. "If our study of the role of achievement motivation in society does nothing else, perhaps it will serve to redress the balance a little, to see man as a creator of his environment, as well as a creature of it." 39 This is an approach to the study and understanding of the motivation of all development. It should be of special significance to the developing countries. As we have seen, the environment is important. The social structure, the values, beliefs, and motives of the entrepreneurs, the manner of upbringing of the children (i.e., whether or not they are encouraged to develop the qualities of selfreliance, initiative, and urge for achievement) are all powerful environmental factors. Yet, even as they unquestionably play an important part in shaping the attitude and behavior of the individuals, so are the individuals with a high purpose and achievement motivation also capable of reshaping these environmental factors in order that they aid and not impede a nation's progress in the achievement of its economic growth and other developmental goals.

Guidelines

for Development

Planning

Certain guidelines for the planner emerge from the foregoing analysis. First, he should try to estimate the effects of his plans on the values, motives, and attitudes of people since in the long run these factors are going to determine the degree of success of the plans in accomplishing their goals. Second, as a corollary, the plans should be accompanied by measures to control the subserviency to traditions that obstruct growth and to increase "other-directedness" (group participation). Third, the plans should include ways and means of increasing achievement motivation. Fourth, they should provide for better allocation of existing human resources with high achievement motivation by appropriate changes in the policy and methods of recruitment. Some of these obviously will have to be long-term measures. The vital role of education in implementing the measures to effect desirable social and psychological changes can hardly be overemphasized. The great power of education as an instrument of social change according to a nation's ideals and aspirations has been

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demonstrated in country after country. History is replete with instances of education's playing a major role in raising the level of aspiration and inspiring people to seek progress. Yet, the educational system inherited by most of the developing countries (as we have seen in the preceding chapter) was not designed to perform such a task. In these countries, education needs to be redesigned: instead of suppressing human aspiration, education must develop the qualities of drive and initiative, self-reliance and optimism, the urge to experiment and innovate, and above all, the desire to achieve. Bear in mind that the very forces responsible for the slow growth of the developing countries are bound to operate against efforts for modernization. But such resistance to change has been broken and overcome in many countries by enthusiasm, especially if it is sparked by a strong nationalistic movement and inspired by enlightened patriotic leadership, by reform movements based on religion, stirring the deep emotions of the people, or other ideologies, by the pressures of great crises, impending or actually happening, or by contact with advanced economies. It is not enough that the enthusiasm of the people is roused by a reform movement. It is essential that people sustain their fervor long enough to produce the desired changes. For this purpose, it is necessary to utilize fully all the means of contact or mass media, such as radio, films, public speeches, and the newspapers. Enduring results are obtained when the movement can be given the form of an ideological campaign, as Communism and its success demonstrate. Ideological campaigns based on religion, as mentioned before, are capable of producing similar results. Religion in different periods of history has supplied much of the stimulus for change. The contribution made by the strong Protestant movement in the first half of the sixteenth century in England is well known. There are other instances of the great role played by religion in bringing about reforms. For example, Protestant missionaries have laid the groundwork for change in many countries, as they currently are among the Indians in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. . . . As another example, consider the Moslem reform group that has developed in Pakistan largely around the figure of the late great poet, philosopher and religious leader, Mohammed Iqbal. The aim of the movement is to purify Islam of the

Development:

Its Meaning, Implications,

and Motivations

65

folk-religious encrustations which in their view have made it a conservative force working largely against social and economic progress. They find strong religious support in the teachings of Mohammed as further interpreted by Iqbal for many facets of modernization such as the emancipation of women. Religions can and have spearheaded change as well as resisted it. 40 It may not be out of place here to recall that the wellspring of inspiration to the Pakistan F r e e d o m Movement, which culminated in the establishment of the state of Pakistan, was an ideology based o n the Islamic principles of equality, brotherhood, and social justice. This ideology also f o r m s the very basis of the new state's social and economic policies. If a nation can find ideological support for a r e f o r m movement, preferably f r o m its own cultural heritage, this can be an added source of strength to the nation's motivation for progress. A t the same time, it also provides emotional security to the people who m a y otherwise feel rootless, anxious, and u n h a p p y by the disruption of traditional ways of doing things. " T h e psychologist accordingly concludes that ideological movements of all sorts are an important source of the emotional fervor needed to convert people to new norms. T h e y are necessary and should be supported in whatever f o r m is politically feasible or most congenial to the country concerned." 4 1

CHAPTER FOUR

The Economic Value of Education

WE HAVE SEEN how psychology provides the vital clue to motivation for economic growth, which again is influenced by many factors bound up with the total social structure and the values and attitudes that shape it. The important role of education in reorienting such values and attitudes, and in bringing about the social changes desirable for economic growth and progress, has been underscored. 1 Numerous studies have been made of the relationship of education to human growth and development in all its various aspects, such as intellectual and emotional growth, the formation of habits, attitudes, and character, the learning process, and the interaction between education and society. Research has contributed substantially to present awareness of education as an instrument of personal and social development. There also is a growing understanding that the function of education is not merely to reflect and transmit the prevailing social goals and ideals, important as this role is, but also to interpret and reinterpret these goals and ideals with a view to the reorientation of the value system necessary for progress. The value of education as a means of achieving human and social goals is increasingly well recognized. In marked contrast, public awareness of the economic value of education appears to be rather dim and unclear. There is, of course, a general notion that education also prepares a person, in some manner, for earning a livelihood, and in the absence of proper studies, professional, technical, and vocational branches of education have been identified as concrete instances of the economic value of education. Such a narrow and vague view of the relationship of education to economic growth can create an agonizing problem 66

The Economic

Value of Education

67

for education in the developing countries where education has to compete with other sectors of national development for its share f r o m the national pool of limited resources. Education in these countries still continues to be held in high esteem, for, as we saw in Chapter 2, this value is deep-rooted in their cultural traditions. But in the present stage of transition of these countries, there naturally is great emphasis on economic growth, resulting in a proportionately larger allocation of resources to capital goods essential for accelerating the pace of growth. It is considered to be in the national interest to cut down on all consumption and spend more on production so that, as a result of increased prosperity, more is later available to be spent on social welfare activities. By implication, all education except technical, vocational, and professional education is regarded as consumption and placed in the category of social welfare activities. Of course, the humanizing influence of education, its cultural values, its contribution to training in good citizenship and many other human and social values are readily admitted, as is the nationwide hunger for education. Even the proposition that expenditure on education is an investment may find acceptance, but as a philosophy rather than an economic fact. In the end, a lower priority is assigned to educational development. These attitudes are understandable, however, since the economic value of education—though always taken for granted by educators and other social scientists—has received very little attention from them as a field of research. The methods of economic analysis to determine the economic functions of education were not applied, strictly speaking, to the field of education until very recently. An analysis of the economic value of education is no easy task. It is as difficult to identify the many variables as to isolate the consumption and capital components of education and measure their precise value, because there are many elements in education which are intangible, imponderable, and beyond measurement. To formulate an analysis which would be acceptable to all schools of thought among educators and economists is an even more complex task.

The Role of Education

in Creating

Capital

The studies already made in this field at least have focused attention on education's vital role in creating human capital, an

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essential factor for economic development. They have torn away some cobwebs in the thinking of conventional educators and economists, bringing these men nearer to one another in more realistic development planning. As a result, some serious fallacies in the prevailing concepts of development planning have been exposed by outstanding economists. Professor John Kenneth Galbraith, for example, in one of a series of five lectures given by him in India, sounded this note of caution: In the early stages of development, plan creation is not properly a matter of economic planning at all; rather it is to build basic administrative organs, to develop the educational and basic cultural structure, and to get a viable and progressive social system. In Western Europe and the United States these steps following the French and American revolutions laid the foundation for economic advance. In developing its Central Asian republics, as the visitor learns, the Soviets gave high priority to developing an effective system of provincial administration, to education, to providing a transportation system, and to getting the nomads into a settled system of agriculture. These steps were clearly regarded as prerequisites for further agricultural and industrial development. 2 In another lecture, Professor Galbraith dispels the general misconception about the economic value of education: More specifically, we think of economic development as the investment of present resources for increased future production—the investment of savings for growth. We regularly measure the development effort of a country by the volume of its investment—what it saves from its own consumption, and what it is borrowing from consumers abroad, to invest in future increases in output. And here is the problem, for education is both a form of consumption and a kind of investment. Like bread, it is something we use or consume. But, like a dam or canal, it is something in which we invest to produce more in the future. 3 The fact is that education is of high importance both as an object of immediate consumption and as a form of investment for future production. . . . To look at education as a form of consumption, given the importance that the developing country attaches to investment, is to risk assigning it an unduly low priority. Some new countries have almost certainly done so. They have regarded their steel mills, dams, and fertilizer factories as the tangible manifestation of such development.

The Economic Value of Education

69

Aswan, Volta, or Bhakra-Nangal are development. They get the discussion, the money, the visitors, the glow of pride. Well-trained teachers may provide a greater promise of increased production. But they are not such tangible monuments to progress.4 As Professor Galbraith emphatically concludes: "But when we consider education as an investment, we must consider it as purposefully as any other form of capital outlay. This the older and more developed countries do not necessarily do or need to do. Their traditions are different; wealth has made it possible for them to be much more easygoing. The new country cannot be so permissive toward those in whom it invests." 5 These observations and conclusions by one of the leading economists of our time represent the consensus of opinion. We shall try to have a closer look, however, at the results of economists' efforts to apply the methods of economic analysis to education. Not all the values of education can be subjected to economic analysis. The difficulty in measuring the moral, cultural, and social benefits accruing from education is obvious. The price paid for education by an individual can hardly be regarded as a proper measure of all its values. The fact alone that education as a service is paid for by individuals and society indicates its economic value. Education in the sense of service through schooling should then fall into one or both of the categories of "goods and services" as defined in economic theory, namely, a consumer good or a producer good.

Education

as

Investment

The consumption aspect of education, on the whole, has been better recognized than its investment aspect. Schooling can yield present satisfaction (for example, through appreciation of a poem or achievement in performing a scientific experiment) or it may yield future satisfaction (through increased capacity to enjoy works of art, better understanding of more complex problems of science). When education has benefits in the future, it is an investment. Thus, education as consumption has two elements: ( 7 ) it serves present consumption, and ( 2 ) as an investment, it serves future consumption. In both of these cases, however, education is satisfying in itself,

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Strategy

not because of its values as preparation for a vocation, profession, or occupation, but because education, to acquire abilities, to increase future earnings is regarded as investment rather than consumption. Education, when viewed as a consumer good, is hardly ever entirely present consumption. It is more enduring than most other durable consumer goods. To this extent, it is a source of future satisfaction, and enhances future real income—even though these satisfactions are not taken into account in measuring national income. Our analysis so far has disregarded the benefits of an individual's education to his family, neighbors, employer, co-workers, and the society. All these, in the terminology of economics, may be called "external economies." It also may be noted that there is real difficulty in isolating the consumer component of education from its investment component, so that a demand analysis of education as consumption though theoretically possible is not easy to accomplish. Some studies undertaken in the United States indicate that since "the relative price of educational services is not subject, as are raw materials and farm products, to major short-period fluctuations, the real cost of schooling, hence its real price, rises more than the cost of living over long periods in countries in which real earnings of workers including the salaries of teachers rise relative to other factors of production." 6 The reliability of the estimates of income elasticity is open to question on the ground that educational expenditures generally have the characteristics also of an investment in a producer capacity, which cannot be treated as consumption. Where education results in increasing future earnings of people, it is an investment in human capital in the form of abilities acquired through education. The productive capacity of labor is largely a "produced means" of production, so that human capital is the outcome of investments in which education forms a major part. Studies on the role of education as an investment in human capital are still no more than a beginning in this rapidly growing field of research of common interest to economists and educators. Considerable light has been cast on an area of knowledge very little explored before. The results already obtained support the view of many of the earlier economists on the social and economic value of education, and should be of particular interest to the developing

The Economic

Value of Education

71

countries engaged in the challenging task of reconciling the claims of present consumption with those of investment for future development. The role of human capital and the important part played by education in its formation, as indicated in these studies, provide a new dimension for education in development planning. Among the earlier economists, Adam Smith, who was also a philosopher, recognized the great value of education and advocated a system of community-supported compulsory education for the poor on the lines of the Scottish parish schools. He attributed the superiority of the Scottish people in intelligence, prudence, and orderly habits to their system of education. 7 Both Ricardo and Malthus thought of education as an instrument for promoting the well-being of the masses through increasing capital and checking the growth of population. John Stuart Mill also was a strong advocate of "an effective national education of the children of the labouring people" with a view to inculcating in them common sense, habits of prudence, economy, temperance, and self-government. For these reasons, he was of the view that "education, therefore, is one of those things which it is admissible in principle, that a government should provide for the people." 8 Alfred Marshall brought his analytical methods to bear on examining the role and types of education. He viewed education as a "national investment." He supported the prevailing educational concept of "learning by doing," and advocated "technical education" for the working classes (who did not have any general education) as well as for the middle classes, in view of the latter's "narrow range of old grammar school education." With great insight, he stressed the need for general education for every man though apparently it may not have a direct utility, for "it makes him more intelligent, more ready, more trust-worthy in his ordinary work; it raises the tone of his life in working hours; it is thus an important means towards production of material wealth; at the same time, regarded as an end in itself, it is inferior to none of those which the production of material wealth can be made to subserve." 9 In a section on "Investment of Capital by Parents in Children," Marshall analyzes the causes of an imperfect labor market and the shortages of developed skills in England of his day as compared with Germany and the United States. He reached the conclusion that

72

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Strategy

"the most valuable of all capital is that invested in h u m a n beings." This was no mere philosophical assertion with him. In a special appendix, he included a detailed mathematical demonstration of the methods of estimating the returns on education. Thus, the value of a public-supported national system of education as a means not only of personal and social development but also of economic growth through creation of more wealth was recognized by all the important classical economists, though human capital created by education was not yet counted in the stock of capital in economic terminology. The first bold step in departure from the traditional concept of capital was taken by Fisher in propounding a comprehensive theoretical analysis in which capital was any stock, physical or human. Significantly enough, the importance of education received equal emphasis in Marxist philosophy also, though from a different angle. Like Adam Smith, Marx lamented the degradation of men through the division of labor to the status of tenders of machines. "A great part of them cannot read and they are, as a rule, utter savages and very extraordinary creatures." 10 He blames this on the prevalent capitalist system and warns: "Modern industry, indeed, compels society, under penalty of death, to replace the detailed worker of today, crippled by life-long repetition of one and the same trivial operation, and thus reduced to the mere fragment of a m a n by the fullydeveloped individual, fit for a variety of labours, ready to face any change of production, and to whom the different social functions he performs are but so many modes of giving free scope to his own actual and acquired powers." 11 With the advance of capitalism, Marx further argued, the absolute general law of accumulation ensured that more and more was produced by fewer and fewer, and the skill of the laborer used to degrade him. Marx saw all this as part of the process of accumulation of wealth, leading to accumulation of misery and eventually to the socialist revolution. In his view, the functions of education in a socialist society are, first, to overcome the alienation of the worker from the means of production while developing his technical skills and, second, to restore him as a man as well as keep him as a producer. Marx was not correct in thinking that a capitalist society was incapable of developing general education. In spite of considerable delay, England eventually evolved an adequate general edu-

The Economic

Value of Education

73

cation up to the secondary level (about eighty years after Marx wrote).

The Economic

Value of Education in the United

States

The United States presents an example of great progress in education as well as economic growth. Unemployment among skilled workers and the educated during the 1930's clouded the real issues in education. It succeeded also in obscuring the economic value of education until attention was drawn to this in recent years by some penetrating studies undertaken by American scholars. Of special significance are the methods evolved by them for measuring the economic value of education as an investment in human capital. Notable among these studies in the United States are those by Theodore Schultz, Gary S. Becker, Jacob Mincer, Edward F. Denison, Simon Kuznets, W. Arthur Lewis, C. Arnold Anderson, Fritz Machlup, Nicholas DeWitt, Frederick Harbison, and Charles Myers. In the United Kingdom, John Vaizey has made a significant contribution to the study of economics of education. Schultz was a pioneer in applying the methods of economic analysis to education. The great value of his contribution was to bring the new area of interest into clear view. In his most recent study, 12 he draws attention to two important findings on the value of education as a source of economic growth. ( 7 ) "During the last three decades, schooling has been a larger source of growth than material capital represented by structures, equipment and inventories as presently measured." ( 2 ) "The other lesson pertains to earlier decades and to the decades ahead. Between 1909 and 1929, schooling played a much smaller role in growth than it has since then." Denison's study based on historical comparisons attributes about 21 per cent of the economic growth in the United States between 1929 and 1957 to education. Other conclusions are that ( 7 ) "Additional education contributed only a little more than half as much to growth between 1909 and 1929 as between 1929 and 1957." ( 2 ) "From 1960 to 1980, education will contribute a little less to growth than it did in 1 9 2 9 - 5 7 . " ( 5 ) "For the longer run, it seems quite impossible to maintain the past rate of increase in the quantity of education offered the young." 13 ( 4 ) According to Schultz, "Between 1909 and 1929, material capital contributed to

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Strategy

growth twice that of schooling, but between 1929 and 1957, the contribution of schooling exceeded that of material capital." 1 4 Denison's findings were supported by those of Schultz for the period 1929-57, prepared some time back. Schultz' approach rested on the investment in schooling of people who were in the labor force, and the rate of return earned on this investment. "The first, expressed as a stock of capital in 1956 dollars, came to $180 billion for 1930 and to $535 billion for 1957. (A simple adjustment of trend indicates a stock of $173 billion for 1929.) Thus, the increase in this stock of capital between 1929 and 1957 comes to $362 billion." 15 For the purpose of this estimate, it was assumed that all of the cost of education was an investment in future earnings and none of it was for present or future consumption. Schultz prepared three estimates of return on this investment; the lower two estimates were 9 per cent and 11 per cent. Applying these two rates to the increase in capital stock of $362 billion, he obtained slightly less than $33 billion and $40 billion, respectively, as the growth in the national income from education. This amounted to 16.5 per cent (if 9 per cent is taken as the rate of return) or 20 per cent (if 11 per cent is taken as the rate of return) of the total growth on the basis of an increase of $200 billion in the national product. In preparing his estimate of the stock in education, Schultz adopted the following method: (a) He used 1956 price tags for a year of schooling—$280 for elementary school, $1,420 for high school, and $3,300 for college. (b) Since a "year of schooling" was affected by the length of the school year, which changed from 99 days in 1900 to 159 days in 1957, he adjusted the figures on school years completed for the differences in the length of school attendance. (c) He estimated the number of years of schooling completed by members of the labor force (on the average) as 7.52 elementary school years, 2.44 high school years, and 0.64 college and university year. At 1956 prices, the cost of an average year of this composition came to $723. 16 (d) He included in the cost of schooling the opportunity costs of the time of students in secondary schools and beyond. These costs were equal to the earnings foregone by the students, since at these stages they could have earned "their keep and more at

The Economic

Value of Education

IS

jobs suitable to their age and experience." The differences due to inclusion of opportunity cost, stated in U.S. 1956 dollars, are shown below: STAGE OF EDUCATION

SCHOOL

EARNINGS

COSTS

FOREGONE

TOTAL

RATIO OF (2)

to

(3)

PERCENTAGE (1) (2) (3)

Elementary (8 years) High school (4 years) College or university (4 years)

280

0

280

0

568

852

1,420

60

1,353

1,947

3,300

59

O n the b a s i s o f the t e n t a t i v e e s t i m a t e s of s t o c k o f e d u c a t i o n a l c a p i t a l in the l a b o r f o r c e a n d o f t r a i n i n g o n the j o b b y m a l e s , t h e a v e r a g e a n n u a l r a t e s o f i n c r e a s e a p p l i e d t o the s t o c k s s h o w n [in the t a b l e b e l o w ]

for

1 9 5 7 i n d i c a t e a n i n c r e m e n t a l i n c r e a s e of $ 2 5 . 5 billion f o r " r e p r o d u c i b l e t a n g i b l e w e a l t h " a n d $ 4 0 . 5 billion f o r the t w o c l a s s e s of h u m a n c a p i t a l . T h e a m o u n t of c a p i t a l f o r m e d w a s e q u a l t o a b o u t 2 6 p e r c e n t o f n a t i o n a l p r o d u c t in b o t h 1 9 2 9 a n d

net

1957."

E S T I M A T E S OF VARIOUS STOCKS OF CAPITAL AND ANNUAL R A T E S OF I N C R E A S E BETWEEN 1929 AND 1957, IN T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S IN 1956 DOLLARS 1 8

B I L L I O N S OF D O L L A R S

ANNUAL

RATE

R A T E OF

APPLIED

GROWTH

TO

(PER

CENT) ( 2 )

1957 X

(3)

(BILLION DOLLARS) 1929

1. Reproducible, tangible wealth 2. Educational capital in population 3. Educational capital in labor force 4. On-the-job training of males in labor force 5. Total of Lines 3 and 4

1957

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

727

1,270

2.01

25.5

317

848

3.57

30.3

173

535

4.09

21.9

(136)

347

5.36

18.6

for 1939 40.5

The Schultz study was confined to formal schooling representing "the activities that are an integral part of the teaching and learning of students," but excluding other functions of the educational establishment like research or the discovery and cultivation

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Education

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Strategy

of potential talent. Neither on-the-job training nor unorganized education such as education in the home comes under this definition of schooling. A study by Fritz Machlup was directed toward measuring the cost of all types of education in the United States, including education in the home, training on the job, education in the church, education in the armed services, as well as costs of formal schooling, special schools, public libraries, and other programs. The estimate of the total cost for 1956-57 was over $60 billion, or 12.9 per cent of the adjusted gross national product. 19 Jacob Mincer, in his study of "On-the-Job Training," estimated the amounts invested in such training of males in the U.S. labor force at $5.7 billion in 1939 and $12.5 billion in 1958, both stated in 1954 dollars. 20 "Measured in terms of costs, it is as important as formal education for the male labor force and amounts to more than a half of total (male and female) expenditures on school education." 21 Gary Becker develops a theory to cope with investment in people and reaches the following conclusions, among others: ( a ) "Most investments in human capital both raise observed earnings £t older ages, because returns are added to earnings then, and lower them at younger ages, because costs are deducted from earnings then." (b) "Since earnings are gross of the return on human capital, some persons may earn more than others simply because they invest more in themselves." (c) All "learning, both on and off the job, and other activities appear to have exactly the same effects on observed earnings as do education, training, and other traditional investments in human capital." 22 In an earlier study, 23 he estimated income differences attributable to the cost of a college education in the United States. The rate of return for urban white males was found to be 12.5 per cent in 1940 and 10 per cent in 1950. It is also interesting to note that the gross capital formation by the high school years and education beyond the twelfth yea: in the United States was estimated at $22.7 billion in 1956 as against $1.6 billion in 1920, whereas corresponding figures of tolal conventional capital were $80.6 billion and $23.1 billion.24 The findings of some of the other notable studies on the subject are summarized briefly below.

The Economic 23

Value of Education

77

Moses Abramovitz estimated the rate of increase in the net national product in the United States since 1870 at 3.5 per cent per annum, with the increase due to labor and (conventional) capital at 1.7 per cent per annum. Thus, the balance of 1.8 per cent per annum—i.e., about half of the increase in the net national product—is left unaccounted for, because it cannot be explained by man hours and traditional capital. Simon Kuznets 26 discovered large gains in the income of workers which he ascribed to "shifts from industries with lower to industries with higher income per gainfully occupied." But these shifts explained only about four-tenths of the large gains so that six-tenths still remain to be accounted for. John W. Kendrick, in a study limited to the private domestic economy of the United States for the period between 1899 and 1953, estimated the increase in real product at 3.3 per cent per annum and the increase in input of labor and capital at 1.6 per cent per annum. 27 Thus, this study also found 1.7 per cent per annum, or more than half of the increase in real product, left unexplained. Robert M. Solow, reporting in 1957, put the unexplained residue at 87.5 per cent of the increase in output per man hour in the United States between 1909 and 1949. 28 The substantial residue discovered in these four studies should not be regarded as mere windfalls or quasi-rents to labor. Viewing this in the context of the studies by Schultz, Becker, Machlup, Denison, and Mincer, one naturally is led to believe that a large part of this residue is a return on investment in skills and related abilities. All these studies also bring into sharp focus the limitation of the traditional concept of capital which left out human capital. "A concept restricted to structures, producer equipment, and inventories is all too narrow for studying either the growth that is being measured (national income) or, what is more important, all gains in well-being from economic progress which would also include the satisfactions that people derive from more leisure, from the growing stock of consumer durables, and from satisfactions that come to people from better health and more education—all of which, as a rule, are omitted in estimates of national income." 29 This important fact is also recognized by Kuznets when he stresses

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that for "the study of economic growth over long periods and among widely different societies . . . the concept of capital and capital formation should be broadened to include investment in health, education, and training of the population itself, that is, investment in human beings. F r o m this point of view, the concept of capital formation followed here is too narrow." ao The studies on the stock of educational capital and the return from investment in education in the United States, some of which have been discussed briefly here, certainly highlight the great economic value of education. They also yield some interesting propositions with significance to the planner. A few of these propositions are noted below: 1) "Once a country attains a high level of schooling, although it would undoubtedly require much schooling to maintain it and the annual investment in schooling would be large, schooling would obviously no longer be a source of economic growth. Also, however low the level, there are large possibilities for raising it. If the level were raised substantially and rapidly, then during such a period, schooling would be a substantial source of growth." 31 2 ) On the above assumptions, adding a year of high school per worker adds more to the capital stock of schooling in the labor force than adding a year of elementary schooling—in view of the higher cost of a year of high school. 3) Educational capital in a country can also decline. This is illustrated by the case of East Germany, where there was such a decline in the recent past as a result of the large influx of skilled technicians and of other persons with much schooling. 4) Though most economic analyses assume that all expenditures of schooling are in the nature of investment in the producing and earning capabilities, Burton A. Weisbrod rightly points out other aspects of schooling "which increase welfare possibilities directly," 32 some of which benefit the student and his family; some also benefit other individuals and families in the community. For example, literacy "must have a pervasive value in improving the productivity of an economy." It must be remembered that not all benefits that accrue to the student become a part of his earnings, as in the case of preparing one's own income tax return. In such cases, what can be inferred from estimates of return to expenditure on education based on the assumption that all of it is investment?

The Economic

Value of Education

79

A great deal really, provided the limits to the information are always taken into account. In the case of a college education, when a rate of return based on total costs is as high as that on alternative investments, it follows that the greater the consumption captured by others, the larger the underinvestment. Moreover, it is possible to indicate a scale for rating different classes of schooling with regard to students' consumption and with regard to the production and consumption benefits that accrue to others. In the case of elementary schooling, the rate of return is higher than that on alternative investments, and the consumption component accruing to the student and his family is large, and the benefits captured by others is, also, large. The three sets of contributions combined strongly to support the inference that anything less than 8 years of schooling is a serious underinvestment. [This remark applies to high-income countries.] 3 3

5) In the United States at present, the various types of advanced professional education such as law, agriculture, business, engineering, medicine, dentistry, nutrition, and technology may be regarded as predominantly investments in productive capabilities. In the case of general programs of college education and high school education not concentrating on vocational subjects, on the other hand, "schooling contributes substantially to consumption, and the benefits captured by others are not small. As a working assumption, one-half to three-fifths of the costs of high schooling is invested in production capabilities that increase future earnings that accrue to students." 34 6) In high-income countries, in spite of the fact that those with schooling up to the eighth grade earn less than those with more schooling, the difference, though considerable, is not so large as "to produce on the much larger costs, a rate equal to the high rate realized on what is invested upon the completion of the elementary grades." 35 7) It is difficult to state, in the absence of adequate information about key variables, whether a parallel proposition will hold good in the case of low-income countries. It will be necessary to consider many factors, such as whether or not there are employment opportunities for the children of school age; whether or not peak employment seasons synchronize with the school year; whether the structure of wages is favorable; and whether reliable information is available. For countries comparable to Mexico, however, the indications are that the rate of return is high to costs of completing the sixth grade. There is "a strong presumption with respect to many countries that

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and Development

Strategy

are thought of as being quite poor that the best 'pay-off' in terms of production and earnings to people is in more and better elementary schooling." 3 6 8) Estimates of the rates of return to costs of various types of education in the United States, based on 1958 data, are as follows: elementary, 35 per cent; high school, 10 per cent; and college, 11 per cent. 37 Based on internal rates of return to total resource investment in schooling, Hansen's estimates show that the marginal rate of return rises rapidly from the completion of the first two years to the completion of the seventh and eighth years of schooling, from a rate of about 9 per cent to 29 per cent. 38 This marginal rate of return then declines for high school and college; the eleventh and twelfth years of schooling show a return of nearly 14 per cent and the fifteenth and sixteenth year a strong 15 per cent. Another study "implies a high rate of return to schooling even for hired f a r m workers in the United States, a finding which comes as a surprise. It had not been known that differences in wages to farm workers were as large as they are and that a considerable part of these differences are related to differences in schooling." 39 9 ) Another inference of far-reaching importance to the underdeveloped countries, which after all have as one of their development goals the reduction in inequalities of wealth, is that the structure of wages and salaries, which has long baffled economists, is determined in the long run by investment in schooling, health, on-thejob training, and in searching for information about job opportunities and acting on it. . . . In analyzing the personal distribution of income, the hypothesis here proposed is that these changes in the investment in human capital are a basic factor reducing the inequality in the personal distribution of income. One of the implications of this formulation is that changes in income transfers, in progressive taxation, and changes in the distribution of privately owned wealth have been overrated as factors in altering the personal distribution of income. 4 0

There are several major limitations to the studies we have been reviewing. The most important limitation in applying the methods of economic analysis to education is the difficulty of isolating the consumption components of education from what strictly may be considered as investment components. This is a difficulty that still

The Economic

Value of Education

81

remains unresolved. Yet, similar inadequacies in economic analysis sometimes arise in respect to physical capital as well, owing to a lack of accurate technological and consumer information. Furthermore, the assumption in the present case indicates that the actual return to cost of education is likely to be greater than estimated if all the benefits of a particular type of education besides those represented by earnings were visible and measurable. Another assumption that may be questioned is that schooling for some economists means only formal schooling of the defined scope as, for example, in the case of Schultz's estimate which excluded education in the home, church, and community, and also on-thejob training. While this assumption indicates the limited scope of the studies in question, it does not in itself seem to invalidate the findings, though it does imply that the stocks of educational capital are probably underestimated. Some more recent studies have tried to cover all types of education, we may mention, and their findings do not indicate that the earlier estimates were incorrect. Some economists object to the inclusion of "earnings foregone" in the cost of education in estimating the stock of capital. 41 Such objections seem to stem chiefly from the traditional concept of capital. It seems to us that the concept of earnings foregone as clarified by Sdhultz provides "a key explanatory variable of a large set of behavior observed empirically." It is a hypothesis that needs further testing. It may be noted that if earnings foregone were excluded from cost, the result is a reduction in the estimated stock of educational capital, but a corresponding increase in the rate of return to the investment in education. Schultz' estimate also left out the contribution of research to growth. As he himself points out, however, half of the basic research in the United States is conducted within the educational institutions (if the quantitative expenditures on total research are adopted as an index). The return on research in agriculture within the land-grant colleges and universities and the Department of Agriculture is known to be high. 42 Denison adopted an indirect method of allocating to "advance of knowledge" the residual that he had left after accounting for all the elements identified and measured by him. In this way, he estimated that more than 18 per cent of the growth in the national product between 1929 and 1957 was due to what he called "advance of knowledge." 43 The weakness of the residual method

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Education and Development

Strategy

adopted by Denison is that it cannot be regarded as a positive measure, though it provides inferential evidence not to be dismissed as insignificant. E v e n if it is granted that the research in the institutions of higher education is a "quest for knowledge for its own sake," the new knowledge becomes valuable at least in part in its application to production, resulting in increased real national income, though the rate of increase is not yet known. Following f r o m the h u m a n characteristics of labor as a factor of production, there arises the difficulty of measuring the economic value of education as an instrument of creating various kinds of skills for productive use as distinct f r o m the effects of differences in native abilities (which are of the nature of " r e n t " ) . It may be argued that the " p u r e rent" in earnings cannot be very large. Inalienability of labor also introduces another complicating factor, namely, that the motives and incentives of the trained workers may not in all cases be identical with those of their employers or even of the society as a whole. It seems fair to say that the assumptions and limitations underlying the studies of the formation of capital through education, some of which we have reviewed here, are inevitable because the capital in question is h u m a n in character, not capable of analysis precisely as is physical capital. T h e limitations cannot be allowed to vitiate the findings of these studies, which are a constructive contribution to the understanding of an important but hitherto neglected part of the process of economic growth which was the outcome of investment in education. It should be stressed that in addition to the vital role it plays in capital formation, education has certain unique features which distinguish it f r o m other kinds of producer goods. These lie in the potential of education to discover new talents, new goods, new technologies, and new instruments of social policy. T h o s e w h o perform these functions constitute a new class of rapidly growing importance in the advanced countries, as distinct f r o m the other three classes of producers, namely, primary, secondary and tertiary. F u r t h e r m o r e , though all of these functions of education have not been brought within the scope of economic analysis—which, f o r good reason, has been confined to the study of education as a process of creating h u m a n capital—their value to the economic and social progress of a nation is too great to b e overlooked.

The Economic

Value of Education

83

What has been said about the economic value of education in the United States has substantial support in the experiences of other countries as well. As illustrations, the experiences of Japan and the U.S.S.R. will be described briefly.

The Economic

Value of Education

in Japan

Japan's progress in economic development during the period beginning with the Meiji Restoration in 1868 has been most remarkable. By the time World War II broke out, Japan had approached the economic level of the advanced Western countries of Europe and N o r t h America, and thus had the distinction of being the only country in Asia and Africa to rank among the great powers and economically developed nations of the world. The second striking fact about Japan was the speed with which the country recovered from the crisis which came as an aftermath of total collapse at the end of the war. Japan presents, we may say, the Asian parallel to West Germany in Europe in the rate and results of progress achieved in economic reconstruction. J a p a n ' s achievement, both in economic development and in reconstruction, is rightly attributed to the human factor, as represented by educated and trained manpower. This has proved to be the most valuable resource in building up the country. This view finds eloquent support in the following quotation from a recent official publication of the Government of Japan: Education in the early Meiji Era . . . supported the foundation on which the modern Japanese economic system was created, rather than contributing directly to economic growth. In other words, the diffusion of elementary education raised the quality of the people's skills, modernized their thought, and made it possible for them to participate successfully in modern economic activities. . . . Japanese education had successfully met the needs of industries which had developed on the bases founded in an earlier period. . . . The unexpectedly rapid revival from the socio-economic collapses following World War II and the following prosperity in Japan resulted from the accumulated efforts of pre-war education. . . . Thus far, the high evaluation of the role of education in achieving economic development in this country should be attributed to the effort of the people who had restricted consumption and invested the money

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Education

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Strategy

thus in education. That the rate of educational expenditures to national income in Japan was among the highest in the world substantiates this statement. 44

The historical growth of Japan's educational system has a message of special interest to the developing nations in South and Southeast Asia, because Japan encountered many problems similar to those which face the other countries in this region. Like that of most other nations in Asia, Japan's culture is steeped in history. As a distinct ethnic group, the Japanese have inhabited a chain of islands off the east coast of Asia for nearly 2,000 years of recorded history. As a result of their contact with Buddhism and the Chinese civilization, they went through a cultural revolution beginning about the middle of the sixth century. Though their language was different from the Chinese, they adopted the Chinese script and established schools on the Chinese pattern, imparting the Confucian learning. The Heian period (794-1185) marked the beginning of an era of the unfolding of the Japanese genius for creative work as reflected in art, craft, literature. Japan never hesitated to borrow from other cultures to enrich her own, but she did so with such modification as would suit her peculiar conditions and needs. The resulting innovation often amounted to new creation, resulting in cultural diffusion. The universal value of this can hardly be overemphasized. 45 For many centuries, the curriculum for the Japanese schools was derived from Confucian literature. The philosophy of education laid stress on training in the virtues of loyalty, filial piety, duty, and benevolence according to the concepts of Confucianism. The aim of education was to make the students virtuous, and teachers—who generally were Buddhist or Shinto priests—were expected to be models in this regard. Schools were mostly clan schools, very widespread and not available to the masses during this feudal period. The restoration of the Meiji rule in 1868 marked the beginning of the end for feudalism in Japan. Modernization of the country and the educational system began. The young leaders of the nation clearly recognized the need for a strong nationalistic and centralized program of development, based on a system of universal public education which aimed at the dual goal of supplying the trained manpower required for modernization, and producing national unity through the integration of the diverse clans and communities by promoting their loyalty to the emperor-state.

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85

The system was not based on popular demand or consent, but imposed from above. Nevertheless, it produced good results. Because of the traditional discipline of the Japanese people, their habits of industry, and their great desire for education, the system achieved great success. The nation pushed forward on its way to economic and social progress. The young Emperor Meiji provided an effective and bold leadership. His philosophy that knowledge should be sought all over the world showed rare vision and insight, both needed for progress. As a result, his government also launched two other programs of farreaching effect. Under one program, a large number of young people were sent abroad for education especially in science, medicine, law, and education. The other program brought foreign specialists and experts into the country to teach in the colleges and universities of Japan. This was a turning point in Japan's history, marking a swing from Confucianism to Western science and technology. A national Department of Education was created in 1871. It planned a national system of education, known as the Gakusei, which was inaugurated in 1872. Under this system, the country was divided into 8 university districts. At the apex of each district was a university, each university district was to have 32 middle (secondary) schools. Each middle school district was to have 210 elementary schools. The country as a whole would have 8 universities, 156 middle schools, and 32,760 elementary schools. This was, indeed, a very ambitious goal considering the resources of the country at the time. Even though the human and material resources at the disposal of the nation were limited, a sincere effort was made to implement the new system. At the end of the first year, 23 per cent of the planned program was in operation, and by the end of three years, 45 per cent of the program was covered. The educational system in Japan was strengthened by the Education Order of 1879, and four years' compulsory education was introduced in 1886. This had been facilitated by the launching of a teaching-training program in 1872. With the promulgation of the Elementary School Order, Middle School Order, Normal School Order, and Imperial University Order in 1886, the fundamental educational system started in 1872 was practically completed. The administration of the new schools was vested in the prefectural and local officials, subject to inspection and financial support

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Education

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Strategy

from the central government. Administrative centralization in the Japanese system was analogous to the French pattern; in respect to philosophy of education, curriculum, and teaching method, however, the educational growth in Japan was influenced profoundly by the American system and the liberal concepts of philosophers like Pestalozzi. This was one result of Japan's educational contact with the United States through Japanese scholars who studied there and American educators who worked with the Japanese government. Between 1886 and 1890, a reaction to the progressive trend acquired such strength that there was a swing back to the doctrines of Confucianism as the basis of education. This policy of reversal later received strong support by the rising militarist group in 1930 with the result that the practice of formulating educational policy with the divine authority of the emperor continued. Moral education was made to rest on a catechism of the Shinto ideology of emperor worship combined with the ethical concepts of loyalty, filial piety, and obedience to superiors, underlying Confucianism. Naturally, this change affected all aspects of education. In 1893, steps had been taken for the development of vocational education through the establishment of vocational schools as semisecondary schools. In 1899, laws relating to the establishment of vocational schools and also girls' schools as institutions of general secondary education were promulgated. The period 1912-26, known as the Taisho Era, witnessed considerable expansion of the educational system of Japan. By 1919, elementary courses had been extended to six years. The University Order of 1918 authorized the establishment of single-faculty universities, and also public and private universities. The Higher School Order of 1918, in like manner, recognized both public and private higher schools and prescribed a seven-year course for such schools. Following World War II, far-reaching changes were introduced by the Allied Occupation authorities, in the first instance in 1945 through a directive known as "Administration of the Educational System of Japan." It banned dissemination of militaristic and ultranationalistic ideology, military education and drill, but encouraged democratic concepts and practices directed to the growth of an educated, peaceful, and responsible citizenry. The school system was reorganized structurally in four stages: ( 7 ) the elementary stage of six years, comprising the age range 6 - 1 2 years; (2) the lower

The Economic

Value of Education

87

secondary stage of three years, comprising the age range 12-15 years; ( J ) the upper secondary stage of three years, comprising the age range 15-18 years; and ( 4 ) university. The second installment of reforms followed the U.S. Education Mission Report in 1946. This included the decentralization of the educational system through the establishment of elected school boards in 46 prefectures, 5 large cities, and 46 smaller cities, towns, and villages. It is of interest to note that this particular reform, though based on legislation by the Diet, was opposed by the Japanese Ministry of Education. Elected school boards were eventually replaced by appointed boards for the following reasons: the elected boards were dominated by teachers who were all members of the Japan Teachers' Union, thus giving rise to a difficult situation in which they could bargain on both sides; the elected boards were not financially independent since the power to vote their budget rested with the Assembly; and furthermore the boards created a new educational bureaucracy in place of the one they sought to replace, interfering with normal administration, and voting unusually high salaries and privileges for themselves. Today, the national government is directly responsible for the 72 national universities, 21 national junior colleges, 23 national upper secondary schools, 80 national lower secondary schools, 75 national elementary schools, 35 national kindergarten schools, and 3 national special schools, a total of 309 public schools. In addition, the government aids private schools. The total expenditure on education amounts to 5.3 per cent of the national income, and about 50 per cent is borne by the national government. In 1962, technical colleges (for students who have completed nine years of education) were established, covering three years of upper secondary and two years of higher education. The composition of enrollment in Japan by levels of education has shown remarkable change since 1895. The following table shows the enrollments by levels, stated as percentages of the total enrollment for the year: 46

88

Education

and Development

Strategy 1895-1960a

ENROLLMENT BY E D U C A T I O N A L LEVEL IN JAPAN, YEAR

ELEMENTARY

1895 1905 1915 1925 1935 1950 1960

SEMI-SECONDARY

96.5 91.6 79.0 69.6 65.7 57.8 53.2

SECONDARY

1.8 4.4 8.0 11.2 14.1 2.5 5.2

HIGHER

1.3 3.3 12.4 18.0 18.9 37.6 38.6

0.4 0.7 0.6 1.2 1.3 2.1 3.0

" [Figure 4.]

ENROLLMENT P E R C E N T A G E S FOR S E C O N D A R Y S E M I - S E C O N D A R Y S C H O O L S IN J A P A N a YEAR

SECONDARY

1895 1905 1915 1925 1935 1950 1960 1961

1.1 4.3 19.9 32.3 39.7 69.3 80.0 82.2

SCHOOLS

AND

SEMI-SECONDARY

SCHOOLS

4.2 13.3 12.8 20.1 29.6 9.4 22.2 24.7

* This tables states the enrollments as percentages of the total population of corresponding age. [Table 6.]

P E R C E N T A G E OF C O M P U L S O R Y SCHOOL G R A D U A T E S ADVANCING TO POST-COMPULSORY E D U C A T I O N a COUNTRY

YEAR

Japan U.S.A. U.K. (England and Wales) German Federal Republic France

1961 1958 1960 1959 1959

PERCENTAGE

62.0 92.6 36.6 56.8 69.0

(from (from (from (from (from

ADVANCING

9th to 10th) 9th to 10th) 10th to 11th) 8th to 9th) 8th to 9th)

Note: The figure for the United Kingdom is derived by comparing the number of 14-year-old pupils in 1959 and the number of 15-year-old pupils in 1960. The figure for France is derived by comparing the number of 13-year-old pupils in 1958 and the number of 14-year-old pupils in 1959. • [Table 15J

The Economic

Value of Education

89

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY LEVEL OF EDUCATION COMPLETED IN JAPAN • (in thousands of persons)

COMPLETED POPULATION YEAR

OF

PRODUCTIVE ACE *

1895 1905 1925 1935 1950 I960"

DID NOT

ELEMENTARY

COMPLETED

COMPLETED

ATTEND

EDUCATION

SECONDARY

HICHER

SCHOOL

22,790 24,370 32,930 38,250 47,350 56,990

0

19,160 13,960 6,590 2,550 1,170 310

ONLY "

3,570 10,150 24,470 31,540 37,180 36,390

EDUCATION " EDUCATION

40 210 1,610 3,550 7,430 17,130

6

20 50 260 610 1,570 3,160

* Productive-age population covers the age group 1 5 - 5 4 years from 1895 to 1925, and 1 5 - 5 9 years a f t e r 1935. T h e figures for 1895 and 1905 are taken from the materials c o n c e r n i n g estimated population by age supplied by the Institute of Population P r o b l e m s of the Ministry of W e l f a r e , thereafter from census reports. " T h e numbers of those who completed elementary, secondary, or higher education between 1895 and 1950 are taken from the number of graduates accumulated e a c h year since 1873 as reported in the Annual R e p o r t of the Ministry of Education, reduced by the estimated n u m b e r of deaths based on the " L i f e T a b l e " of the Institute of Population Problems. c T h e n u m b e r of those who " D i d Not Attend S c h o o l " is the difference between t h e productive-age population and the total number completing the several levels of education. d F i g u r e s for 1960 are taken from the census reports. • [ T a b l e 13.]

NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION PER 10,000 PERSONS OF TOTAL POPULATION (1958-59) COUNTRY

NUMBER OF PERSONS

Japan U.S.A. United Kingdom German F e d e r a l R e p u b l i c France U.S.S.R. Sweden Denmark Italy

69 185

24«

33 50 108" 38 31 33

COUNTRY

Spain Yugoslavia India Ceylon Thailand Mexico Brazil Egypt Nigeria

c

NUMBER OF TERSONS

48 53 21 9 22 38 14 39 5

• F i g u r e refers to 1 9 5 7 - 5 8 . F i g u r e refers to 1 9 5 9 - 6 0 . e [Table 16.]

4

The effect of the growth of education on the economic growth of Japan is demonstrated by the rising industrial production. During the period 1895 to 1961, while the enrollment ratio rose from 0.3

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Education

and Development

Strategy

per cent to 10.2 per cent in all types of institutions of higher education, the index number of industrial production rose from 3 per cent to 577 per cent, taking the production in 1935 as 100, and that of the national income rose from 20 per cent in 1895 to 26 per cent in 1961. A high degree of correlation between secondary school enrollment and production and per capita national income is also indicated by the following figures : d

NATIONAL

INCOME

PER CAPITA AT (IN

1960 PRICES 1,000

YEN)

SECONDARY

INDEX

SCHOOL

NUMBERS

ENROLLMENT (IN

1,000

OF

PERSONS)

PRODL'CTION

(1914=100)

22.8

1895

45

46

1905

47

191

52.1

1915

73

1,058

126.0

111

2,069

478.3

1925 [Table

d

4.

TRENDS OF NATIONAL INCOME, LABOR FORCE, AND STOCK OF CAPITAL " NATIONAL

LABOR FORCE

INCOME

PHYSICAL CAPITAL Amount

Amount Year

( 1 billion

(1 million) Index

billion

(10 Index

yen)

yen)

CAPITAL Amount

(1,000

Number Index

EDUCATIONAL

billion

Index

yen)

1905

1,210

100

25.6

100

5.8

100

31

1910

1,559

129

26.2

102

8.0

138

47

100 152

1919

2.761

228

26.6

104

10.1

174

81

260

1930

4,054

335

29.3

115

23.1

398

186

600

1935

5,234

433

31.4

123

25.9

447

256

831

1955

7,189

594

39.2

153

21.7

374

538

1,731

1960

11,822

979

43.7

171

39.8

686

711

2,286

• [Table

1.]

While the labor force rose from 25.6 million in 1905 to 43.7 million in 1960 (by 70 per cent in 55 years), the stock of physical capital increased by 700 per cent from 5,800 billion to 39,800 billion yen. The national income, however, increased by 1,000 per cent, from 1,200 billion yen to 12,000 billion yen, showing a higher rate

The Economic Value of Education

91

of growth than that of the labor force or the stock of physical capital. This was accounted for by the increased productivity of labor and physical capital as a result of the increase in the stock of educational capital from 310 billion yen to 7,110 billion yen, i.e., an increase by 2,300 per cent during the same period. Though in 1960, the value of the stock of educational capital was 180 per cent of the value of the stock of physical capital, it yielded proportionately greater return. During 25 years from 1930 to 1955, the increase in the educational capital was estimated to have contributed 25 per cent of the increase in the national income, i.e., 70 per cent of the 37 per cent increase in the national income. (The technique devised by Theodore Schultz was applied to the Japanese data in preparing this estimate.) "One of the basic tasks of education in this country is to assess and train the capabilities of all of its citizenry. Neither economic growth nor desired social development will result from the development of restricted sectors of society or from the efforts of a limited number of capable individuals. . . ." 47 Japan spends over 5 per cent of the national income on education, though it is not one of the countries with the highest national income. (Japan's per capita national income is approximately 350 dollars.) The public expenditures in Japan are 24.1 per cent of the total expenditures by national and local governments, which is higher than the percentage in economically well-developed countries of the world like the United States, the U.S.S.R., the United Kingdom, the German Federal Republic, France, and Italy. "Thus in comparison with other countries, Japan is making relatively greater effort to support its schools. . . . The bulk of the burden for the financial support of public education in Japan has been gradually transferred from the municipalities to the prefectures and national government. Around 50 per cent of the total public educational expenditures is provided by the national treasury. "This trend resulted from a series of actions intended to increase the national level of education and to provide a system of universal education that would eliminate radical differences among the various regions of the country. This was made possible by the gradual diffusion of industry throughout the country with a resultant reduction of formerly great disparities in the regional socio-economic status." 48

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Education and Development

Strategy

The Economic Value of Education in the U.S.S.R. The transition of the U.S.S.R. from a backward economy to a self-sustaining one within less than forty years stands out as a classic example of the success that can be achieved in rapid economic progress through planned development. The goals of development naturally were colored by the ideology of the Russian nation. Though the emphasis was admittedly on economic development, one of the major goals basic to the policy underlying this planned development was the "shaping of harmoniously developed members of a communist society." The leaders of the Russian Revolution not only envisioned the key role of education as an instrument of social and economic transformation necessary if their nation was to realize the Communist goals. They also showed great imagination and resourcefulness in making the most effective use of this instrument. Lenin, Stalin, and Khrushchev, each of whom in his own time shaped and guided the policy in national development, seemed to assign equally great importance to education. The cornerstone of the policy in education was laid by Lenin when he declared that "education should be a weapon for moving society forward on the road to communism." 49 This policy was vigorously pursued by Stalin, who placed great stress on education: "To build socialism, we must possess knowledge; we must master science. And in order to master it, we must learn. We must learn persistently and patiently. We must learn from our friends and, particularly, from our enemies. . . . To master science, to develop . . . specialists in all fields of knowledge, we must study, study, and study more—this is our main task." 5 0 In the same vein, Khrushchev twenty-five years later declared: "To accomplish the transition to communism, the most just and perfect society, where the best moral qualities of free men will find their fullest expression, we must above all educate the man of the future." 81 In accomplishing these goals, both economic and social, education played an extremely important role. Education was effective not only in promoting the long-term aims of the social policy of the U.S.S.R., but also—as pointed out recently by a Russian economist—in serving as "a power lever for economic progress and a rapid rise in the productivity of labour." 52

The Economic

Value of Education

93

The Russian experience clearly indicates that expansion of all kinds of education, including scientific and technological, at all levels increases the fruitfulness of capital expenditures. Even the most elementary schooling gives the industrial worker much more than a similar period of practical work at the bench or lathe. For example, the elementary literacy gained during the year of schooling raised the worker's productivity by an average of 30 per cent, while the training of illiterate workers at the factory bench raised their skill and output by no more than 12 to 16 per cent over the course of a year. 53

In 1924, plans for reorganization of primary education to raise enrollment from 4,000,000 to 8,000,000 over a period of ten years was estimated to cost 1,622 million rubles. But "the increase in the national income resulting from higher labour productivity of the children taught in those years amounted to more than 2,000 million rubles in only five years of their work. This increase more than "covered all the outlays." 54 In the initial period of planned development of Soviet industry, the prevalent thinking was that investment in machines was the most decisive factor in development. As we have noted, some planners today in the developing countries in Asia and elsewhere are inclined to hold a similar notion. However, it proved so difficult for untrained workers to learn to operate the machines that a new slogan had to be advanced: Cadres decide everything. That is why the expansion in the school training of cadres in the ten years from 1930 to 1940 was so great. In the subsequent decade, the rate of growth was slowed by the war. In 195060, however, we again see a big growth in the number of persons trained in schools. Altogether from 1918 to 1960, Soviet national economy received 4,781,100 specialists from higher educational establishments, and 7,744,000 from secondary technical schools, making a total of 12,525,000. The number trained in the past 10 years alone is 6,755,000 or 54 per cent of the total trained since the revolution. 55

Tremendous effort also was put into the liquidation of illiteracy. Seventy-five per cent of Russia's population in 1917 could neither read nor write. From 1920 to 1939, more than 57,500,000 illiterate and 38,500,000 semiliterate adults finished schools or courses in reading and writing. By comparison, the number of children who finished four-year elementary schools and seven-year junior second-

94

Education

and Development

Strategy

ary schools in the twelve years from 1924 through 1935 was 23,800,000 and 7,100,000, respectively, or a total of 30,900,000. Another remarkable characteristic of the pattern of Russian national development which should interest the Asian planners is that the growth in the state appropriations for education "proportionately is bigger than the growth of the U.S.S.R. budget expenditure as a whole." The share of education in the state budget rose from 10.6 per cent in 1932 to 14.1 per cent in 1960, registering a 25-fold increase in terms of money. ( T h e U.S.S.R. currently spends over 7 per cent of the national income on education, the highest in the world.) The effective contribution of education to labor productivity during 1940 to 1960 is further demonstrated by the rise in national income of the U.S.S.R. during this period from 33,500 million rubles to 146,600 million rubles in constant prices, i.e., it increased by 338 per cent or by 113,100 million rubles in 1961 prices. " T h e number of persons engaged in producing it increased in those 20 years from 54,600,000 to 68,400,000, that is, by only 25 per cent. Raising of the qualifications of the labour force through secondary and higher education also has to be taken into account. This yielded the following addition in labour: by 19 per cent in 1940, and by 30 per cent in I 9 6 0 . " 5 6 The total national income of the U.S.S.R. in 1960 was 146,000 million rubles. Twenty-three per cent of this (i.e., 33,700 million rubles) was the result of the raising of the qualifications of the labor force. For comparison, see the table on page 95, showing the current state expenditures on education and basic facilities in education (science and a r t ) . During 1940 to 1960, the increase in the basic facilities in education (science and art) was faster than in the sphere of material production, where the increase from 55,700 million rubles to 173,900 million rubles was a little more than 300 per cent. The current expenditure on education is 329 per cent. " T h e increase in the national income resulting from secondary and higher education in those years was more than six-fold, while the net profit after deduction of current outlays went u p about ten-fold. As a result, the national economic profitablility of the investments in this branch of cultural development exceeded, on the average for the whole country, all other indices we know, growing from 52 to 144 per cent a year." 67

The Economic

Value of Education

95

EFFECTIVENESS A N D PROFITABILITY OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN T H E U.S.S.R. 1940 INDEX

AMOUNT

1950 %

AMOUNT

1960 %

AMOUNT

%

(in thousand million dollars in constant prices) Basic facilities in education Effectiveness of e d u c a t i o n : increase in national income Current yearly expenditure Excess of income over outlay Excess of income over outlay stated as p e r c e n t a g e of basic facilities

4.37

100

5.39

123

16.24

372

5.39

100

11.31

210

33.72

626

3.13

100

4.25

136

10.30

329

2.26

100

7.06

312

23.42

1,036

52

131

144

CHAPTER FIVE

Educational Planning as a Development Strategy: A Conceptual Framework and Some Guidelines

THE PATH O F progress in some developing countries has been bedeviled in the past, as we have seen, not so much by lack of good intentions or technical skill as by lack of a correct perspective in planning. This is caused apparently by an insufficient awareness of goals and means, and their interrelationship. Some economic planners in their genuine concern for rapid economic growth assigned the highest priority to economic growth in the allocation of resources. This took the form of investment in physical capital, such as building dams or setting up industrial plants, fertilizer factories, and the like. What was left over as the residual of the available resources was allocated to education and the other remaining sectors. Other economic planners recognized the value of certain education to economic growth, at least that which produced technical skills and know-how, and assigned it high priority. But all other types of education were excluded from the priority group; by implication, most education was not regarded as contributing to economic growth. Its value to social development was recognized by all of these planners, nevertheless, so that once again, education along with the other social service sectors formed a residuary group to share what was left of the plan allocation of resources after providing for the economic sector.

Education and Economic

Well-being

The philosophy implicit in all this is that economic growth is essential for sheer survival and, hence, it must have precedence over all other sectors. This line of reasoning clearly overlooks the fact 96

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that economic growth is not an end in itself, but a means, though a vital one, to an end which is the well-being of man. This cannot be secured by economic well-being alone. The truth is that man does not live by bread alone. Any plan that disregards this fundamental fact and confuses goals with means is liable to create great dangers f o r the society. It is quite legitimate to call upon the present generation to make sacrifices for a better future. But if for the millions, this means all sacrifice and no reward in their own lifetime, it may very well create strain and tension beyond their capacity to bear and touch off a social upheaval defeating the very purpose of the plan. A still more serious defect in such economic planning for development is the wrong assumption that general education does not directly contribute to economic growth. On the contrary, as we have seen in Chapters 3 and 4, all education designed on a sound basis contributes directly to economic growth by creating human capital essential for any kind of production. In this process of creating human capital, the contribution of elementary education, the foundation of all subsequent education, is considerable. (It was found to be greater than any other level of education in certain countries studied.) Economic analyses of the stock of human capital created by investment in education and the rate of return on such investment, reviewed in Chapter 4, relate to the experiences of three countries, the United States, Japan, and the U.S.S.R. These were selected for our study because they represent three patterns of growth, and the social and political conditions in which this growth was achieved were not the same. Yet, in spite of the differences in historical, social, and political background, all of these countries had one thing in common—the value attached to education as an instrument of economic growth. While only a few studies in the economic analysis of investment in education could be included in our discussion, they are by the outstanding economists of our times and leave no room for doubt that education is a factor of ( h u m a n ) capital formation and, hence, an important ingredient of economic growth. This is conclusive, although the educational needs of a particular country still have to be determined in reference to its own goals and present stage of development. A point to be specially noted is that the h u m a n capital created by education does not consist merely of the primary class, producing raw materials, and the secondary class, engaged in industries in actual production. Also, there are two other important

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classes: the tertiary class of middlemen, entrepreneurs, distributors, salesmen, who are required in increasing number as economic growth proceeds; and the class of top scholars engaged in research, who contribute new ideas and new technologies for improving production, management, marketing, and distribution. In creating these two classes of human capital, the contribution of what goes under the name of "liberal education" is very substantial. There is also a second way in which education contributes direcdy to economic growth. Our discussion in Chapter 3 brought into focus the crucial part in economic growth played by motives, habits, and attitudes of the people, because they determine whether the people will seek and achieve this growth. Investment in a new irrigation system can be futile if the farmers are inclined to cling to their old, traditional ways of farming; setting up an expensive industrial plant may not be very productive if the managers lack initiative, drive, and the urge to succeed, and the workers lack habits of honesty and hard work. A new highway may represent great engineering skill and still remain unused if the people prefer their old footpaths and cart trails. Here also education has a major role to play in inspiring progress, in bringing about desirable changes in the traditional habits and attitudes essential for economic growth. As we have seen, a people rich in physical resources but low in achievement motivation fails to achieve economic growth comparable to that of others who are high in achievement motivation, while the latter suffers an economic decline following a decline in the desire to achieve. Level of aspiration, habits of work, and attitudes on which economic growth depends can be favorably molded by a well-designed educational program. Thus, if economic growth is vital for development, educational development equally is vital for economic growth.

Education and the Over-all National Plan The goals of education must be thought of in terms of over-all national development, including not merely economic expansion but also human and social development, which derive their inspiration from the national ideals. We must stress again the importance of education, not only in transmitting the national ideals, but also in interpreting and reinterpreting them. This becomes a dynamic process

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of modifying values, attitudes, and motivations to stimulate and sustain continuous progress, enriching the social and cultural life of the nation, and raising the personal life of its citizens to an increasingly higher level of fulfillment. Some professional educators stress the human and social goals of education but disregard the economic goals altogether, as if the economic life could be of no concern to the individual or the society. This often has led to the production of unrealistic plans based on the concept that education in its own right as an instrument of human and social development had prior claim to all the resources needed for its development, irrespective of its contribution to economic development. Apart from the fact that plans have to be feasible in terms of available resources, this kind of approach betrays the same distorted view of national development as that of the economic planners who identify development with economic growth. Much of the present imbalance in the educational health of the underdeveloped countries can be traced to concepts of education in which preparation for economic life as one of the specific functions of education found little or no place at all. Development, let us emphasize again, is a comprehensive and dynamic concept. Development plans, to be most fruitful, must be oriented to the goal of a nation to achieve for the common man a fuller, richer, healthier, and better life. In this view of development, it embraces all aspects of growth, human, social, and economic. In the context of the conditions prevailing in most underdeveloped countries, it may not be out of place to stress that the fullest development of the individual as well as the preservation and promotion of human values, though very worthy aims of education, hardly can be regarded as realizable in a society steeped in poverty and haunted by the specters of hunger, disease, and superstition. Educational planners, too, must understand what development means; they have to recognize the crucial role of economic growth in educational development, just as economic planners have to recognize that of education in economic growth. As a matter of fact, preparation for life generally has been recognized by professional educators as a function of education. What is now required is that the importance of this aspect of education in our highly competitive world be adequately appreciated. A society under development is based on a concept of economy requiring

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every adult member to earn his living. The skill, work habits, and attitudes that a person brings to his work, therefore, are of the highest importance to the productivity of his work, as we emphasized earlier also. In like manner, the vocation in which a persons spends the better part of his time, and on whose fruits his living depends, profoundly influences his intellectual and emotional life. Thus the economic aspect of an individual's life has acquired such far-reaching significance, especially in a developing country, that an education which is not adequate preparation for this important life situation is incomplete, and cannot be effective as an instrument of development.

Cultural and Vocational

Education

This raises the related issue of whether the traditional division between cultural and vocational education is really tenable. Developing countries need more of their young people to go in for vocational education of all types, agricultural as well as technical, and overcome the traditional aversion toward manual labor. Yet, vocational education still has less prestige than academic education leading to the university. This attitude is likely to continue, moreover, as long as the philosophy that liberal education is culturally superior dominates the thinking of the people, particularly in the academic profession. The narrow traditional view of culture on which the concept of cultural education rests needs careful re-examination. If work is not regarded as ignoble, if the manner in which a person works reflects the human values of dignity, honesty, and industry, and if the work when it is well done yields a satisfaction over and above the monetary reward, it becomes part of one's cultural life in a very real sense. To a discerning mind, the work that a man does, even though it is largely with his hands and for his living, has a joy and a beauty which can move the working man's heart just as deeply as a fine piece of art can move another. Again, if culture is used in the broader sense to mean a way of life, a man's vocation invariably becomes an important part of it. As a matter of fact, the way people earn their living and the accompanying technological changes affect not only the worker's life; often they are seen to affect the whole society and its norms, values, and cultural pattern. It also seems necessary to re-evaluate whether it is sound to

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regard arts more highly for their cultural and humanizing influences than sciences. On closer examination, the line drawn between these two areas of human knowledge grows so thin as to become almost an abstraction. All branches of science seek knowledge and truth as the arts do, and the contributions of science to human well-being have enriched human values and ennobled the human spirit in many ways. "Science is an adventure of spirit. It is an essentially artistic enterprise stimulated largely by curiosity, served largely by disciplined imagination, and based largely on faith in the reasonableness, order and beauty of the universe of which man is a part." 1 Science and technology have so permeated our life that a reexamination of many old definitions is necessary if education is to be a dynamic force in meeting not only the development needs but also the growing challenge of a changing world. The developing countries can disregard the vital importance of science education only at their own peril. The following remarks of the late philosopher Alfred North Whitehead are very appropriate: "In the conditions of modern life the rule is absolute: the race which does not value trained intelligence is doomed. Not all your heroism, not all your social charm, not all your wit, not all your victories on land or at sea can move back the finger of fate. Tomorrow, science will have moved forward yet one more step, and there will be no appeal from the judgement which will then be pronounced on the uneducated." 2 This plea for re-evaluating some of the classical educational concepts has special relevance to the developing countries, where the craze for "liberal education" and aversion for manual labor seem to be due, in no small measure, to attitudes which rate scientific and vocational education low in cultural content, and even debasing in terms of human values. The views expressed here should not be construed, however, as detracting from the commendable efforts of those who have been courageously defending human values against what appears to be a deepening moral crisis threatening the future of human society. The human values are rightly cherished by the educational philosophers as the basis of a good life. But these values viewed in their correct perspective do not seem to be at all in conflict with the acquisition of economic goods and services. As a matter of fact, economic wealth contributes positively to a good life by supplying

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man's primary needs for food, housing, clothing, sanitation, and progressively enriches the concept and contents of a good life as the fruits of science and technology are increasingly applied to the service of mankind in relieving pain and suffering, in reducing drudgery, in fighting disease and natural calamities, and in promoting the pursuit of knowledge. Better hospitals with new drugs and equipment, better schools, better housing, better means of communication evidently do not degrade man, but aid him to lead a good life. Economic activities enter one's life so deeply and pervasively that economic development is an important condition of attaining a good life for the people in the developing countries. Yet, although the paramount importance of economic growth must be acknowledged, it is still recognized as a means to an end, and not an end in itself. "We produce to live; we do not live to produce." Some may justifiably point out as exceptions those who produce well beyond their needs; but if what they produce enables others within the economic system to live well, this cannot be regarded as debasing.

Preparing

the Plan

The following concepts may serve as the basis for educational planning: 1) A n educational plan should form an integral part of an overall national plan for development, motivated by national goals and ideals. 2 ) Educational objectives should be carefully stated not only in terms of physical "plan targets," but also in terms of changes in values, motives, habits, and attitudes as warranted by the development goals of the nation, necessary both for economic and social development. 3) Educational planning must be geared to the manpower needs of the nation for its rapid economic growth. In the allocation of resources, education—as an investment in h u m a n capital—should be assigned a priority not lower than that assigned to investment in physical capital. Each of these concepts has several implications which bear on the design of a plan. T h e first concept, that of an over-all national plan for development, motivated by national goals and ideals, implies that: ( a ) this over-all plan is an integrated plan, with the educa-

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tional plan forming a part of it; and (b) the national goals and ideals are stated clearly and as far as practicable consistently with the objective of progress, derived from the nation's own cultural heritage. None of this is easy to accomplish. For example, it is relatively easy to produce a national plan which is a sum total of the sector plans received from the states or provinces, once these plans have been pruned here and there with a view to reducing their size to the limit of available financial allocations, determined on an a priori and hence arbitrary basis. Such a national plan lacks the organic unity and balance characteristic of a plan where the interrelationships of purpose and function of the programs in different sectors have been worked out in advance with reference to the national objectives, and then the resources available allocated to each sector in a manner that each sector can provide maximum support to the other sectors. The result, in the second case, is an integrated and balanced plan with concentration on the goals that are to act as the motive force: here, the activities in different sectors move in unison as parts of an organic whole. Preparation of such a plan involves complex mechanics, and a good deal of careful work must precede the designing and production of the plan. First, the sector specialists are indispensable, of course, but they need to be educated about the interdependence of the various sectors. They must be provided with adequate information about the purposes and functions of the other related sectors, and their perspective widened so they can see and understand the aims and functions of their own sectors in the larger context of their relationships with the aims of other sectors in attaining the development goals. Intersector understanding and co-operation are prerequisites for a good plan. Second, preparation of such a plan calls for the interdisciplinary co-operation of a system analyst, educator, economist, sociologist, psychologist, political scientist, demographer, engineer, and specialists in other related areas, all working as a team. This combined knowledge, skill, and expertise must cope with the demands of sound and efficient planning: estimating the manpower needs and the stock of human and other resources; establishing demographic trends through projection of population growth; working out costs and returns; analyzing long lead-time systems, as involved in education; and formulating some alternative choices, their implications and

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repercussions, on different sectors and the national objectives. This planning machinery needs to be established not only at the national level, but also in each sector at the level of each state or provincial administrative unit. Of course, in the case of education, planning has to start at the institutional level or even the classroom level, with the various people in the administrative hierarchy participating actively in the development of the plan. Third, proper co-ordination at all the appropriate levels of planmaking is vital to the preparation of a well-integrated plan. Coordination must begin with the thinking of those in all sectors who have a share in the formulation of planning, long before the plans reach even the embryonic stage, and preceded by the preparations already described as the first step in plan making. It is important that those who are responsible for policy-making decisions be actively involved in co-ordination with a view to avoiding conflicts at later stages of the plan development. For the purpose of co-ordination, furthermore, proper machinery needs to be set up at various levels. The planning boards or planning departments at the state or provincial level and the planning commissions or councils or boards at the national level, where they exist, provide the most appropriate aegis for co-ordination at those levels. They can serve also as useful organs for collection and distribution of planning data, as information clearinghouses, and as agencies for overseeing and evaluating the progress of plan-making and implementation. If co-ordination is to work, it must be more than group discussion taking place periodically. It is a regular and continuous exchange of views, ideas, and information, and the joint and co-operative assessment of mutual goals, problems, and probable answers among specialists, sectors, and ministries. It is certainly not a kind of arbitration by a third party of what may appear as a dispute between two parties. An important function of co-ordination is to develop an adequate sense of mutuality, interdependence, and goal orientation, so that the different sectors instead of pulling in different directions, pull together toward the common goals of national development. The second implication of the over-all national plan stresses national goals and ideals as the fountainhead of motivation for plan design as well as implementation. The drive for progress, including economic progress, is traced ultimately to achievement motivation,

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as we have seen, and this stems from national goals and ideals. They must be carefully examined and stated; they also must be linked with the nation's cultural heritage, which itself may need to be reinterpreted in terms of the nation's dominant objective of development and progress. The more inspiring these national goals and ideals are, the further they penetrate the depth of the emotional life, the greater is the probability of their success in stirring the people out of inertia and passivity, characteristic features of most developing societies, and rousing in them a strong desire to achieve. If goals and ideals can have the emotional vigor and fervor of an ideology, their influence as a source of motivation is likely to be more enduring in keeping the nation on the move along the path of progress. For the planners, goals are the beacon lights that mark destinations to be reached over a period of time. Perspective in planning needs to encompass not merely one plan period of five, six, seven, eight, or nine years, but as many plan periods as may be necessary to reach the ultimate goal. Goals must be distinguished from plan targets, which are like milestones in time on the long journey. In order that these goals are not lost sight of, or the pace of progress in moving towards them slackened, short-term plans may have to be devised. They should be based on the long-term plans, which are especially warranted in the field of education because of the long lead-time needed to produce trained manpower, as we shall see later. The goals also provide, expressly or implicitly, basic clues to the course that the planners should chart as well as the conditions, incentives, and motivations that should be both built into the plan and ensured through adequate measures. Sometimes perceptible changes in the existing social, economic, and cultural pattern may have to occur. If the national goal of development is a better and fuller life for all of its citizens, based on equality of opportunity, dignity of the individual, and social justice, then appropriate measures may have to be taken within and outside the plan to ensure that people have incentives to work more productively, and more equal opportunities to reap the benefits of economic growth. People may have to be treated more justly and with greater respect in their interpersonal and professional relationships within the society than was the case before. If a country has an agrarian system still feudal in character, where the fanners neither own the land they till nor get

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a just share of what they produce, but are in the grip of a small landed aristocracy economically, politically, and socially, then obviously certain measures—perhaps including appropriate legislation depending on the constitution and land system of the country—must be taken before the national plan can hope to succeed. In the field of education, similarly, if education is not yet open to all, then the plan must provide for equalizing opportunities by gradual universalization of education up to a minimum level, more equitable distribution of education facilities, and establishment of scholarships to ensure that talented children are not denied the opportunities of higher education because of their inability to pay. Among the three basic concepts in educational planning described earlier, the second is that objectives should not only be formulated in terms of quantitative targets—number of classrooms to be built and equipped, number of children to be covered at various levels, number of teachers to be trained, number in various categories of technically trained manpower to be produced—but should also be related to the larger national goals interpreted in terms of values, attitudes, and motives. For economic and social development, it is necessary to reorient the existing social, economic, political, and cultural structures.

An Input-Output

Model

Brief reference already has been made to the part that education can play in reflecting the national goals and ideals in the life of the community. The educational planner is required, therefore, to identify all the main objectives of education, and to spell out their implications in terms of plan targets, resources, and estimated time required for their full realization. It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of this. The educational planner must be able to analyze and appreciate how the national goals in educational and social and economic development act and react on one another. This is the very foundation of a sound plan. To demonstrate this interplay of various factors of national development, nonmathematical input-output models sometimes are used, adapting economic terminology. We have designed the following model to show how goals motivate educational development,

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h o w educational development helps create h u m a n capital to push forward social progress and e c o n o m i c growth, which in their turn stimulate

educational

development

and

inspire

higher

national

goals. 8

(1) GOALS OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT based on selected values from inherited national culture and acceptable universal structures, disciplines, and concepts of human progress

INPUT

OUTPUT

CURRICULUM

EDUCATED MANPOWER

(a) Aims, (b) values and attitudes, (c) skills and abilities

1 ) Citizenry is responsive and committed to national goals. 2) Habits, attitudes, and motivations are conducive to dynamic progress. 3) Trained leaders and workers meet manpower needs in various sectors (including contribution of new ideas and technology).

through (a) Processes of teaching and learning, (6) incentives and motivations, (c) counseling and guidance, (d) individual's innate capacity, motivation, and environmental factors

REPRESENTING H U M A N CAPITAL

M>

(B)

FORMAL SYSTEM

INFORMAL SYSTEM

Schools, colleges, universities

Home, neighborhood, professional and cultural organizations, press, films, radio, television, libraries, museums

t

FOR

(B)

GO

ECONOMIC GROWTH

SOCIAL PROGRESS

]co

:

SUPPLYING HUMAN A N D MATERIAL RESOURCES for EDUCATION

I

(«) A N D ENRICHING CULTURE AND INSPIRING HIGHER GOALS

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It will appear from our model that the goals of national development motivate the educational development as well as other sectors of development, though for the sake of simplicity these other sectors are not shown specifically. If this motive force, flowing from the goals, is to prove effective, the goals must be properly thought out and derived from values selected from the national culture. The goals also rest on the universal structures of economic and social organization, disciplines like mathematics, science, and the humanities, which transcend

national

boundaries,

and on concepts of

progress derived from the human values of freedom, equality, and justice. These have practically universal application and are essential for achieving progress. What we said earlier about joint efforts of specialists in producing a good plan is equally applicable to the designing of the national goals. Here is a most challenging task for leaders in all walks of life, the policy makers in the government, the specialists in economics, sociology, anthropology, political science, public administration, law, and education, with ample scope for the universities also to contribute through research in the fields relevant to the formulation of such goals. Besides the motivation from the national goals and ideals, ingredients of education are shown in the box under "input." They are chiefly curriculum—its aims, values and attitudes, skills and abilities —through

the learning process,

the incentives

and

motivations

provided, and the innate capacity of the learners, as well as the environmental factors which may be favorable or unfavorable depending on what is called the "social heritage" of the learners. T h e educational system also is a part of the input. This consists of the formal education provided in schools, colleges, and universities, and informal education available through home, neighborhood, clubs, libraries, museums, press, films, radio, or television. School buildings, equipment, salaries of teachers, and such items are all part of input, as are all measures to provide aids and incentives to education. T h e system may need to be supported by conventional academic and legal prescriptions regarding such factors as length of school year, compulsory attendance, and examinations. T h e model is based on the assumption that the whole process is well articulated, and that there is no interference in the mechanism of converting the input into the desired output. This conversion turns the population of school age and beyond into an educated

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manpower trained in good citizenship and developed in the habits, attitudes, and motivations necessary for achieving present goals and continuing progress. The output also includes the critical high level of manpower needed in roles of leadership in the various sectors and in trained workers of various levels. Together the educated manpower constitutes the human capital essential not only for economic growth (which also requires physical capital, not shown in the model), but also for social progress. These in their turn, on the one hand, provide the human and material resources needed for further development of education, and on the other, enrich the national culture and inspire still higher goals of development, in what well may be regarded as a dynamic process or chain reaction that enables the nation to achieve still greater progress. In fact, the difficulties in articulation and the interferences in the conversion mechanism and channels of communication may be numerous. Certainly they are most agonizing to the educational planner. They can be anything from an uncreative curriculum, lack of trained teachers, unsuitable textbooks, or inadequate financial resources to causes deep-seated within the cultural tradition of the nation, such as, for example, an achievement lag stemming from a philosophy of life in which man's capacity to renounce material well-being is regarded as the highest virtue, or a doctrine of life in which poverty and low social status are accepted as acts of fate. But the educational planner cannot run away from these problems. On the contrary, the success of his planning depends on his ability to identify and provide for all such present and potential cultural and social roadblocks in co-operation with his colleagues in other sectors of development. The lead-time in education is much longer than in other fields of development. It is possible to build a factory in a year, a big dam in two to three years. It takes eleven to twelve years to produce a qualified primary teacher, fifteen to sixteen years to produce a graduate teacher for a secondary school, seventeen years to produce a doctor, and eighteen to twenty years to produce a Ph.D. Therefore, the educational planner has to sow the seeds now for the harvest he plans to reap ten to twenty years from now. It is extremely important that he take a long view of things and project the needs of educated manpower fifteen to twenty or twenty-five years hence, as best he can with the available information. This is done in the

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form of a perspective plan, flexible enough to be changed as conditions change and more reliable data become available. It is a necessary tool in the process of planning, which is continuous and cannot be regarded as ending with any particular short-term plan. Besides, the process of planning is such that it "produces products during the course of time, but each product must be refined and revised continually as a result of operational trial (implementation) and constant and thorough evaluation." 4

Allocation

and

Priorities

The third concept, which we consider to be of fundamental importance to the over-all national plan itself as well as to educational planning is that education be assigned a priority not lower than that assigned to investment in physical capital. The "residual theory" under which educational plans are required to be designed within the limit of the residue of resources that education is left to share with other social sectors, after the allocation of resources to the economic sector, is altogether untenable for this simple reason: human capital, an essential and important part of the capital needed for economic growth, is created by investment in education. Any arbitrary stinting in the allocation of resources to education is bound to affect the projected economic growth adversely. The irresistible conclusion is, therefore, that in the allocation of resources, the education sector should not be assigned a priority lower than that assigned to the economic sector. The implication in this concept is that plans for economic growth and educational development should be worked out with the closest possible collaboration among the economic and educational planners. Also, the estimated cost of training the manpower needed for the plans in the economic sector, though reflected in the educational plans, should be regarded as integral to the economic plans. The supply of trained manpower is obviously a prerequisite for implementation of the economic plans, whether in the development of industries, agriculture, transportation, or water and power. It follows as a logical corollary, therefore, that educational plans should be based on an estimate of manpower needs of the various sectors, and the allocation of resources for education should be determined in reference to the programs in the economic and other sectors. The

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size of the educational program cannot be cut down arbitrarily so as to keep the cost within the limit of the allocation available for education. If consideration of the total estimated resources likely to be available during a plan period warrants a readjustment of the programs, such a readjustment has to be made within all the sectors (including the economic) and not in one or a few selected sectors. The balance of the over-all plan as an organic whole should not be disturbed. A closer examination of the sector interrelationships shows that educational development has the function of preparation for growth of other sectors, since the trained manpower has to be produced before programs for the projected growth can be launched at all. This has been a cardinal principle of planning in the U.S.S.R.; among other factors, it accounts for the success of the Russian plans. Lack of adequate recognition of this principle may bring to grief otherwise reasonable and good plans for economic growth. Educational development must have precedence in point of time over programs of development in other sectors. This is a sheer necessity, arising from the lead-time in education, that is, the time needed for turning out trained manpower with various levels of education and skill. Actually, there is a very strong case for assigning the highest priority to education in the allocation of resources for development. To prepare an educational plan that truly reflects the manpower needs of the various sectors of development is far from easy. It involves, first, the measurement of a country's present stock of human capital through the use of such indicators as levels of educational attainment (primary, secondary, and higher education, with those possessing scientific and technical education indicated separately). Second, additions to this stock must be measured. Net additions are found by deducting from the gross additions (annual output) the losses due to various factors (e.g., death, retirement, removal). This represents the human capital formation. The indicators to be employed are enrollments and rates of turnover at various levels and in various fields, such as sciences, technologies, humanities, social sciences. Third, needs have to be projected in the various occupations for trained manpower of various educational and professional levels. In other words, a comprehensive manpower survey coupled with a survey of existing educational facilities is a prerequisite of an

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educational plan. Such a survey is a colossal task because, though the decennial census reports in some developing countries furnish population data by levels of education, little information is available regarding professional education. Thus, measurement of the existing stock of capital presents a serious difficulty. Measurement of the estimated annual accretions to human capital should be easy, since setting up effective machinery for the collection of enrollment and output data is relatively simple. T h e projection of future manpower needs in the different sectors is extremely difficult, however, since anticipation of such needs in conditions of the total social, economic, and political situation of a developing country can be far from reliable. The problem is further complicated by the long lead-time in education. As we have said, the educational planner has to look twenty years or more into the future in order to plan programs of education for turning out, say, additional engineers, physicians, business managers, industrial chemists, agronomists, or cost accountants. (These are instances where the lead-time in education is about the longest.)

Supply and Demand in

Education

In the initial period of development, the educational plans may not succeed in producing the desired equilibrium between supply and demand for education in the economic sense of the term. Because of this imbalance, surpluses and shortages are likely to arise in varying measure depending on the country's position. A recent manpower study in National China, for instance, conducted by the Stanford Research Institute indicated an inadequate supply by 1965 of secondary school teachers, mechanical engineers and accountants, and a probable surplus of civil, electrical, chemical and textile engineers, chemists, economists, and a variety of agricultural specialists. Such considerations are obviously not confined to underdeveloped countries. The United States experienced, in recent years, an acute shortage of engineers and mathematicians, while young Ph.D.'s in American history had to take teaching positions at below-par salaries. 5 Yet, there is no reason for the educational planner to feel altogether discouraged by the difficulties in producing a perfectly balanced program. Nor should the nation be overconcerned if an

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imbalance does occur in spite of all possible precautions. Some kinds of imbalance may even prove to be a blessing in disguise, by setting in motion forces leading to an accelerated break-through. "Economists are increasingly interested in conscious imbalance of a nature that may put the multiplier effect into operation more effectively than would a uniformly diluted effort that never really perturbs a stagnant system." 6 In reality, such "conscious imbalance" means that more weight is given to speedier development in certain directions than in others—and this also needs to be planned with care. Any surplus of trained manpower that is caused by imbalance at a particular stage can be corrected by investing more in physical capital in the subsequent plan period. Surpluses that result from mismatching can be overcome by retraining. To reduce the possibilities of imbalance in planning programs of education involving a long lead-time, say fifteen to twenty years, the planner is cautioned to avoid overspecialized advanced programs at the degree level. For example, the emphasis should be on turning out general practitioners in medicine rather than surgeons, engineers rather than automotive or electrical engineers, so that these "generalists" with basic professional grounding may—according to actual needs—undergo specialized training of a year or two in those fields where specialists are needed under a short-term plan. In societies where choice of education is free, the imbalances may assume considerable dimensions before they are checked by the free interplay of the forces of demand and supply. To a developing country, this may mean a heavy price in terms of precious human resources. Wherever imbalances or trends toward imbalance exist, the educational planner must build into the plan adequate measures to check them. We will return to this aspect of planning once again when we discuss the issue of priorities to be assigned to different stages and types of education.

A Modified

Approach

to Educational

Planning

Where a comprehensive manpower survey is not yet practical, or the conditions for applying the methods of economic analysis to the computation of human capital and the return on past investment in such capital do not exist yet, the educational planner may use an approach based on human resource development. Of course,

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the development of human resources remains the aim of all educational plans. Even when reliable estimates of the manpower needs for economic growth are available to the educational planner, these serve as a valuable aid to him in planning the investment in human capital to stimulate economic growth with a greater degree of precision. Nevertheless, as we have stressed, economic growth is only a means to an end which is the good life of man himself. The concern of education is to develop the human resources so as to promote economic development as well as human and social growth. Thus, the central purpose of an educational plan is the development of human resources. A close relationship exists between the stage of development of human resources and the stage of the country's development. There is considerable force in the proposition that underdevelopment should be defined as "failure to make adequate use of human resources." 7 Goals of development, whether these are the production of more essential goods and services or the preservation and promotion of human and social values, can be achieved only through human resource development. Progress is basically the result of human effort. It takes human agents to mobilize capital, to exploit natural resources, to create markets, and to carry on trade. The builders of economies are elites of various kinds who organize and lead the march toward progress. These elites may be revolutionary intellectuals, nationalist leaders, or members of a dynastic or rising middle class. Their effectiveness as prime movers depends not only on their own development but on the knowledge, skills, and capacities of those whom they lead as well. Thus, in a very real sense the wealth of a nation and its potential for social, economic, and political growth stem from the power to develop and effectively utilize the innate capacities of people. 8

An analysis and appraisal of human resource development can be of primary importance in educational planning. Harbison and Myers, in their extremely valuable study of human resource development in as many as seventy-five countries, offer some very useful guidelines to the planner. The study presents, to use their own words, "a generalized concept of human resource development which may be useful to economic planners and education and manpower planners, as well as to students of economic development and political and social modernization." 9 The countries studied by Harbison and Myers are classified into

Educational f o u r levels of h u m a n

Planning as a Development

resource development:

Strategy

"Level

I,

115

underde-

v e l o p e d ; L e v e l I I , partially d e v e l o p e d ; L e v e l I I I , s e m i a d v a n c e d ; a n d L e v e l I V , a d v a n c e d , " b a s e d o n " s i m p l y t h e a r i t h m e t i c t o t a l of

(1)

e n r o l l m e n t at s e c o n d level of e d u c a t i o n [15 to 19 y e a r s ] as a p e r c e n t a g e of t h e a g e g r o u p 15 t o 19, a d j u s t e d f o r l e n g t h of

schooling,

a n d ( 2 ) e n r o l l m e n t at the t h i r d level [ 2 0 t o 2 4 y e a r s ] as a p e r c e n t age of t h e age g r o u p , m u l t i p l i e d b y a w e i g h t of 5 . "

10

T h o u g h the

c o u n t r i e s a r e r a n k e d , the s t u d y d o e s n o t c l a i m a n y p r e c i s i o n in this r e g a r d n o r d e n y t h a t these divisions m a y b e a r b i t r a r y . It is stressed t h a t t h e r a n k i n g is less significant t h a n t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of

the

c o u n t r i e s in e a c h level as a g r o u p o r the i n t e r c o r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e i n d i c a t o r s f o r all the c o u n t r i e s . U s i n g as i n d i c a t o r s of e c o n o m i c g r o w t h ( a ) p e r c a p i t a gross n a t i o n a l p r o d u c t ( i n U.S. d o l l a r s )

and

( b ) p e r c e n t a g e of active p o p u l a t i o n e n g a g e d in a g r i c u l t u r a l o c c u p a tions, t h e s t u d y a t t e m p t s to d i s c o v e r the r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n e c o nomic

growth

and

human

resource

development,

g e n e r a l i z e o n w h i c h of t h e a r e a s of h u m a n r e s o u r c e

and

then

to

development

n e e d special a t t e n t i o n in p l a n n i n g t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of c o u n t r i e s in t h e v a r i o u s levels. O n e g r e a t m e r i t of this s t u d y is t h a t its findings are b a s e d n o t m e r e l y o n t h e q u a n t i t a t i v e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e d a t a , b u t o n

the

c o m b i n e d results of q u a n t i t a t i v e a n d q u a l i t a t i v e analysis of h u m a n r e s o u r c e d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e m a j o r " t e n t a t i v e c o n c l u s i o n s " of interest to t h e d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s are s u m m a r i z e d b e l o w : 1)

" T h e r e is a high c o r r e l a t i o n a n d p r e s u m a b l y s o m e c a u s a l re-

lation b e t w e e n e n r o l l m e n t s in e d u c a t i o n ( a n d h e n c e i n v e s t m e n t s in education)

a n d a c o u n t r y ' s level of e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t as ex-

p r e s s e d b y G N P p e r c a p i t a . It is also c l e a r t h a t this c o r r e l a t i o n is h i g h e r in t h e c a s e of s e c o n d - a n d t h i r d - l e v e l e n r o l l m e n t s t h a n in first-level e n r o l l m e n t s . " 2)

11

A c r u c i a l p o i n t f o r the p l a n n e r to n o t e is t h a t t h e

balance

in a n y p r o g r a m of h u m a n r e s o u r c e d e v e l o p m e n t is n o less i m p o r t a n t t h a n t h e a m o u n t of i n v e s t m e n t in 3)

education.

" A n initial h e a v y i n v e s t m e n t in h u m a n r e s o u r c e d e v e l o p m e n t

is n e c e s s a r y t o get a c o u n t r y s t a r t e d o n t h e r o a d t o s e l f - s u s t a i n i n g g r o w t h . M o s t of t h e u n d e r d e v e l o p e d ( L e v e l I ) c o u n t r i e s , f o r e x a m ple, w o u l d h a v e h a d little o r n o m o d e r n d e v e l o p m e n t w i t h o u t e x p a t r i a t e high-level m a n p o w e r .

. . . T h e h i g h e s t r a t e s of

human

r e s o u r c e d e v e l o p m e n t are r e q u i r e d b y c o u n t r i e s w h i c h h o p e t o a d -

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vanee from an underdeveloped to a partially developed level. The composite index of human resource development rises 3 Vi times faster than G N P per capita between these two levels." 12 4) A n efficient educational system should not fail to prepare persons for available jobs because, for the vast majority of people, "the social and political pressures for education are powered by economic motivations." 18 5 ) The pre-employment educational requirements vary from country to country depending on the level of h u m a n resource development in a country as well as on "precise technical standards." Thus, the qualifications for employment are " a function of a country's general level of human resource development." 14 6 ) Rising political and social pressures for more and better education are characteristic of all modernizing nations, and hence "the proportion of national income devoted to human resource development is likely to rise in all countries that are growing." 15

Primary and Secondary

Education

These conclusions find ample support in economic studies and also in the experiences of the three countries discussed in Chapter 4 of the present study. Certainly they can serve as valuable guidelines to policy planners. We have one comment to make, however, on the finding that the correlation between economic development and enrollments is higher in the case of second-level and third-level enrollments than in first-level enrollments. Seen in the context of the classification of countries into four groups according to a scale of advancement based on second- and third-level enrollments only, this is capable of an interpretation that investment in second- and thirdlevel education is more important and pays off better than investment in the first level of education in the developing countries. Yet this is contrary to some of the findings based on economic analysis 16 which, in our opinion, provide a more dependable guide than findings based on "correlation" (which is not a positive proof of causal relationship). While the critical importance of secondary education in the developing countries is rightly stressed, it is doubtful if comparable importance can be claimed for higher education in general. Besides, the adoption of third-level enrollments as one of the two indicators

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of a country's advancement to the exclusion of first-level enrollments, can be rather misleading. If enrollment in higher education seriously is suggested as an index of advancement, then England should be regarded as less advanced and poorer than the United Arab Republic "since Egypt has many more graduates per head of population than England." 17 In the second place, the content and quality of higher education in regard to development also are of vital importance. It is not just any kind of higher education that can stimulate development. In the third place, the higher enrollment in the third level of education may even be an evidence of imbalance, in some instances where the countries are deficient in their investment in the first level relative to the needs of economic development. This point is, however, well noted by Harbison and Myers, and is illustrated in reference to two countries: Both Egypt and India, for example, produce more secondary school and university graduates than their countries can employ. In both cases there are large numbers of unemployed law, arts, and humanities graduates. . . . It is important to remember, moreover, that these two countries fall into our semiadvanced category (Level III) because of their enrollment ratios in higher and secondary education. In terms of first-level enrollment ratios, India ranks below the average of our underdeveloped countries (Level I) and Egypt ranks below the average of the partially developed countries (Level II). Our personal familiarity over the last decade with both of these countries would confirm the thesis that primary education has not been given sufficient emphasis and that the investments in both secondary and higher education have been poorly balanced. The governments of both countries, moreover, are quite aware of these deficiencies and are taking deliberate steps to remedy them. 18

We feel that the relationship between the different levels of education and economic growth can be seen in proper perspective only when viewed historically. The present higher correlation between the third level of education and economic growth is chiefly the outcome of the rapid progress made by most of the advanced countries in higher education in comparatively recent years. For example, the United States entered the "take-off" period in her economic growth around 1860, and the stage of mass consumption in the early 1920's. Yet, the ratio of enrollments in higher education and secondary education (from grade 9 upwards) to total enrollment

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even in 1899-1900 was only 1.3 per cent in higher education, and 4 per cent in secondary education, compared with 94 per cent in elementary education. These ratios for secondary and higher education rose respectively to 2.7 per cent and 10.3 per cent in 1919-20, but still elementary education accounted for 87 per cent of the total enrollment. The same trend could be seen in Japan and the U.S.S.R., where the gains in higher education enrollments also are of recent origin. One is led to the conclusion, therefore, that both the progress in economic growth and the progress in higher education were built on the foundation of the first-level education in most of the advanced countries. Our view of the correct relationship between economic growth and human resource development is likely to be distorted if the latter index excludes the vast human resource covered by first-level education.19 We shall return to this topic again when we discuss priorities within the education sector.

Targets in Educational

Planning

Fixing targets of an educational plan is an important policy issue. It calls for a well thought-out strategy on the part of the planner, in the light of the national objectives, incentives and motivations, and resources available. These targets are the necessary steps to realization of the national objectives; hence, the targets of a shortterm plan have to be viewed and designed in the context of the long-term goals. The short-term targets are a part of the strategy adopted to accelerate the pace of progress towards the goals. For example, there is almost a unanimity of opinion that one critical need of the developing countries is high-level manpower, constituting the strategic human capital for a country's development. To define who should be included in this group is not easy, but the following five classes of people suggested by Harbison and Myers appear to be fairly representative:20 1) Entrepreneurial, managerial, and administrative personnel. 2) Professional personnel, e.g., scientists, engineers, architects, agronomists, doctors, economists, accountants, journalists. 3) Qualified teachers, at least high school graduates with eleven or twelve years of education (the duration slightly modified by us).

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4) Subprofessional technical personnel, e.g., agricultural assistants, engineering assistants, technicians, nurses, skilled clerical workers (e.g., stenographers), senior clerks, supervisors of skilled workers, the highest level of skilled craftsmen. 5) Top-ranking political leaders, labor leaders, judges, officers of the police and armed forces. The targets of the short-term plan have to reflect the weight to be assigned to the critical areas of educational development instead of a proportionate development of the existing areas of education. The planner must chart different courses, based on the short-term targets, as the country moves from one plan period to another, and keep within sight the ultimate, long-range national goals of over-all development. Therefore, the planner is again involved in analyzing the needs and resources which, as we saw earlier, seemed to raise some formidable difficulties in short-term planning. The planner will find some valuable suggestions in the study of Harbison and Myers. They reduce the essential elements in the analysis to four: " ( 1 ) an inventory of employment and short-term requirements for manpower; (2) a general appraisal of the educational system; (3) a survey of existing programs for on-the-job training; and (4) a brief analysis of the structure of incentives and the utilization of highlevel manpower." 21 Practical clarification of methodology also is given. The following suggestions should be of value to the developing countries: 22 1) The preparation of the inventory of employment and shortterm requirements may be based on all available facts about the population and the existing labor force, using the census data and establishment surveys. Establishments may be asked to report their existing shortages and anticipated short-term needs, and also to indicate existing and desired qualifications of the various grades of the labor force. 2) General appraisal of the educational system is not difficult to conduct. It should include data on "enrollments by age groups for the various grades in each educational level, the number of teachers by level and by qualification, the teacher-student ratios, wastage or dropout rates, and school completion rates for each level," 23 and also an evaluation of the curricula at each level in

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terms of needed changes. The cost, both capital and recurring, for various areas of education—academic, teachnical, teacher education, and so on—at each level should also be indicated. 3) The survey of programs for on-the-job training is important as a means of finding out which facilities exist and which are needed for on-the-job training efforts. It also reveals the extent of cooperation between the employing institutions and the vocational schools, the views of employers on the usefulness of pre-employment training, and also the cost of in-service training programs. The importance of such a survey arises from the fact that on-the-job training is much more effective than vocational schools in developing most of the managerial, technical, and craft skills. 4) For an analysis of the structure of incentive and the utilization of high-level manpower, the ideal thing would be to have a nationwide survey of wages and salaries, combined with a qualitative assessment of the nonfinancial incentives and motivations in various occupations of the labor force. As we saw earlier, this might be beyond the present resources of most of the developing countries. "However, it is possible to make an examination of a small number of critical occupations. If there are critical shortages of engineering technicians, for example, the differentials in compensation between subprofessional and fully qualified professional personnel might be explored. The differentials between certain administrative and technical jobs can be examined in cases where there is evidenc to indicate a shortage in one and a surplus in another." 24

Priorities and Some

Strategies

After collecting the basic data needed for planning, the next step is to set the targets in light of the national objectives, and here, as we said earlier, the critical areas of need for high-level manpower will demand top priority. This implies two things. First, the distribution of resources within the education sector will have to be based on the priorities dictated by the development needs, and not on the ratio in which the different areas of education shared the resources in the pre-plan period. Practical wisdom warrants, however, that this principle be applied only to the additional allocation of resources available during the plan period. Second, assigning high priority to the critical areas of manpower

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needs does not mean that such priority can be confined to the finishing levels of education necessary for turning out such personnel. O n the contrary, it implies that priority to a particular level will include priority to the preceding levels of education which serve as a foundation. It is a characteristic of the "production function" of education that production at the lower levels has to be increased considerably to support the additional production desired in the higher level. What will be the ratio of expansion at different levels to produce, say, x number of people at a given higher level will have to be determined empirically for each country, guided by an appraisal of its educational system. For example, if 1 out of 4 primary pupils proceeds to secondary levels, and 1 out of 25 secondary pupils earns the bachelor's degree, then for each bachelor graduate, provision may have to be made for 100 primary pupils and 25 secondary pupils, with corresponding provision made for teacher education. This obviously is a hypothetical case, and an upward trend in the proportion of students proceeding to further education is in itself a feature of healthy development. Thus, the planner is required to be fully aware of the interdependence of the various areas of education, and be dynamic in his approach to the issue of priorities. T h e planner should take a comprehensive view of the requirements for h u m a n resource development in terms not only of a target for different levels of formal education, but also for on-the-job training, for changing the structure of incentives, for importing expatriate manpower, and for better utilization of education and skills. W e must stress that certain areas of education, though not directly related to the supply of high-level manpower immediately required, may still have great strategic value to the national objectives in education. These also deserve high priority. F o r example, viewed in terms of the long-term national goals, self-sufficiency in all the major disciplines u p to the very highest level is a strategic need. Though the needs for training high-level manpower in all of these areas may not exist during the short period—or even if they exist, may be met more economically by training facilities available abroad—it is in the interest of national development that no time be lost in developing such facilities within the nation as rapidly as conditions will permit. In like manner, elementary education has great strategic value as an instrument of desirable social change necessary for economic and

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social development, and of preparing a responsible citizenry essential for the healthy growth of political institutions in the country. Here the planner is once more reminded of the need to design the educational plan in terms of the human resources needed not merely for economic growth, but also for human and social development. Thus, even when the critical need for training high-level manpower is recognized, the non-economic goals of education and the interdependence of the different stages of education should prevent the assignment of priority to one area to the exclusion of the others. By necessity an educational plan has to be a comprehensive plan. The planner has to seek balance by stressing certain areas more than others during a particular plan period with a view to accelerating progress towards the long-term goals of national development. Considering the lead-time in education and also the support that the lower stages of education are required to provide for the higher stages, even though a very high priority theoretically may be assigned to a particular area of education, allocation of resources to this area still depends on its capacity to absorb such resources. This again will be determined by the degree of development of those stages of education which have to support it. During the short time, then, the planner may find that he can spend less directly in this area, and that it is necessary to spend more in those areas which serve as its foundation. In like manner, emphasis on expansion of basic education (grades 1 to 8) implies corresponding emphasis on secondary and higher education, so that the need for teachers in the lower levels can be met. Hence, the planner has to aim at harmonious growth of the different stages of education even when theoretically the emphasis is on one particular stage.

Adult

Education

The lead-time in education has a bearing also on the planner's decision in assigning weight to the formal schooling of children of school age and what is commonly known as adult education. As a short-range measure, expenditure on adult education appears to be extremely fruitful. For example, while children require at least four years of schooling to acquire even effective literacy, within a much shorter time and with less resources, better results may be achieved from the education of adults if a sound program of adult education

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Strategy

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can be developed. The claims of adult education, where universal education has not yet been accomplished and a majority of the adults (including the parents) are illiterate, seem to deserve special attention as a means of arresting growth in illiteracy and also supporting other development programs. The inclusion of adult education, even though this may involve the diversion of some resources away from formal schooling, may result in great gains to the society and to the cause of formal schooling itself. Since balance and harmonious growth are the goals of educational planning, priorities obviously cannot be allowed to operate without regard for these goals. For example, if a surplus actually has occurred or is anticipated in a particular area which had been assigned high priority, the situation should be corrected and balance restored by shifting or distributing the weight to other areas of education. Yet, another kind of imbalance may occur in the form, say, of wastage as indicated by dropouts and stagnation in the elementary stage in some developing countries. In such a case, it clearly is inadvisable to go ahead with the program of expansion until adequate measures have been taken to check the wastage. In this connection, we would raise an issue that deserves the most careful attention of the planner in distributing resources between capital and recurrent expenditure. The personnel in education have not received due attention. Yet, the teacher is the very heart of any educational program. In our classification of manpower, therefore, the teachers are included in the critical category of high-level manpower. This is the category that warrants more weight assigned to recurrent expenditure in order to ensure the appointment of additional staff needed, and also to improve the salary and incentive system. The teaching profession must be able to attract high-level manpower, with high initial ability. The lack of this ability is admitted to be the principal cause of poor quality in education in the developing countries.

Competing Claims of Quality and in Education

Quantity

If the priorities are also to be goal-oriented, the quality of education seems to assume a special significance. As a matter of fact, the concept of quality is integral to the very concept of education of any

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kind at any level, since education is a process of qualitative change through the development of the innate capacities of an individual, so that he may live a fuller, better, and more productive life. The concept of quality can be carried to a point of abstraction where, like an ideal, it tends to move higher and higher the nearer it is approached. The immediate concern of the planner, however, is with the degree of quality that can be achieved with the resources available. A public educational plan has to be designed in terms of the educational development of the masses of people, harnessing the entire stock of human resources available to a nation towards the national goal of a good life for all its citizens. Even if resources were available to provide the highest level of education for everyone, the quality of education would not be the same for all since the individual differences in innate capacity are bound to be reflected in the quality of education received by different people. Subject to this inevitable limitation, there is no denying that the better the quality of education, the greater is the benefit to the society from its investment in education. If more of the resources are applied to quantitative expansion of education, however, naturally less will be available for qualitative improvement. This poses a serious dilemma for the planner, and left at this theoretical level, it can be very well a subject of endless polemics. There are those who passionately believe in quality's precedence over quantity in education, as there are ardent advocates of priority for the rapid expansion of basic education. It appears that the concept of quality has many dimensions from the view of practical planning. First, the concept of quality at any point in time is relative to the stage of development of a country, and the human and material resources available for further development. Thus, it has different meanings in different countries, and even in the same country; it is not a fixed notion, but changes with changing resources and aspirations. As the level of a country's attainment rises, the concept of quality also moves up in the scale. Second, the conflict between quality and quantity is a problem not peculiar to the developing countries. It exists, though in less pronounced form, even in the most advanced countries. In a real sense, this conflict is what creates in man's mind the restlessness and ferment that motivate progress. So far as the present contrast of quality in education between the developing countries and the advanced countries is concerned, this is

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evidently a passing phase. After a developing country reaches the take-off stage, its rate of growth is likely to be faster, as the experiences of the U.S.S.R. and Japan show, with progressive improvement in the quality of education. During the transitional period, there are many factors that enter into the planner's consideration in reconciling the claims of quantity and quality. The pressures exerted on educational planning policies by the social, political, and economic aspirations of the nation, the resources available for teacher training, the quality of the existing teacher resources and the rate at which ill-qualified teachers can be replaced, the incentives available in the form of salary, status, and other service conditions to attract better types of people to the various levels of the teaching profession, the suitability of curriculum and textbooks, the home and neighborhood environment of the children, and the economic status of the parents are among the major factors which affect the quality of education. Each one of these factors again has many ramifications which are so intertwined that it is unrealistic to expect any planner to untangle all of them or devise controls to cope with them except in stages. The choice of the planner, therefore, is not unfettered. He has to interpret the concept of quality in the context of the complex social situation in which it works. Yet the position is not altogether hopeless. Within the limits of the total social situation, the directions that the planner can follow in seeking quality are provided by the educational goal—which in the case of most developing countries is to move fast both vertically and horizontally in educational development so as to ( 7 ) ensure maximum attainable expansion of basic education, and, at the same time, (2) stimulate efforts in higher education and research to approach the level of quality attained in the advanced countries. The problem finally reduces itself to one of deciding how far quantitative expansion in the elementary level can go without any serious setback to quality resulting in wastage, and how far and in what manner excellence in the quality of education in the higher stage can be promoted within the limit of resources available. The solution naturally will take different forms in different countries, but it seems likely that the emphasis will be on quantitative expansion in the lower stages of education, and on quality in the higher stages. The disparity between these two extreme points of variation in the quality of education can be reduced considerably through better teacher-education programs, enriching the curriculum,

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improvement of textbooks, and introduction of extensive in-service training for teachers as well as administrators. In other words, the educational "input" can and should be improved. We propose to discuss these aspects of the problem later, in reference to the specific situations in the region under study. Determination of priorities, difficult and challenging as it is, does not solve the whole problem of allocation of resources among the various areas of education. The planner can build into the plan on the whole effective controls over the distribution of material resources available in the public sector, and even in the private one, by linking public subsidies with prescribed private contributions for projects under approved schemes. But the situation is different in respect to human resources. In a society based on free choice in education, the planner can, at the most, try to establish indirect controls by providing incentives in the form of scholarships and subsidies to attract students to those critical areas where there is an acute shortage of manpower. Deterrents may be applied, in the form of tighter admission requirements or higher fees, in areas which suffer from unabsorbable surpluses and hence are intended to be made less attractive to new entrants. The situation becomes complicated when the types of education that the planner wants to underrate and discourage are held in high esteem by the cultural tradition of the country. An efficient system of student counseling and guidance, capable also of reaching the parents, is of supreme importance for correcting imbalances.

Development-mindedness The success of a plan depends ultimately on the attitude of the people towards development. As we saw in Chapter 3, even the cause of economic growth can be traced back to the achievement motivation, the desire of the people to achieve. It is, therefore, an important part of the strategy for a developing country to launch its development plans in a favorable psychological climate—a climate in which the people bestir themselves with the idea of development as both desirable and possible, and are willing to modify those attitudes which are inconsistent with development efforts. To educate the people about the philosophy and purpose of development, and the ways and means for achieving them as provided through the

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plans, is an important task. The co-operative efforts of all agencies, official and nonofficial, in all the sectors concerned should be directed to this task with all earnestness. All available mass media resources must be utilized. The educational institutions, particularly the universities, colleges, and schools also have important roles to play in this regard.

Fifteen Guidelines

for Educational

Planning

Our attempt to present a conceptual framework for educational planning has been confined to major guiding principles generally applicable to most developing countries. Keeping these principles in view, the problems of planning peculiar to South and Southeast Asia will be discussed in the following chapters. Our broad conclusions to this point may be summarized as follows: 7) The educational plan should be designed as an integral part of the over-all national plan for development motivated by the national goals and ideals. 2 ) The educational plan, whatever the duration of the plan period, should keep in view the national objectives in education and be thought of not only in terms of the manpower needs that it is designed to meet, but also in terms of the values, attitudes, and motivations that it is desired to create, modify, or strengthen. (An input-output model has been used to illustrate the interaction of goals and development in education and other sectors.) 3) The plan should view education as an investment in human capital, and the priority assigned to it should not be less than that assigned to investment in physical capital; hence, allocation of resources to education should not be residual in character. 4) In view of the interdependence of the various sectors of national development, the educational plan to be of maximum value should be based on joint and properly co-ordinated thinking and efforts of specialists in various related disciplines, ministries, and departments. 5 ) The national goals should be reflected in education. For example, the goal of reducing inequalities, a common goal of all developing countries, can be supported by the educational plan by including provision for basic universal education—and where it exists, for raising its level—and also by providing scholarships and

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subsidies on an adequate scale to ensure that talented boys and girls shall not be denied the opportunity of higher education because of their inability to pay. 6) The data needed for designing an educational plan can be obtained from an analysis of the manpower needs for human resource development. Alternative ways for making this analysis have been suggested. 7) Targets should be viewed as milestones (or stages) on the road to the ultimate development goals. Hence, whatever the duration of a particular plan period, the plan must have these goals in view and the measures envisaged in the plan must contribute meaningfully to them. 8) Because of the lead-time in education, a plan, even though designed for a particular period of time, will have elements in it with short-range, medium-range, and long-range goals so as to result in a viable development policy. 9) In educational planning, priorities and balance have to go together because of the interdependence of the various stages of education, and the unique character of the production function of education. In fixing priorities, furthermore, certain areas of education which are of strategic importance to the nation should receive appropriate consideration. 10) While the critical needs of a country in an early stage of development will certainly require the second-level education to be especially weighted, at the same time it is necessary to ensure balanced growth in other directions. This is derived from the concept of the harmonious development of the various stages of education which are interdependent and interrelated. 11) The educational plan should provide for the reorientation of the attitude of the community as well as of the academic profession towards scientific and technological education, both of which need to be emphasized in the development program. 12) Quality in education depends on the efficiency of the conversion mechanism in turning inputs into outputs. The less is the interference in the operation of this mechanism (which includes curricula, teaching and learning processes, innate capacities and motivations, formal educational institutions, their housing, equipment, and organization, and informal agencies of education), the greater will be the efficiency.

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129

1 3 ) Where, in terms of the national objectives in education, emphasis has to be laid on the quantitative expansion in the lowest level of education and on qualitative excellence in the higher levels, the gap in quality between the two can be narrowed considerably by including measures to strengthen the programs of teacher education, in-service training, reorientation of curriculum, textbooks, and generation of community interest in development. 14) In the allocation of given resources between capital and recurring outlay, the latter should be sufficiently weighted in order to ensure, on the one hand, an adequate supply of teachers, and on the other, an improvement in the salary and incentive system to attract to the teaching profession highly motivated and better qualified persons. 15) With a view to making the people development-minded, a drive for public education through press, radio, films, television (where it exists), and special lectures arranged under the auspices of various departments of the government, non-official educational and cultural organizations, universities, colleges, and schools, is an essential part of the strategy for the success of any development plan.

CHAPTER SIX

National Plans for Development in South and Southeast Asia: Philosophy, Goals, and Basic Features

ONLY IN A VERY narrow sense can development be interpreted simply as economic growth, for human and social growth are integral parts of development. The old dichotomy, as we have observed, loses much of its significance as economists and educationists converge in their views and increasing emphasis is laid on the human and social aspects of economic development by educators and philosophers. The growing recognition among leading economists of the economic value of education of all types, not merely technical and vocational education, has been stressed, with special reference to the United States, the U.S.S.R., and Japan. 1 The changing concept of development and the role of education are reflected in varying degrees in the development plans of South and Southeast Asia. In most of the countries in this region, high esteem for the human values is rooted deeply in the cultural traditions, which have survived the vicissitudes of time as well as the social, political, and economic changes through which these countries passed in their long history. The national plans for development provide interesting evidence as to how, on the one hand, the longrange goals of the plans have been influenced profoundly by these values and how, on the other hand, the means proposed to achieve them bear the clear imprint of the prevalent economic concepts of development planning.

National Plans for Development

in Pakistan

The progress and targets of Pakistan's developfiient are shown in graphs. The philosophy underlying the national plans of Pakistan 130

National

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131

is revealed in the following excerpt from the government resolution on the appointment of the Planning Board to formulate a "plan of development" with clear accent on the human and social values: "The economic and social objectives of the government's policy are well-known. They are to develop the resources of the country as rapidly as possible so as to promote the welfare of the people, provide adequate living standards and social services, secure social justice and equality of opportunity and aim at the widest and most equitable distribution of income and property." The same philosophical concepts are reflected in the directive principles of Pakistan's Constitution, which came into force on March 23, 1956, requiring the state to endeavor to "secure the wellbeing of the people, irrespective of caste, creed, or race, by raising the standards of living of the common man by preventing the concentration of wealth and means of production and distribution in the hands of the few to the detriment of the interest of the common man, and by ensuring equitable adjustment of rights between employers and employees, and landlords and tenants"; to "provide for all citizens, within the available resources of the country, facilities for work and adequate livelihood with reasonable rest and leisure"; to "provide basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, housing, education and medical relief, for all such citizens, irrespective of caste, creed or race, as are permanently or temporarily unable to earn their livelihood on account of infirmity, sickness or unemployment"; and to "reduce disparity, to a reasonable limit, in the emoluments of persons in the various classes of service of Pakistan." 2 The new Constitution of the Republic of Pakistan (March, 1962) in its "Principles of Law-making and of Policy" (Part II) further reinforced the same philosophy as the basis of government policy. These principles stress the equality of all citizens and provide that "the well-being of the people irrespective of caste, creed or race shall be secured (a) by raising the standard of living of the common man, (b) by preventing undue concentration of wealth and means of production and distribution in the hands of the few, to the detriment of the interests of the common man, and (c) by ensuring an equitable adjustment of rights between employers and employees and between landlords and tenants." 3 The values implicit in these statements of government policy and constitutional guarantees are reflected in Pakistan's First Five-Year

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DEVELOPMENT OF PAKISTAN PROGRESS AND TARGETS USSR CHINA AFGHANISTAN I i Iii I NEPAL SIKKIM IRAN

{BHUTAN EAST PAKISTAN

INDIA Arabian Sea

BURMA Bay of Bengal

DEVELOPMENT EXPENDITURES 1200

900

100 1947

47/50

52/5.1

55/56

58/59

61/62

HEALTH 40

•o

HOSPITAL

20

BEDS^

.

li

3 O H 10

DOCTORS

5 1J U R S E S

— 0 1947 Projection

1955 • • • •

1960

1965

National

Plans for Development

in South and Southeast

Asia

DEVELOPMENT OF PAKISTAN [Continued)

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION no 160 150 140 130 120 110

100 90 48/49

51/52

54/55

57/58

59/60

61/62 Projection

ELECTRICITY & NATURAL GAS 1200

OUTPUT

1100 1000

Electricity ( 1948

/

900

129m K \ V H =

800

S T E A M D I E S E L and / HYDRO POWER /

700 600

100)

//

500 400 300

/

Natural Gas 1956 10,500,000

/

C u . Ft. =

100

j f

200 100

1948

Projection

50

54

56

58

60

62

• • • •

INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT 315 307 210 lyo 1/0 150 130 110 90 70

/

1 //

Mr

1 9 5 4 = 100 ^ ^

^

20 1947 New Projection

51

61 62 Original Projection * »

65 .

• • • •

133

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Plan ( 1 9 5 5 - 6 0 ) . They also inspired the economic and social objectives of the two plans, reiterated in the Second Plan, in the following words: The nation aspires to a standard of living for all its people as high as can be achieved with the resources available to it; equitable distribution of wealth; education of all in accordance with their talents; victory over disease; adequate facilities for transport and communications so that the nation may be effectively unified economically and socially; and the evolution of the national culture in literature, art and science. 4

As stressed in the plans, these are long-range goals, but the importance attached to them is evident from the following statement in the First Plan: The fulfillment of the rights of the common man in the economic and social spheres as recognized in the Directive Principles of State Policy laid down in the Constitution would be a gradual process. But, failure to fulfill them to the extent our resources permit from time to time would be equivalent to denial. In formulating our proposals, we have kept these rights prominently in view. Independent Pakistan can have little meaning and evoke little enthusiasm until the millions of its men and women in the farms, in the factories, and offices find the way open to a life of freedom, honour and dignity.1"'

The same note of seriousness and determination runs through the Second Plan which, to quote from the plan itself, "may be said to have a single underlying purpose: to advance the country as far as possible within the next five years, along the road of these longrange objectives. With the termination of the First Plan period, the initial phase of development will come to an end, and the weaknesses which appeared in the economy soon after independence will largely be made good." 6 A great merit of these plans was that they not only were oriented to the national goals but also were aware of planning as an instrument of influencing, regulating, and adapting the process of social change which was the aim of development. How this process, on the one hand, could derive strength from some of the values on which Pakistan's ideology is based, and how, on the other, it demanded a change in the existing social and economic institutions seem also to be fully recognized in the plans, as illustrated by the following excerpts from the First Plan: 7

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Scientific and technological advances have provided the means of banishing poverty, unemployment, disease and degrading labour rendered in slavery, serfdom and other forms of exploitation. The dignity of man and the high worth of his personality which were cherished by Muslims as religious doctrines have become realizable values. [The necessity of lifting the man-made artificial barriers to facilitate the process of economic and social change is also stressed.] Out-dated institutions which serve no economic and social purpose should be discarded or reordered. Favourable conditions should be provided for new institutions to emerge and grow. T h e nation's sense of urgency for development, reflected in the government policy and the constitutional guarantees mentioned earlier, assumes a larger significance in the political context. As the First Plan rightly points out: "Political independence has created the d e m a n d as well as the opportunity to initiate a rapid process of social and economic change." 8 T h e goals of development represent the values which inspired the people and sustained t h e m in their struggle for f r e e d o m . T h e obligation to establish these values in the life of the people was, therefore, primary. " T h e awakening aspirations of the people are exerting strong pressures on the existing economic and social order, a n d no underdeveloped country today can afford to fall behind in the race for progress without incurring the very grave risk of internal disruption or external intrusion." 9 T h e enthusiasm and idealism displayed in these plans are matched by a sense of realism and rational approach. F o r example, "equality" is not interpreted to m e a n equality of wealth or income. " A s long as nature endows us with u n e q u a l talents and merits, any attempt forcibly to establish an artificial equality is b o u n d to fail and produce disastrous consequences for the economy. . . . Equality stands for equality in the eye of law, in the eye of society, in the eye of State. Negatively, it connotes absence of discrimination of all kinds. . . . It m e a n s the provision of opportunities in proper relation to talents and capabilities of each m e m b e r so that no one lacks a chance to rise in life and each gets an opportunity to develop the best that he has in him." 10 On the same theme, the Second Plan strikes a note of realism in its very p r e f a c e : " N o doctrinaire assumptions underlie the Plan, and neither an exclusively capitalist nor an exclusively socialist economy is postulated. T h e a p p r o a c h throughout is pragmatic. T h e fundamental p r o b l e m is how, under severely limiting

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conditions, to find some way towards the liberation of the people f r o m the crushing b u r d e n of poverty." 1 1 T h e programs in the various sectors are designed to initiate and accelerate processes contributing to the progressive implementation of the goals of development as set forth in the state policy and the directive principles of the Constitution. In like m a n n e r , the plan approach to various issues affecting the social, economic, and political structures—such as the right to property, private versus state enterprise, development of local self-governing bodies at all levels, community development in rural and u r b a n a r e a s — h a s been determined by the same principles. T h e guiding consideration is stated to be that the changes and developments proposed should create the m a x i m u m incentives, motivations, and opportunities for all concerned to contribute towards development. " O u r a p p r o a c h in all cases has been influenced by the contribution expected towards the development of h u m a n personality in a free society." 12 T h e Second Plan is equally emphatic in this regard: " B y every m e a n s at its disposal, the nation must endeavour to create the conditions, opportunities and incentives by which individuals can develop their capacities, strive for higher levels of fulfilment and participate fully in economic and social life." 13 T h e role of education in development reflects the progressively rising appreciation of its importance. In the First Plan, education is treated as a m a j o r field and accorded the status of a separate sector by itself. T h e emphasis is m o r e on its qualitative improvement than on quantitative expansion. In the thinking of the planners, however, education still seemed to figure as a social service, as indicated by the fact that in the following s u m m a r y of the f u n d a m e n t a l objectives of the revised First Plan, education finds its place among the social services: (a) To raise the national income and the standard of living of the people; (b) To improve the balance of payments of the country by increasing exports and by production of substitutes for imports; (c) To increase the opportunities for useful employment in the country; (d) To make steady progress in providing social services: housing, education, health and social welfare; and

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(e) To increase rapidly the rate of development, especially in East Pakistan and other relatively less developed areas. 14 While the First Plan shows a clear awareness of the fact that economic development is a means to an end, namely, "to provide a richer and fuller life for the people," 15 it does not indicate a similar awareness of the economic value of education. The nearest that the plan comes to this is its reference to the centrally controlled economies where "investments were made in the early stages of development very sparingly in social services except on education and training directly needed for the economic development programme." 10 Still, a redeeming feature is its rejection of the concept that until the material resources appreciably increase, the expansion of social services—in which education is implicitly included—should be restricted. T h e broad educational objectives during the plan period are stated as follows: (a) substantial improvement in the quality of primary, secondary, and college education; ( b ) a large expansion of facilities for education and training in the technical, vocational, and professional fields to provide the trained manpower needed in all sectors of the development program; and ( c ) opening of new schools as fast as resources permit, especially in the relatively backward areas. T h e quantitative targets in respect to increases in enrollments and output were ( a ) over one million additional children in the primary and secondary schools, and ( b ) 1,600 engineers and engineering technicians. T h e need for additional funds in support of education, and the capacity of educational programs are also stressed in the plan. Education is a sector in which very large funds could usefully be spent to develop the necessary organization and train the required personnel. Although national expenditure on education has been doubled since independence and half the children of primary school age are now in school, the benefits derived are relatively small because of inadequate equipment and staff. Lack of resources necessitates a fundamental choice between improving existing facilities and creating new ones because it is impossible to do both in the present plan period. 17 Even if the soundness of the premises indicated by the educational targets is not questioned, though it is debatable, the share of the

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education sector and also its performance cannot be regarded as commensurate with the importance apparently attached to education as a critical area of development. This is shown in the distribution of the following plan allocation:

ALLOCATIONS TO FIELDS OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR, 1 9 5 5 - 6 0 PERCENTAGES OF SECTOR

AMOUNT

(1:N Village AID and Rural Development Agriculture (including colonization, animal husbandry, and fisheries) W a t e r and Power Development Transport and Communications Industry (including fuels and minerals) Housing and Settlements Education and Training Health Social Welfare and Oilier

MILLION

. .. .

RUPEES)

TOTAL

(EXCLUDING RESERVE)

298.0

3.2

....1,207.0 ....2,697.0 ....1,666.0 . . . . 1,622.0 . . . . 861.0 . . . . 580.0 288.0 .... 133.0 9,352.0 Less likely shortfall . . . .1.852.0 Estimated net expenditure . . . . . .7,500.0

12.9 28.9 17.8 17.4 9.2 6.2 3.1 1.4 100.1

T h e amount actually spent on education during the plan period was only 4 0 0 million rupees, or about 6 8 per cent of the original allocation, reflecting the general shortfall of 3 2 per cent in the overall plan allocation owing to the fact that financial resources actually available fell short of expectations. This naturally accounted for the performance's falling short of the rather modest targets in the education sector during the First Plan period. Another major cause evidently was the lack of advance planning and the delay in launching the plan, which did not receive formal approval by the government until 1 9 5 7 . Besides, as the Preliminary Evaluation Report of the Planning Commission (September, 1 9 5 9 ) rightly points out, investment in economic and social overheads such as land reclamation, agricultural extension, irrigation, electric power, transportation, education, and social services "usually requires many years before its impact is fully felt on the economy and in many cases benefits are intangible or only indirectly observable in production

figures."

The

performance in the education sector was not so bad compared with

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139

the investment. "Primary school enrollment increased by about 10%, a little ahead of population growth; secondary enrollment rose by 2 5 % ; and out-turn of agricultural, engineering and medical personnel increased by 3 0 - 1 5 0 per cent." (Details will be discussed later.) This performance did not compare unfavorably with the over-all performance of the First Plan as summarized below: It appears that in financial terms, the Plan target will be fulfilled to the extent of about 9 0 % . The total development expenditure during the plan period is estimated at Rs. 9,715 million: Rs. 6,315 million in the public sector and Rs. 3,400 million in the private sector. The Plan target in the private sector will be surpassed; but the target, it now seems, was based on an under-estimation of the pre-plan level of investment, so that the net increase in private investment during the plan period will be inconsiderable. Against the plan expectation of 15% increase in national income, the actual achievement will be of the order of 11%. Because of an increase of population, however, the rise in per capita income is unlikely to exceed 3 % , compared with an increase of 7% envisaged in the plan. 18 The social and economic objectives of Pakistan's Second Plan ( 1 9 6 0 - 6 5 ) were inspired by the same philosophy and basic values as those of the First Plan, as already mentioned. The Second Plan is better designed and technically a superior instrument. Of course, it had the advantage of drawing on the experience of the First Plan. Furthermore, it was launched in a much more favorable climate with better financial backing. What is especially remarkable is that it showed insight into the various aspects of human resource development and assigned to education a much more important role in over-all development than had been envisaged in the First Plan. The following excerpt keynotes the Second Plan's guiding concepts about the utilization of the human resources: Economic growth is dependent on the effective use of the human and material resources of the nation. Both require conservation and development. The wastage of either is an irretrievable loss; their wise utilization is the key to progress. Of the two fundamental forms of wealth, the human resources are clearly more important. Societies severely handicapped by scarcity of physical assets have reached high levels of welfare through the genius of their people. It is through the efficient application of human energy that social capital is created. Human resources differ from other forms of wealth in important ways. The time required

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for training people is longer than is needed for physical construction or the production of goods and services. It takes longer to prepare an engineer, an industrial manager or an agricultural specialist than it does to dig a canal, build a factory, manufacture a machine, or produce an article f o r the m a r k e t . Also people are consumers as well as they are active agents as well as the object of all development

producers: effort.19

T h e concepts that social capital is formed by efficient application of human energy and that people are consumers as well as producers are great advances made by the Second Plan, revealing a growing awareness about the role of human capital and of capital formation through education. 2 0 Yet, the classical economic concept of capital still seems to hinder clear recognition of education as an investment in the human part of capital needed for production, as will appear from the following statement in the Second Plan: "Priorities of the programmes for housing, education, health and Social Welfare have been determined on the basis of general social considerations." 21 The priority assigned to education in the Second Plan was considerably higher than in the First Plan, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitatively, the share of education was raised f r o m 6.2 per cent of the total plan allocation in the First Plan to 7.7 per c e n t 2 2 in the Second Plan. T h e actual increase expressed in terms of money was much higher; 228 per cent of the amount originally provided for education, and 330 per cent of the amount actually made available for education, in the First Plan. Qualitatively, the proportionately greater importance assigned to education is indicated by the recognition of education as a key strategy in over-all development. T h e policy statement prefacing the Second Plan explains its structural characteristics as follows: Specifically, three dominant strains run through the [Second] Plan. First, the stubborn problem of agricultural production . . . is to be attacked vigorously; the aim is to achieve a breakthrough in agriculture. . . . Second, the aim is to push ahead with industrial development by encouraging private enterprise in all practicable ways and by freeing the economy from superfluous restraints. . . . And third, education at all levels is to be expanded and advanced as fast as required institutions and personnel can be provided. T h e Second Plan differs f r o m the First significantly in its concept of "development expenditure," which excluded the recurring cost of

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new schemes included in the development expenditure of the First Plan. Though the Second Plan makes it clear that the "recurring outlays are no less important than development expenditure on the construction of buildings and other physical assets," and the new concept was equally applicable to all sectors, this proved to be not quite favorable to education because of the vital role of the human element in educational development, as we shall see later. Another notable feature of the Second Plan was the effort made at the unified organic growth of the various sectors based on the recognition of their interrelationship. The plan very rightly stresses: "Economic and human aspects of the Plan programmes are interdependent. Productivity is affected by conditions of health, education and welfare among the workers and their families." 23 It also places great emphasis on the need to relate the human resources program to long-range perspectives and goals—of particular significance to education. This extremely important concept appears to have served as the basis of the over-all plan. As it is stated in the Plan itself: "The Second Plan has, therefore, to be viewed in the broad perspective of long-term growth of the economy. It is proposed to double the existing level of national income in the Fourth Plan period, and to quadruple it in the Sixth Plan period. Adherence to this growth necessitates a rate of growth of 2 0 % in the Third Plan period and 3 0 % during the Fourth and Fifth Plan periods. The Second Plan, accordingly, aims at increasing the national income by 2 0 % . " 24 In view, however, of the estimated growth in population by about 9 % , neutralizing part of this gain, the resulting increase in per capita income will be about 1 0 % . The optimism and determination to accomplish a higher rate of growth in the context of the country's long-range goals are also reflected in the educational program. It envisages both expansion and qualitative improvement, instead of being practically limited to qualitative improvement as in the First Plan. The emphasis of the Second Plan is on the development of scientific, technical, and vocational education, but within the framework of the over-all orientation and development of the educational system in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on National Education (which reported in January, 1960). As a result of this Commission's recommendations, education made further substantial gains. The government announced a new

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national policy in education in a Resolution of the Presidential Cabinet on the report of the Commission on National Education. The Cabinet endorsed in unequivocal terms the recommendation of the Commission that "education should be viewed as a productive activity, and as an investment in human resources essential for the development of a progressive and prosperous welfare state." 25 The Commission's report also provided valuable guidelines for reforming the structure, contents, and methods of the existing educational system. The broad principles were accepted by the government. Emphasis was placed on quantitative expansion in the primary stage and on excellence in quality in the higher stages. To quote again from the government Resolution: (a) . . . Compulsory primary education and vigorous efforts in adult education are essential for the creation of a literate nation, an alert citizenry, the proper functioning of political democracy, and the ability of a nation to comprehend and apply technical knowledge. Secondary education is the source of the main body of the educated community. It is in the universities that the leaders of engineering, agriculture, and business community and government services receive their education. Particular emphasis is to be laid on the necessity of making adequate provision for the training of scientific and technical personnel at all levels. (£>) Our educational system, specifically at the university level, should pursue quality as an essential objective, and its end-products in Arts or Sciences should be comparable . . . with the end-products of other equivalent systems of the world, e.g., British, American and Russian. We may produce fewer persons in this category, but the competitive conditions of the world today do not permit a less exacting criterion of excellence. We must reject the concept that since we are a poor nation, we should be content with inferior products from our educational institutions. 20

The Resolution also emphasizes the pivotal role of teachers and stresses that no system of education can be better than its teachers. We propose to discuss later the progress made by the country in implementing these reforms in the various areas of education, though three years is hardly long enough for the new changes to produce visible results. There is no doubt, however, that the recommendations of the Commission and the resulting new policy of the government have provided great impetus to education, much needed for the rapid progress of the nation. In terms of physical targets, the results

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achieved up through 1961-62 are extremely heartening. A general idea of the progress made in the education sector as compared with progress in other sectors can be obtained from utilization of funds reported in the "Review of Progress in 1961-62 under the Second Five-Year Plan" 27 in these words: T h e percentage of utilization of funds budgeted for various sectors in 1 9 6 1 - 6 2 was as follows (in descending order): PER CENT

Education and Training Water and Power Health and Medical Services Mining and Manufacturing Housing and Settlements Transport and Communications Social Welfare Services Manpower and Employment Agriculture

102 101 93 89 89

88 86 69 68

These percentages are no index of achievement in qualitative terms in the development of education. Nevertheless, it is significant that the education sector led all other sectors in utilization of funds provided. This is indicative also of the probable underinvestment in education and the potential capacity of the education sector in the future to absorb more resources compared with other sectors—facts which need to be reflected in the allocation of resources under the Third Plan. The general performance under the Second Plan has been so encouraging that the prospects for education and over-all development under the Third Plan look very bright. The most spectacular achievement of the Second Plan is in increasing the rate of growth in the Gross National Product (GNP) to about 5 per cent per annum against 2 - 3 per cent per annum before the Second Plan period. At this rate, there is a prospect of more than doubling the per capita income over the next twenty years, which is one of the long-range economic goals. Against this background—which is promising, but certainly does not justify undue complacency—some indications about the size of the Third Plan and the main objectives of the Perspective Plan (both of these plans are still under preparation) are contained in a statement made by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commis-

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sion to the National Economic Council on May 24, 1963. He said, in part, that: The Third Five-Year Plan must be formulated within the framework of some long-term goals so that there is a basic continuity in future economic planning. The Planning Commission is already working on the preparation of a Perspective Plan covering the period from 1965 to 1985. Though it is somewhat premature to outline the various elements of such a Plan, the main objectives are as follows: (/') Per capita income is to be raised to about $200 by 1985 compared with $70 at present. . . . In order to attain this objective, however, we shall have to maintain a cumulative rate of growth of about 8% per annum during the next 20 years. (/7) We should try to reach the stage of full employment over the period of the Perspective Plan. It is estimated that the number of unemployed will be roughly 8 million by 1965 and there will be a further increase of about 28 million in the labour force over the next 20 years. Thus, the task for the future will be to provide for about 36 million new job opportunities net by 1985. (i/7) The dependence on foreign assistance . . . must be eliminated over the period of the Perspective Plan. We should not try to extend this dependence beyond the likely endurance of our aid-giving friends or the patience of our people. . . . (/v) According to the Constitutional directive . . . we should make an attempt completely to eliminate the current disparity in per capita income between East and West Pakistan during the period of the Perspective Plan. (v) We must aim at making the entire population literate over the period of the Perspective Plan. The Education Commission had recommended the introduction of universal primary education by 1970 and universal education up to the eighth class by 1975. These goals already appear to be unattainable because of the higher growth in population than estimated by the Education Commission. In order to implement the recommendations of the Education Commission, over 12 million additional children will have to be put in the primary schools by 1970 and about 17 million in secondary schools by 1975. These are clearly impossible targets not only from the view-point of financial resources but also because of physical limitations and shortage of qualified teachers. It will be necessary, therefore, to phase out the programme recommended by the Education Commission over the period of the Perspective Plan and to try to attain universal primary education by 1975 and universal education up to the eighth class by 1985. 28

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The physical targets suggested for education relate only to one area of that sector and cannot be regarded as unrealistic. But, out of a total allocation of 34,000 million rupees in the public sector, only 2,740 million (or 8.1 per cent) 29 is proposed for the education sector in the Third Plan. In absolute amounts, this is a considerable increase over the Second Plan allocation, that is, 248 per cent (excluding allocations for education and training under other sectors, e.g., Agriculture, Water and Power, Industries, Transport, Health, Housing and Settlements, and Social Welfare Services). It is slightly more than proportionate, however, to the increase in plan allocation in the public sector proposed for the Third Plan, which is 220 per cent of the total allocation in the Second Plan. Of course, any serious comment on the allocation of resources to the various sectors under the Third Plan is premature until the plan itself has taken a more concrete shape. How can the resources available during the Third Plan period be applied to the various sectors to yield the maximum results, and be proportionately more productive than the resources available during the Second Plan proved to be? This is a question of which the planners undoubtedly are aware. Determination of the programs for the various sectors and fixation of priorities are among the most challenging problems that face the planners. Some guiding principles of planning were discussed in the foregoing chapter. Important among these is the need to relate the short-term plan to the longterm goals, and to design an integrated plan in which the objectives and programs of the various sectors are so interrelated that they support one another and together promote the over-all development goals. These principles appear to be well reflected in the approach of Pakistan's plans. This approach as well as the thoroughness and clarity with which the mass of data has been classified and presented in the plans are among their many excellent features already pointed out. A serious difficulty in the way of sound distribution of resources lies in the lack of adequate information about manpower needs. The First Plan stresses this difficulty particularly in relation to its estimates on facilities required for technical and vocational training: "In summary, the requirements for skilled workers and technicians are clearly large, but no precise estimate has been feasible. The results to be expected from the Plan proposals are unmeasurable, except

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those that will be yielded by organized educational institutions. We need substantially more information on the training that is going forward in industrial establishments before we could make estimates." 30 An important element in the strategy of the Second Plan was the effort made in determining priorities on the basis of objectives to be achieved during the plan period. The soundness of this approach is beyond question. The plan states that "the technical personnel requirements for the implementation of the various sector programmes have set the targets for the training programme." 31 It appears, however, that the educational targets actually were based on what were rough estimates of manpower needs in the various sectors in the absence of adequate information. As the Second Plan itself says, "Lack of representative data on present utilization and requirements of professional and technical personnel at various levels and in different industries makes it difficult to predict the future demand for such personnel. A rough estimate of the cumulative requirements in specified categories at the end of the Plan period has been made on the basis of proposed physical and investment programmes." 32 It also appears that "coverage of manpower planning has been uneven, and adequate staff and organization have not been available to permit planning on a comprehensive and integrated basis." 33 This lack of information on manpower needs is an area of deficiency in planning that warrants urgent attention in Pakistan. Until arrangements are completed to meet this deficiency, allocation of resources to various sectors, particularly to education, is bound to be largely arbitrary—with greater chances of underinvestment in education as long as the role of education (including general education) in the formation of human capital needed for production is not clearly and unreservedly recognized. The evidence provided by the progress in the utilization of funds made in the various sectors up to 1961-62, referred to earlier, supports these conclusions: ( 7 ) that more resources apparently were allocated to some sectors than they could absorb, and (2) that education seemed to have capacity to absorb more resources (as also recognized in the First Plan) than it was allocated. Until a reliable mechanism for allocation of resources based on manpower needs has been developed, the experiences of the First and Second Plans show that it is wise to invest proportionately more

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Asia

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and not less in education under the Third Plan. T h e risk of an overinvestment in education can always be reduced to a minimum if adequate weight is also given to the social objectives of education. One principle of sound planning especially stressed in Chapter 5 was that development goals should as far as practicable be related to the culture of a country, and that at the same time, where necessary, the cultural structures, social, economic, and political, should be modified to promote the aims of progress and development. The extent to which Pakistan's goals of development derive strength from the country's cultural and ideological heritage has been discussed at the opening of this chapter. Changes in Pakistan's cultural pattern by reforming economic, political, and social structures with a view to creating and strengthening incentives for development also occupy an important place in Pakistan's plans. The most striking reforms are under way in the land system in order that (a) rewards for gains in production flow to those who have earned them, thus providing the sustained incentive formerly lacking, and ( 6 ) permanent tenure of ownership and safeguards to protect the tenants against unjustified eviction create a climate of security necessary for achieving good husbandry and wise capital investment. These reforms have their legal basis in the East Bengal Estate Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950, and the Land Reforms Policy announced by the West Pakistan Government in January, 1959, following the recommendations of the West Pakistan Land Reforms Commission. Notable changes also have been introduced in the structure of administrative organization in order to gear it to meet the demands of achieving the development goals. Emphasis is placed now on the service aspect of public administration and the ideal of establishing a "living human fellowship with the people." T h e concept underlying the newly established institutions of Basic Democracies is to combine the discipline and responsibility of well-trained civil servants with the wishes of the local communities expressed through their elected councils at various levels. Such a partnership of the two administrative agencies involved in implementing development plans is expected to be more effective than either of them operating singly and in isolation. Recognizing the importance of proper location of responsibility for preparing and executing plans, the government reorganized the machinery for planning and development at the center in June, 1959.

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Under the new arrangement, the National Economic Council is the supreme decision-making body on economic policies and programs. The Council is headed by the President of Pakistan, and its other members include the governors of the two provinces, ministers of the principal development ministries, and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council supervises the implementation of economic policies laid down by the Cabinet and the National Economic Council, and makes the day-today decisions in this regard, including sanctioning of development schemes pending their submission to the National Economic Council. The National Planning Commission also has been greatly strengthened by the inclusion of the President of Pakistan as its Chairman. The Commission has a full-time Deputy Chairman and two other members. The Planning Commission is the chief planning authority in Pakistan, and its main functions are ( 1 ) to prepare, in consultation with the central and provincial governments and other appropriate agencies, a national plan at periodic intervals for social and economic development, to take stock of the human and material resources from time to time, and to prepare the annual development programs; ( 2 ) to stimulate and where necessary initiate the preparation of development programs and projects; (3) to recommend such adjustment in the national plan as may be necessary in view of the changing circumstances; ( 4 ) to co-ordinate the development programs and projects, and watch and evaluate the progress of implementation of these programs; and ( 5 ) to perform other related functions connected with preparation and implementation of the plans and programs. The Planning Commission exercises its responsibilities in close collaboration with the central ministries and provincial governments concerned with preparation of long-range periodic plans and annual development programs. It performs its functions of co-ordination and approval of development schemes and programs through the interministry Development Working Parties. Each of the provincial governments has a Planning and Development Department which is the administrative department responsible for planning and developing at the provincial level. East Pakistan recently has also created a Planning Board constituted of three mem-

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bers, including the Chairman who is Additional Chief Secretary of Development, to perform at the provincial level functions similar to those performed by the Planning Commission at the national level. Implementation of the development plans is supervised by the projects division of the President's Secretariat at the national level, and in the projects wing of the Planning and Development Departments at the provincial level. The administrative changes are directed towards removing bottlenecks, some of which were inherited from the pre-Independence administration, and streamlining the administrative organization and procedures. Speedy implementation of the national plans is a goal not easy to attain. Certainly it warrants redesigning the machinery of administration, and also a reorientation in the attitudes of those who operate it. Some of the changes in the administration are so far-reaching that their implications do not seem to be realized fully yet. The visible repercussions of other changes already provide some basis to evaluate their fruitfulness and also indicate possible improvements. Our comments on the latter are postponed until the implementation is reviewed in reference to the problems arising from the administrative process. It can be said here, however, that the growing and changing requirements of national progress, and the ever-developing complexity and multiplicity of governmental activities, calls for continuous and imaginative attention to the working of the administrative machinery. Readiness to adjust and readjust this machinery as warranted by experience and new needs is essential. The plans themselves have been very well designed. In many of its technical characteristics and also in its approach to the role of education in development, the Second Plan makes great advances and bears evidence of insight and technical skill in the design of programs in the different sectors of development. Pakistan's Second Plan has been assessed by a distinguished British economist-educator as "a realistic and expert one, reflecting the spirit and efficiency of the new government"; "each part of the plan is costed in terms of skill as well as in terms of finance." 34 The Second Plan's chapter on manpower and education in relation to economic growth was "a masterly survey of the problem of manpower training in relation to economic growth; the aim, it says, is to accelerate the production of skills in the short run and to provide enough basic education to meet

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long-term needs. Its recommendations [based on the Report of the Commission on National Education, 1959] are extremely closely integrated with the present plan." 3 5

National

Plans for Development

in India

India put her First Five-Year Plan into operation in 1951-52, the Second Plan in 1956-57, and the Third Plan in 1961-62. The first two plans are described in the Third Plan as "phases in the longterm social and economic development." The plans clearly were based on this concept of continuous development viewed comprehensively and including both economic and social development. The accent in the first two plans appeared to be on economic development, as indicated by the opening sentences in the Second Plan: "The central objective of public policy and of national endeavour in India since independence has been promotion of rapid and balanced economic development. This first five-year plan was intended as a step in this direction." The Second Plan was intended to carry forward the process initiated in the First Plan. It is recognized, however, that a rising standard of life (or material welfare) is not an end in itself but a means to an end which is "a better intellectual and cultural life. . . . Economic development is intended to expand the community's productive power and to provide the environment in which there is scope for the expression and application of diverse faculties and urges." 8 6 T h e plans show an awareness of the need to relate the pattern and lines of development to the objectives of the Indian society, and also the need to refashion the existing economic and social institutions so that they will contribute effectively to the achievement of the ultimate goal in terms of "wider and deeper social values." These values are summed up in the phrase "socialist pattern of society," which is explained in the Second Plan in the following words: Essentially, this means that the basic criterion for determining the lines of advance must not be private profit but social gain, and that the pattern of development and the structure of socio-economic relations should be so planned that they result not only in appreciable increases in national income and employment but also in greater equality in incomes and wealth. . . . The benefits of economic developments must accrue more and more to the relatively less privileged classes of society, and there

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should be a progressive reduction of the concentration of incomes, wealth and economic power. . . . For creating the appropriate conditions, the state has to take on heavy responsibilities as the principal agency speaking for and acting on behalf of the community as a whole. The public sector has to expand rapidly. The resources available for investment are thrown up in the last analysis by social processes. Private enterprise, free pricing, private management are all devices to further what are truly social ends; they can only be justified in terms of social results. 37 The same philosophy seems to inspire India's Third Plan also, but this plan's approach to the means and objectives of development shows a greater balance than that of the earlier two plans. A contrast in perspective is indicated by the fact that, unlike the Second Plan, the Third Plan rightly emphasizes the end rather than the means. The Third Plan opens with this statement: "The basic objective of India's development must necessarily be to provide the masses of Indian people the opportunity to lead a good life. This, indeed, is the objective of all countries for their peoples, even though good life may be defined in many ways." In this context, the Third Plan stresses that like other major cultures, the Indian culture also has its distinctive features rooted in the past. India with thousands of years of history, bears even now the powerful impress of her distinctive features. They are today covered up by widespread and appalling poverty, the result of a traditional society and a static economy in the past, petrified to some extent by colonial rule. But these essential features, though apparently associated with the traditional structure of society, are in no sense an integral part of it. They are in fact a set of moral and ethical values which have governed Indian life for ages past, even though people may not have lived up to them. These values are a part of India's thinking, even as, more and more, that thinking is directed to the impact of the scientific and technological civilization of the modern world. 38 Thus, the plan shows a clear appreciation of nation's inherited culture in development. It also distinguish those cultural values which are likely process of development from those which are likely

the role of the sees the need to to stimulate the to retard it.

The two guiding aims of India's planned development are stated in the Third Plan to be ( a ) to build up "a rapidly expanding and

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technologically progressive economy" and (b) to create "a social order based on justice and offering equal opportunity to every citizen." In the broad philosophy of planning as developed in the Third Plan, the emphasis is shifted from economic objectives to both economic and social objectives. This is consistent with the comprehensive concept and long-term objectives of development which are stressed in the previous plans, but not so clearly reflected in the general approach and theme of those plans. One does not get the impression from study of the plans that the value of education to development, human, social, and also economic, is fully recognized in the first two plans. There is a general reference in the chapter on education in the Second Plan to the determining influence of education on the rate of economic progress, the role of education in meeting the growing demands of economic growth on human resources, and the need for widespread participation of the people in all activities in a socialist pattern of society. Though this statement of the role of education does not clearly bring out the economic value of education in the formation of human capital needed for economic production, it can be interpreted to imply high priority for education as a factor of development. Such an implication does not seem to find much support in the general plan as a whole. It is true that the allocation of funds for education in public schools was increased from 1,640 million rupees to 3,070 million rupees in the Second Plan, a substantial increase of 187 per cent over the First Plan allocation. But this does not indicate that the priority of the education sector was really raised; the increase in allocation for education was not even proportionate to the increase in total plan allocation, which was more than double that of the First Plan allocation. On the contrary, the percentage of allocation for education was reduced from 7 per cent in the First Plan to 6.4 per cent in the Second. 39 What is still more striking is that education, in general, does not find a distinct place among the key factors in development. These are stated as including the community's desire to develop the application of new skills and know-how to the effective utilization of natural resources, the search for new resources and new techniques, and the readaptation of the labor force. Education other than technical education, even by implication, can hardly be included among these key factors.

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It is also significant that, while the realization of human and social values is emphasized as the ultimate goal of economic development and of the socialist pattern of society, a similar emphasis on the development of human resources as one of the most important factors is lacking in the approach of India's first two plans. Inclusion of education in the group of social services supports the impression that the economic value of education is not clearly recognized. It is also remarkable that the "approach to the Second Plan" does not include education (or any other part of the social services group, in which education is included) among its principal objectives. In formulating these objectives, the plan starts with an emphasis on the directive principle of state policy in the Constitution and its bearing on the socialist pattern of society, and then proceeds as follows: With this broad approach, the Second Five-Year Plan has been formulated with reference to the following principal objectives: (a) a sizeable increase in national income so as to raise the level of living in the country; b) rapid industrialization with particular emphasis on the development of basic and heavy industries; ( c ) a large expansion of employment opportunities; and (d) reduction of inequalities in income and wealth and a more even distribution of economic power. 4 0

An explanatory note following this statement of objectives emphasizes wisely the interrelatedness of these objectives, and presents an able analysis of some of the major issues, such as the need for a balanced program, employment opportunities, industrial policy, shifting of emphasis from the primary sector to the secondary and tertiary sectors, fiscal measures, regional disparities, agricultural production, and financial and credit mechanism. In this fairly elaborate discussion, however, the only reference to the role of education is brief and indirect in the following words: "For securing an advance simultaneously in all these directions, the available manpower and natural resources have to be used to the best advantage." 4 1 In contrast, the Third Plan of India appears to be based on a much better recognition of the important part that education can play in the realization of over-all development objectives. This is indicated by the substantial increase in the development outlay on education (including technical education) from 2,560 million rupees in the Second Plan to 5,600 million rupees in the Third

154 Plan.

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Strategy

T h i s a m o u n t s t o a n i n c r e a s e of 2 1 8 p e r cent, o r m o r e t h a n

d o u b l e t h e o u t l a y o n e d u c a t i o n of t h e S e c o n d P l a n . T h e total p l a n o u t l a y in t h e p u b l i c sector of t h e T h i r d P l a n i n c r e a s e d f r o m 4 6 , 0 0 0 million r u p e e s in t h e S e c o n d P l a n t o 7 5 , 0 0 0 million r u p e e s

(i.e.,

1 6 3 p e r c e n t of t h e S e c o n d P l a n o u t l a y ) . 4 3 A n o t h e r significant gain f o r e d u c a t i o n in the T h i r d P l a n is recognition of the i m p o r t a n c e of " t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of the c o u n t r y ' s h u m a n r e s o u r c e s , specially e d u c a t i o n a n d h e a l t h " t o the e n t i r e e f f o r t directed t o w a r d s raising t h e level of p r o d u c t i v i t y a n d t h e g e n e r a l well-being of the p e o p l e . 4 4 T h e T h i r d P l a n u n d o u b t e d l y is a c o n t i n u a t i o n of t h e process of d e v e l o p m e n t s t a r t e d b y t h e e a r l i e r t w o p l a n s a n d i n s p i r e d by t h e s a m e basic p h i l o s o p h y . It r e i t e r a t e s t h e e c o n o m i c a n d social goals of d e v e l o p m e n t as set o u t in t h e earlier p l a n s , b u t w i t h t h e e m p h a s i s o n t h e s e d i f f e r e n t goals m o r e evenly distributed. I t also shows a m o r e b a l a n c e d a n d realistic a p p r o a c h t o the a c c o m p l i s h m e n t of these goals. W h i l e c o n q u e s t of p o v e r t y is u n d e r s t a n d a b l y r e g a r d e d as a n essential o b j e c t i v e , e d u c a t i o n finds an i m p o r t a n t p l a c e in t h e implem e n t i n g strategy. T h e T h i r d P l a n c h a l k s o u t t h e s e t h r e e lines of simultaneous action: ( I )

m o d e r n i z e agriculture, (2)

d u c t i o n f r o m i n d u s t r i e s , a n d (3)

step u p pro-

lift u p the level of p r o d u c t i v i t y of

the nation through education. T h e T h i r d P l a n also i n c l u d e s a n e x t r e m e l y well-written c h a p t e r o n e d u c a t i o n . W h i l e t h e specific t a r g e t s a n d p r o g r a m s of development

will

be discussed

later,45

some

educational

significant

excerpts

f r o m t h e p l a n a r e given b e l o w b e c a u s e of t h e light t h e y t h r o w o n t h e g r o w i n g c o n c e p t of e d u c a t i o n as a n i n s t r u m e n t of e c o n o m i c

and

social d e v e l o p m e n t in I n d i a : Education is the most important single factor in achieving rapid development and technological progress, and in creating a social order f o u n d e d on the values of f r e e d o m , social justice and equal opportunity. Developments of the past decade have created a m o m e n t u m f o r economic growth; yet there are large deficiencies in the sphere of education, which must be removed speedily if progress is to be sustained and enduring. It is one of the m a j o r aims of the Third Plan to expand and intensify the educational effort and to bring every h o m e within its fold, so that f r o m now on, in all branches of national life, education becomes the focal point of planned development. 4 6 T h e vital r o l e of e d u c a t i o n in d e v e l o p m e n t c o u l d n o t b e b e t t e r

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expressed or more strongly emphasized. Yet, strangely enough, even in the Third Plan education continues to remain anonymous under the general head of "social services and miscellaneous," while "transport and communications," "agriculture and community development," and even "village and small industries" appear in their own right as separate heads in the schemes of allocation of funds and also elsewhere in the body of the plan. This seems to reflect the still existing split in the planners' thinking about the role of h u m a n capital formed by education. Furthermore, though the increase in education's share of the Third Plan outlay marks a distinct advance over the Second Plan, it is doubtful if the allocation is commensurate with the role assigned to education. Education received a rather low priority in the Second Plan, it must be remembered, and the allocation for education in the public sector was only 6.4 per cent of the total Second Plan allocation as compared with 7 per cent of the First Plan. Actual outlay appears to have been even less (5.5 per cent). Although the allocation for education has been raised to 7.4 per cent in the Third Plan, it does not appear that this was determined on the basis of a proper analysis of the manpower needs, admittedly no easy task until instruments for collection of data and projection of manpower needs have been developed. The absence of reliable data is mentioned in the Third Plan also, 47 and the Ministry of Education apparently has asked the Planning Commission to supply it in advance with data on future manpower needs as a basis of plans for educational development. O n e concludes, then, that while the Third Five-Year Plan of India may not reflect fully all implications of the economic and social value of education, it certainly provides large gains for education in both concept as well as financial allocation. T h e Third Plan also rightly advocates the need for placing "the greatest stress on social values and incentives," and the measures envisaged for reforming some of the existing cultural structures seem to be fully warranted by the requirements of development. As the plan states: " O n account of the rigidities of the caste system as well as economic differences, India's social structure already presented numerous inherent conflicts and barriers to economic advance." 4 8 Viewed in this context, the reforms in India's land system and administrative arrangements and the expansion of the community development program as envisaged in the Plan certainly are meas-

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ures in the right direction. "Customs die hard," however, so that the fruitfulness of these measures and the pace of social change seem to depend again on the adequacy and effectiveness of programs in the field of education—in particular, social education. Considering the vastness and complexity of the problem of social change, there is an a priori case for more investment in education, which finds additional support in the critical role played by h u m a n capital in economic growth.

National

Plans for Development

in

Indonesia

Planned effort towards national development in Indonesia, strictly speaking, commenced with the establishment of the National Planning Board in August, 1959. The Planning Board prepared a comprehensive plan covering a period of eight years (known as one windu in Indonesian) and embracing all sectors of national life. The document, product of considerable labor and deliberation, consists of 5,100 pages, divided into 8 books, 17 volumes, and 1,945 chapters. This "Eight-Year National Over-all Development Plan" was adopted in December, 1960, for implementation during 1 9 6 1 - 6 9 . The Indonesian Plan has as its goals both economic development and human and social development. In the words of the Chairman of the National Planning Board of Indonesia: " T h e objective of the Planned Over-all National Development is Indonesian Socialism, that is, a just and prosperous society which is founded upon 'Pantja Sila,' the Five Principles of the State." 49 Thus, the plan is inspired by the national ideology of Indonesia, known as the Five Principles, based on a synthesis of human, spiritual, and material values. These values are made clear in the following excerpts from an address of the President of Indonesia to the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Declaration of Independence on the significance of the Five Principles. 1 ) Divine Omnipotence: " T h e Indonesian State shall be a State where every man can worship God in freedom. The Christian should worship God in freedom, and according to the teachings of Jesus Christ, Moslems according to the teachings of the Prophet M o h a m mad, and Buddhists should discharge their religious rites according to their books." 2 ) Humanitarianism or internationalism: ". . . do not say that

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the Indonesian nation is the noblest and most perfect, do not belittle other people. We must aim at the unity and brotherhood of the whole world . . . one family out of all the nations of the world." 3) Nationalism: " T h e State is not for an autocracy, not for an aristocracy, not for a plutocracy, but 'all for all.' " 4) Democracy: " T o achieve this, to provide a strong basis for the Indonesian State, a Representative Government, a government by consent is essential." 5 ) Social justice or prosperity: ". . . there shall be no poverty in Indonesia." T h e profound influence that this national ideology has over thought and action in all spheres is demonstrated by the emphasis placed on its basic values even in the President's recent Economic Declaration, directed towards stepping u p efforts to improve the economic and financial situation in Indonesia. In Paragraph 3 of this declaration, the materialistic and cultural values are stressed in the following words: " I n the Indonesian socialist economy, everyone shall have a job, food, clothing, housing and a proper cultural and spiritual life. Such an economic order should be the goal of all our economic activities, the goal of every son of Indonesia." 50 Economic development which is of vital importance to Indonesia's progress is viewed nonetheless as a means to a fuller and better life for every individual. In Indonesia, as in other developing countries, incentives to economic growth and social progress need to be provided through inspiration derived from the existing social and cultural structures and, where necessary, through change of the existing structures. The Indonesian government is seeking to promote economic growth by emphasizing the principle of gotong rojong (mutual assistance or co-operation) between the masses and the government in all major industries, like agriculture or mining. In theory, such an approach unquestionably is sound. In practice the requirements of modern economic growth are likely to call for substantial changes in the concept and structure of gotong rojong, which is rooted in a feudalagrarian tradition. A n Indonesian scholar compares a co-operative with gotong rojong in the following manner: The practice of "gotong rojong" is based on the feeling of kinship existing in a virtually isolated and largely autarchic community. The functioning of a cooperative entails the payment of monetary reward for

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services, a procedure usually not found with the practice of "gotong rojong." A cooperative is set up by a decision taken voluntarily by participants in the enterprise. . . . Through the cooperative, an outlet is found to a way of life more open and wider in scope than was previously possible. In our experience with cooperatives, it has been found that if the difference between the functioning of a cooperative and the practice of "gotong rojong" which is rooted in the feudal-agrarian structure is not fully appreciated, the danger exists that the cooperatives will become no more than a new embodiment of feudal-agrarian traditions. 51 The Indonesian government appears to be aware of the need for changing the social structures and attitudes with a view to achieving the development goals. In reference to the short-term plan adopted for overcoming certain pressing economic difficulties, the President's Economic Declaration stresses: "In order to materialize this shortterm plan, a start should soon be made most courageously to change all structures and habits which have formed obstacles so far." 52 Measures already taken in this direction include the Basic Agrarian Act and the Act on Production Sharing, as well as the formation of state enterprises ( P N ) , the state trading enterprises ( P D N ) , the Council for General Management ( B P U ) , and co-operatives. Other measures contemplated are the formation of a representative national consultative body to mobilize capital from the masses for the benefit of development projects; reorientation and simplifications of the rules, regulations, and administrative procedures to increase speed and efficiency; improvement of the fiscal apparatus; and improvement in the machinery for collection of data regarding labor and manpower needs. The objectives and general features of Indonesia's carefully designed plan for educational development will be discussed in the following chapter. The importance attached to education in the National Over-all Development Plan is indicated, first, by the fact that it heads the list of major sectors in plan allocation, and second, by the amount allocated for education, culture, and research, which together have 8.53 per cent of the total plan allocation of 240 billion rupiahs.

National

Plans for Development

in the

Philippines

" T h e Philippines is recognized as one of the comparatively underdeveloped areas in the world that has made much progress." 53 As a

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matter of fact, outside Japan, she has the highest per capita national income (around $200) in South and Southeast Asia. In education also the Philippine Republic has made significant progress, as we saw in Chapter 2. Percentage of literacy among children of ten years and over is currently estimated at seventy-five. The government is rightly concerned with achieving a higher rate of economic growth and faster all-round progress. This is the objective of the Five-Year Socio-Economic Program presented to the nation during 1963 by the new President. This may be regarded as the first five-year plan or, for that matter, the first plan for over-all national development that the Philippines has ever had, in the sense "plan" is understood these days. The launching of this program apparently was an event of momentous significance to the nation, for it created a new hope and optimism among the masses of people about their future. "To the real masses of the Filipino people who have seen little change in their daily lives in the last decade, this hope for the future is their strength, their belief and their shield against privation, the elements and their isolation from the garden of a better life. This same hope has been born before, but never was there hope to find fruition." 54 The Five-Year Socio-Economic Program is designed "to bring about the social and economic well-being of the nation, and to remedy the chronic problems plaguing our country. It is aimed at improving the living conditions of the common man, increasing our agricultural production, and insuring the expansion of our industries to bring about a new era of abundance and prosperity for our people." 55 The targets of the program amount to a total investment of 12.6 billion pesos during the five-year period 1963-67, in the various sectors of national development. An education sector is included in the social development program, once again indicating the influence of the classical economic concept of capital on the thinking of planners. The plan nevertheless attached high importance to education. This indeed has been a commendable characteristic of government policy in the Philippines. The plan stresses that "the progress of the country depends upon the skill and productivity of the people, and these can only be achieved by proper education and training." The outlay on educational development during the five-year plan period is estimated at 966.764 million pesos, or about 7.6 per cent

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of the total plan outlay. This, however, excludes expenditure on education met from normal revenues, which is as high as 30 per cent of the total revenue expenditure of the government. The philosophy underlying the development plans of the countries in South and Southeast Asia embrace both human and material values. While the plans stress economic growth as sheer necessity in the circumstances peculiar to developing countries, they seem to have their sights correctly on the ultimate goal: a good life in a society based on the principles of equality and justice. The concept of these ultimate goals and the pattern of a good life naturally are colored by a country's ideology and cultural heritage. There is, however, no doubt about the strength of the motive force behind these goals and ideals, which in most cases are sanctified in the form of constitutional guarantees or backed by directive policies of the governments. While the plans for development reflect these goals and ideals in their programs, and draw on many underlying cultural values for inspiring and motivating the programs of action, they also very correctly recognize the need for modifying other aspects of the culture which had become atrophied and hence tend to impede progress. A remarkable feature of these plans is their stress on reforming some of the existing social and cultural structures in order to create incentives and motivations for productive work, an essential condition of economic growth and progress. There is evidence of an increasing recognition of the economic value of education, though the full implications of the now wellestablished role of education in the formation of human capital cannot be said to be as much reflected in the plan allocations as is education's role as an instrument of social development. Fixing the priorities in the allocation of resources to the various sectors continues to be an agonizing task for the planners. There can be no question about the sincerity of their efforts aimed at balanced plans, even though, in some cases, the plans may reflect the inclination of the planner to lean more on industrial growth and to be drawn, even if unconsciously, more towards the classical economic concept of capital. In their initial stages, some of the plans placed more emphasis on investment in physical capital than in human capital, though both of these forms of capital are vitally needed for economic production. The concern of planners in the developing countries for rapid

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economic growth is understandable. But this objective cannot be achieved if the investment in human capital lags behind the investment in physical capital, or a balanced emphasis is not laid on the various interrelated sectors of development. This conclusion is supported by the evidence presented in Chapters 3 and 4, which reviews economic studies as well as the experiences of three countries, the United States, Japan, and the U.S.S.R. These countries, representing three different cultures and social systems, traveled different paths in achieving their economic growth. Yet, all of them had one thing in common: they recognized the value of human capital and invested adequately in education, the most important factor in the formation of human capital. It is evident that the countries in South and Southeast Asia are gaining experience in planned development. There is growing recognition of the basic fact that if you want continuous increase in the output required for economic growth, you must include in your input not only physical capital, but also trained manpower and technology. This change in approach is visible in the emphasis placed on the development of human resources in the more recent plans. If this new understanding carries through, it is likely to accelerate the pace of progress towards the goal of achieving self-sustaining economy. Some countries apparently have made significant progress in this direction. In a recently published article, an expert on planned development writes: "India, Pakistan, the United Arab Republic, Turkey, the Philippines, Colombia, and perhaps a few other countries appear to have fair prospects for reaching this goal within the next decade or two." 56 How long this period of transition actually will last for a particular country is going to depend largely on the vision, courage, and imagination that are brought to bear on her future plans. A proper and full recognition of human capital as a strategy of development will certainly strengthen these plans as effective instruments of progress.

CHAPTER SEVEN

National Plans for Development in South and Southeast Asia: Educational Targets and Performance

T H E ROLE ASSIGNED to education within the over-all national plans for development has been surveyed in Chapter 6, with some reference to the development goals and their cultural and philosophical roots. Now we will deal specifically with the targets of development, the input and output, in the field of education. The major problems encountered in the way of making the educational output commensurate with the needs of development also will concern us, and we will suggest possible strategies. Educational input does not consist merely in financial resources, even though these are an extremely important ingredient representing the material resources necessary not only for building and equipping educational institutions but also for commanding the manpower needed to operate them. Nevertheless, there also are other, equally important ingredients—such as the curriculum, its goals, contents, incentives, and motivations, the innate capacities of the learners and their social heritage, as well as the teaching process and methods depending on the education, technical skill, and attitude of the teachers, and the organizational soundness and articulateness of the general educational structure and administration. For all practical purposes, our study is limited to the input and output within the educational structure concerned with formal and public education.

Pakistan's

Educational

Plans

In Pakistan, education as a subject of governmental administration is the constitutional responsibility of the provinces. The Central 162

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Ministry of Education, however, perforins an important role in formulating the national policy in education, in guiding and co-ordinating the plans of educational development, in collecting and disseminating educational data and information for the nation as a whole, and in looking after other educational matters of national concern which are dealt with at the national level, such as those DIAGRAM 1 EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION A T THE PROVINCIAL LEVEL IN PAKISTAN Minister of Education Secretary of Education Director of Tech. Edn.

r - D i r e c t o i of Pubi c Inst:ruction (in E ast Paki: tan ( nly) Dii ector of Ph ysical Education Headquarters StafT: Dep. D.P.I (PI,anning) Ad. P.I.'s and Special Officers, Bureji u of Education, A i dio--Visual Center, Educajt ion Extension Center

Educational Advisor and Ex Officio Joint Secretary for (1) General Education (2) Technical Education (in West Pakistar) only) Dep. S( cretaries

Dep. E irector of Public Instruction in the Divisions Dep. Ad. P.I.'sj

Section Officers

Inspectors and Inspectresses of Schools

Regional D rectors of Education (West I'akistan only)

Heads, Government High Schools (a) District Education Officers (b) District Inspector of Schools (Ex Officio Secretary, District Primary Edn. Comm. or Chief Executive Officer, Primary Edn.) _Dist. Primary Education Fund Principals of Government Colleges, and Teachers Colleges, College of Arts, College of Home Economics

Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education: Textbook Board

Divisional Inspectors of Schools

.lb-Divisional Education Officers Thana Education Officers

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DIAGRAM 2 THE NEW EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE OF PAKISTAN (Based on the Recommendations GRADES

of the Commission 1959)

on National

Education,

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connected with UNESCO and with other nations in the ever-growing field of international education. Diagram 1 shows the administrative setup at the provincial level in Pakistan. Public education in Pakistan is organized broadly in five stages: ( 7 ) the primary stage of grades 1-5, comprising the age range 6 - 1 1 years; (2) the junior secondary stage of grades 6 - 8 , comprising the age range 11-14 years; (3) the secondary stage of grades 9 and 10, comprising the ages of 15 and 16 years; ( 4 ) the higher secondary stage of grades 11 and 12, covering the ages of 17 and 18 years; and ( 5 ) higher education (college and university) beyond the age of 18 years. Diagram 2 shows the new educational structure introduced in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on National Education. As this diagram shows, for admission to all institutions of higher education, graduation from a higher secondary school after completion of twelve years of schooling and passing a public examination is required. The exceptions are the Agricultural University, the College of Arts and Crafts, the polytechnic institutes, the junior training colleges, and the primary training institutes, all of which accept students who have graduated from high schools and passed the Matriculation or School Certificate Examination (a public examination) on completion of ten years of schooling. It also may be noted that the duration of the Bachelor's course is two years at the "Pass" level and three years at the "Honors" level, and correspondingly, the duration of the Master's course is two years for those obtaining a "Pass" Bachelor's degree, and only one year for those obtaining an "Honors" Bachelor's degree. The duration of the Bachelor's course is five years in medicine and four years in engineering (after twelve years of schooling). The duration of the Bachelor's course is five years in agriculture (after ten years of schooling). There is no fixed duration for the doctoral course and the degree is awarded on the basis of an approved thesis involving no course work. The degree colleges are not degree-awarding institutions. The universities lay down the courses of study, conduct the examinations beyond the higher secondary stage, and award the degrees within their respective territorial areas. The colleges do the teaching at the undergraduate level, and the universities teach at the graduate level and also at the undergraduate Honors level. The agricultural and

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engineering universities, however, are entirely teaching institutions. In like manner, the intermediate colleges and high schools follow the curricula and syllabi prescribed by the Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education and prepare candidates for the examinations conducted by these Boards: the higher School Certificate Examination at the end of the two-year higher secondary stage, and the School Certification Examination at the end of the two-year secondary stage. The quantitative growth in Pakistan's education since independence ( 1 9 4 7 ) is shown in the following tables:

QUANTITATIVE GROWTH IN PAKISTAN'S EDUCATION SINCE 1947 1948-49 *

1954-55 »

P r i m a r y Education Schools 38,122 41,500 Enrollment 3,643,000 4,266,000 (Index 100 117 Secondary E d u c a t i o n Schools 6,275 5,475 Enrollment 916,000 869,000 (Index 100 95 H i g h e r Education Colleges ( L i b e r a l A r t s ) 90 145 Enrollment 36,000 65,866 (Index 100 183 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n (Universities) Number 3 6 Enrollment 3,900 (Index 100 T e a c h e r Education F o r p r i m a r y teachers 125 97 Annual output 6,145 7,400 (Index 100 120 F o r secondary teachers 11 21 Annual output 785 1,300 (Index 100 165 Engineering Education T e c h n i c a l institutes 1 7 Annual intake NA' 191 (Index 100 E n g i n e e r i n g colleges 4 3 A n n u a l intake (Index Medical Colleges Number Annual intake (Index

1959-60

c

1961-62"

44,200 4,706,000 129

51.200 5,604,833 157)

6,000 1,099,000 112

6,426 1,179,000 129)

209 110,166 306

221 124,864 • 347)

6 7,400 190

10 12,685 ' 325)

75 7,400 120 23 1,800 229

85 7,947 129) 29 ( 2 c e n t e r s ) 2,130 271)

8 500 262 4

14 1,476 773) 2 ( 2 raised to university) 752 274)

NA

274 100

400 146

3 NA

6 350 100

9 450 129)

13 NA

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QUANTITATIVE GROWTH IN PAKISTAN'S EDUCATION SINCE 1947, Continued 1948-49 ' Nurses training centers Annual intake Agricultural Education Colleges (Agr.) Annual output Animal husbandry Annual output Forestry Output Legal Education Colleges Annual output Colleges of Fine Arts Industrial, technical, and commercial schools Enrollment Index

1954-55 "

1959-60 c

14 152

18 200

3 NA 2 NA NIL NIL

4 120 2 32 1 2

4 150 2 64 1 3

NA NA 1

8 710 2

14 800 2 110 9,162 103

1961-62 " NA NA 4 (excluding 2 new agricultural universities)

2 126* 12,708 « 139

" Since the country won independence on August 14, 1947, the following year (1948—49) is the year selected as the base year. b 1954—55 is the year immediately preceding the First Five-Year Plan period. (Figures are taken from the Second Plan.) c 1959-60 is the last year of the First Plan period. (Figures are taken from the Second Plan.) d 1961-62 is the second year of the Second Plan period and the figures are based on the information available in the "Review of Progress in 1961-62" (by additions), and the annual statistical reports of East Pakistan (1961-62) and West Pakistan (1960-61). ' Report on Educational Progress in Pakistan, 1961-62, presented at the 26th International Conference of Public Education, Geneva, July, 1963, by the Ministry of Education, Government of Pakistan. ' Data not available.

TOTAL NUMBER OF TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN, 1947-62 1947-48 Primary Trained Untrained Secondary Trained Untrained

35,000 (100)

17,500 (100)

1953-54

1959-60

1961-62

98,000 123,310 137,432 * 60,000 ( 6 1 % ) 88,382 ( 7 2 % ) 96,249 ( 7 0 % ) (171) (252) (273) 34,928 38,000 41,183 52,821 63,518 ' 22,500 29,024 ( 5 6 % ) 35,655 ( 5 6 % ) ' (129) (166) (204) 27,863 23,797

* Figures are from the Report on Educational compiled by the Ministry of Education, Pakistan.

Progress

in Pakistan,

1961-62,

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INCREASES IN EDUCATION A T VARIOUS LEVELS INCREASED NUMBER EXPRESSED NET SECTOR

IN

INCREASE NUMBER

IN

INDEX

( BASE

YEAR

1948-49 100) Primary Secondary College Universities T e c h n i c a l institutes ( i n t a k e ) (Diploma) E n g i n e e r i n g colleges ( i n t a k e ) Medical colleges ( i n t a k e ) Trained Teachers (total) Primary Secondary Industrial and commercial schools

1,739,000 263,000 88,864 8,785'

157 129 347 325 *

1,285 • 478 * 100"

773 * 274* 129"

61,249 18,155 3,546

c

273 204 139

* T h e base year of comparison is 1954--55. " Years of comparison are 1954—55 a n d 1959-60. c Base year is 1959-60.

These tables indicate several trends in Pakistan's educational growth which should be of interest to the planner. First, the rate of growth has been highest in technical education (more than sevenfold) and in higher education (more than threefold). In the case of technical education, one reason for the spectacular growth in technical education was that there was so little of this type of education in 1948-49. But, in the case of higher education, the rate of growth indicates that proportionately more students completing secondary education are proceeding to higher education from year to year, the number in 1961-62 being more than three times as many as that in 1948-49. Second, the rate of increase in secondary education is not as rapid as that in higher education or in primary education. For example, the ratio of enrollment in the secondary stage to that in the primary stage actually fell from 25 per cent in 1948-49 to 22 per cent in 1961-62; but, at the same time, the ratio of the number of students in higher education to that in secondary education rose from 3.9 per cent in 1948-49 to 11.5 per cent in 1961-62. The falling ratio of secondary to primary enrollment—to the extent it is accounted for by a more rapid expansion of primary than

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secondary education—is understandable in a developing country where the goal of universal primary education has not yet been achieved. A rising ratio of higher education to secondary enrollment in such a country seems to indicate that secondary education is not expanding fast enough. This m a y pose two problems unless the trend is checked. T h e r e may be a shortage of secondary school graduates on which the supply of critical m a n p o w e r in various sectors of develo p m e n t ultimately depends. T h e difficulty is increased of extending universal education to G r a d e 7 within ten years (i.e., by 1 9 8 5 ) after attaining the objective of universal primary education by 1975 as projected in the Third Five-Year Plan. 1 Third, a n o t h e r remarkable trend is that in spite of the special emphasis placed on professional and engineering education, the rate of growth in the higher (degree) stage of engineering education is slower t h a n the corresponding growth in general higher education. Fourth, the rate of growth in the field of teacher education, which is a vital area, has been considerably higher than the rate of growth in enrollment either in primary or secondary education; b u t it will have to be f u r t h e r accelerated if it is to outpace the rate of growth in the total n u m b e r of teachers resulting f r o m rapid expansion of education in the primary and secondary stages—if the ratio of u n trained to trained teachers is to be reduced progressively. A n d fifth, medical education in its rate of growth appears to be lagging considerably behind other fields of professional education. In view of the i m p o r t a n c e of medical education to h u m a n capital, this is a critical area of development warranting m u c h greater attention t h a n it seems to have received in the past. T h e s e same remarks apply also to nursing education. T h e p e r f o r m a n c e of Pakistan's First and Second Five-Year Plans is reviewed below in reference to the plan targets by stages of education. PLAN PERFORMANCE AND TARGETS IN PRIMARY EDUCATION T h e targets in the First Plan were to establish 4 , 0 0 0 new primary schools and improve 6 , 0 0 0 existing primary schools, and increase the total enrollment by about 1 million. Actually, only 2 , 4 0 0 new primary schools were opened, thus achieving 60 per cent of the target. V e r y few schools were improved, however, and the increase

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in enrollment was only 440,000, or 44 per cent of the target, with the rate of annual increase being barely 2 per cent. The major causes of this unsatisfactory performance were, as mentioned earlier, the lack of advance planning, the delay of nearly two years in formal adoption of the plan, and also the drastic cut in the financial allocation because the actual available resources had fallen short of expectation. It appears that lack of experience in planning and also in implementing development programs of such considerable magnitude was another important factor. The administrative staff in the various departments of the government and the setup of their organization were not designed to handle development programs of this kind and scale. Furthermore, the personnel trained in operating the routine administration were not adequately oriented to the concept and goals of development, since the plan was launched late (about the middle of the projected plan period) and with very little preparation preceding it. The targets in the Second Plan are to open 15,000 new primary schools, to develop or improve 8,600 existing ones, and to raise enrollment by 2.5 million. These figures appear to be not so modest compared with the targets and performance of the First Plan. Achievement during the first two years (1960-62) is quite promising, if allowance is made for a slower rate of progress in the initial years of a plan period. Seven thousand new schools have been opened and 2,530 existing schools have been developed or improved, roughly 47 per cent and 30 per cent of the target, respectively. Enrollment has risen by 676,000; this is 25 per cent of the target, but 53 per cent more than the total increase during the entire First Plan period. The annual rate of growth is 7.2 per cent, as compared with 2 per cent in the First Plan period. It is likely that this rate will increase progressively from year to year as additional accommodations and teachers are made available under the plan. It should be stressed here that the supply of additional accommodation and teachers is a prerequisite of expansion, and hence tends to determine the rate of growth in enrollment. Even if the enrollment target of 2.5 million additional children is reached, it is not likely to raise the total enrollment to 60 per cent in 1964—65 from 42.3 per cent in 1959-60 because the census returns of 1961 show a change in the demographic trend with more children in the age group 6 - 1 0 years. Instead of 12 million children

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in this age group, as estimated in the Second Plan, there will be 15.0 million of them by the end of the plan period. 2 Even if the total enrollment rises by 2.5 million to 7.2 million during the plan period, the total number at school will not be more than 48 per cent of the total number in the age group 6-10, that is, 12 per cent less than envisaged in the plan. In Chapter 8, we shall discuss the implications of population growth for the educational objectives of universal primary education and extension of universal education beyond the primary stage, and also the special problem involved in accomplishing the task in respect to girls' education. PLAN PERFORMANCE A N D TARGETS EN SECONDARY EDUCATION

The performance of the First Plan in secondary education was remarkable quantitatively in that it far surpassed the targets. The number of secondary schools opened was 540 in place of the target number of 515, and the actual increase in enrollment was 233,000 against the target of 144,000, i.e., 62 per cent higher. But in spite of such fine performances, as noted earlier, it appears that the leeway to be made up in secondary education is considerable. The Second Plan target of increasing the enrollment in the secondary stage by 430,000—slightly less than double the actual increase achieved in the First Plan period—can in no way be regarded as overambitious or inappropriate. The increase in enrollment reported in the "Review of Progress," May, 1962, is 80,000 during the school year 1961-62, which is a little less than 20 per cent of the plan target. This apparently is due to the small size of the program for opening new schools and developing existing ones in the first year (1960-61) of the plan period. It seems it will be necessary to accelerate the annual rate of growth considerably if the plan target is to be reached. The First Plan envisaged a qualitative change in secondary education through the introduction of a multilateral program including courses in technical, commercial, and agricultural subjects. As is noted in the Second Plan itself, however, very little diversification took place during the First Plan period, nor was much done actually to improve the general quality of the educational program. 3 The Second Plan also aims at the diversification of the secondary school program. In addition, it adopted the following major objectives in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on

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National Education: (a) the transfer of the two years of intermediate college to the secondary stage, on the theory that the educational needs of boys and girls of this age can be better met by methods of education which are more appropriate for secondary schools than for colleges; (b) the general improvement of secondary schools through improvement of their accommodation, equipment, and teaching up to specific standards; (c) the introduction of a counseling and guidance program; (d) the provision of additional facilities for girl students; and (e) the founding of additional scholarships to ensure that the able students who cannot pay are assisted to further education. The first of these objectives was implemented as of July, 1960, with the transfer of academic control over the intermediate colleges from the universities to the Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education. Diversification of education is under way. Out of 220 high schools envisaged under the plan to offer diversified courses, about 67 appear to have been provided with additional accommodation, equipment, and staff necessary for the purpose. In addition, out of the 178 new high schools (including technical high schools) called for, 31 already have been established. Of the 1,340 high schools and 1,300 middle schools to be developed, work either is completed or partially completed in 915 schools. In addition, out of 1,160 primary and middle schools to be upgraded, work in 395 of them has been completed. The over-all performance in this sector is estimated at 30 per cent of the total target. Qualitative improvement, however, seems to hinge on several important issues besides physical development. Curriculum and textbooks, a supply of well-qualified and highly motivated teachers, the examination system, the setup for administration and supervision, and the general system of incentives and motivations within the educational structures all are crucial factors. PLAN PERFORMANCE A N D TARGETS IN TEACHER EDUCATION

Both plans rightly stress the critical importance of teacher education. The First Plan, however, did not succeed in raising the annual output of trained primary teachers. This number remained unchanged at 7,400 at the end of the plan period, though the total

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number of trained teachers increased from 60,000 (61 per cent of the total number in 1954-55) to 88,382 (72 per cent of the total number of primary teachers in 1959-60, the last year of the First Plan period). A welcome trend, started during this period, was to enlarge the size of training institutions so that each would raise its annual intake from 40 to 100 students. In some cases, this involved amalgamation of two or more units, resulting in a decrease in the total number of primary training institutes from 97 to 75 by the end of the plan period. Another important policy introduced under the First Plan was the raising of the basic qualification of primary school teachers. In East Pakistan, for example, the minimum qualification for new entrants was raised to matriculation, i.e., graduation from a high school after successful completion of ten years of schooling. The plan target for training teachers of secondary schools was missed very narrowly, since the annual output of trained teachers rose from 1,300 to 1,800 against the target of 1,840. Performance was only 40 teachers short of the plan. The Second Plan objectives are to supply 70,000 additional primary teachers, raising the total number of primary teachers to 193,310, and 8,625 undergraduate and 6,155 graduate secondary teachers, increasing the total number of secondary teachers to 67,064. 4 The revised plan specifies strengthening the teacher-education program by opening 35 new primary training institutes and expanding and improving 68 old ones, to raise the annual intake from 7,400 to 15,600 by the end of the plan period. In the field of teacher education for secondary teachers, the target is to establish or develop 18 teacher-training colleges to increase the intake from 1,800 to 3,135. The resulting increase in the number of trained teachers during the Second Plan period is estimated at 55,000 primary teachers and 12,000 secondary school teachers, representing about 80 per cent of the total number of additional teachers required. The full-time training of the 20 per cent balance is deferred to the Third Plan period, though it proposed that for the present these additional teachers be recruited through short courses of training at 55 Emergency Training Centers, the two Education Extension Centers, and also at the other teaching-training institutions during the vacations. In addition, the plan envisages the opening of one technical teacher-training college, three centers for training teachers of industrial

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arts, two centers for training teachers of agricultural arts, two centers for training teachers of commercial subjects, one new college of home economics, and one college of physical education. In order to meet the needs of advanced work and research in education, establishment of two Institutes of Education—at the universities of Dacca and Lahore—was also envisaged besides strengthening the Departments of Education at the universities of Sind, Peshaward, and Rajshahi. Both of these Institutes and two Education Extension Centers already have been established, and work was started on 56 primary training institutes and 17 teacher-training colleges. Of these projects, 15 have been completed and 4 are nearing completion. As a result, "the annual output of primary and secondary school teachers increased to 7,947 and 2,130, indicating an achievement of 51% and 68% respectively." 5 Implementation of the program in teacher education seems to be moving well ahead of schedule. This is likely to prove beneficial to the over-all program in education and, therefore, be conducive to the development goals. PLAN PERFORMANCE AND TARGETS IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION

The targets in the First Plan were to establish two engineering colleges, two polytechnics and one monotechnic institute, and turn out annually an additional 350 engineers and subengineers. Actual performance fell far short of these targets. Only one polytechnic institute actually was completed, with little or no improvement in the existing engineering colleges and technical institutes. The total output of engineers and subengineers was raised only by 125 and 350, respectively. The program in the field of technical education under the Second Plan has been designed with a view to quantitative expansion and qualitative improvement to correct the basic deficiencies in this vital area of manpower training. The plan called for extension of the duration of the degree course in engineering to four years throughout the nation, as recommended by the Commission on National Education; general improvement of staff, accommodation, equipment, laboratories, and workshops; establishment of two universities of engineering and technology, two colleges of engineering; and introduction of new courses—for example, in metallurgy, mineralogy, ceramics, petroleum engineering—considered essential for accelerat-

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ing economic growth. T h e annual output was to rise f r o m 4 0 0 to 7 0 0 by 1965. A t the diploma and certificate level ( f o r supervisors), the plan targets were to introduce courses in such new fields as electrical installations, gas technology, p a p e r technology, boatbuilding and small craft design, navigation, printing trades, architectural craftsmanship, instrument making and repair, and building trades, including m a s o n r y and brickwork, slating, tiling, and concrete construction. T h e existing technical institutes were to be strengthened, two of t h e m to be converted into polytechnics; in addition, two new polytechnic institutes and institutes of graphic arts and industrial design were to be established. Development of 29 polytechnic and technical institutes was envisaged to raise the output to 1,725 annually. T h e two universities already have been established by the conversion of Ahsanullah Engineering College at D a c c a and the engineering college at L a h o r e , and 13 technical institutes have been partially developed. A n n u a l admissions at the degree and diploma levels rose to 7 5 2 and 1,476 against the plan targets of 1,405 and 3,900, and the o u t p u t at the two levels rose to 5 2 6 and 906, respectively, against the plan targets of 7 0 0 and 1,725, indicating very satisfactory progress. PLAN PERFORMANCE AND TARGETS IN HIGHER EDUCATION T h e m a i n objectives of the First Plan in higher education were the unification and integration of the institutions of higher education within a system in which the universities would assume the position of leadership in preserving and promoting educational standards and values. T h e concept in the abstract sense certainly has considerable merit, b u t the measures proposed for its translation into practice do not seem to go far enough. T h e most significant among the specific recommendations was the appointment of a National University G r a n t s Commission and a Provincial University Grants Committee. This recommendation has not been implemented, though within the f r a m e w o r k of the existing structure, considerable development was achieved in the field of higher education through improvement and expansion of the existing universities and colleges and establishment of new colleges. T h e provisions of the Second P l a n seem to be guided by the report of the Commission on National E d u c a t i o n in regard to higher

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education. The key concept is that higher education has the role not only of training an increasingly larger number of persons in an increasing number of specialities, but more importantly of training honest and dutiful leaders in government and the professions with initiative and drive and also of assisting in the extension of the frontiers of knowledge through research. The standard demanded in this regard—namely, excellence in quality comparable to that of any of the universities in the advanced countries—was indeed a great challenge for Pakistan, implying the highest emphasis on quality. This is a goal that calls for sustained effort over a period of time much longer than five years. It also demands almost radical reforms in the traditional system of higher education. The program in the Second Plan may be regarded as an essential first step, through the consolidation of the existing colleges and universities, and the establishment of new universities, two general, two technical, and two agricultural. An important effect of this development is expected to be a curtailment in the affiliating and examining function of the universities, which has proved to be a serious impediment to the normal functioning and growth of both the universities and the colleges. The improvements contemplated in the Second Plan are also expected to create the foundation of "potential university centers" by initiating the necessary process of development of selected colleges into such centers as recommended by the Commission on National Education. The two engineering and agricultural universities already have been set up. In addition, out of 55 new intermediate and 4 degree colleges to be opened, and 53 intermediate and 100 degree colleges to be developed, 1 degree college and 15 intermediate colleges have been completed, and work on 16 intermediate and 65 degree colleges is in progress. The improvement of the existing universities, for which substantial funds are provided, is making satisfactory progress. This is indicated by the utilization of funds and by physical improvement in the form of additional accommodation, study rooms for teachers, laboratories, expansion of libraries, hostels, and staff housing. PLAN PERFORMANCE AND TARGETS IN TRAINING TEACHERS ABROAD

This program is closely related to that of the development of higher education. Its objective is to improve the professional com-

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petence of the existing staff and also provide additional qualified staff for colleges and universities by training abroad in those fields where facilities of education at an advanced level do not yet exist within Pakistan itself. The program in progress envisages the training of 320 persons during the plan period. This supplements other foreign training programs, the provisions and size of which naturally depend on the facilities that can be offered by a host country from year to year. PLAN PERFORMANCE AND TARGETS IN ART, CULTURE, AND SPORTS

Recognizing the importance of literary, artistic, and cultural activities to a nation's progress, the Second Plan has included a modest program in these fields. The establishment of libraries and museums is projected, including science museums, two public libraries, one national library in Karachi, and a number of other libraries, including mobile lending libraries. The two public libraries, one at Chittagong and the other at Khulna, are nearing completion. In addition, the National College of Arts at Lahore and the College of Arts and Crafts at Dacca are under further improvement. PLAN PERFORMANCE AND TARGETS IN INTERNAL SCHOLARSHIPS

A notable feature of the Second Plan is the inclusion of a scheme of scholarships. The aim is to equalize the opportunities of education and also ensure that able children shall not be denied the opportunity of further education because of their inability to pay. This scheme, estimated to cost 46.5 million rupees during the plan period, is in operation, and supplements the already existing systems of scholarships. It is expected to serve as a keystone in implementing the major reforms recommended by the Commission on National Education, not only by removing the economic barriers to education, but also by providing an inducement to talented boys and girls to elect those areas of education which are of critical importance to development. PLAN PERFORMANCE AND TARGETS IN ADULT EDUCATION

Both plans stressed the important role of adult education in meeting the social and economic objectives of development. The First Plan, while recognizing the goals of adult education as stated in

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the 1952 report of the U N E S C O F u n d a m e n t a l Mission to Pakistan as sound, felt that "the Village A I D p r o g r a m m e is the vehicle by which these goals of f u n d a m e n t a l education can be reached in our rural areas." 6 T h e First Plan f u r t h e r proposed that a similar program for the u r b a n areas should be taken u p under the social welfare sector. Following the recommendation of the Commission on N a tional Education, the Second Plan proposed that the newly created institutions of Basic Democracies and Village A I D should operate the adult education program while the educational system should provide for training the teachers and supplying teaching aids and reading material. T h e program of the First P l a n was making rather slow progress owing to several weaknesses in the scheme. As stated in the Second P l a n : " T h e efforts of adult literacy workers have been limited by a n u m b e r of factors: they were not effectively employed for more t h a n two or three hours in the evening; they could not arrange classes for m o r e than one village at a time; and they could not supply the new literates with adequate reading material." T h e program for all practical purposes ceased to operate with the abolition of the Village A I D in the second year of the Second Plan period. Adult education can yield productive results within the shortest possible time, as we said earlier, since the lead-time is not as long as in other sectors of education. It also has an important bearing on other development programs. This is, therefore, an area of education that should f o r m an integral part of the educational program. In East Pakistan, the responsibility f o r adult education has been vested recently in the E d u c a t i o n D e p a r t m e n t under a scheme that is part of the province's plan for educational development. This is a move clearly in the right direction. PAKISTAN'S SECOND FIVE-YEAR PLAN General Observations. T h e Second P l a n is only in the third year of the plan period at the time of o u r writing. T h e latest available review of progress was issued by the Planning Commission in J u n e , 1963, covering not even two full years of performance. T h u s , a p r o p e r evaluation of the plan is not feasible at this stage. F r o m the evidence of progress m a d e so f a r , as discussed above, it can be said that the Second Plan shows promise of greater success than the First

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Plan. Quantitatively, the achievement of the Second Plan even in the initial two years is remarkable, for it is well ahead of the schedule in certain areas such as teacher education and technical education. The Second Plan is characterized by new features, in concept as well as program, reflecting the educational reforms recommended by the Commission on National Education. The Second Plan profited from the experience of its predecessor and hence succeeded in avoiding the pitfalls that had placed the First Plan in jeopardy right from the beginning. Planning data were collected with much greater care, planning work started well in advance, and measures were adopted to improve the machinery both for planning and implementation. The following observation from the "Review of Progress in 1961-62" is significant: "The year 1961-62 marks the coming of age of Pakistan's planning machinery just as the First Five-Year Plan initiated, however tentatively, development operations on a national scale. The running-in period is over. The basis for further and more rapid progress has been laid, and the necessary administrative instruments forged." 7 The Second Plan has much stronger financial backing than was available for the First Plan. The allocation in education per head of population was doubled, i.e., 14 rupees per head in the Second Plan as against 7 rupees in the First. This small budget as well as the uncertainty in the availability of funds accounted for the faltering progress of the First Plan. The distribution of funds available in the public sector in the Second Plan shows greater balance, as is shown in the following comparative statement of the two plans' total allocation, to the different areas of education, including both capital outlay and current or recurring outlay.

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PLAN ALLOCATION (INCLUDING RECURRENT EXPENDITURE) (in million rupees)

AREA OF EDUCATION

FIRST PLAN (REVISED)

Amount

(2) (J) Primary 105 Secondary 155 Teacher training 38 Colleges 68 Universities 87 Technical 50 Social, cultural, scientific, and industrial research, technical training centers 77 580

First Plan Second Plan

Percentage of Total

SECOND PLAN

Amount

P e r c e n t a g e ( 4 ) EXPRESSED

of Total

in Percentage of (2)

(3)

(4)

18.10 26.73 6.55 11.72 15.00 8.62

328 290 50 55 135 182

(5) 24.79 21.93 3.78 4.14 10.21 13.75

(6) 312.0 188.0 131.0 80.9 155.2 364.0

13.29 100.01

283 1,323

21.40 100.00

367 228%

RATIO OF EDUCATION SECTOR ALLOCATION TO TOTAL PLAN

PER CAPITA ALLOCATION INCLUDING PER HEAD OF

ALLOCATION

POPULATION

7.7% (5.4% of actual outlay),Rs. 7.0 (including recurring expenditure) 7.6% (capital outlay only)* Rs. 14.0 (including recurrent expenditure)"

* This subsequently declined to 4% because the share of the education sector in the increase in the total plan allocation was considerably less than proportionate. 1 This rose slightly because of subsequent increase in allocation (to about Rs. 14.8 per head).

The most significant difference in the Second Plan allocation is the more than threefold increase in allocation for primary education and technical education. Both increases are well justified. The allocation for primary education was raised to 24.79 per cent of the total allocation for the education sector in the Second Plan from a meager 18.10 per cent in the First Plan. Much of the increase apparently came out of the share of secondary education, which was reduced to 21.93 per cent from 26.73 per cent. This represents a rather drastic change in emphasis, and needs to be reviewed if the rate of growth in secondary education is to keep pace with that in teacher education and higher education. While the increase in allocation for technical education from 8.62 per cent in the First Plan to 13.75 per cent is an improvement, the increase in allocation for social and cultural activities, scientific and industrial research, technical training centers, scholarships and other schemes, from 13.28

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per cent to 21.40 per cent (in absolute amounts, nearly a fourfold increase) seems to be out of proportion, since the total amount actually earmarked for scholarships, scientific and industrial research, and technical training is only

144.8 million rupees, i.e.,

slightly over half the allocation in that entire category. A t the same time, the allocation for colleges was reduced from 11.72 per cent of the allocation in the First Plan to 4.14 per cent in the Second. In absolute amounts, while all other areas of education gained from the over-all increase in the Second Plan allocation, college education actually suffered a loss since the amount available for it under the Second Plan was only 55 million rupees, or 80.9 per cent of the allocation of 68 million rupees under the First Plan. Weaknesses of the Second

Plan.

T h e manner of allocation of

resources to various areas of education indicates one of the major weaknesses in planning. Meeting the needs in the most critical areas of education must be based on the interrelatedness of the various stages of education (discussed in Chapter 5 ) . This concept of interrelatedness is not yet fully reflected in the determination of priorities within the sector of education. Another weakness of the Second Plan is the exclusion of all current outlay (recurrent expenditure) from development expenditure. A passing reference was made earlier to this significant departure from the concept of development expenditure in the First Plan which rightly included both capital and current outlay needed for development. The greatest threat to the successful implementation of the Second Plan lies in the highly incongruous situation that the funds required for current outlay, though well indicated in the plan, do not form an integral part of the plan allocation. A s a result, while a scheme is well assured of the availability of funds required for capital outlay—once it has received the approval of the National Economic Council ( o r the Provincial Planning Authority, as prescribed for schemes costing 5 million rupees or less)—the same is not true of the current outlay, which is left to the provincial governments to be met out of their own funds. A n inevitable consequence is that both the size of the current outlay and hence of the personnel required to operate a development project are determined by what is anticipated to be the state of finance of the provincial government in a particular fiscal year. A s a result, if the provincial finance so warrants, the personnel ex-

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penditure and other recurrent outlay as actually sanctioned by the provincial government may be substantially less than the provisions in the scheme as originally approved, or in some cases such sanction may be considerably delayed. Thus, the availability of the most important factor in education and in the creation of human capital, namely, the teaching personnel, appears to be the least certain element under the Second Plan. This problem, let us emphasize strongly, is distinct from the delay caused by the manner in which financial controls are exercised or by the system of expenditure authorization by the Finance Department prior to commitment of budget appropriations. The latter problems and delays are easy to remedy, and corrective action already is under way. It may be argued that the commitment of the provincial governments to the recurrent component of the cost of development was implicit in the way a given scheme was processed by the Central Planning Commission through each provincial government. As a matter of fact, the source from which the capital and current outlays are met is not as significant as the need to recognize that current outlay on a development project is an integral part of development cost and must be assured in the same degree and manner as the capital outlay called for in a plan. Otherwise, even the capital outlay may prove wasteful, with consequent setbacks to the progress and goals of development. In this connection, the following remarks of the Pakistan Commission on National Education are appropriate: "We do not build factories in the hope that once they are completed we will be able somehow to find the machinery necessary to operate them. Indeed the machinery is planned with the building. It is difficult to understand why we do not also plan for the personnel required to operate and maintain such projects." 8 If the progress in implementing Pakistan's program for educational development under the Second Plan shows that the investment in human factors—which are the very heart of any educational program—is not commensurate in some instances with the investment in buildings, plants, and equipment, this is an outcome of the plan's concept of development expenditure that excluded the recurrent component of development cost. There are portents of modification of this concept, fortunately, as indicated by the inclusion of recurring cost in the total development cost of projects approved more

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183

recently, such as the Agricultural University, the Engineering University, and a few others.

India's Educational Plans India's three development plans cover the five-year periods 1 9 5 1 56, 1956-61, and 1961-66. An index of the relative importance attached to the different areas of education in these plans is provided by the distribution of development outlay on education as shown in the following table: DISTRIBUTION OF OUTLAY BY AREA OF EDUCATION (in million rupees)

OUTLAY

Area of Education

PERCENTAGE

First Plan

Second Plan

Third Plan

First Plan

850 200

870 480

2,090 880

140 200 50 90

450 480 40 240

1,530 Per capita development outlay on education per head of population (in rupees) . 4.2

Primary Secondary University (and college) Technical Social Other programs

TO T O T A L

Second Plan

Third Plan

56 13

34 19

37 16

820 1,420 60 330

9 13 3 6

17 19 2 9

15 25 1 6

2,560

5,600

100

100

100

6.4

12.7

In absolute amounts, the distribution reflects an increasing allocation for the education sector. In the Third Plan, as we noted before, the education allocation rose to 7.4 per cent from 7 per cent of the total plan allocation in the First Plan, and was 218 per cent of the Second Plan allocation for education. The total plan allocation of the Third Plan was only 163 per cent of the total Second Plan allocation. Allocation for education in the Second Plan appears to have suffered a setback in that it was reduced to 6.4 per cent of the total allocation (and only 5.5 per cent of the actual development outlay) in the Second Plan. The Third Plan allocation, however, marks more than a recovery for the education sector, as shown by the per capita allocation which rose to 12.7 rupees as compared with 4.2 rupees in the First Plan and 6.4 rupees in the Second.

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It is interesting to note that India's First Plan also fell short of its target of 28.8 million students (i.e., 60 per cent of all children in the age group 6 - 1 1 years) in primary education by about 4 million. The target in the Second Plan was to raise primary enrollment to 32.54 million or 62.37 per cent of the children of school age. This was a relatively modest target compared with that of the First Plan, but it was realistic in view of the allocation of resources earmarked for primary education. Apparently this was based on an underestimate of the probable increase in population, so that though in the number of children enrolled the target was reached, nevertheless the percentage of children of school age covered appears to be 61.1 per cent, i.e., 1.27 per cent short of the target. The target in the Third Plan is not so modest. Its aim is to raise enrollment to 496.4 million or 76.4 per cent of the children of school age. This is commensurate with the considerably larger allocation provided for primary education. The targets set for the secondary level appear to have been fulfilled under India's Second Plan. The allocation of resources shows a sharply rising trend in emphasis on technical education, and understandably so. For all intents and purposes, the trend has been steadily rising in the other areas of education as well—except in the case of primary education, where a decline in the trend of emphasis in the Second Plan was followed by a rise again in the Third Plan. The over-all progress made by India in the development of education since the introduction of the five-year plans and the targets of the Third Plan are shown in the table at the top of p. 185. The annual average rates of growth in enrollment in the different stages of education appear to be as follows:

FIRST

PLAN

PERIOD

Primary Middle Secondary Higher

6.0% 7.0% 1.1% 15.0%

SECOND

PLAN

PERIOD

6.0% 9.4% 1.1% 8.4%

The rate of growth in primary enrollment has remained steady at 6 per cent annually. This rate will have to be accelerated suffi-

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INDIA'S PROGRESS IN EDUCATIONAL D E V E L O P M E N T SINCE T H E INTRODUCTION OF FIVE-YEAR P L A N S A N D TARGETS OF THE T H I R D P L A N STAGE

AND

AGE-CROUP

1950-51 (In

1955-56 millions)

1960-61

1965-66 TARGETS

Primary (6-11 years) Enrollment P e r c e n t a g e of age group

19.15 42.6%

25.17 52.9%

34.34 61.1%

49.64 76.4%

Middle (11-14 years) Enrollment P e r c e n t a g e of age group

3.12 12.7%

4.29 16.5%

6.29 22.8%

9.75 28.6%

1.22 5.3%

1.88 7.8%

2.91 11.5%

4.56 15.6%

23.49 25.4%

31.34 32.1%

43.54 39.9%

63.95 50.1%

S e c o n d a r y ( 1 6 - 1 7 years) Enrollment P e r c e n t a g e of age group T o t a l ( 6 - 1 7 years) Enrollment Percentage

(In t h o u s a n d s ) University stage ( 1 7 - 2 3 years) Enrollment Percentage E n r o l l m e n t in science classes E n r o l l m e n t in science classes as p e r c e n t a g e of total enrollment N u m b e r of Arts, Science, and Commerce colleges Universities

360 0.9% 140 38.1% 542 27

634 1.5% 210

900 1.8% 323

33.0%

35.8%

772 32

1,050 46

1.300 2.4% 553 42.5% 1,400 58

ciently if the target for the Third Plan and the goal of universal primary education by 1976 are to be reached. The middle stage of education shows a substantial gain in the rate of growth—as it should if the ground is to be prepared for achieving India's goal of extension of universal education up to the middle stage by 1981. In view of the high incidence of unemployment among the educated, estimated at nearly one million in the Third Plan, 9 the decline in the rate of growth in higher education enrollments is not a cause for concern. But the rate of growth in the secondary stage which has remained steady appears to be disproportionately low, and indicates one of the weakest areas in the development of education. In order to attain the target set for the secondary stage of education in the Third Plan, the annual rate of growth in enrollment will have to be increased almost ten times. In the fixing of plan priorities, secondary education seems to have been under-

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Education

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emphasized. In any event, the plan allocation for this stage of education is inconsistent with the rather ambitious target set for this stage in the Third Plan. In the field of teacher education, the ratio of trained to untrained teachers has risen from 59 to 65 per cent in primary schools, from 53 to 65 per cent in middle schools, and from 54 to 68 per cent in high schools. "These figures suggest that progress in providing trained teachers has not been on an adequate scale. As a result of the more intensive programmes proposed for the Third Plan, the proportion of trained teachers in each category is expected to rise to about 7 5 % . " 10 The distinctive features of the educational program under India's Third Plan include (a) provision of residential quarters for women teachers, special allowances to women teachers working in rural areas, condensed educational courses for adult women in order to meet the shortage in the supply of women teachers, and appointment of school mothers in co-educational institutions in the primary stage; ( Z j ) conversion of high schools into higher secondary schools, development of multipurpose high schools, provision of educational and vocational guidance in the secondary stage, and other reforms in accordance with the recommendations of the Secondary Education Commission; and (c) expansion of facilities for science education in both the secondary and the higher stages of education. The conversion of high schools into higher secondary schools cannot move faster than the requirements can be met for additional accommodation, equipment, and staff. The prevailing trend seems to be for the rate of conversion to be outpaced by the rate of increase in the number of high schools. For example, whereas during the first two plan periods 3,121 higher secondary institutions were established, the number of high schools during the same period rose from 7,288 to nearly 16,600. The controversy over the relative merits of eleven-year secondary schooling as opposed to twelveyear secondary schooling followed by a three-year degree course seems to have been reopened following the announcement in 1963 by the Union Ministry of Education of its policy to support twelveyear secondary schools and the recommendation of the ViceChancellors' Conference in the summer of the same year for the introduction of three-year degree courses after twelve years of schooling.

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187

The provision for scholarships is substantially increased in the Third Plan, with 251 million rupees earmarked for new scholarships open to all groups. 11 Progress in the field of technical education and the targets for the Third Plan period are summarized below: DEGREE

Year

1950-51 1955-56 1960-61 1965-66

(Target)

COURSES

N u m b e r of I n t a k e institutions Capacity 49 65 100 117

4,120 5,890 13,860 19,140

DIPLOMA

Output

COURSES

N u m b e r of I n t a k e institutions Capacity

2.200 4,020 5,700 12,000

86 114 196 263

5,900 10.480 25,570 37,390

Output

2,480 4,500 8,000 19,000

The rate of growth in technical education is undoubtedly striking, with a faster rate of growth in the diploma courses as it should be. The rate of increase in output, impressive as it has been, will have to be stepped up even further if the requirements for technically trained personnel are to be fully met. The requirements for such personnel with degrees were estimated at 29,400 for the Second Plan, 51,000 for the Third Plan, and 80,000 for the Fourth Plan, whereas those with diplomas were estimated at 55,800, 100,000, and 125,000, respectively. 12 Technical education is likely to remain a critical area demanding special attention in the next plan also. The Third Plan includes a provision of 250 million rupees in all for social education, which "comprises literacy, health, recreation and home life for adults, training in citizenship and guidance in improving economic efficiency." 13 Better progress is expected under the Third Plan than was achieved between 1951 and 1961. During this period, literacy increased only by 7 per cent from 17 per cent in 1951 to 24 per cent in 1961. Proposals for a large-scale program of adult literacy are understood to be under preparation by the Ministry of Education in consultation with the Ministry of Community Development and Co-operation.

Educational

Planning in Indonesia

The general educational structure of Indonesia has five tiers, as shown in Diagram 3: ( 7 ) kindergarten for children below 6 years

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Education

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of age; (2) primary school of grades 1-6, covering the age range 6-12 years; (3) junior high school of grades 7-9, covering the age DIAGRAM 3 THE EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE OF INDONESIA GRADES

XVI XV XIV

Higher Education

XIII XII XI

Senior High School (Grades X-XII)

X IX VIII

Junior High School (Grades VII-IX)

VII VI V IV

Primary School (Grades I-VI)

III II I Kindergarten

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Asia

189

range 12-15 years; (4) senior high school of grades 10-12, covering the age range 15-18 years; and ( 5 ) higher education beyond the age of 18 years. Prior to the launching in 1961 of the eight-year plan for educational development, which formed an integral part of the "Eight-Year National Over-all Development Plan," the Ministry of Education had carried out a ten-year program of development in the field of education during 1950-60. The achievements of this program are summarized in the following table:

AVERAGE ANNUAL STAGE

1950-51

OF

EDUCATION

Primary Junior secondary Senior s e c o n d a r y Higher

education

level level

1958-59 (in m i l l i o n s )

4.980 .116 .028 (1953-54) .017

1960-61

OF

RATE

CROYVTH

(percentage)

7.380 .580 .102

8.955 NA NA

8 50 33

.046

NA

33

The rates of annual growth in all the areas of education above the primary stage appear to be extremely satisfactory. The rate of growth in the primary stage, though not in itself unsatisfactory, will have to be stepped up by over 50 per cent in order to achieve universal education set as the eight-year plan target. This will involve raising the enrollment from 8.955 million children in 1960-61 to 18.746 million in 1968-69. This means an increase of 1.224 million students annually on the average, which presents a formidable challenge in terms of additional accommodation and teachers to be provided. At present the country has 150,081 classrooms, half of which are reported to be inadequate. During the plan period of eight years, the number of additional classrooms needed is estimated at 315,519, or 39,450 annually. The number of additional teachers required is estimated at 276,000, or 34,500 annually. The total cost of the program during eight years is estimated at 63,039.1 million rupiahs. This appears to be far in excess of the total allocation for the education sector in the National Over-all Development Plan. The allocation for education is 7.42 per cent of the total plan allocation of 240 billion rupiahs.

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Education and Development Strategy

Adult literacy is an area in which Indonesia has made significant progress. In the population group between the ages of 13 and 45 years, the percentage of illiterates was 79 prior to independence. Illiteracy was reduced to 40 per cent by 1960. Undoubtedly this is a remarkable achievement within a period of ten years, particularly when the population in this age group increased from 42.4 million in 1951 to 49.87 million in 1960. In combating illiteracy, the Department of Mass Education used the villages as units, setting up a committee for each village; so far 3,000 such committees are in operation, rendering effective service in the implementation of the reading program. The system of teacher education in Indonesia has been going through a process of change and development in the light of experience gained. In order to cope with the acute teacher shortage under the ten-year program, two emergency schemes were put into operation. One of them provided for a four-year course of training based mainly on weekly lessons by correspondence issued by a special Board of Teacher Training (Balai Kursus Pendidikan Guru) in Bandung. Under the second scheme, a one-year course beyond the junior high school level was offered and a hundred such courses were organized. In 1952, both of these types of training were converted into a conventional Junior Teacher-Training School (called "SGB") when teachers with relatively better qualifications—although still below the standard qualifications—were available. These Junior Training Schools were closed in 1956 since they were considered inadequate. Also, there was a growing feeling that there should be only one type of teacher-training school comparable in level to senior high school. As a result, the Senior Teacher-Training Schools, in existence since 1950, received a new impetus. They began to grow in number, so that by 1961 there were 120 such schools. For preparation of kindergarten teachers, eleven training institutions were set up in 1961. With the object of improving the professional competence of teachers, in-service training courses were established in the institutions known as the Kursus Guru A or " K G A " and the Kursus Lisan Persamaan SGB. Special training courses in craft, agriculture, husbandry, and community work also were instituted in the form of three pilot projects. This new movement seems to have become very popular. The target in the new Eight-Year National

National Plans for Development in South and Southeast Asia

191

Development Plan is to raise the number of Senior Teacher-Training Schools to 150, with an estimated annual intake increasing to 10,000. This, however, seems to be only a fraction of the need if the eight-year program of compulsory universal primary education is to be carried out successfully. The progress made in the development of technical education under the ten-year program just preceding the new eight-year plan is shown in this table:

AVERAGE TYPE OF

INSTITUTION

1950-51

1958-59

ANNUAL OF

RATE

GROWTH

(percentage) Junior Junior Junior Senior Senior

technical schools commercial schools domestic science schools technical schools commercial schools

4,001 1.767 5,167 997 915

46,144 32,152 28,856 6,225 12,546

131 215 57 65 159

The rates of growth in technical education are striking. (The rate, as we may notice, is much higher at the lower and commercial levels.) The manpower needs of such a large developing country as Indonesia naturally demand further strengthening of this critical area of education, particularly at the upper and degree levels. In the Indonesian educational system, higher education as a whole appears to be the least developed area compared with the progress made in other areas of education. The distribution of enrolled students in 1958-59 at three different levels indicated that enrollment in institutions of higher education was as low as 0.6 per cent of the total enrollment as compared with 10 per cent in secondary schools and 89.4 per cent in primary schools. The number enrolled in the faculties of natural sciences and engineering taken together was less than one-fifth of the total enrollment in higher education in 1956. In view of the important relationship between higher education and the supply of a nation's needs for critical manpower, particularly in the early stages of development, the strengthening of higher education in Indonesia seems to warrant greater attention than it received in the past, with appropriate emphasis on sciences and technology.

192

Education

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Educational

Strategy

Planning in the

Philippines

T h e educational system of the Philippines is organized in three major stages:

(1)

the

elementary

stage,

including

grades

1-4,

k n o w n as primary, and grades 5 and 6, k n o w n as intermediate; (2)

the secondary stage, covering grades 7 - 1 0 ; and

(J)

higher

education b e y o n d grade 10. This third stage has m a n y interesting features. First, higher education is offered in

non-degree-granting

colleges as well as in degree-granting public and private colleges and universities. Second, the overwhelming majority of students receiving higher education are enrolled in private universities and colleges. This is a distinctive feature of the educational system in the Philippines without any parallel in the region of South Asia.

A

schematic representation of the structure of education in the Philippines is given in Diagram 4 . DIAGRAM 4 THE EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE

PHILIPPINES

A G E IN YEARS

7

I

I

8

9

I

10

I

11

I

12

I

13

I

I 15 I

14

16

2 , 3 , 4 General High School

Primary GRADES

1

Intermediate

2

I

3

I

4

Secondary Trade School

I

17

I

18

19

I

2 0

I

21

I

2 2

University of the Philippines (state university)

Non-degree-granting colleges

Degree-granting public colleges

Vocational High School

Secondary Agricultural School

Private universities and colleges

A s m e n t i o n e d in the preceding chapter, the Philippines did not h a v e any program for the d e v e l o p m e n t of education as an integral

National

Plans

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Southeast

Asia

193

part of a national plan for over-all development until the launching of the new Five-Year Socio-Economic Program in 1963. Yet, the country appears to have made remarkable progress in education during the decade of the 1950's, as shown in the following table. 14

ENROLLMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES,

1951-61 AVERAGE ANNUAL

STACE

OF

EDUCATION'

Elementary (Grades 1 - 4 ) Secondary (Grades 7-10) Higher Education (beyond G r a d e 10)

1960-61 1951-52 (in millions)

OF

RATE

GROWTH

(percentage!

3.90* 4.14

8

.61" .71"

1.7

.25

3.9

.18

' I n c l u d e s e n r o l l m e n t in k i n d e r g a r t e n schools, b I n c l u d e s enrollment in vocational secondary schools.

The rates of growth are very significant considered in the context of what already has been accomplished in elementary and higher education. On the basis of the United Nations projections, the population of the Philippines is estimated at 28.727 million in 1962. 15 Children in the age group 6 - 1 2 years are estimated to number 4.8 million at 18 per cent of the total population and 5.6 million at 20 per cent of the total population, so that the proportion of children of compulsory school age that remains to be covered is only 13.7 per cent according to the lower estimate and 26 per cent according to the higher estimate. If the present rate of growth is just maintained, it should be possible for the country to reach the lower figure in three years, and the higher figure in five years, making allowance for population increase at 2 per cent per annum. The Philippines does not have to cope with the special problem relating to the enrollment of girls of school age, who almost equal the boys in number as normally enrolled. The ratio of enrollment in the elementary stage to total enrollment is 81 per cent, compared with 15 per cent in the secondary stage and 4 per cent in the higher stage of education. The large percentage in the elementary stage is accounted for primarily by the

194

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excellent progress made in covering the children of primary school age. Another contributing factor is the slower rate of growth in the secondary stage of education, which seems to be lagging behind the rate of growth in higher education. In future plans for development, therefore, it may be necessary to raise secondary education in the order of priority compared with higher education. Quantitatively, the achievement of the Philippines in the field of higher education is comparable to that of the countries which have made the most advance in higher education. If higher education has not made a comparable contribution to the country's development, the explanation seems to lie in the fact that such critical areas of higher education as natural sciences, engineering, and agriculture have not received the emphasis warranted by the country's need for high-level manpower. In 1957, for example, out of a total enrollment of 249,563 students in institutions of higher education, as many as 119,910 (i.e., nearly half) were in social sciences, 12,000 were in law, 37,053 were in humanities, and 2,905 were in fine arts, as against only 1,487 in natural sciences, and 73,726 (i.e., about 29 per cent) in engineering, medicine, and agriculture taken together. 18 The maladjustment within the field of higher education is indicated also by the fact that "the products of the universities in the Philippines themselves constitute a large group of educated unemployed." 17 Corrective measures are now under way. The relative emphasis placed on the different areas of education can be seen in the manner of distribution of additional outlay under the five-year plan (excluding expenditure in foreign currency) :

ADDITIONAL

( i n million Elementary education General secondary education Agricultural education Industrial education ( i n c l u d i n g trades) Fishery education H o m e industries education A d u l t training Chartered schools University of M i n d a n a o Textbook printing

OUTLAY

pesos)

385.300 31.080 54.325 37.750 31.430 3.860 1.250 4.725 35.333 71.500 656.553

National

Plans for Development

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Asia

195

In 1963, the current expenditure of the Philippines on education incurred by the national government alone was 482,542,450 pesos. This amounts to a little over 4 per cent of the national income (1961). The percentage is reduced to 3 per cent if the expenditure in fiscal year 1961 is compared with the national income in the same year, but actually it is apt to be higher if the expenditures on education by the provincial governments, municipalities, and other agencies are taken into consideration. (The data for the provincial city and municipal expenditures were not available.) In any event, next to Japan this represents the highest ratio of public expenditure on education to national income in the region of South and Southeast Asia. Among the measures adopted to improve the quality of education in the Philippines, the "community school" project in which the curriculum is designed to help improve the living conditions of the whole community has achieved notable success. 18 This has been acknowledged by many educators outside the Philippines, for the basic philosophy and methods underlying the community school concept are applicable in most developing countries. Another measure to be strengthened and extended under the new five-year plan is the "elementary education improvement project," under which the courses in selected elementary schools are enriched, particularly in language arts, science, industrial arts, and home economics. Vocational education, which is a special feature of the educational system of the Philippines in the secondary stage, also is to be strengthened under the new plan, by expansion and improvement of the existing 77 agricultural and rural high schools offering vocational agriculture, 70 vocational trade schools, and 24 fishery schools, as well as by expansion of the facilities for teacher education in the field of industrial arts. The program of community education and adult training, which has already covered 75 per cent of the age group 14-17 years, is also proposed to be further expanded to train adults and out-ofschool youths in occupational skills, health practices, and citizenship. Unfortunately, the allocation does not appear to be commensurate with the important goals set for this program. In the field of higher education, the most notable measure envisaged in the plan is the development of advanced research facilities

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at the University of the Philippines, the country's national university, as well as at four chartered colleges, including the Mindanao Institute of Technology and the Mindanao Agricultural College. Development of the University of Mindanao also is planned, to provide special impetus to the economic and social development of the region served by this university, namely, the islands of Mindanao. One feature of the new five-year educational plan of the Philippines which stands out prominently is the emphasis laid on improvement in quality. The weight assigned to quality is to a considerable extent indicated by the proportion of capital outlay to the additional outlay on operation and maintenance, which works out to 37 and 63 per cent, respectively, of the total outlay. T h e soundness of such an approach hardly can be stressed enough. In spite of its remarkable expansion of education, the Philippines appears to be plagued no less than the other countries in the region by the problem of quality in education. The Philippines seems to share with other countries in the region—of course, in varying degrees—such problems as uncreative curricula, lack of suitable textbooks, and wastage in education. These problems exist not only in the school stage, but even in higher education as indicated by the ratio of the number actually graduating to the number entering the colleges (about 57 per cent).

Chinese Development

and Education

Plans

Though China (mainland) was not included in the present study, mainly because of the non-availability of adequate data, it is appropriate to include some of Frederick Harbison's observations here. This well-known American specialist in h u m a n resource development has made a recent study of China. His remarks shed some light on the place assigned to education in China's national plans for development: China . . . also is a partly developed country. Its educational enrollment ratios are much like Colombia's: it enrolls about 40% of the population in elementary schools, 14% in secondary schools, and 1% in higher education. But there the resemblance ends. The mere statistics in this case give little indication of the size and intensity of China's educational effort and progress. The Communist government of mainland China has organized an all-

National

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197

out program to train and mobilize manpower. In the nine years between 1950 and 1959, China increased its enrollment in elementary schools three-fold, in secondary schools nine-fold and higher education six-fold. Today the country has 100 million students in school—more than the combined totals of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. It is turning out threefourths as many engineers as the U.S. and ranks third in the world in this respect after the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. in that order. Perhaps the most remarkable statistic giving the measure of China's effort is that of the country's present 250,000 scientists and engineers; 90% have been trained since the Communist government came to power in 1949. Once a land of philosophers, artists and peasants, China is being transformed into a nation of technocrats. Its Confucian sages have been replaced by scientists, engineers and industrial managers. Its educational program is geared mainly to industrialization. . . . China seeks to gain standing as a world power through rapid industrialization, and as its first objective it aims to reach Britain's level in industrial production by 1967. 19

The progress made by China seems impressive. We note, however, that the ideological approach of the countries included in our study is basically different, in view of the emphasis placed on the human and social goals of development side by side with the economic goals; and this also is reflected in the educational plans of these countries, as we have seen. In spite of this difference in approach, the performance of some of these countries in primary, secondary, and higher education (general) compares favorably with that of China. Of course, China's achievement in the training of scientists and engineers admittedly is spectacular in quantitative terms, though a proper evaluation can be made only in the context of the level and quality of training. About the quality, Dr. Harbison reports as follows: The quality of most of their education, including much of that in the universities, is questionable, and so is the strategy of an onward rush by any and every possible means. It may result in crippling steps backward as well as leaps ahead. 2 0

As a matter of fact, the disproportionately greater emphasis laid on industrial growth is said to have created such an imbalance in the country's economy that, according to another study,21 the economic growth itself suffered a serious setback and consequently the Third Plan had to be modified to distribute the emphasis more

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evenly on different sectors. Professor Cheng's following remarks may sound rather harsh as a warning, but they are significant as a critique of the Second Plan: To all underdeveloped countries with similar economic patterns, the performance of the Chinese Communists during their first thirteen years of power has provided a historical mirror. It has reflected an inspiring fact that in a country like China, where the rural population is predominate and most of the people live close to the bare margin of subsistence with little room for capital formation, it is possible to launch a modern industrialization plan through a series of drastic transformations in the economic institutions. But, on the other hand, the Chinese model has also furnished many bitter lessons. Totalitarian control which originally facilitated this take-off, cannot sustain its continuous development. Without corresponding progress in agriculture, the one-sided development of industry will bring the country not real prosperity, but wholesale starvation.22 The Chinese experience seems to highlight the importance of two essential factors in rapid economic development which do not clash with the ideology of other developing countries in the region. One factor is the need to reform the social and cultural structures that are not conducive to economic progress. The recognition of this need by the developing countries included in our study is reflected in some of the social and economic reforms already introduced. (These have been mentioned briefly in Chapter 5.) The second factor is the program of all-out effort adopted by China, which indicated the great importance attached to education as the key to economic development. The following description of China's determined and vigorous drive on all fronts and against many odds to step up educational development is very illuminating: China has a long way to go economically. Its gross national product per capita is probably no more than $75. The strategy of its officials and planners in education seems to be to try to do everything at once—to attack all the expedient approaches and above all, to emphasize action. As recently described by a Chinese Communist newspaper, the educational program includes schools operated not only by the state, but also by all kinds of agencies including factories, mines, and street organizations. The Chinese people are studying full time and part time, in school and at home, in tuition courses and free ones.23

National Plans for Development in South and Southeast Asia

199

A Summary of Features and Performance The general features and performance of plans for educational development in the countries of South and Southeast Asia studied may be summarized as follows: 1 ) The plans for educational development indicate progressively increasing efforts, backed up by increasingly larger funds, toward expansion and improvement of education in all stages. The performance in the initial stage fell short of the expectations mainly because of an inadequate understanding of the mechanics of planning and the lack of a balanced appreciation of the needs and resources. "The original targets were unrealistic in view of the problems of finance, buildings, teacher training, and family economics." 2 4 These observations of Dr. Margaret Cormack, a distinguished and experienced American educator, about India's educational plans are substantially true of most of the other countries also. As the plans moved on, however, they showed a more balanced approach, greater technical skill in their preparation, and deeper insight into the educational purposes of the plan as an instrument of both economic and social development. 2 ) Though increasingly greater resources are being applied to primary education, the goal of universal primary education—which is supported by constitutional guarantees—still remains a formidable problem, except in the case of the Philippines. Extension of universal education up to the age of fourteen years, also an accepted goal of most of these nations, evidently is not capable of any easy or quick solution. The problem is further accentuated in those countries where the enrollment of girls lags far behind that of boys, for reasons rooted in the social and cultural structures of the countries. 3 ) While all countries in the region have made remarkable progress during the last ten years in all sectors of education, the rate of progress in secondary education has not been commensurate with that in the other sectors nor with the needs of national development. (In the case of Indonesia, the stage of higher education rather than secondary appears to have been least developed.) How the countries under study are moving in the three stages of education is indicated by the following analysis of total enrollment:

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RATIO OF ENROLLMENT IN A STAGE TO TOTAL ENROLLMENT PRIMARY

Philippines (1961) India ( 1 9 6 0 - 6 1 ) Indonesia ( 1 9 5 8 - 5 9 ) Pakistan ( 1 9 6 1 - 6 2 )

81.0% 77.3% 89.4% 63.5%

SECONDARY

HICHER

4.0% 2.0% 0.6% 1.8%

15.0% 20.7% 10.0% 34.7%

A vital issue to be resolved is to determine the m a n n e r in which these ratios should change in order to be most conducive to development f r o m one stage to another. 4) T h e facilities that existed in most of these countries in the fields of science, technology, medicine, and agriculture prior to their independence were very insignificant. T h o u g h these critical areas of education are being emphasized increasingly in the development plans, a wide gap still remains to be m a d e up. Progress in this direction is to some extent being retarded by the high prestige traditionally attached to what is commonly understood to be liberal education. In spite of the rising enrollment in sciences and technology in higher education, the proportion of students in these faculties is still hardly a third of the total enrollment, as the following table shows:

HIGHER EDUCATION

ENROLLMENT BY TOTAL ENROLLMENT

COUNTRY" ENROLLMENT

SCIENCES, MEDICINE,

Pakistan (1958) Philippines (1957) India (1957) Indonesia (1956)

94,043 249,563 833,450 22,707

• The figures in this table are taken from U N E S C O , Basic (Paris, 1960).

IN

ENGINEERING,

AND

AGRICULTURE

32,596 75.213 290,785 9,687 Facts

and

Figures

In some countries, m a l a d j u s t m e n t within the stage of higher education seems to exist to such a degree that it becomes a m a j o r cause of unemployment among the university graduates. A t a time when there is an acute shortage of high-level m a n p o w e r in certain fields, the need to correct such m a l a d j u s t m e n t is of supreme i m p o r tance to national development. This is an issue that seems to be

National Plans for Development

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201

bound up with the larger issue of reconstruction of higher education. 5)

R a p i d development of education has resulted in correspond-

ing increases in public expenditure on education on a progressively rising scale, indicating an increasing recognition of the importance of education. Public expenditure on education at present is shown in the following table:

P U B L I C E X P E N D I T U R E ON E D U C A T I O N PER

PERCENTAGE OF

BUDGET Philippines Pakistan

(1961)

(1962-63)

Indonesia India

(1961)

" Refers

ON

18.0

pesos

9.60

6.0

rupees

27.0

rupiah

5.9

rupees

14.00

to the p l a n

b

Current

(normal)

c

National

budget

now

in

PER

CAPITA

ALLOCATION *

EDUCATION

33.00 3.72"

(1961-62)

CAPITA

EXPENDITURE

NATIONAL

c

b

ON

EDUCATION

PERCENTAGE OF

NATIONAL INCOME

23.4

pesos

3.4

14.8

rupees

2.3

202.0

rupiah

12.7

rupees

1.8

operation.

expenditure

only.

only.

T h e growing expenditure on education and development, in general, is evidence of the commendable efforts being made by these nations against heavy odds to step up the progress of

education.

It is reasonable to hope that as national income rises, education will receive more support. T h e measure of this support is apt to be influenced substantially by the prevailing attitude towards the role of education in development. Thus, the degree to which education's role in creating human capital both for economic and social development receives proper recognition is crucial. Financing of education remains a continuing problem. 6)

Increasing investment in education, necessary as it is, will

be meaningful in terms of development to the extent such investment is put to its best use. Therefore, the composition and character of the "educational input" are extremely important: the curriculum — i t s goals, contents, incentives, and motivations; the human materials—innate

capacities

of

the students, the

social

and

family

environment as well as education, skill, and motivation of the teachers, affecting the learning and teaching processes; and the structure of education. A l l these ingredients of the input are going to determine the quantity and the quality of the output, and this will be

202

Education and Development

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the real measure of the fruitfulness of the educational investment as a factor of development. The quality of the input in these developing countries tends to remain at a low mark under the adverse influence of many factors, some of which are intertwined with the social situation inherited from the past. Also, there are many blocks and interferences within the administration and organizational structure of education that prevent the conversion mechanism from operating efficiently. The result is an educational output low in quantity and quality, involving a serious wastage of precious resources both human and material. These issues and also the implications of a balanced program and possible strategies in education will be discussed in Chapter 8.

CHAPTER EIGHT

National Plans for Development in South and Southeast Asia: Problems and Strategies

T H E P R O B L E M S IN the path of educational development are as challenging as they are numerous. Many of them issue from the very gap which the process of development is intended to bridge between the national goals and available resources. Some are the product of history and tradition, and some have become interwoven with the country's culture. The purpose of this chapter is to bring into focus the major problems in the way of achieving the educational objectives of the national plans for educational development.

Universal Primary Education

and the Karachi

Plan

T h e problem of universal primary education stands out among all others for sheer magnitude and stupendousness. All the countries in the region of South Asia are firmly committed to the goal of seven or eight years of education for all children from the age of 6 - 7 years. The grave and great importance attached to this goal is indicated clearly by the constitutional guarantees and policy directives, issued by the highest governmental authority in each country, on the right of every citizen to a basic quantum of education. T h e economic value of elementary education is beyond question. There is ample proof of this in economic studies of the contribution of the various levels of education to the productivity of the labor force. 1 The importance of elementary education to the creation of an enlightened and responsible citizenry also is beyond question. 2 The remarkable progress made in the field of primary education by the four countries under special study—Pakistan, India, Indonesia, 203

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Strategy

and the Philippines—is typical of the performance in other countries in this region. One of the most significant events in the recent educational history of the world is the great progress of primary education in South and Southeast Asia during the last decade. With political independence, the nations in this region have come to realize that educational development is an essential condition for raising standards of life. This has created a great hunger for education, and consequently there has been in every country of the region, a continuing effort to expand and improve primary education . . . with the result that enrollment in primary classes increased from about 38.7 million in 1950 to about 66.2 million in I960. 8

While the progress made so far in South and Southeast Asia in the expansion of primary education is commendable and reflects the great urge of the governments and people to push ahead, the task that remains to be accomplished is tremendous by any standard. The Karachi Plan represents the first attempt to produce a longterm plan spelling out the needs of the fifteen countries in South and Southeast Asia in terms of accommodation, teachers, and equipment needed for attaining—within a period of twenty years from 1961—the goal of eight years' universal education up to the age of 14 years. This plan was adopted at the UNESCO Regional Meeting of Representatives of Asian Member States on Primary and Compulsory Education, held in Karachi from December 28, 1959, to January 9, 1960. It is based on a comprehensive document prepared by a working party composed of a UNESCO Secretariat member and four Asian consultants. Each consultant had made on-the-spot studies of actual problems and needs in three or four countries in connection with primary and compulsory education. 4 This plan, as subsequently revised by the UNESCO Secretariat in consultation with the Asian Member States, was incorporated in Number 41 of the series of Educational Studies and Documents under the title, "The Needs of Asia in Primary Education." Since the age period of compulsory primary education varied from country to country (for example, 5 - 1 4 years of age in Ceylon, 7 - 1 4 years in Thailand, 8 - 1 4 years in Indonesia, 7-13 years in the Philippines, 6 - 1 3 years in Malaya), the estimates in the plan were based on an average of eight years of schooling considered as equivalent to the age group 6 - 1 3 or 7 - 1 4 years. The age to total

National

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Asia

205

population percentage was worked out on the basis of the ratio of population in the age group 5-14 years in five countries, as shown:

AGE COUNTRY

AS

CROUP

TOTAL

Cambodia India Indonesia Philippines Thailand Total jor 5 countries

5-14

PERCENTAGE

YEARS OF

POPULATION

26.5 23.4 24.1 27.8 26.6 24.0

The total population of the five countries in 1980 was estimated (by projection) to be 71 per cent of the population of the region as a whole, and it was assumed that the same percentage (24.0%) would hold for the entire area. It was assumed further that the distribution of the population in the age group 5-14 years in one-year groups was very similar. The number of children to be enrolled for a compulsory age period of eight years was, therefore, estimated at 2 4 * 8 = 19.2 per cent. The number of school places to be provided was estimated at 20 per cent of the total population, however, since the schools were attended by a considerable number of children above and below the limits of compulsory school age. TARGETS OF THE KARACHI PLAN

The target proposed in the Karachi Plan was to raise the total enrollment from 8.55 per cent in 1960 (an increase of 2.6 per cent in 10 years, from 5.96 per cent of the total population in 1950) to 11 per cent in 1965, 14 per cent in 1970, 17 per cent in 1975, and 20 per cent in 1980 (the desired target). On these assumptions, the table on the following page shows the estimated number of children to be educated in each of the fifteen countries in the region during the plan period.

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Education

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Strategy

TARGETS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, 1960-80 (in millions)

COUNTRY Afghanistan Burma Cambodia Ceylon India Indonesia Iran Korea Laos Malaya Nepal Pakistan Philippines Thailand Vietnam Total

1960 (8%) 0.9 1.8 (0.4)' (0.8)' 33.2 (7.3)' 1.7 (1.9)* 0.1 (0.6)* 0.7 7.4 (2.1)' (1.9)* 1.1 61.9

1965 (11%) 1.4 2.8 0.6 (1.3)* 50.9 11.0 2.6 3.0 0.2 (0.9)* 1.1 11.4 (3.4)* (3.0)* 1.8 95.4

1970 (14%)

(17%)

1975

2.1 3.9 0.9 1.9 71.9 15.5 3.7 4.3 0.3 1.4 1.5 16.3 5.1 4.4 2.6

2.9 5.5 1.3 2.7 95.0 21.0 4.9 6.0 0.4 2.0 2.0 22.3 7.3 6.1 3.6

135.8

183.0

1980 (20%) 4.0 7.5 1.7 3.7 119.2 27.7 6.4 8.0 0.5 2.8 2.6 29.4 10.2 8.3 4.9 236.9

* These figures are equal to or below actual enrollments in 1958-59. Total population figure is 1,185,000. b This is against 155 million if the population remained steady at the 1960 figure.

These targets have two important implications. The first implication is that the total increase in enrollment between 1960 and 1980 would be 171 million or 258 per cent (from 61.94 million in 1960 to 237.00 million in 1980). This large increase is the combined result of (a) rapid growth of total population and (b) the needed rate of growth in the school enrollment so as to achieve the goal of 20 per cent of the population in 1980 (from 8.55 per cent in 1960). If the rate of growth in enrollment remained unchanged at 2.6 per cent, however, the total enrollment would increase only to 97 million (or 146 per cent). The second implication of the plan targets is that the additional estimated enrollment increases rapidly in each successive quinquennium, as shown below:

ENROLLMENT (in millions) 1960-65 1965-70 1970-75 1075-B0

29 21 40.38 47.22 5dm

National

Plans

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and Southeast

Asia

207

The plan's estimates of teachers, teacher-educators, and administrators and supervisors reflect these enrollment projections. Teachers required on the basis of pupil-teacher ratio of 35:1 (in thousands):

PERIOD

TOTAL

INCREASE

ADDITIONAL

TOTAL

REPLACEMENT

"Ï96Ô 1965 1970 1975 1980

1^838 2,725 3,879 5,228 6,771

887 1,154 1,349 1,543

541 788 1,097 1,452

1,428 1,942 2,446 2,995

Teacher-educators on the basis of pupil-teacher ratio of 15:1, and the duration of the course as 3 years with a dropout rate of 10 per cent: I960 1965 1970 1975 1980

49,500 (compared with 19,000 in 1958) 72,300 95,700 118,000 142,100

Administrative and supervisory staff on the basis of one such staff member for every 5,000 pupils: I960 1965 1970 1975 1980

13,236 19,078 27,154 36,598 47,400

(compared with 10,000 in 1958)

Non-recurring cost. Material requirements of the plan for buildings, equipment (including furniture and teaching aids), literature for pupils and teachers, buildings and equipment for teacher-training institutions, and quarters for teachers are estimated as follows: (a) School buildings (on the assumption that present available accommodation is adequate only for half the existing enrollment) were estimated at $30 per pupil for 33 million + 171 million additional children: 6

208

Education

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Strategy MILLION U.S. DOLLARS

1960-65 1965-70 1970-75 1975-80 Total 1960-80

1,124 1,459 1,664 ..1,868 6,115

(b) The cost of equipment was estimated at $8 per child for grades 1—4 and $12 per child for grades 6-8. The total cost was estimated as follows: MILLION U.S. DOLLARS

1960-65 1965-70 1970-75 1975-80 Total 1960-80

374.6 486.3 554.7 .622.6 2,038.2

(c) Cost of quarters for 50 per cent of teachers at $500 per unit:

Number of new quarters (in thousands) Cost (in million U.S. dollars)

1960-65

1965-70

1970-75

1975-80

TOTAL

904

1,037

1,135

1,232

4,308

616

2,154

452

518.5

567.5

(d) Cost of teacher-training institutions (on the assumption that each will accommodate 200 trainees, costing $200,000):

MILLION U.S. DOLLARS

1960-65 1965-70 1970-75 1975-80 Total 1960-80

805.0 396.5 382.5 406.5 1,990.5

Recurring Cost. Since the present cost of teachers' salaries and other services varies widely within the region—from $16 in Karachi, Pakistan, and New Delhi, India, to $21 in Ceylon and $27 in Iran —the plan envisaged the present average cost $8 (in rural areas

National

Plans for Development

in South and Southeast

Asia

209

of Pakistan, India, Indonesia) to rise gradually to $20 (approximating the rate now prevailing in Ceylon), for example, to $10 in 1965, $12 in 1970, $16 in 1975, and $20 in 1980. On this assumption, the total recurring cost was estimated as follows:

MILLION U.S. DOLLARS

1960-65 1965-70 1970-75 1975-80 Total 1960-80

3,371.3 5,923.8 10,404.7 17,858.7 37,558.5

Recurring cost of administration and supervision estimated at 5 per cent of the total recurring expenditure works out as follows:

MILLION U.S. DOLLARS

1960-65 1965-70 1970-75 1975-80 Total 1960-80

169 296 520 893 1,878

The cost of teacher training varied from $50 to $350, averaging at $100 for the region as a whole. The plan adopted a graduated scale of cost of training per pupil per annum rising to $125 in 1965, $150 in 1970, $175 in 1975, and $200 in 1980. On this basis, the total recurring cost of teacher training was estimated as follows:

MILLION U.S. DOLLARS

1960-65 1965-70 1970-75 1975-80 Total 1960-80

504.0 853.0 1,317.4 1,807.5 4,481.9

The total expenditure thus is estimated in the Karachi Plan as follows (in million U.S. dollars):

210

Education and Development

RECURRING NON-RECURRING

Total and

(recurring non-recurring)

Strategy

1960-65

1965-70

1970-75

1975-80

1960-80

4,044.3 2.755.6

7,073.7 2,860.3

12,242.1 3,168.7

20,559.2 3.513.1 s

43.919.3 12,297.7

6,799.9

9,934.0

15,410.8

24,072.3

56,217.0

The average annual expenditure as estimated in the Karachi Plan is shown below (in million U.S. dollars):

RECURRINC NON-RECURRING

Total In round

figures

1960-65

1965-70

1970-75

1975-80

808.86 551.12

1,414.74 572.06

2.448.42 633.74

4,111.84 702.62

1,359.98 1.360.00

1,986.80 1,987.00

3,082.16 3,082.00

4,814.46 4,814.00

The Karachi Plan (as revised), which we have been summarizing here, will remain a historic document, for two reasons. First, it broke new ground in assessing the needs of the region as a whole in the field of universal education within the framework of a plan with a common target. Thus, it provided a stimulus to the various member nations to make an endeavor to prepare and adopt plans to reach this target within the specified time span. Second, the plan brought into focus the enormity of the problem that faces the region in implementing a program of universal education for eight years. Yet, the provisions of the Karachi Plan were rather modest compared with the Latin American Plan. For example, the Karachi Plan aims at enrolling 20 per cent of the population in twenty years (by 1 9 8 0 ) , whereas the target of the Latin American Plan is to enroll 17 per cent in ten years. The floor space provided per child is only 15 square feet in the Karachi Plan, compared with about 20 square feet ( 2 square meters) in Latin America. The cost per pupil per annum in Latin America currently varies from $15 in Colombia to about $90 in Venezuela, whereas the plan for Asia proposes to raise by stages the cost per pupil per annum from about $6 in 1960 to $20 in 1980. Nevertheless, the total cost of the Karachi Plan in twenty years is estimated at $56,000 million (reduced by $10,000 million from the original estimate of $65,000 million through a more detailed

National

Plans for Development

in South and Southeast

Asia

211

analysis of cost), which is not likely to be within the resources of the region even after the expected development in twenty years. As the plan itself says: "If the problem is to be solved by internal resources alone it is obvious that the enrollment may be expected to rise by 2.5 per cent in every decennium rather than in every quinquennium. The programme proposed would, therefore, take about 50 years instead of 20." The enormity of the problem in universal education is largely (though not entirely) an outcome of (1) a larger concentration of population in an economically backward region and (2) a rapid growth of population in the primary school age group due primarily to the rapid growth in population as a whole. Even assuming that the population growth could be held in check, and that the population in 1980 remained steady at 774.2 million, it would be necessary to provide by 1980 for 155 million children as against 61.94 million in 1960. In reality, the number for whom actual provision would be necessary because of increase in population by 1980 would be as high as 237 million. This is shown in the following table on population growth and enrollment:

POPULATION GROWTH A N D ENROLLMENTS IN THE PRIMARY STAGE (in millions) POPULATION 1960

1980 population remains unchanged)

(if

Total number of pupils Index of pupils in primary school 1960-100

1980 (if p o p u l a t i o n g r o w s at t h e normal rate)

61.94

155

237

100

250

383

Another factor associated with the population growth—and this adds to the magnitude of the problem—is the proportionately larger increase in the age group 6 - 1 4 years. This indicates a change in the demographic trend resulting apparently from the health measures successfully adopted by the nations in this region of South Asia.

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In the case of Pakistan, for example, the proportion of the age group 6 - 1 1 years has risen from 12.5 per cent to 15 per cent in 1961. The total number of children in the age group 6 - 1 4 years in 1980 is estimated at 40.4 million in Pakistan and 134.8 million in India, as compared with much lower estimates of 29.4 million and 119.2 million in the Karachi Plan. If primary education is regarded as a major human right and a basic consumption element in the level of living, the UNESCO study clearly demonstrates that the burden placed in this respect on the people of this region is out of all proportion to their resources. Few governments in this region, however, would be willing to adopt targets of development which denied the right of basic education to a large section of the people. As a matter of fact, in many nations the feeling in this regard is so compelling in character that the right to primary education is even enshrined in the form of constitutional guarantees, as we saw earlier. A speedy solution to this challenging problem is a matter of imperative necessity in the interests also of over-all national development, since primary education also has an important bearing on the economic growth of a nation. A rational and realistic approach is to view the problem of primary education in the context of its interrelationship with other stages of education, and as an integral part of the over-all national plan for development. Primary education simply cannot advance in isolation. Although this was recognized in the Karachi Plan, the impact of expansion of primary education on other stages of education was not examined. The other limitation of the plan was that it set the same target to be attained within the same time span on the same scale of cost for all the fifteen nations—irrespective of the very different stages of their development and the widely varying conditions relating to existing facilities of teacher education, and scale of expenditure on primary education. The purpose of the Karachi Plan is made clear, however, in its own words: "This plan, as earlier stated, serves a limited purpose of defining targets to be reached, showing the immense magnitude of the problem, and serving as a reference document for governments within the region for preparation of their national plans." 7 The Ministers of Education of Asian Member States, meeting in Tokyo during April, 1962, therefore, while recognizing the contri-

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bution of the Karachi Plan, rightly stressed the desirability of each nation's preparing its educational plan within the framework of its own over-all plan for development and economic growth, and also making efforts to raise the percentage of the gross national product spent on education to 4 - 5 per cent per annum by 1980. PROGRESS UNDER THE KARACHI PLAN The problem of universal primary education in the region assumes a different complexion when viewed separately for each of the fifteen nations covered by the Karachi Plan. This is revealed by the following table reproduced from the Karachi Plan: 8

INCREASE OF ENROLLMENT IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN ASIA, 1950-60 ACTUAL COUNTRY

(2) » (I) 91,414 Afghanistan Burma 387,423 Cambodia 134,506 Ceylon 1,105,052 India 18,293,967 Indonesia 4,977,304 Iran 684,865 Korea 2,669,494 Laos 34,087 Malaya 597,673 Nepal 4,000 Pakistan 3,212,300 Philippines 3,442,686 2,668,979 Thailand Vietnam 399,099 Total 38,702,949 Percentage to total population

AVERAGE

ENROLLMENT

1950-1951

5.96

1958-1959 b

ANNUAL

OF '

(3) 141,319 1,466,331 536,762 1,455,727 25,946,808 7,259,499 1,135,815 3,602,334 99,062 1.107,287 110,000 4,226,497 3,735,657 3,395,895 1,137,923

R A T E

INCREASE

(4) 5.6 18.1 18.9 4.0 6.0 4.8 8.8 3.8 14.3 8.0 51.3 4.0 2.1 3.0 14.0

ESTIMATED ENROLLMENT

IN 1960-61

(5; 157,500 2,045,000 759,000 1,638,000 32,750,000 7,970,000 1,578,000 3,879,000 129,400 1,291,000 251,800 4,754,000 3,893,000 3,603,000 1,480,000

PERCENTAGE TOTAL

OF

POPULATION

(I960) (6) 1.37 9.3 15.2 16.4 7.9 8.8 7.3 16.1 8.1 18.4 2.8 5.2 14.6 15.2 10.5

66,178,700 8.55

• F i g u r e s in column 2 are f o r 1950-51, except for Iran (1952-53) and the Philippines ( 1 9 5 4 - 5 5 ) . b Figures in column 3 are for 1958-59, except for India (1956-57) and Pakistan and Ceylon (1957-58).

There is wide variation in the progress made by different countries in introducing the program of eight years of universal education. While some countries have succeeded in covering barely 1.37

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Education and Development

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to 2.8 per cent, some have made very good headway, already covering well over 15 per cent of the population. ( T h e target of the Karachi Plan is 20 per cent.) The Philippines, one of the four countries included in our study, shows 14.6 per cent of the population already enrolled in 1960. As already pointed out, it should not be difficult for this country to achieve the target of 20 per cent well ahead of 1980. In the case of the three other countries, the problem is still very great and they have a long way to go. T h e percentages of population covered by these countries u p to 1 9 6 0 - 6 1 are as follows: Indonesia, 8.8 per cent; India, 7.9 per cent; and Pakistan, 5.2 per cent. India's target indicated in the Third Plan is to cover all children of the age group 6 - 1 4 years by 1980. Pakistan originally had set the target of covering this age group in two stages, as recommended by the Commission on National Education, in the first stage of ten years from 1960, children of the ages of 6 - 1 1 years were to be covered, and in the second stage of the following five years, i.e., by 1975, children up to the age of 14 years were to be covered. The Census Return of 1961 showed, however, that the rate of population growth was far in excess of the estimates on which this target was based. T h e unexpected complication was this change in the demographic trend which operates against the early implementation of the goal of universal education, as indicated by a rising proportion of population in the age group 6 - 1 4 years. T h e number of children in this age group 6 - 1 1 years was 15 million in 1965 as compared with 12 million estimated originally. If this trend continues, the number of children in the age group 6 - 1 4 years is estimated at 40.4 million in 1980 instead of 29.4 million estimated in the Karachi Plan. Even if the target set in Pakistan's Second Plan were attained in terms of additional enrollment of 2.5 million children, the proportion of children would rise to only 48 per cent (instead of 6 0 per cent as originally envisaged) because of the growth in population in the age group 6 - 1 1 years. It was unlikely, in the present socio-economic situation of Pakistan, that the rate of population growth could be held under effective check so as not to upset the Second Plan's development targets in the education sector. It is true that the activities under the Family Planning Program are growing f r o m year to year. But the rate of population growth and also the prevailing social attitudes are such

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that it is highly improbable that, even in another decade, the benefits of the program will reach more than a small fraction of the people. Considered in this context, the revised targets for extension of universal education to all children of the age group 6 - 1 1 years by 1975 (instead of 1970, as originally envisaged), and to all children up to the age of 14 years by 1985 (instead of 1 9 7 5 ) , as indicated in the guidelines for Pakistan's Third Plan 9 appear to be more realistic. India also ran into great difficulties with her primary education targets because of the upsetting effect of population growth, as we saw earlier. India's achievement in this respect under the First Plan fell short of the target of 60 per cent of the total number in the age group 6 - 1 1 years by about 8 per cent. Under the Second Plan, the target set was very modest (a little over 62 per cent of the age group). Though in terms of the additional number of children to be enrolled, the target was reached, enrollment fell short of the percentage aimed at by 1.27 per cent because of the fact that this target apparently was based on an underestimate of the probable increase in population. India's aim now is to cover the age group 6 - 1 1 years by 1971 (Fourth Plan) and the age group 1 1 - 1 4 years by 1981 (Sixth Plan).

Population

Growth and Planning for

Accommodation

It seems clear that the greatest single impediment to speedy implementation of the universal education goal is the rapid growth of population and the lack of ability of the nations to devise effective means of arresting population growth so that it does not outpace the rate of development in the various sectors. Assuming that the target of the Second Plan of Pakistan in primary education is achieved in absolute number of additional pupils enrolled and 2.5 million children are added to the enrollment in 1961 raising it to 7.2 million in 1965, in order to achieve the goal of universal education by 1975 for the age group 6 - 1 1 years, accommodation, equipment, and teachers will have to be found for an additional 16.3 million children; that is, facilities to be created by 1975 will be more than twice as many as those existing in 1965. This would mean over 400,000 additional classrooms (on the basis of one classroom for 40 pupils) and at least as many additional teachers. T h e total current outlay on primary education will also at

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least quadruple itself by 1975 on the scale of 1960-61 costs, and the outlay will be even larger if the scale of salaries and expenditure on contingencies rises during this period. The tentative allocation of resources to the education sector envisaged during the Third Plan period in Pakistan is 2,740 million rupees (i.e., 248 per cent of the allocation in the Second Plan). The 600 million rupees (i.e., 21 p e r c e n t ) proposed for primary education is four times the amount provided for the capital outlay on primary education in the Second Plan. Even then, it is clearly not adequate for taking care of 7 million additional places to be provided during the Third Plan period. Therefore, it will be necessary to depend considerably on local contributions as was done during the Second Plan period. During the initial period of the Second Plan, the response of the local communities in raising contributions, whether in kind or cash, to supplement the resources available under the plan to build additional classrooms was extremely heartening. In East Pakistan, for example, the local contribution for primary schools during 1960-61 was as much as 2.1 million rupees, compared with the state grant of 2.6 million rupees for that year out of the plan allocation. With the progress of the development program on an expanding scale, however, the contribution of the local communities did not seem to increase correspondingly, i.e., on the scale of 1960-61. The trend of local contributions as indicated by the experience of the first two years of the Second Plan period suggests that such contributions are not likely to increase in proportion to the increase in capital outlay on the scale envisaged during the Third Plan and after. Considering the unmistakable enthusiasm of the local communities for more facilities of education, and also the need for more accommodation on a rapidly increasing scale during the Third and Fourth Plan periods, one strategy in this area is to have two programs of school building. The long-term program should aim at the investment of the plan allocation available for buildings in durable structures and also gradual replacement of the existing temporary structures which are expensive to maintain. The short-term program should aim at providing accommodation less durable in character and varying in quality according to the resources that can be made available immediately by a local community without any great hardship. We cannot overemphasize the importance of local support to the program

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of building primary schools, which is in the tradition of Pakistan and also of most countries which have advanced in education. This aspect of the public responsibility of the local communities at various levels needs to be specifically emphasized in the program of adult education, and also in an informal way by the Department of Local Government, the Basic Democracies, and also the District and Subdivisional administrations which have played an important part in this respect in the past. Another strategy for coping with the vast problem of accommodation in the field of primary education is to press into service all available buildings that can be spared within a community. For example, in the rural areas, many homes have outbuildings which are used only rarely. These might be utilized temporarily to supplement the accommodation built under the other programs. Mosques also may be utilized wherever they are available. In such cases, furniture has to be designed so that it can be stacked away easily in limited space after daily use, and adequate precaution has to be taken to avoid any conflicts which might antagonize the local communities towards the larger cause of primary school expansion. A third strategy, logical corollary to the concept of maximizing the use of all available accommodation, is use of the existing educational buildings by shifts. The possibilities in this regard are considerable in urban areas and in densely populated rural areas (as in many parts of East Pakistan). It is necessary, of course, to provide a separate set of teachers for each shift. This system has worked quite satisfactorily in Karachi. Any system of shifts which does not provide full-time schooling—as in some schools in East Pakistan where for lack of accommodation and teachers, the time of the same set of teachers between 10 A.M. and 4 P.M. is divided among the students of five classes in two shifts, thus providing only half-time schooling for each child—is likely to be wasteful and defeat the purpose of primary school expansion. The problem of supplying over 400,000 qualified teachers in ten years may prove ultimately to be more difficult than any other. This is bound up with the expansion of secondary and higher education. It may be possible to step up the pace of secondary school expansion in order sufficiently to enlarge the supply of graduates so that the annual (average) requirement of 40,000 primary school teachers may be met. Whether teachers can be attracted in that number on

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Education

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the existing salaries, which range from 60 rupees (about $13) to 80 rupees (about $17) per month in East Pakistan and are only slightly higher in West Pakistan, is not so certain in view of the rising salaries in other sectors of national development. There are other problems, not always visible, which are inherent in the educational and social system of the country and may prove to be serious impediments to universal education in Pakistan as well as some other countries in the region. Most formidable among these problems are (1) the remarkable lag in the enrollment of girls, (2) the relative educational backwardness of certain regions within the same nation, and (3) wastage and stagnation.

Education

for

Girls

As indicated in the preceding chapter, the progress in the enrollment of children of primary school age in Pakistan since independence has been remarkable, the total enrollment rising from 3.6 million in 1948-49 to over 5.6 million in 1961-62. In this progress, however, the number of girls has been very much less than proportionate, as indicated by the fact that in 1961-62 girls in primary schools numbered only 1.4 million, i.e., slightly over a quarter of the total enrollment, so that the ratio of girls to boys enrolled was 1:3 only. The ratio declines further in the middle or junior secondary stage (age 11-14 years), where the total number of girls enrolled was only 97,292 compared with 704,700 boys in 1961-62, yielding a ratio of 1:7. Since the ratio of girls to boys in the age group 5 - 1 4 years was 11:13 in 1961, the wide gap between the proportions of enrollment of girls and boys in the age group 6 - 1 4 years presented a special problem. Its principal causes are deep-seated in the social and economic system of Pakistan. a) There is relatively greater dependence of families on the girls than on the boys to assist the mother in performing the daily household chores. As a result, girls are either not sent to school at all, or if sent, are withdrawn from school prematurely, generally after a year or two. b) In contrast to the rising awareness of the value of education for boys, there is a lack of awareness about the value of education for girls. This to a large extent is bound up with the traditional concept that the male members of the family as the breadearners

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219

need a preparation different from that of the female members who, it is believed, learn best by working with their mothers at home. c) There is a prevailing social attitude, particularly strong in certain regions, against allowing girls to go to schools attended by boys even in the primary grades. d) There is an unwillingness of parents to let young girls walk any considerable distance to school. This is particularly true in underschooled areas, or areas which are sparsely populated. The problem of educating girls is more pronounced in West Pakistan than in East Pakistan. Enrollment ratios of girls to boys in the two provinces are 1:4 in West Pakistan and 1:2.6 in East Pakistan. It is likely that with the progressive establishment of more schools, the problem of distance between home and school will be partly remedied. Separate schools for girls also can be made available without difficulty in the more densely populated areas where an additional school can be run economically. But other causes, social and economical, which act as barriers to enrollment of girls need to be studied carefully and tackled effectively if the objective of universal education is to be accomplished within the time span now envisaged. Special measures and incentives clearly are called for. The present unwillingness of parents to send girls to primary schools attended by boys may considerably weaken or even disappear where schools are staffed by women teachers or have at least some women teachers. A special program for appointment and training of women teachers in increasing numbers—even if this involves some relaxation of the qualification requirements, special allowances, or staff housing where a woman teacher has to work away from her native village—needs to be adopted and vigorously pursued. Preference to married couples for appointment as teachers with some relaxation of the teaching qualifications for the wife may also encourage women to prepare themselves to become primary schoolteachers. Special emphasis should be placed on the education of the mothers about the value of girls' education in the newly launched adult education program. A strong campaign can be built up, aided wherever possible by the religious and other leaders, around the teachings of Islam—the base of Pakistan's ideology—which require both men and women to be educated. The services of influential men and women within a community may be enlisted in a special drive to enroll girls of school age. Such services may be rewarded by special

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honoraria, prizes, national awards, or other forms of social recognition. Unless the special problem of enrollment of girls can be resolved, satisfactorily, it is likely to be the greatest obstacle to reaching the target of universal primary education. The Philippines fortunately does not have this problem. Girls are enrolled in the same proportion as boys in that nation's schools. The problem does exist in varying degrees in both India and Indonesia. In India, the ratio of enrollment of girls to boys in the age group 6 - 1 1 years was about 3:7 during 1960-61. If the target of India's Third Plan is achieved, by 1966 the enrollment of boys is likely to rise to 73 per cent and that of the girls to 46.1 per cent of the age group 6 - 1 4 years, the total enrollment of boys and girls rising only to 59.5 per cent. In India, the problem seems to be especially acute in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Orissa, where the enrollments of girls are, respectively, 15 per cent, 19 per cent, 20 per cent, and 24 per cent of all girls 6-11 years of age. As mentioned earlier, the special measures envisaged in India's Third Plan to tackle this problem include provision of residential quarters for women teachers, special allowance to women teachers working in rural areas, condensed educational courses for adult women to meet the shortage of women teachers, and appointment of school mothers in co-educational institutions in the primary grades.

Educational

Backwardness

within

Countries

The educationally backward regions within a nation also pose a special problem. The areas that are educationally more advanced tend to move faster and those that are backward tend to lag behind in implementing development programs, so that the latter are unable to take full advantage of the benefits of development. For example, the Chittagong Hill Tracts in East Pakistan and considerable areas in the Bahawalpur, Quetta, and Kalat divisions in West Pakistan are far behind the rest of the nation in the progress made so far in extension of primary education. The ratio of their progress to the national average ranges from 1:7 to 1:2. Their greatest deficiency is in the supply of qualified local teachers. In some areas, furthermore, the problem is complicated by sparse population, difficult terrain as in the case of hilly and mountainous regions, or geographical bar-

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221

riers created by the presence of rivers and rivulets. The educationally backward areas clearly need special attention, for until they catch up, it may be necessary to invest proportionately more in these regions in order to provide special incentives and facilities.

Wastage in Primary

Education

Wastage and stagnation really are two aspects of the same problem of ineffectiveness of primary education. Caused by different factors, they exist throughout the region on a scale that can be disconcerting even to the most enthusiastic educational planner. "Wastage" is indicated ordinarily by the number of children who drop out for various reasons before completing at least the four years of primary education which are considered to be minimum preparation for acquiring lasting literacy. F o r example, it is mentioned in India's Third Plan that many children are withdrawn f r o m school "as soon as they are able to add to the family income so that more than onehalf of the children do not reach Class IV, thus failing to gain permanent literacy." 10 Out of all the pupils in Class I (first grade) in 1 9 5 6 - 5 7 , only 35.1 per cent reached Class V in 1 9 6 0 - 6 1 . The pupils in Class V I I I constitute about 19 per cent of those who had started in Class I eight years earlier. Even in the Philippines, which has made the most remarkable progress towards the goal of universal primary education, the rate of dropouts and the consequent wastage appears to be very high. Out of 945,513 pupils enrolled in Grade I, only 301,401, or less than a third, completed Grade VI in 1955, and again only 71,389, or about a quarter of this number, entered the first year of secondary school in 1956. 1 1 The wastage indicated by the dropouts in the primary stage is also extremely high in Pakistan. A general idea about this can be obtained f r o m the distribution of the pupils in the five classes during 1 9 6 0 - 6 1 shown below: ENROLLMENT

Class Class Class Class Class

2,401.727 1,150.964 814.346 630.032 495,721

I . II III IV V

Tntal

5.492.790

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Education

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Strategy

In East Pakistan, where the rates of dropout are higher, a recent survey made by the District Inspectors of schools under the auspices of the Education Directorate showed that the rates of wastage due to the combined effect of dropouts and stagnation were as follows at the beginning of the academic year 1962-63: PERCENTAGES

At At At At

the the the the

end of Class I end of Class II end of Class III end of Class IV

URBAN

RURAL

42.1 30.9 23.9 20.5

49.3 35.3 32.3 29.5

The rate of wastage is highest at the end of Class I and tends to decline progressively afterwards. The causes of this unhappy situation are many and complex. Often there is no reliable record of age; among the children who enter Class I, there are many who are of preschool age and are not ready yet for formal education. In many cases, the methods of education are hardly suited even for the 6year-olds, and therefore are utterly unsuited for younger children. This situation, unfavorable as it is for any worthwhile educational experience, is further aggravated by oversized classes (in some schools, the number of children in Class I may be as high as 80 or 100), an uncongenial home environment, and irregular attendance encouraged by an unattractive school environment and difficulties of communication, with hardly any check on truancy. Unrestricted admission at any time of the year, absenteeism on the part of some teachers, sickness, and lack of any effective contact between home and school are other factors. Another major cause of wastage is the premature withdrawal of the older children from school by the parents because the children can help support the family with their labor or earnings. (This lends support to Professor Schultz' concept of earnings foregone as a part of the cost of education, as discussed in Chapter 4.) Among the remedies suggested are better-equipped schools with smaller classes, better-qualified teachers capable of dealing with younger children, closer contact between home and school, and improvement in the conditions of service and incentives for teachers. Many teachers, particularly in East Pakistan, are now compelled, for sheer survival, to divide their time and attention between teach-

National Plans for Development

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223

ing and some subsidiary occupation. T h e supervision is also admittedly weak, with supervisory personnel proving increasingly inadequate u n d e r the rapid expansion of primary education. T h e present expenditure on administration and supervision of all education is less than half of the modest m i n i m u m of 5 per cent of the primary education budget r e c o m m e n d e d in the Karachi Plan approved by U N E S C O . T h e remedies for wastage are not easy to introduce, for some of them are bound u p with the over-all social and economic situation. Insofar as wastage is due to in-school situations, however, the new curriculum and supply of suitable textbooks should go a long way toward correcting them, provided teachers are available in adequate n u m b e r and they are qualified and contented. If a choice has to be m a d e between larger classes ( u p to a reasonable limit) with better qualified and better paid teachers and smaller classes with underqualified and u n d e r p a i d teachers, a good strategy would be to choose the former. This view is supported by a study of the problem m a d e on behalf of U N E S C O in 1953, as the following excerpt shows: It is significant that in East Bengal, where stagnation and wastage are most alarming, the teachers are the lowest paid and least qualified. It is also significant that in West Panjab where classes are larger than in East Bengal, but teachers are better paid and better qualified, the wastage is less. This clearly shows that the quality of education is less adversely affected by a higher pupil-teacher ratio than by an ill-paid and ill-qualified staff. Of course, a rapid expansion of education may, by itself, operate even if temporarily, in increasing wastage. 1 2

I n any event, the extent to which means can be devised to control wastage will set a second limit to the pace of expansion of primary education (the first limit being that of resources available). This limit evidently c a n n o t be disregarded without correspondingly increasing the wastage, which would be self-defeating so f a r as the educational p u r p o s e of extension of primary education is concerned. A s we shall see later, wastage is not peculiar to primary education only. A s a matter of fact, it is f o u n d in varying degrees in all stages of education and can b e used as a practical guide by the educational planner in determining whether, in a particular stage of education, at a particular point of time, additional investment can be fruitfully m a d e in quantitative expansion or in qualitative improvement.

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Planning for Enrollment

Strategy

Distribution

Assuming that the various problems and difficulties in the way of universal education are not insurmountable, an important issue from the planning point of view still remains to be resolved. What is the best way, educationally and economically, of distributing the additional number of children of primary school age over the period of time set as the target for achieving the objective of universal primary education? In the case of Pakistan, for example, this is a ten-year period from 1965 to 1975 to cover the children of the age group 6 - 1 1 years, and a twenty-year period from the same date to extend it to all children of the age group 6 - 1 4 years. The question is whether the enrollment of children of the given age range should be evenly distributed over the plan period (ten years in one case and twenty years in the other) through enrollment annually of a proportionate number of additional children of all ages within this age range, or whether a plan should be devised to ensure the enrollment of all the additional number of children of this age range by the target date by enrolling a suitable number of children of the lowest age limit every year. The first method is bound to give rise to a situation where Grade I will have many children older than the normal age for that grade ( 6 - 7 years), and a good many of them will exceed the upper age limit ( 1 0 - 1 1 years) before completing even a four-year course of primary education. Educationally speaking, there is also the additional disadvantage for the teacher in dealing with children of different ages in the same class. Other difficulties involved are, on the one hand, those of making additional provision necessary for the children who are over age (an additional burden), and, on the other hand, those of retaining such children in school for a sufficiently long time due to reasons inherent in the present economic situation of the country. The first two difficulties can be avoided and the last two at least can be conveniently deferred if the second method of enrollment is adopted in a form suited to the special conditions and plan target of a country. Adopting the plan target of Pakistan for introduction of universal education for all children of the age group 6 - 1 1 years within a tenyear period, the design of a plan may be suggested in the form of a

National Flans for Development

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225

simple mathematical model. This model provides for enrolling the children of school age in proportionate numbers annually over a period of ten years, starting with children 6 years of age and with Grade I as the point of entry. MATHEMATICAL MODEL 1 In th is model, the n u m b e r to be enrolled is the total n u m b e r of children of the a g e group 6 - 1 1 years in t h e tenth year, less the n u m b e r enrolled in the year p r e c e d i n g the first year, and is represented by 100 in the model. (Years) 5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

10 10 10 10

10 10 10 10 10

20 10 10 10 10

20 20 10 10 10

20 20 20 10 10

20 20 20 20 10

20 20 20 20 20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

CRADES

( Classes)

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

I II III IV V

10

10 10

10 10 10

10

20

10%

10%

Total Proportion expenditure

of

Proportion supply of teachers

oj

If for any reasons, such as lack of adequate resources or difficulty anticipated in coping with any of the special problems, it is desired that the burden during the initial years of the plan period should be less than proportionate, the strategy would be to vary the plan of enrollment as illustrated below (again in reference to Pakistan's plan target): MATHEMATICAL MODEL 2 GRADES

(Years)

( Classes) I II III IV V Total Proportion expenditure

of

Proportion supply of teachers

of

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

5

5 5

10 5 5

10 10 5 5

15 10 10 5 5

15 15 10 10 5

20 15 15 10 10

20 20 15 15 10

20 20 20 15 15

20 20 20 20 15

5

10

20

30

45

55

70

80

90

95

5%

10%

20%

30%

45%

55%

70%

80%

90%

95%

5%

10%

20%

30%

45%

55%

70%

80%

90%

95%

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Education and Development

Strategy

Additional enrollment in this plan is only half of what would have been the proportionate enrollment in the first two years. It then rises gradually at a rate which is still less than proportionate right up to the sixth year. T h e financial burden and also the pressure on other resources, such as accommodation and supply of teachers, are correspondingly lightened. ( T h e shortfall of 5 per cent really is of no consequence since actual enrollments veer around 9 5 per cent in most countries which already have introduced universal education.) A twenty-year plan of enrollment for the age group 1 1 - 1 4 years similarly can be reduced to a mathematical model to serve as the basis of a phased program spread over the period of twenty years. Here, a strategy would be to distribute enrollment so that the burden in the first, ten years ( 1 9 6 5 - 7 5 ) , when efforts will have to be concentrated on the objective of universal primary education for the age group 6 - 1 1 years, is proportionately lighter, thus shifting the major part of the burden in enrolling the age group 1 1 - 1 4 years to the subsequent ten-year period

(1975-85).

Balancing the Program in Educational

Development

T h e commitments of the developing countries in the region leave no room for doubt, as we have noted, that the program of universal primary education will be pressed as vigorously as the growing resources of these countries permit—in accordance with the needs of development in other sectors of education. T h e interrelatedness of the various stages of education and the pressing demand for high-level manpower (discussed at some length in Chapter 5 )

warrant the distribution of resources to different

sectors of education so as to maximize the contribution of the total investment in education to the economic and social development of the nation. In other words, the planner must work out various possible combinations of investments in various sectors of education with the projections of anticipated growth, and discover which combination is likely to provide the most balanced growth. Balance means, on the one hand, that there is no lopsided growth in any sector, and on the other, that the growth in one sector supports the growth in other sectors and the growth in all the sectors taken together

National Plans for Development

in South and Southeast Asia

227

yields what is usually known as the optimum return in terms of the over-all national development. Achieving such a balance in the educational program poses a most challenging problem indeed, for the planner, particularly where the resources available are extremely limited as in the case of the countries in the region of South and Southeast Asia. An approach to this task of balancing the educational program may be visualized in three steps: a) The first step will be to determine the manpower needs for economic development over a period of time which should be sufficiently long, perhaps including several plan periods if a plan period does not exceed five to eight years, so as to facilitate the planning of development in those areas of education where the lead-time is as long as, say, sixteen to seventeen years as in the case of engineering and medicine, at the degree level, or even as long as twenty years or more needed for advanced degrees and training. In assessing such needs, the economic value of general education to the labor force in industry, agriculture, trade, and business should be taken into consideration and be fully reflected in the estimate or projection of manpower needs from year to year. b) The second step will be to translate these needs into the form of an educational pyramid showing the required growth at various educational levels in order to meet these needs. For example, the output desired at a particular level will require adequate input not only in the related lower stages, but also in the higher stages which are concerned with the supply of teachers and other functionaries who have to operate the lower level programs of education. c) The third step will be to add the educational needs for social development at various levels with necessary adjustments in the related levels of the pyramid, which will mean a considerable widening not only of the base (because of the national commitment to universal education) but also of the levels above it (because of their interrelatedness). As the country advances and unemployment and underemployment diminish, the two pyramids obtained at (b) and (c) will tend to converge, thus demonstrating the economic and social value of all education. During the period of transition, certain practical difficulties seem to stand in the way of the planner in adopting this three-step approach without modification. First, the countries under study here

228

Education and Development

Strategy

have an existing educational system, the normal growth of which cannot be stopped altogether as long as these countries remain wedded to the concept of free choice in education. So, the planner must work around this system, using the additional resources available in encouraging more growth in certain directions than in others on the principles stated in (a), (6), and (c), above. Second, in their present stages of development, most of these nations have not evolved dependable machinery for the projection of the manpower needs. This leaves the planner no choice but to be pragmatic in his approach. A good strategy here would be to proceed empirically, assigning greater weight to the areas of education where the deficiency is visibly larger—as for example, in the case of Pakistan, in fields like engineering, medicine, teacher education, and higher education. Considering the fact that the country's future needs of high-level specialized manpower cannot be estimated properly beyond a short period, another good strategy would be to design the courses of education and training where the lead-time is long, say, sixteen to seventeen years or more, in a manner that the persons so trained can be easily retrained for specialization according to the gradually emerging needs of the country. This will be particularly appropriate for such fields as engineering, medicine, agriculture, animal husbandry, and veterinary medicine. Third, the lead-time in education is another limiting factor. In areas of education where the lead-time is long, the deficiency cannot be met suddenly even if financial resources are available, as in the case of engineering, medicine, and some other fields of higher education. Lack of teachers is a primary factor in such cases. A strategy here is to strengthen and expand the stages which serve as foundations to these fields, depending temporarily on an expatriate teaching staff for immediate expansion of the facilities of education in these fields (in the higher stages). With the teaching staff recruited from abroad, the existing classroom accommodations, laboratories, and workshops can be used economically for a second shift. All these measures can result in an immediate doubling of the intake and a proportionate increase in the output. An empirical approach does not solve the planner's problem in reconciling the competing claims of different stages of general edu-

National Plans for Development

in South and Southeast Asia

229

cation. Here the important question for the planner to answer is this: Would the development of the various stages of general education (primary, secondary, and higher) in the existing ratio of their relative growth or in an altered ratio be more conducive to over-all national development? If it is decided to maintain the existing ratio of growth, planning does not seem to present any special difficulty. But it does not seem feasible to produce enough high-level manpower, a critical need of economic and social development, without altering the ratio of growth in favor of secondary and higher stages of education and emphasizing within those stages certain areas of education which are of greater immediate importance to development. From the point of view of human resource development, a person with fifteen to sixteen years' education (i.e., up to degree level) is more valuable than one with ten to twelve years' education (up to secondary level), and the latter is more valuable than a person with five to eight years' education (up to elementary level). Considered in this context, mere enrollment without reference to the level of attainment is not a reliable measure of human resource development. For example, the first three years of schooling at the primary level has hardly any educational value since four years of schooling is regarded as the minimum for acquiring permanent literacy. Hence, though the first three years of schooling certainly are important as providing the foundation for the subsequent schooling, no value can be attached to schooling for these years in respect to the number who fail to complete four years or more. In like manner, those who go to school for a certain period but fail to reach the required level of attainment cannot be rated as equal to those who reach such a level of attainment. It follows as a logical corollary that it is not merely the size of enrollment, but also the level of attainment that determine the efficiency of an educational system in the development of human resources and, therefore, as a factor of development. In other words, weight should be assigned on an increasing scale to additional years of satisfactory schooling. One way of doing this is to multiply the enrollment in each grade up to secondary level and total enrollment at the university level by a weight representing "educational attainment units," as described briefly on the following page: 1 3

230 Education and Development Strategy GRADE

X

ENROLLMENT

WEIGHT

= EDUCATIONAL UNITS ATTAINED

PRIMARY

Total:

2

SECONDARY

Total:

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S

PRIMARY

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There still is the question of the appropriate choice of weights (that is, the value to be attached to Wi W2 . . . ) . Several alternatives are available in this regard: (a) weighting according to relative direct costs of education at successive levels; (b) weighting according to the assumed "return" on education at successive levels; and (c) weighting according to the assumed contribution to accumulation of the manpower which is strategic for economic growth. Different

National Plans for Development

in South and Southeast Asia

231

weights also may be assigned to different kinds of courses to emphasize the more critical areas of educational needs. T h e significance of this concept of human resource development may be illustrated by reference to two hypothetical systems of education (say A and B), both with the same enrollment, but distributed differently within the system among the various levels. Let us suppose that System A has 90 per cent of its enrollment in the primary grades, 9 per cent in the secondary grades, and 1 per cent in the higher grades of education, whereas System B has 60 per cent in the primary grades, 30 per cent in the secondary grades, and 10 per cent in the higher grades. Evidently, the grade enrollments multiplied by the weightage (on an increasing scale) would place System B in a position superior to that of System A, and the country served by System B would be richer than that served by System A in human resource development. This superiority is likely to be reflected also in the economically more advanced status of the former. A concrete example can be found by application of this concept of h u m a n resource development to Pakistan in evaluating the educational status of her two provinces. During 1 9 6 0 - 6 1 , the two provinces had the following distributions of enrollment:

EAST

PAKISTAN

WEST

PAKISTAN

PRIMARY

I-III IV-V Total

(Primary)

2,867.297 568.010 3,435,307

1,499,740 557,743 2,057,483

SECONDARY

VI-VIII IX-X XI-XII Total

(Secondary)

316,322 121,452 35,480 473,254

461,587 159,527 54,534

14,032 1.099

16,046 4,446

15,131 3,923,692

2,753.623

675,648

HIGHER

Degree Post-graduate Total (University) Grand

Total:

20,492

If weightage represents attainment, the weight to be assigned to secondary and higher education is likely to be much higher proportionately than that assigned to primary education, and the enrollment

232

Education and Development Strategy

in grades I to III may be left out of consideration, since attainment below grade IV, for all practical purposes, has little value. In this view of things, whatever weightage is selected for the grades IV to the university stage, West Pakistan seems to be slightly better off than East Pakistan in human resource development, indicating that her school system, though it has a much smaller enrollment (i.e., about 72 per cent of the enrollment in East Pakistan) is functioning more effectively. This situation is, however, likely to alter in favor of East Pakistan if effective measures can be taken to ensure that the higher enrollments in grades I to III gradually become reflected in corresponding increases in the enrollments in grades IV and above from year to year, unless, of course, West Pakistan in the meantime succeeds in increasing the enrollments in the primary grades. While there is no doubt about the greater functional efficiency of the present educational system of West Pakistan in terms of the human resource output, the picture seems to change when the outputs of the systems in East and West Pakistan are viewed in terms of cost per unit. Again leaving out of consideration the enrollments in grades I to III, the per capita cost per unit in each stage of education during 1960-61 appears to be as follows: ENROLLMENT

PRIMARY

STACE

ENROLLMENT

rupees)

(in rupees)

OF

568,010 557,743

38,768 68,364

68 122

437,774 621,114

35,514 63,184

85 102

667 7,995

190 480

8,340 21,833

188 370

4,552 18,580

1,196 3,360

(11.6)' (40)'

STAGE

East Pakistan West Pakistan INTERMEDIATE

COLLEGES *

East Pakistan 3.583 16,683 West Pakistan DEGREE COLLEGES (including intermediate classes) 6 East Pakistan 44,260 West Pakistan 58,953 HIGHER

C O S T PER U N I T

(in thousand C

East Pakistan West Pakistan SECONDARY

EXPENDITURE

EDUCATION

East Pakistan West Pakistan

(universities)'

3,806 5,530

* The figures in parentheses represent the cost if enrollment in all grades is taken into consideration. b These figures are for 1961-62, and by categories of institutions since expenditure figure is not available by grades or stages of education above Grade V. c Grades IV and V only.

National

Plans

for

Development

in South

and

Southeast

Asia

233

The return on the amount invested in education (as quantitatively indicated by enrollments in Grades IV and above) is considerably higher in East Pakistan than in West Pakistan, as approximately shown below: PERCENTAGE II1CIIER Primary Secondary Intermediate Degree college University

180 120 250 200 280

It needs to be reiterated, however, that enrollments by themselves cannot be regarded as a real measure of the educational return. This is much better rated by the product of enrollment and the level of attainment, if a qualitative measure of the latter is available. As a matter of fact, higher cost per unit of enrollment can be more than proportionately compensated for by the improvement in the quality of education, as is very likely where higher cost is caused by betterqualified and hence better-paid teachers. Comparisons are also made difficult by the differences in the cost of living and other conditions in the different regions. They serve a purpose in highlighting the areas of education which need to be specially stressed in the two provinces. Secondary and higher education need to be stressed in East Pakistan, and primary education in West Pakistan. Because of the slow rate of growth in secondary education in Pakistan, this critical area needs to be stressed throughout the nation so that for West Pakistan both primary and secondary education seems to warrant greater weightage compared with higher education. Though some specialists in developmental education have worked out mathematical formulas for determining what they consider to be the ideal or optimum ratio of allocation of resources, practical utility of these formulas is ruled out by the fact that the developmental needs and traditions of no two countries are identical. Nor can the ratio of expenditure on different sectors of education in the advanced countries serve as a useful base, for two reasons. First, the ratio of expenditure on various sectors of education seems to be related to the growth of enrollment in the respective sectors, but both seem to vary from country to country as the following table will show: 14

234

Education

and Development

Strategy

PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF ENROLLMENT AND EXPENDITURE COUNTRY

YEAR

ELEMENTARY EXP.

Japan U.S.A. U.K. German Federal Republic France Sweden U.S.S.R.

SECONDARY

ENROLL.

EXP.

ENROLL.

HICHER EXP.

ENROLL,

1957 1955 1957

42% 43% 50%

56% 60% 66%

45% 32% 40%

41% 32% 33%

13% 25% 10%

3% 8% 1%

1957 1957 1956 1960

52% 53% 69% 39%

74% 79% 72% 49%

38% 39% 23% 43%

23%. 18% 26% 46%

10% 8% 8% 18%

3% 3% 2% 5%

Considerable difference appears in the scale of cost of the different levels of education. Some countries like Sweden and Japan are spending proportionately more on primary education, whereas others such as the United States and the U.S.S.R. are spending proportionately more on secondary and higher education, the ratio of expenditure on primary to secondary and higher education (taken together) being even in the case of the United Kingdom. Second, the increased expenditure on higher education in most countries including the United States is a comparatively recent phenomenon owing to the rapid growth of enrollment during the last few decades. In the case of the United States, this increase occurred long after the country had attained economically advanced status. Nevertheless, the developing countries can ill afford to follow the long and meandering path of economic development traveled by many advanced countries in reaching their present status. In many fields of development, it is theoretically possible for the developing countries under study to enter directly the most recent phase in scientific and technological development through which the advanced countries are currently passing, provided the developing countries have the high-level manpower with necessary knowledge and skill. Both secondary and higher education warrant special weightage in countries like Pakistan for some years to come. Of course, the contents and quality of education in these stages also are of crucial importance to the goals of development, and will be discussed later at some length. Following the concepts developed in this section and in earlier chapters, the design of a minimum pyramid based on the projected growth of enrollment over a period of twenty years ( 1 9 6 1 - 8 0 ) in Pakistan is given below. The preparation of this

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