WELFARE DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Introduction.

THE EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS IN THE DISTRICT are in keeping with the general educational pattern in the country. The gradual increase in the number of literates from 50,293 in 1911 to 373,169 in 1951 is a sufficient testimony to the fact that in the recent past conscious efforts were made by the State Government and some voluntary organisations for the spread of literacy and education. The percentage of literates to the total population came to 27.90 in 1957-58. There were in the same year the following educational institutions in Jalgaon district: 2 for higher education (viz., Moolji Jetha Arts. Science and Commerce College, Jalgaon and Pratap College, Amalner, which is also an arts and science college), 62 for secondary education, 1,330 for primary education and 1.123 other educational institutions. In the absence of institutions imparting technical education the students have to migrate to other districts where such facilities are available. The following few figures give an idea of the literacy standards of the people of the district: —

Organisation.

Primary and Secondary Education in Jalgaon district is under the control of the District Educational Inspector, who is a Class I Officer of the Maharashtra Educational Service and is directly under the control of the Director of Education, Maharashtra State, Poona. He is responsible for—

(i) the supervision of primary education;

(ii) the administrative control of all district school hoards, primary schools, Government and non-Government secondary schools and training institutions under the control of the Education department; and

(iii) the control and inspection of all secondary schools including English-teaching schools, vocational high schools (i.e., agricultural, commercial and technical high schools), training-institutions of primary teachers and such special schools as are under the control of the Education department.

As regards girls' schools and institutions for women, the In spec-tress of Girls' Schools, Poona (M. E. S. Class I) performs the functions and duties of the District Educational Inspector in respect of—

(a) the inspection of girls' secondary and special schools (including the training institutions for women primary teachers) in the district.

(b) visiting girls' primary schools in the district and making suggestions for their improvement.

In carrying out his duties of inspection and control, the Educational Inspector is assisted by an inspecting staff, consisting of one Deputy Educational Inspector (M. E. S. Class II) and 32 Assistant Deputy Educational Inspectors (M. E. S. Class III) who are directly responsible to him for the supervision and inspection of primary schools in the district under section 48 of the Bombay Primary Education Act (LXI of 1947).

There are separate inspectors, having State-wide jurisdiction over the institutions imparting instruction in physical education, visual education, drawing and craft work and commerical subjects and they are responsible for organisation and inspection in their respective areas. At the district level these inspectors have jurisdiction in regard to their respective subjects only and they work directly under the Director of Education.

The Deputy Educational Inspector, Jalgaon, is the Chief Government inspecting officer in the district so far as primary schools are concerned. Under the rules framed under the Bombay Primary Education Act he decides the question of recognition of private primary schools and has to be in close touch with the working of primary schools maintained and approved by school boards, social education classes and village libraries, He has to submit report regarding accommodation, equipment, staff, efficiency of instruction, etc., in the primary schools so that the department may be in a position to determine whether the school board is conducting its schools satisfactorily. All the aided schools are inspected by him or by the inspecting staff under him. He also assists the Educational Inspector in the inspection of secondary schools and reports on any specific points about them whenever he is asked to do so by the Educational Inspector.

Primary Education.

PRIMARY EDUCATION: It is the declared policy of Government to realise universal, free and compulsory primary education through a definite programme of progressive expansion of the educational system. In view of this declared policy, under the Bombay Primary Education Act (LXI of 1947), the Slate Government has taken upon itself the duty or securing the development and expansion of primary education in the State. The object is to have a minimum course of seven years' education for every child. The agencies employed for discharging this duty are the District School Board and the authorised municipalities. The municipal boroughs of Jalgaon and Amalner have been declared as authorised municipalities in this district.

District School Board.

"Approved Schools" [ "Approved School" means a primary school maintained by the State Government or by the school board or by an authorised municipality or which is for the time being recognised as such by a school board or by the State Government or by an officer authorised by it in this behalf (section a of the Bombay Primary Education Act, LXI of 1947).] within the area of all unauthorised municipalities and of the District Local Board are under the control of the Jalgaon District School Board. This School Board is composed of 16 members. Of these, three are appointed by Government of whom one is a Government official and the other two are elected by the non-authorised municipalities falling within the District School Board's area of jurisdiction. The rest are elected by the Jalgaon District Local Board. From among those elected, one shall be from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and three shall have passed the Matriculation or the Second Year Training Certificate Examination.

School Boards of authorised municipalities.

The school boards of the municipal boroughs of Jalgaon and Amalner are composed of 12 members each, of whom two are appointed by Government, one being a Government official, and the rest are elected by the municipal borough concerned. Under the rules, of the elected members one shall be a woman, one from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and three shall have passed the Matriculation or Second Year Training Certificate Examination.

Working of Primary Education Act.

Under the Primary Education Act (LXI of 1947) and rules (1949) thereunder the District School Board and the authorised municipalities have to maintain an adequate number or primary schools in which instruction is given through the medium of the local regional language. For children whose mothertongue is other than the regional language of the area, school boards have been instructed to open schools in their language in an area where the number of such children is not less than 40 in the first four standards and 20 in the upper standards and provided further that the guardians express their desire to that effect. The teaching of the regional language is also compulsory in such schools from standard III and onwards. An authorised municipality has to make such provision in its budget as will enable approved schools in its areas to receive grants at the rates sanctioned by Government. Responsibility is laid on the District School Board and the school boards of the authorised municipalities to maintain a schedule of staff of Assistant Administrative Officers or supervisors, primary teachers, clerks, inferior servants and other staff, sanctioned by Government, setting forth the designation, grades, pay and nature of appointments of different members. The members of this staff are servants of the school boards concerned and receive their pay, allowances, etc., from the Primary Education Fund maintained by the school boards. No change or alteration can be made in the schedule of staff without the previous sanction of Government.

The annual budgets of the school boards have to be submitted to the Director of Education for sanction. The District School Board derives its income mainly from Government grants, which form nearly 96 per cent of its total income. It also receives from the District Local Board a contribution equal to such portion of its income from the cess on land revenue and water-rates as may be fixed by Government from time to time, and from non-authorised municipalities whose schools are under its control such portion of the rateable value of properties in the area of the respective municipalities as may be fixed by Government from time to time. The District Local Board of Jalgaon has, under the present rates, to contribute 15 pies of the three-anna cess on land revenue and water-rates that it is allowed to levy. The amount to be paid by non-authorised municipalities has been fixed by Government at 5 per cent of the rateable value of properties in their respective areas. The Primary Education Fund of the municipal boroughs of Jalgaon and Amalner are composed partly of grants payable to them by the State Government on account of primary education. This grant is regulated by rates framed by the Government under the Primary Education Act. In effect, however, the Government grant amounts to a little less than 50 per cent of the expenditure on primary education incurred by the municipal boroughs.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Jalgaon District School Board is its Administrative Officer. This officer is appointed and paid by the State Government. The Administrative officers of the authorised municipalities also are appointed by the Government. Under these Administrative Officers are Assistant Administrative Officers, primary school teachers, clerks, and inferior servants and other staff in the employment of the District School Board or the School Boards of authorised municipalities, as the case may be. The Administrative Officer is responsible for the general administration of all primary schools maintained by the school hoard and also for carrying out the suggestions made from time to time by State Government Offices. He advises the school boards on all matters connected with primary education. He is also a member and the secretary of the Staff Selection Committee, which is composed, besides him, of the Chairman of the School Board and the Educational Inspector of the district. Its duty is to select candidates for appointment as Assistant Administrative Officers and primary teachers. The committee also selects the teachers to be deputed for training. All appointments within the purview of the Administrative Officers have to be made by them in accordance with the directions given by the Committee. The selection of candidates and teachers is made in accordance with the instructions issued by the Government. The Administrative Officer has powers, subject to the general instructions issued by the Director of Education, to promote and to effect transfers of the staff and to take such disciplinary action, including removal or dismissal, against the staff. His orders, however, are subject to appeal to a tribunal consisting of the Chairman of the School Board and the Educational Inspector of the district. A primary school teacher who was a guaranteed teacher on the date when the Primary Education Act came into force, has however the right of further appeal to the State Government against any orders of his removal or dismissal passed by the Administrative Officer.

Statistics (1957-58).

Statistics.—In 1957-58 there were 1,335 (including one Railway School at Bhusawal) primary schools (both lower primary, i.e., teaching standards I—IV and upper primary, i.e., teaching standards V—VII) of which 64 were exclusively for girls. The distribution of the schools by management was as follows:—

The percentage of school-going children to the population was 13.4.

The number of teachers in primary schools was 4,900 of whom 4,237 were men and 663 women. Of the total number of teachers, 3,798 men teachers and 464 women teachers were trained. There were four training institutions, three for men (one Government and two non-Government) where during 1957-58, 177 men and 70 women or a total of 247 teachers were trained. Of the four training institutions three were conducted at Jalgaon and one was run in the mofussil area. Only two training institutions had their own schools for conducting practicals and the remaining two conducted practicals in schools run by the Municipal School Board, Jalgaon.

Expenditure (1957-58): The total expenditure on Primary Schools was Rs. 47,90,650 in 1957-58 which was met from the following sources:—

The average expenditure incurred for educating a pupil was Rs. 33 of which Government's share was Rs. 17.9.

The district had in 1957-58, 53 municipal primary schools in the municipal areas of Jalgaon and Amalner besides three private schools within the limits of the Jalgaon Municipality. The total number of pupils was 17,044. The expenditure of the School Boards of the two municipalities amounted to Rs. 6,06,968 of which contribution from Municipal funds was Rs. 3,15,585.

Compulsory Education.

The District School Board, Jalgaon, introduced the scheme of compulsory education for the first time from 1st September 1947 under the Post-War Reconstruction Programme for children in the age-group of 7 to 11, residing in villages having a population of 1,000 and over. The same scheme was extended from 1st June 1956, to villages having a population of between 500 and 999 and further to villages having population of less than 500, from 1st October 1956 to children in the age-group of 7 to 9. The total number of children in the different age-groups under the schemes of compulsory education was 97,971 in 1957 (boys 57,426 and girls 40,545) of whom 90,437 (52,818 boys and 37,619 girls) attended the schools.

Medium of Instruction.

According to the medium of instruction prevalent in the schools run by District School Board and Municipal School Board in Jalgaon in the year 1957-58, the schools were distributed as follows: —

School Buildings.

In 1957-58, out of 1,871 buildings in which the District School Board schools were housed, 473 were owned by the Board, 569 were rented and 829 were rent-free. In 1957-58, the municipal schools were housed in 46 buildings out of which 16 were owned, 25 were rented and the remaining 5 were rent-free.

Basic Schools.

A new ideology has influenced the educational activities of the State since 1937-38. It has come to be recognised that education should centre around some form of productive manual work implying instruction and practice together. This is termed as Basic Education. Most of the basic training institutes were concentrated in Parola taluka of the district. In 1957-58, there were in all 393 basic schools, (383 District School Board's and 10 Municipal School Board's) out of which 349 schools (District School Board 342 and Municipal School Board 7) provided instructional facilities in spinning and weaving, 24 in agricultural science and 20 (District School Board 17 and Municipal School Board 3) in cardboard-modelling and carpentry. The total number of basic trained teachers in 1957-58 was 1,635 of which 1,591 were district School Board teachers, and 62 Municipal School Board teachers.

Ashram Schools and Sanskar Kendras.

In 1957-58 there were two ashram schools in Jalgaon district, one at Pal, taluka Raver, for scheduled tribes and the other at Erandol for Vimukta Jatis. The total expenditure in these schools was Rs. 39,380 and Rs. 10,887 respectively. There were four sanskar kendras at Khiroda, Parola, Erandol and Paldhi under the control of the Social Welfare Officer, Jalgaon, and they are inspected by the Educational Inspector personally.

Secondary Education.

SECONDARY EDUCATION is now under the overall regulation of State Government which exercises its control by laying down conditions for receipt of grants-in-aid. The final high school examination that is the Secondary School Certificate Examination, is conducted by the Secondary School Certificate Examination Board and the students who pass the same are awarded Secondary School Certificates. The office of the Secondary School Certificate Examination Board is located at Poona. The first examination of this Board was held in 1949. The examination provides for pupils a number of optional courses covering varied interests and aptitudes.

Statistics (1957-58).

There were 62 (including one administered by the Union Government and one by the State Government) secondary schools in the district four of which were exclusively for girls. There was only one Government Commerce High School for boys at Jalgaon. In addition there was one technical high school under the control of the Director of Technical Education. The maintenance grants paid to non-Government secondary schools in 1957-58 amounted to Rs. 3,04,178 for boys' schools and Rs. 13,055 for girls' schools.

The following statement shows the number of schools under different managements and the number of pupils in them:—

Secondary education was imparted mainly by private institutions aided by Government grants. The classification of the secondary schools according to the medium of instruction is given below: —

There were 684 teachers (565 trained and 119 untrained) in secondary schools of whom 622 were men and 62 women. Besides, there were 37 special teachers and 26 part-time teachers. The percentage of trained teachers to the total number of teachers in secondary schools was about 82.6.

The total expenditure on secondary education amounted to Rs. 3,74,838 in 1957-58. In the same year the Central Government contributed Rs. 22,024 to the Central Railway School, Bhusawal; the State Government Rs. 33,200 to Government Commercial High School, Jalgaon. The total grants paid to four secondary schools run by authorised municipalities amounted to Rs. 28,225.

Drawing Examinations.

DRAWING EXAMINATIONS: The drawing examinations are conducted by the Head Master, Government G. S. Commerce High School, Jalgaon. In 1957-58, the number of candidates who appeared for Elementary Drawing Examination was 470 and those who appeared for Intermediate Drawing Examination was 174.

Special Schools.

There were 31 special schools as per details given below:—

Research Institutes.

Research Institutes.—Indian Institute of Philosophy at Amalner in Jalgaon district is an independent institution, renowned for research. It was founded in 1916 with the object of encouraging persons who have already studied Western Philosophy to get a firsthand acquaintance with its Indian counterpart in general and with the Advaita system of Vedant in particular. The research is conducted by fellows selected every year. The minimum qualifications required of a fellow are the possession of a post-graduate degree, especially M. A. with Philosophy, of some recognised Indian University and knowledge of Sanskrit. The monthly scholarship amounts to Rs. 100 plus Rs. 20 as dearness allowance. Hostel accommodation is free. There are only five to six fellowships every year. For the last 32 years, the institute is publishing a quarterly in English in collaboration with the Indian Philosophical Congress. The institute maintains an up-to-date library which has 5,000 books on its register.

Physical Education.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION: One trained Assistant Deputy Educational Inspector looks after the physical education in the district. He visits secondary, full primary and training institutions and gives suggestions and guidance to further the cause of physical education. He also inspects the Vyayam Shalas run by private bodies and recommends grants. He often conducts short-term courses for primary teachers for training in physical education. The person appointed to the post of an Assistant Deputy Educational Inspector for physical education attends to similar work in institutions meant for girls and women.

There were in 1957-58, 54 Auxiliary Cadet Corps troops conducted by different secondary schools in Jalgaon district. The honorarium paid to Auxiliary Cadet Corps trained teachers who organised the Auxiliary Cadet Corps activities, was Rs. 5,400. The number of Auxiliary Cadet Corps teachers deputed for training at Khadakvasla in 1957-58 was ten. In 1957-58, Auxiliary Cadet Corps camps were organised at different places in the district, both for boys and for girls. In all 2,077 boys, 60 girls and 49 teachers (of whom two were ladies) participated in the activities of the camp.

Sports Festival.

SPORTS FESTIVAL: The Sports Festival was conducted at taluka and district level in 1958 as usual.

Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. BOY SCOUTS AND GIRLS: In 1957-58, there were duly recognised and registered troops for hoys and for girls, in which 144 boy scouts and 72 girl guides participated. There are, however, a number of unregistered scout and guide troops in Training Colleges, High Schools and Primary Schools.

Visual Education.

VISUAL EDUCATION: Most of the well established secondary schools in this district have radio sets. Some schools owned 16 mm. and 35 mm. projectors in order to cater to the needs of visual education. Two or three schools also possess epidiascopes.

Medical Inspection.

MEDICAL INSPECTION: There are arrangements for medicalexamination of high school and Training College students by competent medical personnel.

Social Education.

SOCIAL EDUCATION: There were two Social Education Committees in this district during the year 1957-58, one for Jalgaon City and the other for Jalgaon District. The number of social education classes conducted in Jalgaon City proper was eight (three for men and five for women) for I—test. The number of literates turned out was 86 of whom 14 were men and 72 were women. The total expenditure incurred was Rs. 344. The number of social education classes for I—test in the district in 1957-58 was 576. (481 for men and 95 for women) and for II—test, 240 (221 for men and 19 for women). The number of literates turned out was 3,804 of whom 2,943 were for I—test (2,504 men and 439 women) and 861 for II—test (790 men and 71 women) and the total expenditure incurred was Rs. 16,077.

Village Libraries.

VILLAGE LIBRARIES: The number of village libraries in the district in 1957-58 was 412 and the total grants paid to all libraries amounted to Rs. 839. A circulating library was opened at Pimpalgaon Hareshwar during the year 1957-58 and it was found to be working satisfactorily.

Colleges.

The following two colleges are affiliated to the University of Poona for the degree courses shown against them (the date of establishment is given in brackets against each college): —

(1) Moolji Jetha Arts and Science College, Jalgaon, (1945)— M. A. in Marathi, Sanskrit, Politics, Economics. B. A. Special in Economics and Marathi. B. A. General in English, Sanskrit, History, Politics, Economics, Marathi, Hindi, Psychology, Ethics and Statistics.

B. Sc. General (1) Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics.

(2) Physics, Chemistry, Botany.

(3) Chemistry, Botany, Zoology.

(2) Pratap College, Amalner, (1945)—

M. A. in Marathi, Sanskrit, English, Economics, Politics.

M. Sc. Botany Research.

B. A. Special in Marathi, Economics, English.

B. A. General in Marathi, Sanskrit, English, Economics, History, Politics and Ethics and Psychology.

B. Sc. General (1) Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics.

(2) Chemistry, Botany and Zoology.

(3) Chemistry, Botany and Physics.

One hostel is run in Jalgaon City for the children of the soldiers displaced in World War II. The District Soldiers' Board, Jalgaon, looks after the management of the hostel. In the year 1957-58, there were 23 students in the hostel. A separate suitable building is now being constructed for the hostel. The Collector, Jalgaon, works as the Chairman of the District Soldiers' Board. The appointment of a Hostel Superintendent is made by the Board. He is a paid servant and he stays in the hostel for 24 hours.

Sarvodaya.

In the district, there is one Sarvodaya Centre in Raver taluka in which there are in all eight primary schools out of which five are voluntary schools and the remaining three are District School Board's Schools. All the five voluntary schools are single-teacher schools. They are run by the Sarvodaya management of which Sanchalak is the Chief Executive Officer. The number of pupils reading in schools in the Sarvodaya area is 922. The number of teachers working in these schools is 27. Their appointments and transfers are made by the Sarvodaya management.

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