According To Kothari Commission, What Is The Objective Of Education

Back to: Contemporary India and Education-Unit 1

The Kothari Commission was an ad hoc commission formed by the Government of India under the Chairmanship of Daulat Singh Kothari on 14 July 1964 and dissolved on 29 June 1966. He was the chairman of the University Grants Commissions (UGC) when the Kothari Commission was formed. The Commission consisted of twenty members who were experts in the education domain and based out of the UK, USA, Japan, Sweden, and France.

Objectives of the Kothari Commission (1964-66)

The main objectives of the Kothari Commission (1964-66) were as follows:

1. Provision of guidelines and policies for education development in India.

2. Evolution and finding of a general education pattern in India.

3. Examination of every aspect and domain of the Indian education system.

Objective of Education

According to the Kothari Commission, the main objective of education should be as follows:

Vocational Education

The Kothari Commission focused on the need for education that makes individuals ready for the work front so that they can have a secure career. It suggested that work experience must be made mandatory.

Part-Time Education

The Commission also suggested that part-time education must be offered at a large scale at lower and higher secondary stages of education.

Use of Regional Languages

The Commission suggested the use of regional languages as the medium of language for teaching for all stages of education.

Career-based Approach

The Kothari Commission focused on the need for education that makes individuals ready for the work front so that they can have a secure career.

Inclusion of Training Courses

It put forward the need for training-based courses. As a result, a multitude of courses with varying duration of one to three years was introduced. This included the training of pre-primary and primary teachers, industrial training courses, trading courses, medical training courses, agricultural training courses, and more.

Expression of Creativity

According to the Commission, learners must be educated in manual work so that they can express their creativity. They focused on developing learners into self-sufficient individuals.

The Commission put forward the need for free education for all children up to the age of 14. It emphasized the need for education up to a certain age. It redefined education by restating its objectives and focusing on how education can influence and positively impact social and national issues and aspects.

These were the aims and objectives of the Kothari Commission and because of its recommendations, the government formulated the National Education Policy (1968).