Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Launch

National Skill Mission on July 15

Anumakonda Jagadeesh Facebook 11 July 2015
Better late than never.
I have had been suggesting OCCUPATIONAL PROMOTION
CENTRES since 70s.
Here are Extract from My Monograph,'My Experiments in
Science: With Special Reference to Appropriate Technology'
published in 1978 along with Experts Comments:
A Monograph on
My Experiments in Science: With Special Reference to
Appropriate Technology
By
A. JAGADEESH
CONVENOR
Society of Science for the People
Nellore(AP)India
1978
Occupational Promotion Centres
The best protection against unemployment is a solid training and
constant additions to it. That costs time and money things which
must be provided by the learner himself, industry and the state.
Investments made in this respect by industry and the State are by
no means gifts to unemployed persons. They are investments
which pay off, investments which increase productivity,
quantitatively and qualitatively. And, on the other hand an
unemployed person who does not possess the qualifications
which make it possible to reintegrate him into the labour process

means expense with no prospect of profit. Well trained young

people have the best chances on the labour market.
We find lakhs of unemployed youths keeping idle soon after they
complete their studies and until they get employment. As they lack
proper facilities to receive some useful training their energies are
being diverted for wrong ends. Occupational Promotion Centres
can be established at district level where they can get free training
(part time) in occupations like welding, radio mechanism, drilling,
carpentry, glass blowing etc., on technical side, soil testing, water
analysis, blood testing etc., on scientific side. This training will go
a long way in equipping the trainees with some practical
knowledge which will help them to start an industry of their own or
in getting some gainful employment. We are having Industrial
training Institutes, Polytechnics etc., to give training in industrial
and technical subjects. But the above centres have a difference
from these institutes in that the centres operate on the principle
Voluntary Learning is more Effective than forced learning.
People with real interest for the training should only be admitted. I
personally know many people working as apprentices in private
workshops and radio shops to learn the techniques. These are
people who are quite new to the field though they have aptitude
for that profession. Recently a young high school student
designed a microscope which costs just a rupee, purely with
limited material available. If such students are permitted to avail
the facilities of an established workshop or laboratory, I am sure
they can benefit much to improve their inventive talents.
There is a hobby centre in S.V. University to give training to
University students in fields like radio mechanism, glass blowing
etc., which is working very well at Tirupati. The training is free to
University students.
I suggest the Union Government with the active co-operation of
the different State Governments can chalk out a scheme to
establish Occupational Promotion Centres in Districts. All that
these centres need is a good workshop and a small laboratory
with two or three well trained instructors. The above centres will

help unemployed youth for gainful employment after training and

go a long way in the national reconstruction from grassroot level.
At the end of the training, a certificate can be given to the
trainees. There should be flexibility in the duration of the training
depending on the interest of the trainees.
REACTIONS
.. The central theme of your proposal is well taken.
We have only to find out the mechanism and consider whether
CSIR should be the focal point for doing this. However, I shall get
this proposal examined further.
Prof.Y.Nayudamma, Director General
CSIR New Delhi
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICS TEACHERS
Stony Brook, New York, U.S.A.
Dear Mr. Jagadeesh,
Thank you for sending your articles about occupational promotion
centers and post-graduate diploma courses. Helping the
unemployed to become better qualified for specific kinds of
employment is certainly a worthwhile cause. I think your plans are
both excellent, and I hope your government can find a way to
support a program such as that you have outlined.
Until our recent recession became serious, unemployment was
not a serious problem for most persons in the United States.
There are, of course, ghetto areas in our big cities where many
people are unemployed and poorly educated, and there are some
depressed areas in other locations in the United States where
large factories or mines that once employed many people have
closed. In these cities and areas, state, country, and city
governments do set up programmes that assist the unemployed
to develop new skills that would enable them to secure jobs. The
variety of such programmes is vast, and I am familiar with only a
few. The one that I know best and one that seems to be very
effective is a program of courses on technical subjects offered at
very low cost by the country government here on Long Island. It is
also true that our two-year community colleges here in the United

States, colleges that are largely supported through country

budgets, offer programms in a wide variety of technical and
occupational fields. Since a number of these colleges are very
large, most students can live at home while attending such a
college and thereby keep costs very low. Students who graduate
with what is called an Associates degree with a specialty in some
occupational field are much in demand and usually find it quite
easy to secure employment. Many cities operate craft centers
particularly during the summer months where students and
other who are unemployed can learn a variety of manual skills. I
think these play much the same role as your hobby centers would
play.
The American Association of Physics Teachers does publish the
Physics Teacher magazine, not the Science Teacher. The Science
Teacher is published by the National Science Teachers
Association; their address is 1201, 16th street, N.W., Washington,
D.C. 20036. I have enclosed one copy of a recent issue of The
Physics Teacher.
Note that you can subscribe to this journal for $15. You might also
consider becoming a member of AAPT. The membership fee for
1975 is $22. Each member has a choice of receiving either The
Physics Teacher or the American Journal of Physics, and in
addition he receives four issues of the AAPT Announcer and a
monthly journal called Physics Today published by the American
Institute of Physics. I have enclosed an application blank in case
you decide to join AAPT.
Sincerely yours,
Prof. A.A. Strassenburg
.. Kindly refer to your letter No.AJ/GC/2908/77-78
dated 13.03.1978 on the subject mentioned above addressed to
Honourable Minister of Industry enclosing a scheme on
Occupational Promotional Centres to be established in Districts.
These schemes are really useful.
It may be mentioned that District Industries Centres are being set
up in the country where all assistance will be provided to

entrepreneurs under one roof. The training programmes will also

be provided to the entrepreneurs in various trades which have got
scope in respective areas. The
trainees will be provided stipend and all efforts will be made to
settle them in the trade after the completion of their training.
Swarajya Prakash, Director (DIC)
Office of the Development Commissioner
(Small Scale Industries)
Ministry of Industry, New Delhi
.. While I am in entire agreement with the idea of
having such centres around the country, I personally feel that the
establishment of these centres would come more appropriately
under the purview of the Ministry of Education. To be effective, the
CSIR laboratories must confine themselves to a limited set of
activities.
I suggest that you write to the University Grants Commission in
this connection. It should be possible for them to ask and fund the
universities in various places to start the type of centres you have
suggested. Such centres could also function as parts of Science
Museums more of which, I hope, would be established in the
country in the coming years.
Dr.P.M.Bhargava, Deputy Director
R.R.laboratory, Hyderabad
.. Your scheme for establishing Occupational
Promotion Centres seems to be a useful one but we are unable
to give any assistance in view of the fact that ICAR deals with
only research and higher education in agriculture. However, for
your information I am enclosing a copy of the Mehta Committee
Report on establishing Krishi Vigyan Kendra for the skill-oriented
training of the farmers, farmers sons, school-dropouts, school
certificate holders and in service extension workers. If you feel
that such a Kendra could be a feasible proposition for you to
establish, we will be happy to consider the same on its merit.
With kind regards,
Dr.N.K.Anant Rao

Deputy Director General (Education)

ICAR, New Delhi
Reviving Period on CRAFT in Schools:
In Our School Days there used to be periods on Craft,Scouts and
Guides,Moral etc. These have to be revived both in Government
and Private Schools.
Science Museums in Districts
Science is now advancing at a rapid speed in our country. There
is acute need to take Science to the masses. When
Science is increasingly becoming an integral part of our life, it is
hardly necessary to emphasize the need for Science
Museums in towns. Its importance in the education of our youth
and in providing incentives to scientific talent is
well known. When our country is set to achieve self-sufficiency in
the production of all essential commodities by
developing industries, using indigenous materials and talent,
scientific education and growth of mind becomes an
essential pre-requisite. Though there are other ways of
popularising science, Science Museums can play an
important role as Seeing is Believing.
To establish Science Museums in Districts require enormous
investment. I have a novel scheme. Every year District
and State Science Fairs should be conducted throughout the
country. The best exhibits from these fairs can be
pooled and placed in a college, high school or District Central
Library building. We can tap the young talent if we

can put their names on the exhibits as this gives them a stimulus
to design new things. Simple apparatus showing
basic principles of Science can be designed. If resources permit,
in due course, these Museums can be upgraded into
major museums like those at Calcutta or Bangalore.
The main objectives are :
To stimulate interest in science and education so that more and
more children may be attracted in future
towards research, engineering and teaching.
To portray the application of Science and Technology to Industry
and contribution to human welfare.
To encourage the creative talent amongst the younger generation.
To popularize science in other ways.
We are planning to organise a Museum in our own District. Out
Motto is Science to Serve Society Society to
Support Science. Let us hope the scheme will materialize and be
a success.
REACTIONS
.. Kindly refer to your letter No.AJ/GC/1009/74-75
dated 3rd February, 1975 on the above subject
addressed to Dr.Nayudamma, DGSIR. It will be a good idea to put
up a Science Museum at Tirupati to popularise
science and Technology, since thousands of people visit Tirupati
throughout the year. CSIR Museums will be
willing to lend their expertise in setting up such a science
museum. If you think that TTD may be willing to give
financial support for such a project, why not request the TTD
Authorities to initiate the matter and approach the
CSIR along with the offer of funds?
I thank you for your keen interest in the establishment of science
museums at Tirupati and hope to hear from you

soon in this matter.

A.BOSE, Director of Museums
CSIR - Calcutta
.. There is already a proposal to establish the
Science and Art Museum at Tirupati. I am sure it will
fructify soon with the help of the State Government, the Centre
and the Devasthanam.
C.Anna Rao, Chairman
TTD Tirupati
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20550
Directorate for Science Education
Division of Science Education Development and Research
Dear Mr. Jagadeesh,
I received your letters dated August 9, August 14, and August
24th. I will comment below on the issues you
raised in all three of these letters.
Since museums play a very important role in improving the
science literacy of the public in the United
States. Every large city in the United States has a science
museum, and some of the smaller cities and large
university campuses do also. Among other roles they play,
science museums help to keep young children and adults
not otherwise engaged in scientific activities interested in and
informed about progress that is being made on the
frontiers of science. There is a new movement in this country to
make science museums an even more vital force in
our educational programs than they have been in the past. The
basic idea is to make it possible for museum goers to
interact with scientific apparatus and to directly observe scientific
phenomena under controlled conditions rather

than to passively observe static displays. This style is perhaps

best exemplified in the Palace of Arts and Sciences
Museum in San Francisco, under the direction of Dr.Frank
Oppenheimer. By contacting Dr.Oppenheimer directly,
you could obtain more details concerning the objectives and
display techniques employed at his museum.
Shortages of textbooks available for student use is not a problem
common to the students at colleges and
universities in the United States. I am somewhat familiar with this
problem as it exists in India, and I certainly agree
that it is extremely important to adopt new strategies that make
textbooks more readily available to science students.
In my view your plan to create collections of textbooks in each
district is very sound. Libraries are very important
and heavily used resources in the United States. Compared to the
impact they have in improving the education and
general literacy of the population, libraries are inexpensive to
establish and operate. As I understand your plan, you
propose to create libraries that specialize in textbooks in use in
the schools of each district in India. By specialising
in the content of the library in this way, you should be able to
provide a more efficient service to the students.
Psychological counseling is much in demand among students at
colleges and universities in the United
States. Each college provides one or more appropriately trained
counselors, and these are heavily used by the
students. If it is impossible to provide such a counselor on each
college campus in India, then the provision of
centrally located psychological counseling services would seem to
be extremely important. While I know little about
such matters, it is my opinion that it is extremely important to
select counselors that are trained to deal with the kind

of psychological problems that are characteristic of young

students. The only problem I see in the establishment of
centralised centers that serve large regions is the sensitive nature
of the service being provided. It is my impression
that students will only avail themselves of such services when
they have confidence that the counselor is likely to
understand and be sympathetic with the problems of the student,
and when there is a guarantee that the conferences
between counselor and student will be kept confidential. It may
take some special effort on your part to persuade the
students on campuses to avail themselves of a remote
psychological counseling service. However, I think it is worth
further study and a trial in one or two typical districts.
I hope these comments are helpful.
Sincerely yours,
Prof. A.A. Strassenburg
Professional Associate
-----------------Union HRD Ministry and Styate Governments can take up this
project.
INNOVATION FUND & INNOVATION CENTRES IN
ENGINEERING COLLEGES
In a broader sense, innovation is important to the advancement of
society around the world. New and innovative products can
increase the standard of living and provide people with
opportunities to improve their lives. Breakthroughs in medicine
and technology have significantly improved living standards
around the world. Innovation has also lead to significant
improvements in the way businesses operate and has closed the
gaps between different markets.
Innovation in engineering:
Innovation in engineering is much more than research and

development. It encompasses an end-to-end process, such that it

extracts value through implementation. Innovation involves:
creating or generating new activities, products, processes and
services
seeing things from a different perspective
moving outside the existing paradigms
improving existing processes and functions
disseminating new activities or ideas
adopting things that have been successfully tried elsewhere
Innovation covers the area from minor quality improvements to
'cutting edge' products and services.
"If we can't find ways to inspire a generation of engineers with
varied skills, this is going to be a principle obstacle for growth in
our slowly recovering global economy" said Lidia Brito, Director of
the Division of Science Policy and Capacity Building at UNESCO.
"A recent UNESCO Engineering Report shows a marked shortage
of engineers in many countries. Although the general number of
engineering students is increasing worldwide, the proportion who
enroll in engineering, as compared to other disciplines, is
concernedly dropping. We need hands-on challenges like Fly
Your Ideas to motivate young innovators about the potential of
engineering in helping to find practical solutions to issues the
world may face in the near future."
Such innovation may be under threat from a skills gap that could
be hitting the economy hard. It will see high tech companies face
a shortfall of 40 million of the skilled workers needed by 2020 and
beyond, with aerospace likely to suffer, along with motor and the
medical equipment sectors.
Charles Champion, Executive Vice President Engineering at
Airbus and Fly Your Ideas Patron, says: "These future-focused
and disruptive concepts prove that engineering isn't just about
technical skills - it's about having an innovative mindset and a
creative approach. But for our industry to succeed in making
aviation carbon neutral by 2020, we need a constant source of
fresh and inventive ideas from the innovators of today and those

of tomorrow. Our future solutions are here right now - and through
projects like 'Fly Your Ideas', we are helping them to become a
reality for the future."
Innovation is extremely important to a country like India as it is
closely related to productivity. Although there are a number of
avenues to increased productivity, innovation is the most
significant factor.
Creativity is seeing what everyone sees and thinking what no one
else has thought before,Invention is transforming those new
thoughts into tangible ideas Innovation goes even further,
involving preparedness to mix with the commercial world to turn
novel ideas into products .
The expertise of the engineering profession is vital to convert
innovative ideas into reality for common use. Many of the
comforts humankind enjoys today have been the result of
innovative engineers. Examples include electrical appliances,
transportation, buildings, telecommunications and urban
infrastructure. Innovation and technology have become two
inseparable words in the annals of human history. Engineers drive
technology and are therefore at the forefront of innovation.
In India there were efforts to harness the talent and innovative
spirit among people by organisations like National Innovation
Foundation(NIF),National Research Development
Corporation(NRDC),TePP etc. besides some private
initiatives(Spark the Rise) etc.
In a vast country like ours these are piecemeal.
I am glad to read the news item in January 2013:
Rs 5000 Crore Innovation Fund in India
"National Innovation Council Chairman Sam Pitroda today said a
Rs 5,000 crore fund to support innovations would be launched
soon.
"We have an innovation fund that we are launching... a Rs 5,000
crore innovations fund with focus on affordability, scalability and
sustainability," Pitroda said on the sidelines of an event here.
"The real innovation has to come from the bottom of the pyramid,"

he added."
The amount spent for innovation should help to shape the
beneficiaries as entrepreneurs. I have a project:
Innovation Centres in Engineering Colleges:
Engineers are best suited to innovate. Unfortunately most of the
Engineering Colleges like Infrastructure facilities(like Good
Workshop, Electronics Lab etc). A Project," INNOVATION
CENTRES) in Engineering Colleges can be started under the Rs
5000 Innovation Fund. Selected Colleges can be provided to start
a good workshop and Electronics Lab. This way the Students can
undertake innovative projects and come out with good gadgets.
Later they can patent them and go for commercialization. This is
the best way to spend Innovation Fund so that there will be
productivity and promotion of Entrepreneurship.
Creativity, Innovation and Invention are the Pillars of Progress.
Today in Industry, INNOVATE OR PERISH is the MANTRA.:
Occupational Promotion Centres:
The best protection against unemployment is a solid training and
constant additions to it. That costs time and money things which
must be provided by the learner himself, industry and the state.
Investments made in this respect by industry and the State are by
no means gifts to unemployed persons. They are investments
which pay off, investments which increase productivity,
quantitatively and qualitatively. And, on the other hand an
unemployed person who does not possess the qualifications
which make it possible to reintegrate him into the labour process
means expense with no prospect of profit. Well trained young
people have the best chances on the labour market.
Occupational Promotion Centres:
We find lakhs of unemployed youths keeping idle soon after they
complete their studies and until they get employment. As they lack
proper facilities to receive some useful training their energies are
being diverted for wrong ends. 'Occupational Promotion Centres'
can be established at district level where they can get free training
(part time) in occupations like welding, radio mechanism, drilling,

carpentry, glass blowing etc., on technical side, soil testing, water

analysis, blood testing etc., on scientific side. This training will go
a long way in equipping the trainees with some practical
knowledge which will help them to start an industry of their own or
in getting some gainful employment. We are having 'Industrial
training Institutes', 'Polytechnics' etc., to give training in industrial
and technical subjects. But the above centres have a difference
from these institutes in that the centres operate on the principle
'Voluntary Learning is more Effective than forced learning'.
People with real interest for the training should only be admitted. I
personally know many people working as apprentices in private
workshops and radio shops to learn the techniques. These are
people who are quite new to the field though they have aptitude
for that profession. Recently a young high school student
designed a microscope which costs just a rupee, purely with
limited material available. If such students are permitted to avail
the facilities of an established workshop or laboratory, I am sure
they can benefit much to improve their inventive talents.
There is a hobby centre in S.V. University to give training to
University students in fields like radio mechanism, glass blowing
etc., which is working very well at Tirupati. The training is free to
University students.
I suggest the Union Government with the active co-operation of
the different State Governments can chalk out a scheme to
establish 'Occupational Promotion Centres' in Districts. All that
these centres need is a good workshop and a small laboratory
with two or three well trained instructors. The above centres will
help unemployed youth for gainful employment after training and
go a long way in the national reconstruction from grassroot level.
At the end of the training, a certificate can be given to the
trainees. There should be flexibility in the duration of the training
depending on the interest of the trainees.
Innovation, Invention and Creativity are the pillars of any society.
Why countries like US, Germany, South Korea and for that matter
China are advancing, because of innovations in every field.

In India recently an Innovation Fund of about 1000 Crores has

been set up. Already there are National Research Development
Corporation (NRDC), Techno Entrepreneur Propgramme (TePP)of
DSIR,National Innovation Foundation(NIF) are working to
promote INNOVATIONS and INVENTORS. These are piecemeal
in a vast country like ours.
Innovative mind does not require higher education or training.
There are geniuses everywhere. We have to identify them and
nurture them. Often it is difficult to identify the right problem then
the solution will automatically follow.
I have a novel plan:
The Government(Central) ,along with Industrialists and private
corporate giants like TATAs,Birlas,Mahindra,,Infosys etc., can
create a INNOVATIVE FUND. They can form a secretariat of
experts in different fields, NGOs,Scientists & Technologists etc.,.
An advertisement can be given in Newspapers, Electronic Media
asking people to suggest the problems they face. Huge number of
problems will be received from people. These can be shortlisted
subject wise and (about 50 to start with) can be identified and
readvertised for solutions. The solutions received can be
evaluated scrupulously for their innovative nature and the best
solutions can be given awards. The award should be of the value
of Rs 1 Crore. To catch a fish the bait should bite attractive
enough.
Is not Amitabh Bachan conducted Kaun Banega Crorepati a
roaring success? This programme sets in motion a thought
process among millions of people.
Our Centre has been involved in the DESIGN,
DEMONSTRATION and DISSEMINATION of Renewable Energy
and Appropriate Technology Gadgets. We have not taken any
patents and are willing to share our experience and expertise in
promoting our Innovative Devices.

Glad to know about Launching of Skill India Mission by our Prime

Minister.
Here is an Action Plan to achieve the Objectives:
Skills Based & Vocational Education
Vocational, or skills-based, education is becoming
more important today, with many employers expecting new
employees to have all the practical skills they need to start work.
Vocational courses are typically more practical andskills-based
than academic degrees, but they are often taught at universities
as well as colleges and technical institutes.
If you know exactly what you want to do in your career and it
requires practical skills, then vocational learning is important. It
could be hospitality and tourism, retail management, software
development or interior design. There are literally thousands of
skills
based training options out there. Vocational schools, sometimes
referred to as trade schools or career schools, provide practical
training with few unrelated
academic course requirements. Vocational schools can offer
programs ranging from short-unit classes of ten weeks or less to
long-term programs of up to two
years in length. Some states offer public vocational schools and
career training programs through community colleges, but the
majority of vocational schools are private institutions. Vocational
school credits don't typically transfer to academic undergraduate
programs like an Associate of Arts program, but they may award
students with a certificate credential.
Common Programs
Vocational schools generally focus on programs in career
fields that can be completed in two years or less. Vocational

schools focusing on a single field, such as automotive trades or

health services, may offer only
one training program or give students a choice of several
programs in the same industry, such as hair stylist, barber, nail
technician or esthetician programs
at a cosmetology school. Other vocational schools offer programs
in several unrelated fields, like agriculture, office skills and
technical training. The following are some common types of
vocational school programs:
Welding
Cosmetology
Plumbing
Carpentry
Locksmithing
Electrical installation and maintenance
Motorcycle and automotive repair
Floral design
Medical transcription
Hotel and restaurant management
Danish Fokeschools:
I stayed in Denmark for a year.
What is a folk high school?
The Danish folk high schools offer non-formal adult education.
Most students are between 18 and 24 years old and the length of

a typical stay is 4 months. You sleep, eat, study and spend your
spare time at the school. There are no academic requirements for
admittance and there are no exams - but you will get a diploma as
a proof of your attendance.
What is non-formal adult education?
The concept of "Non-formal adult education" is associated with
N.F.S. Grundtvig, a Danish philosopher, poet, educational thinker
and clergyman, (born in 1783 - died in 1872), and his thoughts
concerning free educational opportunities. The concept arose in
the 19th century and is one of the cornerstones of the Danish
educational system.
Teaching in the folk high school
Teaching is characterised by professionalism and dedication.
Classes are based on dialogue and mutual learning between
teachers and students. The main focus is to discover and
strengthen the unique skills of each student in a challenging yet
supportive social atmosphere.
South Korea
I visited South Korea.
Vocational high schools offer programmes in five fields:
agriculture, technology/engineering, commerce/business,
maritime/fishery, and home economics. In principle, all students in
the first year of high school (10th grade) follow a common national
curriculum, In the second and third years (11th and 12th grades)
students are offered courses relevant to their specialisation.
In some programmes, students may participate in workplace
training through co-operation between schools and local
employers. The government is now piloting Vocational Meister
Schools in which workplace training is an important part of the

programme. Around half of all vocational high schools are private.

Private and public schools operate according to similar rules; for
example,
they charge the same fees for high school education, with an
exemption for
poorer families.
Most vocational high school students continue into tertiary
education; in 2007 43% transferred to junior colleges and 25% to
university. At tertiary level, vocational education and training is
provided in junior colleges (two- and three-year programmes) and
at polytechnic colleges. Education at junior colleges and in
two-year programmes in polytechnic colleges leads to an
Industrial Associate degree. Polytechnics also provide one-year
programmes for craftsmen and master
craftsmen and short programmes for employed workers. The
requirements for admission to these institutions are in principle
the same as those in the rest of tertiary sector (on the basis of the
College Scholastic Aptitude Test) but candidates with vocational
qualifications are given priority in the admission process.
South Korea is also well known for the results its school children
achieve in the OECDs triennial Program for International Student
Assessment (PISA), which evaluates the scholastic performance
of 15-year-olds in over 60 countries around the world. South
Koreans ranked second in reading, fourth in math, and sixth in
science in 2009,.
Alongside Korea and other regional powerhouses such as
China (Shanghai Metro), Singapore and Hong Kong Europes
Nordic countries also perform well on the PISA assessments.
However, while Nordic educational success is largely attributable
to well-funded and high-quality public schools, the success of
Korean school children is often
attributed to significant parental investment in after-school classes

and other forms of private or additional tuition outside of the public

school system.
Korean children spend 220 days a year in school versus 190 in
Finland and 180 in the United States. By some measures, the
average Korean child spends 13 hours a day studying after
supplemental class time is factored in. According to a PISA
criterion known as study effectiveness, South Korea ranks only
24th out of 30 developed nations. Children in Finland, the top
ranked country in study effectiveness (and third ranked overall),
spend significantly less time in school and in studying in
general than is the case in Korea.
Occupational Promotion Centres
The best protection against unemployment is a solid training and
constant additions to it. That costs time and money things which
must be provided by the learner himself, industry and the state.
Investments made in
this respect by industry and the State are by no means gifts to
unemployed persons. They are investments which pay off,
investments which increase productivity, quantitatively and
qualitatively. And, on the other hand an unemployed person who
does not possess the qualifications which make it possible to
reintegrate him into the labour process means expense with no
prospect of profit. Well trained young people have the best
chances on the labour market.
We find lakhs of unemployed youths keeping idle soon after they
complete their studies and until they get employment. As they lack
proper facilities to
receive some useful training their energies are being diverted for
wrong ends. Occupational Promotion Centres can be established
at district level where
they can get free training (part time) in occupations like
welding,TV mechanism, drilling, carpentry, glass blowing etc., on

technical side, soil testing, water analysis, blood testing etc., on

scientific side. This training will go a long way in equipping the
trainees with some practical knowledge which will help them to
start an industry of their own or in getting some gainful
employment. We are having Industrial training Institutes,
Polytechnics etc., to give training in industrial and technical
subjects. But
the above centres have a difference from these institutes in that
the centres operate on the principle Voluntary Learning is more
Effective than forced learning.
People with real interest for the training should only be admitted. I
personally know many people working as apprentices in private
workshops and radio shops to learn the techniques. These are
people who are quite new to the field though they have aptitude
for that profession. Recently a young high school student
designed a microscope which costs just a rupee, purely with
limited material available. If such students are permitted to avail
the facilities of an established workshop or laboratory, I am sure
they can benefit much to improve their inventive talents.
I suggest the Union Government with the active co-operation of
the different State Governments can chalk out a scheme to
establish Occupational Promotion Centres in Districts. All that
these centres need is a good workshop and a small laboratory
with two or three well trained instructors. The above centres will
help unemployed youth for gainful employment after training and
go a long way in the national reconstruction from grassroot level.
At the end of the training, a certificate can be given to the
trainees. There should be flexibility in the duration of the training
depending on the interest of the trainees.
National Science Service Programme(NSSP):
(Extracted from My Monograph,My Experiments in Science: With
Special Reference to Appropriate Technology published in 1978)

In our educational system (both at School and College level)

emphasis must be laid on schemes which envisage exposure of
students to the problems of society. Just as we have NCC, NSS,
we can also have a National Science Service Programme
(NSSP), which envisages the utilisation of the services of Science
teachers and students for constructive activities in villages. Under
this
programme, the students from degree classes led by a lecturer
choose and ADOPT a village near them. They will visit the village
and acquaint themselves with the problems of the villagers. They
will plan how best they can utilise the knowledge acquired in the
class
room, for bettering the lot of the villagers. They will prepare a
mini-plan extending over 3 years. For example, they can
undertake soil analysis, water
analysis, pest control of crops etc. In the regular curriculum
practical training on subjects like soil analysis, water analysis,
blood testing etc.,can be given.
The scheme has been circulated to Union Government, all State
Governments, all Universities, International agencies like
UNESCO, American Association of Physics Teachers, National
Science Foundation, American Association For The Advancement
of Science etc.
REACTIONS
.. I have your letter of January 8 enclosing your not
eon National Science Service and Research Centres.
I agree with your approach and am trying to implement this in
NSS Scheme in this University. We are arranging for students to
use their speciality in tackling rural problems. Some of the
suggestions you have made go even further in direction, and I
intend to follow them.
Dr. MALCOLM S.ADISESHAIAH,
Vice-Chancellor,
University of Madras, Madras

.. This initiative is from conservation points of views

very welcomed and has certainly the potential to develop into an
important scheme having environmetnal impact on village society
and life.
Internationally your plan is a pilot scheme which is of great
educational and scientific interest to UNESCO. I would be grateful
if you would keep me informed about the evolution of your project,
which might stimulate similar action in other countries.
In Kenya there is since about 3 4 years a very successful youth
movement Wild life Clubs of Kenya that is based on schools in
all parts of the country. Further information on this scheme might
be of value to you. Therefore, I suggest that you write to Miss
Sandra Price, Kenya Wild Life Clubs, National Museum, Nairobi,
requesting such informations
I wish you all success in this project.
KAY CURRY-LINDAHL
Director, Zoological Department
UNESCO Expert in Ecology and Conservation for Africa,
Stockholm, Sweden
.. Your proposals look to me to be interesting ones
and should serve as an important basis for discussion and further
action on education in India.
Please accept my wishes for success.
Dr.Norman P.Neureiter
Executive Office of the President
Office of Science & Technology
Washington, U.S.A.
.. Thank you for your letter of 20th May and your
interesting paper on National Science and Research Centres. I
shall hope to give this further thought and study to see if there is
any way we can use such ideas in our work in this country.
I enclose 2 copies of the ROSLA Schools/Youth Service Project
as requested.
MISS BENNETT, Youth Officer

Sheffield District Council

Sheffield, U.K.
.. It was kind of you to share your further thoughts
on the establishment of National Science Service and Research
Centres. I am pleased to learn that you have already elicited
interest and support from so many different institutions. In
response to your request for suggestions I would like to mention a
few points.
In the local bazar and in the village a person who has had training
in science can find many instances in which scientific principles
are exemplified. The principles of mechanics come into play
whenever loads are moved, wood is split, water is drawn from the
well. Chemistry comes into play when the fire is lit and the food is
cooked. The microbiology of the tank and the microbiology of the
fields is there. Materials science is involved in the operations of
the black smith. Physical chemistry in the dyeing of cloth;
microbilogy in the preparation of dahl; the list of ready examples
is almost indefinitely long.
Perhaps one component of your programme could be to elicit
some of the relevant principles through observation of community
life through the eyes of the science teacher. Perhaps projects
making use of the most readily available materials could be
designed with the help of teachers from the colleges and
universities and conducted by persons in the adopted village.
Descriptions of individual projects could be collected and
published as a handbook for use by others.
I believe that for such a project to be successful it would be
necessary for a nucleus of well-trained science teachers to
become interested in undertaking the work, because the expertise
of the scientist is really needed in order to transform the ordinary
event into an occasion for learning more about science. I am
confident that if a group of science teachers took up this strategy
of teaching science in the village that there would be a useful
awakening to the role of the scientific approach to the solution of
ordinary problems.

Again, may I wish you well in your project.

Gordon L. Hiebert, Head
NSF/New Delhi Science Liaision Staff
.. Your letter and article. What you have suggested
is absolutely necessary and it is feasible at every college and
village. As you know there are other programmes like this
sponsored by CSIR and other agencies where villages have
been adopted and big scientists get involved in a big way, and we
end up with one model village at enormous cost. Your idea of one
college-one village has the merit that it is student-oriented, no fan
fare and so on. I am strongly recommending it to our Youth
Welfare Department who run youth camps with the (misguided)
feeling that if the students lay road to villages, they get integrated.
In my opinion, the villager feels that his daily wages have been
removed. Anyway I will try my best to have this programme put to
trial in this area.
Dr.J.Jayaraman
Department of Biological Sciences
Madurai University, Madurai
.. I must appreciate your thinking on the subject of
involving science students of the colleges in some useful and
productive projects. In fact the Ministry of Agriculture and
Irrigation as also ICAR are very much thinking on this line and we
shall be using your suggestion and line of thinking in the future
schemes. For your information the ICAR has already requested
all the agricultural universities and colleges to involve students
and staff in agricultural development projects in the villages.
Some have already done some work on this line and others are
planning to do it on continuous basis.
Dr.C.Prasad
Asst. Director General (Edn.)
ICAR, New Delhi
.. I shall bring this to the notice of the committee on
College Science Improvement Programme and explore the
possibilities of implementing some of the suggestions in a few

colleges.
It was very kind of you to have written to me.
Dr.D.Shankar Narayan
Additional Secretary, UGC
New Delhi
.. We had requested Principal Saha of RCE, Mysore
to let us know the position and he has intimated that the project
does not involve any financial help from NCERT at all and if you
require all the help and guidance you can contact Mr.K.V.Rao,
Field Adviser at Hyderabad or Dr.Sharma, Head of the
Department of Science, RCE, Mysore and they would be glad to
extend all sort of co-operation.
If you require any further information, you are free to approach us.
Prof.R.P.Singh
Head of the Department &
Member Secretary (ERIC)
NCERT, New Delhi.
.. I feel there is little I can add to the comments of
praise already expressed by numerous experts and I would very
much welcome the opportunity of seeing the programme in action
at some future date. With this in mind, perhaps you would let me
know when the colleges reopen and the programme is reestablished so that I can arrange to vist Nellore when we could
also discuss the implications of the Open University.
Once again, many thanks for the very interesting and informative
document, and I look forward to meeting you some time soon.
Dr.D.J.F. Burton
Assistant Education Adviser
The British Council, Madras
.. It is felt that instead of the ICMR adopting certain
independent districts for development in various aspects, it is
being proposed to join hands with the CSIR taking the task of uplifting of health services in these selected areas. I am
communicating this information to the Ministry of Health and
Family Planning for necessary action.

Dr.C.GOPALAN, Director General

ICMR, New Delhi
.. I have appreciated the opportunity to carefully
review your description of the proposed scheme for National
Science Service and Research Centers. The scheme is one that
encompasses science in the lives of people a goal that I
personally find a most desirable challenge. Your scheme
illustrates what creative people can do with relevant concerns.
In this country, we do not have similar centers as I understand
your description of them. This is not unusual, for I believe that
such centers will likely be productive when they are all designed
to meet the needs of local problems. We are concerned with
helping teachers maintain their knowledge and skills. In a recent
paper Teacher Centers I have described how these centers
function in this country and in England. Because of your interest, I
am enclosing a copy of this paper.
Be assured that we are pleased to encourage you in your efforts
to improve science teaching.
Dr.David P.Butts, President
Association for the Education of Teachers
of Science,
The University of Georgia, USA
.. I am glad to hear that your scheme National
Science Service and Research Centres is gaining momentum. I
wonder whether you would be willing to write a short article about
your scheme that we might publish in Science Education News.
We could use an article of approximately 1,000 words. Please let
me know if you would be willing to do this.
Dr.Arthur H.Livermore
Deputy Director of Education
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Washington, U.S.A.
.. We found the idea very interesting and wish you
every success with it.
Please find enclosed some documents on the education systems

in Australian States which we trust will be of use to you in the

planning process.
Dr.A.H.Ennor, Secretary
Department of Education & Science
A.C.T., Australia
.. I certainly admire the energy and insight you have
exhibited in the development of the plan enclosed with your letter.
I feel very privileged to learn of this ambitious program, and I am
pleased with the opportunity to make a small contribution by
sending you my comments. First, the aims seem to me most
admirable. With regard to the programme of action, I feel most
parts of it are very thoughtfully designed and are likely to make a
significant impact on the villages of India. I confess I am some
what skeptical concerning the probable success of phase I. I
doubt that stories of the exploits of scientists will seem anything
but mysterious to individuals with very little background in
science. I feel strongly that it is not a good idea to add to the
impression of mystery that many citizens have towards science. If
the planning were up to me, I would concentrate on the
educational phases of the programme and let the stories of
important scientific discoveries evolve in the natural context of
learning some of the basic methods, concepts, and findings of
scientists.
I regard phase II, the technical and educational phase of your
programme, as very ambitious but extremely well planned. The
topics you have decided to include are certain to be of interest to
most citizens. I can only urge you to begin this instruction at a
very elementary level. All my experience in attempting to teach
physics to students at various ages impresses me with the
difficulty of communicating with persons who have no knowledge
of the vocabulary, experimental procedures, or logical thought
process used by scientist.
I have only one other suggestion in reaction to your proposal. It
would seem to me that the problem assigned to each student
should be one proposed by the villagers themselves. I still fear

that if projects are imposed upon them by a group of well

educated outsiders, they are likely to be very skeptical and may
well resist rather than co-operate with the programme. I do think
the list of problems is an extremely interesting one. I am
particularly impressed with the importance of discussing problems
of agriculture and health. Your pattern of organization seems to
me very admirable and I can think of nothing that would improve
it.
I hope you will continue to keep me and others here at the State
University of New York at Stony Brook informed of the progress
you made in implementing this programme. All of us have great
interest in science education in India, and if your programme is a
success, we could no doubt profit by emulating it in efforts to
educate our own rural citizens.
Prof.A.A.Strassenburg
Executive Officer
A.A.P.T., New York.
.. Thank you for your letter dated 6 June with the
interesting account of what seems to be a most comprehensive
and inspired scheme to help the rural dweller, who is so often
disadvantaged in any country.
Enclosed is a copy of my monograph : Education and Rural
Development with reference to Developing Countries, which
might be of interest to you.
From the enclosed letter to Dr.Basu, you will see that I am
negotiating for a visit to India in a few months time. If I am
successful in my negotiations, could I come and spend a little time
with you and help you with some of your many projects ?
I am particularly interested in India, having spent a few months in
1962 at the University founded by Rabindranath Tagore at
Santiniketan in West Bengal.
Dr.G.M.Coverdale
School of Education
Macquarie University,
Australia

.. I consider your proposal of great value and indeed

suitable to the realisation of the interest of the younger student
generation to the basic problems of your country and indeed any
country in the world. I have visited your country one year and a
half ago, travelling by bus from Patna through Uttar Pradesh to
Benaras, Agra and New Delhi. From my granted superficial
observation, it seems to me that your plan may well provide a
solution for many of the problems inherent in your village regions.
I venture to say that a similar program might be well very fruitful in
my own country and therefore I shall be grateful to you if you
would be so kind to send me information on the further
development of your program and its realisation.
With best wishes to you and to your admirable program.
Prof.A.DE VRIES, Bellinson Hospital
Health Insurance Institution
Petah Tiqva/Israel
.. The proposed scheme of National Science
Service has very valuable motivations. Its programme is wide
enough to catch interest of villagers as well as students.
As you say the success depends on the missionary zeal for
service through science. This scheme will also provide a practical
target to the biological associations and other scientific clubs
already existing in so many colleges and Universities of India.
The more delicate point will be the real contact with the villagers
themselves. This will require a good psychological approach, and
appropriate choice, of the problems and subjects of primary and
practical interest for the villagers. Their voluntary cooperation will
not be obtained, at least at the beginning, without any hope of
some betterness or solution of their own problems.
The success or failure of the scheme at the village level will
greatly depend on the first practical results obtained by the
students clubs. This may be a better way to get villagers
confidence and help, than lecturing on more general and
philosophic views on science and humanity.
On the other hand, the scientific out turn of the students enquiries

and field studies will depend mostly on the scientific level and
capability of the Leaders, Lecturers or Demonstrators involved in
the scheme.
I am sure that you have in mind these difficulties which are
existing in almost all the countries of the world. Rural
development schemes, in the broadest sense, requires first a
good sociological approach, and as much psychology as scientific
knowledge.
Wishing you the best of success.
Prof. Dr.J.L. Trochain, Service De., Botanique Universite Paul
Sabatier, France
.. Your letter with an enclosure entitled National
Science Service and Research Centres was referred to the
Science Foundation of the Philippines (SFP) by our Department
of Foreign Affairs. Your request for the Philippine Embassy in
India to send the scheme to the concerned authorities to take
appropriate action bespeaks of your keen desire to make the
people not only of India but also of Southeast Asia, benefit from
Science and Technology - a laudable measure you have taken.
Like your country, the Science Foundation of the Philippines
(SFP) representing the Philippines is a member of the
International Coordinating Committee for the Presentation of
Science and the Development of Out-of-School Scientific
Activities (ICC). For this reason, we have been collaborating with
the ICC Regional Vice President Dr.Ananda Ghosh of the Bose
Institute in Calcutta in the development of programmes for
Southeast Asia with strategies similar to what is described in your
scheme. Rest assured that the SFP staff will closely study your
scheme and will adapt applicable ideas with due credit to you in
its out-of-school science education project. We will appreciate
continuously receiving from you information on developments
regarding your youth community project.
Thank you,
Juan Salcedo, JR., President
Science Foundation of the Philippines

Manila
.. Concerning Taking Science to Villages and for
the pamphlet on your National Science Service Programme with
the many stimulating comments. The enthusiasm for your
program appears to be great and the workship certainly can lay
the conceptual and organisatorial foundations.
It seems to me that the great problem of our world today is not so
much the academisation of the young generation, than the
effective and productive integration of academic youth into
society, both by adjusting education to societys demand and by
reforming society so as to become receptive to developed minds.
This has to be a two-way interaction. Unfortunately, as we have
seen in our generation, academisation has in considerable
measure increased the distance between youth and society, and,
in spite of the New Left, the gap has not yet been narrowed,
indeed, seems to be widening. Whichever is guilty lack of
education or wrong education, society nowadays appears to turn
away from learning except from purely technical, and to distrust
the academician except in his technical knowledge, and youth
becomes more and more materialistic pragmatic.
It is my firm belief that in the final issue the fate of the world, if not
ending in disaster, will have to be determined by spiritual forces
guiding mankind in the use of its acquired technical skills which, if
left on their own, shall be useless or worse, destructive. That is
where your village program may be of great value, by exposing
the student to the impact of society with its spiritual values, so that
in reforming society he shall keep in mind the limitations of the
natural sciences in shaping a human future , and shall be open to
the manifestations of mans soul.
With best wishes,
Prof. A.DE VRIES, Beilinson Hospital
Health Insurance Institution
Petah Tiqva / Israel

To make Skill and Scale India as envisaged by our Prime Minister

here is a short list:
1. Introduction(Reviving) Craft Period in School curriculum both in
Government and Private Schools.
2. Skills Based & Vocational Education.
3. Starting Folkeschools on the lines of those in Denmark
4. Occupational Promotion Centres in Districts
5. Starting Innovation Centres in select Engineering Colleges
with Government Assistance.
6. National Science Service Programme in Degree colleges
7. Science Museums in Districts (Government and Private
Participation)
8. Involving people in solving problems
9. Starting Youth Economic Zones(like SEZ) in Rural areas(Like
Kibbutz in Israel)
10. Energy conservation and Saving as a National Mission.
Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP) India