From the Fourth Five Year Plan onward, the focus of technical education was to:
2023
From the Fourth Five Year Plan onward, the focus of technical education was to:
Answer: A. Improve its quality and standard — CONCEPTEducation planning can shift from quantitative expansion—adding institutions and seats—to qualitative consolidation, which strengthens curricula,…
- A.
Improve its quality and standard
- B.
Encourage its unrestricted expansion in public sector
- C.
Weed out non-performing institutions
- D.
Restrict the entry of private players into the field
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
CONCEPT
Education planning can shift from quantitative expansion—adding institutions and seats—to qualitative consolidation, which strengthens curricula, faculty capability, facilities, and academic standards. The policy named in a plan should therefore be identified by whether it emphasizes capacity growth or the quality of existing provision.
APPLICATION
During the first three Five Year Plans, technical education mainly expanded to meet demand for trained personnel. From the Fourth Five Year Plan onward, the emphasis shifted to improving the quality and standards of technical education through measures such as the Quality Improvement Programme, advanced teacher education, curriculum-development cells, and short-term training.
CONTRAST
Unrestricted public-sector expansion describes quantitative growth, the emphasis associated with the earlier expansion phase.
Weeding out non-performing institutions is a selective enforcement or closure measure, not the stated plan-wide emphasis.
Restricting private entry is a provider-access regulation; the major shift toward private and voluntary self-financing institutions came later, during the 1980s.
RESULT
Thus, the policy focus from the Fourth Five Year Plan onward was to improve the quality and standards of technical education.