Report of Justice Verma Committee (1999)
on
Operationalisation of Fundamental Duties
Salient Recommendations
Operationalization Overview
The operationalization strategy is based on the maxim that to
discharge Fundamental Duties, the onus is on every citizen and there is no one
with higher credentials or superior authority to teach Fundamental Duties to
others who alone may be required to imbibe these values and perform the duties.
The word ‘operationalization’ points out to action for discharging
responsibility towards defined expectations. The concept of duty as an integral
part of the personality of an individual should emanate from the deep concerns
within the individual to discharge certain obligations and responsibilities
towards the social system in which he/she lives. Duty consciousness is a virtue
and a value. There should be no dichotomy between knowing the right value and
manifesting it by internalizing it in one’s behavior. It is in this context
often said that the values are caught and not taught and that role models have
a great significance in transmitting values..
Duties are observed by individuals as a result of dictates of the
social system and the environment in which one lives, under the influence of
role models, or on account of punitive provisions of law. It may be necessary
to enact suitable legislation wherever necessary to require obedience of
obligations by the citizens. If the existing laws are inadequate to enforce the
needed discipline, the legislative vacuum needs to be filled. If legislation
and judicial directions are available and still there are violations of
Fundamental Duties by the citizens, this would call for other strategies for
making them operational.
The desired enforceability can be better achieved by providing not
merely for legal sanctions but also combining it with social sanctions and to
facilitate the performance of the task through exemplar role models. The
element of compulsion in legal sanction when combined with the natural urge for
obedience of the norms to attract social approbation would make the citizens
willing participants in the exercise. The real task, therefore, is to devise
methods which are a combination of these aspects to ensure a ready acceptance
of the programme by the general citizenry and the youth, in particular.
The Committee is strongly of the view that the significance of
dignity of the individual in all its facets and the objective of overall
development of the personality of the individual must be emphasized in the
curriculum at all the stages of education… This requires consciousness of citizenship
values which are a combination of rights and duties, and together give rise to
social responsibilities. Methods must be devised to operationalize this concept
as a constitutional value in our educational curriculum and in co-curricular
activities, in schools and colleges.
Appropriate references are available in school curricula about the
significance and importance of the National Flag and the National Anthem.
Detailed accounts are also there in the curricula on the national struggle for
freedom which ought to inculcate the patriotic fervour in the young minds so
that they can always share the readiness to help and protect the sovereignty,
unity and integrity of India. Perhaps no other concept has received as much
attention in the curricula as the environmental concerns. Considering all
these, one still finds that the products of the educational system do not
adequately reflect the values sought to be acquired through curricular
learnings. One can obviously draw a conclusion that perhaps the method and
approach used in transmitting such ideas to young learners need more serious
effort. A reference to a BBC–Produced programme called ‘Land of the Tiger’ is
worth noting.
It is unfortunate that our educational system is largely involved
in preparing the younger generation for developing their cognitive domain based
on preponderance of public examinations, and unhealthy environment of
competitiveness, at the cost of developing the more important affective domain.
This is perhaps the reason that in spite of the students being exposed through
curriculum to their duties, their manifested behavior may not necessarily
exhibit the expected adherence and this is emerging as a social reality. The
Committee, therefore, feels that there may be a need for fundamental change and
transformation in the direction and approach to 22 curricular transaction for
achieving the desired results. Obviously the need is also to ensure in some
manner practical and appropriate inputs in improving the quality of teachers
and teaching. The commitment and concern on the part of the teachers can be the
only bases for anything worthwhile happening in the educational system.
It must also be remembered that education is a sub-system of the
total social system and it is in this context that the recommendations stated
in this chapter should be viewed. Of course, a long term strategy for
developing a value-based society can come only through the instrumentality of
right education and training.
It would however, be necessary to create public awareness of the
need to appreciate and internalize the concept and practice of Fundamental
Duties with particular emphasis on the necessity of creating harmonious society
with a scientific outlook, free from tensions and turmoils. Respect for
discharging Fundamental Duties must enable in the citizens the understanding,
tolerance and respect for differences and diversities. Of course, the discourse
on Fundamental Duties cannot be divorced from Fundamental Rights or else we do
disservice to both.
Optimizing Benefits from
Existing Schemes / Programmes
Towards optimizing benefits from the existing schemes/programmes
on national integration and communal harmony, culture and values, and
environment, the Committee recommends the following:
Need to further activate and monitor the work of the institutions and NGOs who are
sanctioned these schemes by the concerned ministries of Home, Human Resource
Development and Environment and
Forests.
While approving the financial assistance to the NGOs, the focus of
their programmes must deal with aspects of national integration and communal
harmony, culture and values, and environment which are in tune with the spirit
of clauses (e), (f) and (g) of article 51A. Definitive evaluation of the work
done under the existing schemes/programmes would be desirable, and the
concerned Ministries/Agencies should take stock of the impact generated. If any
mid-course corrections are called for, they should be incorporated forthwith.
Protection and Improvement of Environment
Towards protection and improvement of environment, the Committee
recommends the following:
The Directorate of Trust emphasizes that there is no ownership in
natural resources and that every generation should make a judicious use of
them, as trustee for the future generations. Coordination between all the law
enforcement agencies is essential to achieve the desired results. The constitution of
India lays emphasis on this
aspect by enacting article 48A as a Directive Principle of State Policy and
article 51A (g) as a Fundamental Duty of every citizen.
To enforce strict compliance of the various legal provisions in
this regard as available in the directions of the Supreme Court of India on
article 51A. if the existing legislations are inadequate to enforce the needed
discipline, such a legislative vacuum must be filled suitably to ensure
enforceability.
(d) Reorienting Approaches to School
Curriculum
Any exercise in curricular analysis alone is bound to offer only
fragmented view of educational processes in Fundamental Duties. The entire
range of issues related to affective inputs that ensure appreciation, respect,
value, etc. emerge out of instructional processes and schooling as a holistic
experience. For this angle,
it is necessary to review education in Fundamental Duties from the point of
view of pedagogical and androgogical processes.
Towards reorienting approaches to school curriculum, the Committee
recommends the following:
There is a need for a
fundamental transformation in the direction and approach to curricula for
teaching Fundamental Duties in school and teacher education institutions.
Citizenship values should be understood by all concerned as a combination of
rights and duties. Appropriate steps in this regard need to be initiated
through the educational process to achieve the desired results in the long run.
Preamble to the Constitution of India and the 10 clauses of
article 51A of the Constitution on Fundamental Duties, to be printed in all
school textbooks, supplementary materials and general publications brought out
by the NCERT and the School Textbook Bureaus in the States/Union Territory
Administrations. There is a
pedagogical significance of
this approach. Increasing understanding of androgogy alongside pedagogy reveals
that knowledge of goals itself is a tool of learning. Hence when students
understand their obligations, they are likely to learn their own way of
fulfilling the obligations.
Presentation of the values inherent in each clause of article 51A
through anecdotal talks at morning assemblies in schools.
Seminars, debates, competitions on different aspects related to
Fundamental Duties to be made regular feature of the co-curricular activities
of schools.
In designing a programme of education on Fundamental Duties, there
has to be a conscious effort to develop an instructional design that fits into
a multi-channel learning environment.
It is important to recognize that we are living in the
multichannel learning environment where learning accrues from a large number of
sources like home, school, community, print media, electronic mass media,
knowledge networks, internet, etc. Given the ever spreading tentacles of
multichannel learning environment and increasing globalization of mass media,
the issue of education in Fundamental Duties, particularly as a
school-dependent education, needs due consideration.
The points of view mentioned under Major issues in the Critique on
School Curriculum are very relevant for reviewing of existing curricula and
planning for newer strategies of teaching of Fundamental Duties. These
suggestions should be referred to the NCERT and the SCERTs and the State
Textbook Bureaus for taking them into account while a curricular renewal
exercise is undertaken by them. The basic question is whether Fundamental
Duties as such need to be highlighted as an independent curricular area or its
natural integration should be planned in various areas of curriculum as
exercises in value orientation. The net goals of both the approaches are the
same but the nature of emphasis certainly becomes different. The flexibility to
experiment with either approach can be left to curriculum developers.
Fundamental Duties across various primary and secondary classes
should be provided in a
spreadsheet which can be used to plan curricular coverage by mapping topics and
themes from various subjects related to the clauses pertaining to Fundamental
Duties. The curricular reorganization, particularly in formulating textbooks,
should be done on the basis of such a spreadsheet. It may not demand a serious
change in the curricular content but may require alternative treatment relating
the content to the relevant Fundamental Duties. Linked to this is the shift of
focus from merely teaching the content of the Constitution to the process of
education necessary to internalize the values inherent in it. Curricular
treatment of Fundamental Duties not only needs to cut across different subjects
but should also increase in depth as one moves from one level of education to
another.
(e) Elimination of Gender Bias
In order to ensure dignity of women, gender biases and sex-stereotyping
must be eliminated from all school and colleges textbooks and this should be
given as a mandate to all curriculum development agencies, both at national and
state levels.
(f) Reorienting Teacher Education
Programmes
It is not enough that the teachers are made aware of Fundamental
Duties; it will also require educating them in communicating Fundamental Duties
to the students and impressing on them the need to abide by the dictums of the
same. For a serious business of education in Fundamental Duties at the school
level, teachers of all subjects at all levels have to be oriented and trained.
Accordingly, the curricular coverage to Fundamental Duties have to be
deliberate and pre-designed. It will be necessary to develop a blueprint
indicating reflection of various clauses in various units and topics of various
papers in teacher education curricula. Preparation of teachers through well
designed teacher education programmes, would actually play a very significant
role in ensuring understanding and internalizing of Fundamental Duties in our
schools and communities.
Towards reorienting teacher education which is the most crucial
input in operationalizing Fundamental Duties, the Committee recommends the
following:
A sensitization module based on Fundamental Duties to be made an
integral part of all teacher education programmes, organised by National, State
and District level institutions. Large scale teacher orientation programmes
should be planned on this theme.
The NCERT, the NCTE, the NIEPA and other institutions around the
country should organize seminars in 25 various parts of the country to
familiarize the teachers with the strategies for operationalizing the teaching
of Fundamental Duties.
An effective way to institutionalize the concept of Fundamental
Duties in the teacher education is to incorporate it in the elementary and
secondary pre-service teacher education curriculum. This should be supplemented
by a suitable co-curricular programme, which should aim at offsetting some of
the shortcomings in the curricular approach especially in terms of attitude and
value development.
In view of very little content on Fundamental Duties in the
elementary and secondary teacher education curricula, as revealed by the
Critique, what is needed is a vigorous advocacy with state educational
agencies, teacher education institutions and university departments of
education for conscious inclusion of this component in the curricula.
It should be possible for the NCTE with its status of a statutory
body to influence teacher education curricula in different universities in a
more substantial way, with reference to teaching of Fundamental Duties.
In order to overcome the disadvantage of fragmented treatment and
discussion on Fundamental Duties, it is suggested that an independent
comprehensive unit encompassing familiarization with the Constitution of India
and Fundamental Duties of citizens thereunder should be incorporated in the
elementary and secondary teacher education courses. In India, evaluation system
influences the educational process specially the quality of classroom teaching
significantly, and as such a separate unit on Fundamental Duties ensures due
importance and weightage to the concept, in the classroom teaching.
Considering the importance of upholding and protecting
sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, it is felt that NCC should be made
compulsory in all the pre-service teacher education institution, both
elementary and secondary.
Fundamental Duties Week may be observed in all teacher education
institutions every year. The objective of this Week may be to create essential
awareness and positive environment for the inculcation of attitudes and values as reflected in
article 51A of the Constitution of India.
A great deal depends on the ingenuity and dedication of teachers.
A nationwide movement to train and honour primary school teachers as builders
of citizens, if launched with sincerity and purpose, could bring about
impressive transformation in the educational system.
Incorporating Fundamental
Duties in Higher and Professional Education
Towards incorporating
Fundamental Duties in the courses and programmes of higher and professional
education, the committee recommends the following:
The current Human Rights Education Initiative of the UGC should be
referred to as 'Human Rights
and Fundamental Duties Education Initiative'.
The UGC while considering giving grant and support to proposals
received from universities and colleges under its ' Human Rights Education
initiative' for introducing Degree/Diploma/ Certificate Courses and other
programmes in Human Rights, may advise on incorporating Fundamental Duties as
an essential component of their respective proposals.
Workshop on devising curriculum, evolving teaching methodologies
and orienting faculty to make Fundamental Duties consciousness as the central
focus of educational experience should be seriously considered by the
University system. The UGC could consider issuing necessary instructions in
this regard to the institutions under its control.
(h) People's Representatives from
Panchayats to Parliament
Towards the responsibilities of people's representative, the
Committee recommends the following:
Special efforts should be made to ensure that our legislators are
aware of the Fundamental Duties as the same are also their duties as citizens.
This would mean that special programmes may be organized at the parliamentary
and state assembly levels. The Corporation, Town Area Committees and the
Panchayati Raj institutions should also be involved in this effort as they
alone can take the appropriate messages down to the grassroots.
Candidates seeking the mandate of the people must eschew arousing
sectarian passions and take all practical steps to promote national unity and
integrity.
Elected Representatives should refrain from interfering in the
functioning of governmental and non-governmental institutions. They should
observe the laws themselves and help law enforcing agencies in dealing with
lawbreakers.
It should be the endeavour of the Elected Representatives to
organize/strengthen a network of activities to gather support for small family
norm, to protect and improve natural environment, to safeguard public property
and to abjure violence.
Orientation programmes for new Members of Parliament and State
Legislatures need to be strengthened to provide an adequate measure of
understanding of Fundamental Duties and their application to the work of the
Elected Representatives.
(i) Public Administration and Civil
Servants
It is the duty of every citizen to obey the constitutional
mandate. Every holder of a public office has superadded to his duties as a
citizen, the additional duties imposed by virtue of the office she/he holds.
Sensitivity of all enforcement agencies is essential for realizing the promise
held out in the Constitution. Strict observance of codes of professional ethics
by professional bodies has to become important in this regard, and such bodies
must design their own programmes, which help operationalization of Fundamental
Duties.
Towards the obligation of public administration and civil
servants, the Committee recommends the following:
Module on Fundamental Duties should be adopted for inclusion in
the Courses of different Training Institutions connected with the training of
civil servants.
It should be the responsibility of the senior public servants to
project the image of administration as people-friendly and responsive to the
problems and sufferings of the citizens.
The Government should move towards giving greater access to
information. Transparency and free supply of information will reduce corruption
and ensure accountability.
Secretaries to Government, Managing Directors in the Public
Sector, Heads of Departments, Heads of Offices/Field Units should be made
squarely and personally responsible for taking detailed measures for rooting
out corruption in their assigned areas of responsibility. A set of guidelines
could be supplied to them for strict compliance.
There should be an in-built mechanism for handling cases of
dereliction of duty by public servants where a public grievance has not been
redressed within a stipulated time.
(j) Administration of Justice
Towards the administration of justice, the Committee recommends
the following:
A Judicial Academy should be set up to provide facilities for
continuing education of Judges, to focus their attention on Constitutional
Values and Fundamental Duties, to foster constructive interaction between the
Bar and the Bench and to facilitate application of modern techniques of
management to the transaction of judicial business in the Court.
Bar Councils and their affiliated Bar Associations must share the
responsibility for ensuring that their members not only appreciate the value of
complying with Fundamental Duties but also strive to implement them while
pursuing their professional work.
(k) Business
and Industry
Towards the role of business and industry, the Committee
recommends the following:
Business Leaders, Business Organizations and Management Schools
have vital roles to play in internalizing basic values, in widening financial
and technical support for community development programmes, and in ensuring
that ethical codes become indispensable ingredients of business ethos.
Business and Industry have obligation to perform the duties, both
implicit and explicit, enjoined by the Constitution. However, in discharging
social responsibilities, only a small percentage of the Business Community has
undertaken social welfare and development programmes. Important Chambers of
Commerce and Industry Associations have taken initiative for formulating norms
of ethical conduct for business dealings. But the action taken to secure
compliance with the codes leaves much to be desired. This should be pursued
more vigorously.
(l) Media
Media of any society are among the most important institutions.
Democracy without free media is a contradiction in terms. Mass media should be
the watchdog of democracy, and not the poodle of the establishment. Media have
a greater responsibility today than they ever had to guide the nation and make
every citizen conscious of his/her Fundamental Duties enshrined in the
Constitution.
The powerful impact of media including electronic and print media
has to be fully exploited to transmit messages on Fundamental Duties to all
levels of citizenry.
The fundamental development problems facing the country are:
achieving a high rate for economic growth, establishing a sense of legitimacy
towards constitutional values and public institutions and creation of a sense
of nationality among the diverse segments and layers of the society. It is true
that these developmental problems cannot be solved by the mass media. But it is
also true that these cannot be solved without the help of mass media. Solution
of these problems would depend upon social mobilization. The media has to
create awareness in this regard.
There is need for the media to make conscious effort to promote an
awareness of the constitutional obligations among the citizens. Media has also to act as a watchdog to
see that those who man the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary and
various other public institutions and instrumentalities of the State do not
misuse the same. Convenience or expediency is not a measure of
constitutionality. Constitution would live as long as constitutional structure
vested in various organs is protected and preserved. There can be no doubt that
virtue is the bedrock of constitutional democracy.
Media should constantly educate people that Constitution and the
symbols of sovereignty could only be preserved by the public spirit and
vigilance of its citizens and these could also be destroyed by its citizens.
The potential of the media has to be harnessed for issues such as
rural development, empowerment of women, distance education, environmental
protection, civic consciousness and human rights awareness. Media must be used
as an important policy instrument in the social, educational and development
planning and in fulfillment of constitutional goals of building a welfare
society based on rule of law.
As media is both Government controlled and in Private Sector,
there is all the more need to not only formulate a comprehensive media policy
but also create vital communication link within the government and between the
government and the people in the nation building activities.
Once market economy, divorced from social good becomes the
dominant factor of media business, there is every chance of manipulation of
mass response and mass culture to the detriment of public interest. Our values
are apt to suffer eclipse if foreign domination of media committed to alien
ethos, acculturation and political proselytization, culminating in contempt for
Indian heritage and constitutional basis romps in and once in, cannot be reined
in. There will be subversion of our founding faith implicit in our Sovereign
Socialist Secular Democratic Polity. It is, therefore, media's bounden duty to
be on the guard and resist sub-version for its very survival and the country's
sovereignty.
Media should make special effort to highlight programmes which
support and promote activities related to national integration, culture and
values, and environment
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