At which level is policy planning and programme formulation primarily managed…

Concept: A government department is organised in tiers, and the tiers differ in the kind of work they do, not merely in the area they cover. The apex tier of any department is its Secretariat — the wing that functions directly under the Minister and therefore commands the three things any new plan or programme needs before it can exist at all: approval of the political executive, provision of funds settled with the Finance department, and statutory backing through rules and notifications. Every tier below the Secretariat receives what has been decided and works it out on the ground — the Directorate turns it into departmental orders, the field offices administer and supervise it, and the institution finally delivers it to the learner. Deciding and framing is thus an apex function, while executing and delivering is a field function.

Application: The stem asks where planning and formulation are managed, which is the deciding function and not the doing function. In the Education Department that deciding work is transacted by the Education Secretary and the officers of the Education Secretariat: they put proposals up to the Education Minister, obtain budget provision for them, and issue the notifications that give a programme legal force. No field tier can originate a plan or a programme on its own; each can only work the department’s decisions within its own jurisdiction. Policy planning and programme formulation are therefore primarily managed at the Secretariat Level.

Cross-check by tier:

The tier at which policy planning and programme formulation are primarily managed in the Education Department is therefore the Secretariat Level.