Who among the following was appointed as the chairman of Secondary Education Commission by Government of India in 1952 ?
- (1)S. Radhakrishnan
- (2)D.S. Kothari
- (3)P.C. Mahalanobis
- (4)Laxman Swami Mudaliar
Answer
Why
Correct — option (4), Laxman Swami Mudaliar.
The Commission's own report settles it. The Report of the Secondary Education Commission (Ministry of Education) says the Commission was appointed by Government of India Resolution No. F. 9-5/52-B-I, dated 23rd September 1952.
Its list of members begins: 'Dr. A. Lakshmanswami Mudaliar, Vice-Chancellor, Madras University, (Chairman)'. Laxman Swami Mudaliar, as printed in the options, is the same person.
The report adds that Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, then Minister of Education, inaugurated the Commission in New Delhi on 6 October 1952. Wikipedia notes it came to be called the Mudaliar Commission after its chairman.
The report's review of earlier bodies helps place the other names. It records that the Government of India appointed a University Education Commission in 1948 under the chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan.
So the chairman appointed in 1952 is option (4), Laxman Swami Mudaliar.
The idea to remember: 1948 Radhakrishnan (university education), 1952 Mudaliar (secondary education), 1964 Kothari (education as a whole).
Why the others are wrong
- (1)S. Radhakrishnan — Radhakrishnan chaired the University Education Commission appointed in 1948, four years earlier, as the Secondary Education Commission's report itself records.
That commission reported mainly on universities, but the Mudaliar report quotes its remark that 'our Secondary Education remains the weakest link in our educational machinery'.
- (2)D.S. Kothari — D. S. Kothari, a physicist, chaired a later body: the National Education Commission (1964–1966), popularly called the Kothari Commission.
Wikipedia records that it was formed on 14 July 1964 to examine all aspects of education in India. Placing him in 1952 is off by twelve years.
- (3)P.C. Mahalanobis — P. C. Mahalanobis was a statistician, not an education commissioner. Wikipedia records that he established the Indian Statistical Institute in 1931.
He later served on the Planning Commission, and his two-sector model, the Mahalanobis model, was used in the Second Five Year Plan (1956–1961), with its emphasis on industrialisation.
Concept
Independent India reviewed its education system level by level through commissions. Each had a defined scope: the 1948 commission looked at universities, the 1952 commission at secondary schooling, and the 1964 commission at education as a whole.
The Secondary Education Commission was asked to report on secondary education 'in all its aspects' and suggest measures for its reorganization. That included its aims and content and its link to primary, basic and higher education.
Names vary in print: Lakshmanswami, Lakshmanaswami and Laxman Swami all refer to Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar.
RPSC's 2024 syllabus lists 'Post-independence Nation Building: The linguistic reorganisation of the states, Institutional building during Nehruvian age, Development of science and technology' under Indian History.
The Commission was long in coming. Its report says the Central Advisory Board of Education recommended it in January 1948, and reiterated the call in January 1951.
In between, the Government appointed a committee under Dr. Tara Chand, then Educational Adviser, whose report the Board considered in 1949.
Key facts
- The Secondary Education Commission was appointed by Government of India Resolution No. F. 9-5/52-B-I, dated 23 September 1952.
- Its chairman was Dr. A. Lakshmanswami Mudaliar, Vice-Chancellor, Madras University, as listed in the Commission's report.
- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad inaugurated the Commission in New Delhi on 6 October 1952.
- Its members included Hansa Mehta, Vice-Chancellor of Baroda University, and K. L. Shrimali, Principal of Vidya Bhavan Teachers' Training College, Udaipur.
- The report records that a University Education Commission was appointed in 1948 under Dr. S. Radhakrishnan.
Sources: Report of the Secondary Education Commission (Ministry of Education); Wikipedia for 1964.
Study next
Common traps
- Matching a commission to the wrong level of education: Radhakrishnan's 1948 commission was on universities, Mudaliar's 1952 commission on secondary education.
- Placing Kothari in the 1950s: the Kothari Commission was formed on 14 July 1964.
- Confusing the Mudaliar twins: A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar chaired this commission; Wikipedia notes he was the younger twin of Sir Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar.
A question can give a year and a commission and ask for its chairman, or match education commissions to chairmen and years.
A question can also ask which level of education a named commission examined.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2023 and 2021 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
The University Education Commission appointed by the Government of India in 1948 was chaired by
- (a)S. Radhakrishnan
- (b)A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar
- (c)D. S. Kothari
- (d)Tara Chand
Answer(1) — The Secondary Education Commission's report records the 1948 University Education Commission under Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. Option (2) chaired the Secondary Education Commission of 1952; option (3) chaired the 1964 National Education Commission; option (4) chaired an earlier committee on secondary education. - practice — not a real PYQ
Which member of the Secondary Education Commission (1952) was then Principal of the Vidya Bhavan Teachers' Training College, Udaipur?
- (a)K. L. Shrimali
- (b)Hansa Mehta
- (c)K. G. Saiyidain
- (d)A. N. Basu
Answer(1) — The Commission's report lists Dr. K. L. Shrimali with that post. Option (2) was Vice-Chancellor of Baroda University; option (3) was Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education, an ex-officio member; option (4) was Principal of the Central Institute of Education, Delhi, and Member-Secretary.