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Development of Education System

Notes 8.1 Delor’s Commission Report: An Initiative of Quality in Education

The Report of Jacques Delor, who headed the International Commission on Education for the
21st century, has been presented to UNESCO and endorsed by the Commonwealth Education
Ministers and the Commonwealth Heads of Government in their meetings in 1994 and 1995. It
brings together all the salient points and critical issues in education that are likely to be faced
and addressed to, in the next millennium. As a matter of fact, the education is the foundation of
an individual's progress and the overall progress of the nation. Learning the treasure within', a
UNESCO report on World-Education by Delor commission reflects that the "Importance of the
role of the teacher as an agent of change promoting understanding and tolerance, has never
been more critical as in the 21st Century ". The Commission recommended an allocation of 6%
of GNP by every nation for education. It also views on private and social financing of education
needs critical examination. Below the minimum threshold of development, education has to be
supported by the State - not only basic education but also higher education. It further suggests
that: " It is vital that all children wherever they may be, should be able to acquire a knowledge
of scientific method in some appropriate form and become "friends of science", for life." It
implies that it is not just teaching of science or scientific theories but developing a positive
outlook to science as a way of life.
Education for the 21st Century

India Country Report on the Delors Commission Report: In the past few years there have
been two major futuristic, landmark reports offering visions of emerging challenges in education
from UNESCO. The first one, Learning to Be, was prepared in 1973 by a commission under the
chairmanship of Edgar Faure. This report was extensively discussed and debated the world
over and it shaped the education discourse of the seventies and eighties. The Indian National
Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO played an active role in disseminating this report
in our country.
Its successor is the recently published report Learning: The Treasure Within, prepared by the
International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century under the chairmanship
of Jacques Delors. The report is a majestic survey of the emerging world and the sweeping
technological, economic and social change and the multiple tensions arising from this shift. The
Commission has reinterpreted the philosophical and pedagogic principles of education to meet
the emerging scenario. Further, the report neatly balances the economic, cultural and social
aspects of education. The Commission has laid great emphasis on life-long learning and
commended that education in the future should be based on four pillars-learning to know,
learning to do, learning to be, and learning to live together.
The Delors Report has become a matter of deep interest and public debate in India as we plan
for education in the twenty first century. Focusing equally on the four pillars of education, we
hope to effectively face the challenges of a changing world, where ethical concerns and democratic
values demand much more attention than the conventional 'three Rs'.
India's educational ethos needs major reforms in the context of the changes that are sweeping
our country. The transformation that society is going through warrants a rejuvenation in the
way we teach and what we teach. The way we structure our educational institutions and
determine the content of our curricula can by themselves help us move towards a culture of
peace and non-violence.

72 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY