EDUCATION IN EMERGING INDIAN

SOCIETY - 1
Understanding Education
Education is not a preparation for life but life itself!
- John Dewey
MEANING & NATURE OF EDUCATION
By education, I mean an all round drawing out of
the best in the child. M.K. Gandhi

Education is the manifestation of divine perfection
already existing in man.
Swami Vivekananda

Education is helping the growing soul to draw out
what is in itself. Sri Aurobindo
Education is fundamental to our all round
development material & spiritual. It is a unique
investment in the present & the future.
- NPE(1986)
INDIAN CONCEPT OF EDUCATION
That is education that emancipates..
Education fails if it doesnt cultivate
the art of life.
Tagore dreams of freedom where the
mind is without fear & the head is held
high
Good education enables a person to
understand other people, their
thinking & action.

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
Different philosophies of education as:
Idealism Plato
Realism Locke
Naturalism Rousseau
Pragmatism John Dewey(USA) Democracy &
Education (1916)
IDEALISM
Stress on spiritual
development & self-
realization
Eternal ideals & values
Truth, Goodness & Beauty
Cultivation of moral values
Values are inherent in
individual

REALISM
Concerned with world as here &
now.
Senses are the doors to knowledge.
Stress on knowledge of society,
science, nature, vocation etc.
Focus on first hand experience.
Locke, the founder of
comprehensive realism, emphasizes
role of immediate experience &
sense perception.
NATURALISM
Child- centered education.
Stress on direct experience with
nature without the interference of the teacher or society.
Aims to understand the nature of child & provide the
opportunities accordingly.
Advocates play-way method in earlier stages.
Dont believe in rigidity of time-table.
Teachers role as a facilitator & observer.
The child learns through his free choice.
Rousseau wrote a book Emile
IDEALISM VS. PRAGMATISM
PRAGMATISM
Stress on utilitarian aspect of knowledge &
experiences.
Make the child a useful citizen of the society.
To a pragmatist, truth is that which works, it is not
absolute.
Dewey - a great exponent of Pragmatism
The project method is the contribution of
Pragmatism.
In spirit, Pragmatism is naturalistic; in method it is
scientific & practical; & in purpose it is social &
human.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF INDIAN THINKERS TO
EDUCATION
Mahatma Gandhi
Rabindra Nath Tagore
Sri Aurobindo

MAHATMA GANDHI
Best known contribution
NAI-TALIM or Basic
Education
Education must begin with
parents & community.
Stress on Learning by
doing
Three main centers
craft work, natural
environment & social
environment.
RABINDRA NATH TAGORE
Ideas similar to Rousseau.
Object of education
freedom of mind.
Emphasized the activity
method.
Nobel Prize in 1913
Shantiniketan in 1901,
converted into university in
1921


SRI AUROBINDO
The first principle of true teaching is that nothing
can be taught.
The teacher is not an instructor or task master, he
is a helper & a guide. His business is to suggest &
not to impose


AIMS OF EDUCATION


CLASSIFICATION OF AIMS
Acquiring knowledge
Character formation
Vocational Aim
Overall development Aim
Leisure Aim

CONTEMPORARY AIMS OF EDUCATION
Education Commission (1964-66) recommends:
Increasing productivity
Social & National Integration
Modernization
Cultivation of social, moral & spiritual values.
CONTEMPORARY AIMS OF EDUCATION
NPE 1986 recommends:
10+2+3 structure for entire nation
National Curriculum Framework
Ten core components to be studied by every child:
History of Indias freedom movement
Constitutional obligations
Small family norm
Scientific temper
Gender equality
Environment protection
National identity etc.


THE NEED FOR A NEW APPROACH
The NPE states that there are moments in history
when new direction has to be given to an age old
process.
That moment is today.
This is age of explosion of knowledge,
technological revolution & multiple alternatives
Education must become vibrant & dynamic.
EVOLUTION OF SOCIETY
Type of
Society
Salient
Features
Needs Nature of
learning
Pace of
learning
Primitive/
Hunting
Gathering
Erratic,
Nomadic,
Instinctive
Primary Accidental,
Irregular
Very slow &
disorganized
Agricultural Settled,
Inquisitive,
Patterned
Limited Observation
based,
Cooperative
Slow
Industrial Mechanical,
Competitive
Urbanized,
Technical
Ever-
widening
Experimental

Fast
Post
Industrial
Knowledge
based
Global/
local/
Individual
Interactive
Flexible
Liberal
Very fast
Components of Past Present Future
Goals/Aims God realization
Self realization
Gainful
employment
Self
development
Teachers Next to God
Rigid
Authoritarian
Full of wisdom
One among
others
Flexible
Senior in age
Younger ones
Students Disciplined
Obedient
Loyal
Less formal Informal
Anyone can be
a student
Schools Gurukul School
College
Home
Anywhere
TLM Hand-written DTP Ebook
Virtual book
Teaching/
Learning
Residential
Life oriented
Curriculum
centered
Governed by
Learner
Evaluation Informal
/Formal
Continuous Self-evaluation
CHANGING DIMENSIONS OF EDUCATION
Computer Assisted Instruction
Distance Learning
Online Learning
Human Rights Education
De-schooling society
Gyan Darshan
Special Education
Life-long education


UNESCO REPORT : FOUR PILLARS OF
EDUCATION
Learning to Do
Learning to Be
Learning to Learn
Learning to Live
with others
LEARNING AS
Systematic
Rational
Empirical
Experimental
Objective
Logistic
Individual
Creative
Novel
Enlightening
Aesthetic
Joyful
Emotive
Expressive
Science Art
ROLE OF TEACHER
Period Role of Teacher
Ancient Authoritative, Parental, Personal,
Reflective, Perspective, Guiding
Medieval Dogmatic, Ritualistic,
Disciplinarian, Metaphysical,
Superintendant
Modern Analytic, Impersonal, Suggestive,
Associative/ Friendly, Helping,
Competent, Specialized
Post-modern Speculative, Participatory,
Collaborative, Sensitive to
individual needs
INTRODUCTION
Vedic Era : 3000 BC to 500 BC
Buddhist Era : 500 BC to 1200 AD
Muslim Era : 1200 AD to 1700 AD
British Era : 1800 AD to 1947
Post Independence : 1947 onwards
VEDIC ERA - GURUKULAS
Gurukulas: The abodes of saints/sages served as
centers of learning.
Pupil was known as antewasi
VEDIC ERA- UPNAYAN CEREMONY
VEDIC ERA
Curriculum included grammar, rhetoric, astrology,
logic, nirukti, kalp etc.
Methods of teaching Oral and Chintan (thinking)
Even women like Sita, Ganga, Apala Ghosh were
educated
Yoga, meditation, yagna, a disciplined & celibate
life were the key components.

BUDDHIST ERA
In post-Vedic age, there were problems like caste
bias, excessive yagnas, violence, rigidity etc.
Gautam Buddha propounded a new philosophy of
life & education Buddhism.
Monasteries became center of learning.

PABBAJJA CEREMONY
Pabbajja means going out (of worldly
relationships)
Budhham Sharanam Gachhami
Dharmam Sharanam Gachhami
Sangham Sharanam Gachhami
UP SAMPADA CEREMONY
After 12 years of education, ceremony was
performed to declare him a complete monk.
BUDDHIST ERA
Two types of curriculum for monks & for common
people. Subjects like Vinaya, Dhamma & Suttant in
first, Subjects like spinning, weaving, printing,
medicine etc. in other.
Women were admitted later but with many
restrictions.
Propagated to Sri Lanka, China, Afghanistan,
Thailand, Combodia, Veitnam, Japan etc.
FAMOUS CENTERS OF LEARNING
Taxila
Nalanda
Vallabhi
Vikramshila
TAXILA
Ancient city, now in Pakistan
Two types of curriculum
literary & scientific
Literary Buddhist
education
Scientific 18 shilps,
ayurveda, commerce etc.
Alumni like Panini, Jeevak &
Kautilya.

NALANDA
60 km from Patna
Acharya Nagarjuna Dev
Many famous rulers,
foreigners etc. received
their education
Huge building, fully
equipped large hostels,
10,000 students, 1500
teachers, free
education.
VALLABHI
Kathiawad (Gujarat)
Tsang has described 100 Maths there.
Subjects like religion, economics, political science,
medicine etc.
VIKRAMSHILA
Curriculum Buddhism,
Grammar, Philosophy,
Logic, Astrology etc.
Many Pali/Sanskrit books
translated into Tibetan
Deepshankar famous
teacher
Destroyed by Bakhtyar
Khilji
OTHER CENTERS
At Kashi, Ujjayini, Amravati, Mithila, Odantpuri,
Kanchi etc.
Foreigners like Megasthanes, Strabo, Huein Tsang,
Marco Polo, Ibn Batuta etc. praised the ideals,
principals & philosophy of Indian system of
education
MEDIEVAL ERA
Invasion by Muslim dynasties like Slave, Khilji,
Tuglaq, Lodi, Mughal dynasty
Rulers like Bakhtyar, Ghazni, Aurangzeb destroyed
the old systems & built Maktabs & Madarsas
Persian & Arabic literature flourished
Education was at the mercy of rulers
Education was religious & revolved around holy
Quran

BISMILLAH CEREMONY
Repeat verses of Quran or say Bismillah
Ceremony was held when child was 4 years, 4
months, 4 days old.
MEDIEVAL ERA
Maktabs imparted elementary education, Madarsas
were for higher education.
Curriculum Holy Quran, Islamic history & law,
literature, Unani medicine etc.
Women education was poor, there was purdah
sytem & severe restrictions on women.
Few women like Razia Sultan, Noor Jahan, Mumtaz
mahal etc. did manage to get higher education
Military training played a very important role
Jaunpur important center for learning. Known as
Shiraz-e-Hind
THE CHARTER OF 1813
Paved the way for British education in India
Created bitter Occidental-oriental controversy
Orientals like Warren Hastings, H.T. Princep, Lord
Minto, H.H. Wilson etc. favoured Indian literature in
Indian languages
Occidentals like Lord Macaulay ridiculed Indian
system, literature & languages (in famous
Macaulays Minutes)
Downward filtration theory Only elite Indian class
will be educated, & masses will follow elite.

WOODS DESPATCH OF 1854
Charles Wood was the prime
architect.
Regarded as Magna Carta of
Indian Education.
Most important document of Indian
education policy, which had far
reaching impact.
A new era in education began with
this
WOODS DESPATCH OF 1854
Aim of education useful for government
The Curriculum Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian,
English, Western Literature, Science & Law
Medium English, other Indian languages
Dept. of Public Instructions in every state
University Education at Calcutta & Bombay
Graded Education
System of Grant-in-aid
Teachers Training
Women education, Vocational education
THE INDIAN EDUCATION COMMISSION, 1882
Primary Education Recommended Mother
tongue medium & Training of teachers
Secondary Education English medium,
general/vocational courses, Grant-in-aid system

First ever commission to look into educational
problems
Also known as Hunter Commission under William
Hunter
INDIAN UNIVERSITIES ACT 1904
Universities should provide teaching. Should not be
merely examining bodies
Number of members, their tenure fixed
Syndicate, the executive power of university
Role & power of Senate.

Swadeshi movement motivated Gopal Krishna
Gokhale & like to initiate reforms in education.
But first world war, 1914 slowed it down

EDUCATION UNDER DIARCHY
Hartog Committee submitted a report on Primary
education 1929:
University education was progressing at the cost of
primary education.
Lack of transport to schools
Superstitious beliefs
Lack of proper inspection
SERGEANT REPORT, 1944
Compulsory education for 6-14yrs.
Pre-primary education
High school divided in two parts Literary &
Vocational
Literary Mother tongue, English, History, Eco,
Music etc.
Vocational Applied science, engineering, short
hand etc.
Set up UGC
Improvement of teachers economic condition
BASIC EDUCATION OR NAI TALEEM
Proposed by Gandhi
Also known as Wardha Scheme
Education through handicraft
weaving/spinning/carpentry/pottery etc.
Mother tongue as medium
Child centered, flexible curriculum
Other subjects like Science/Mathematics/Social
Studies/Painting/Music/Agriculture etc.
1 year/2 year training courses for teachers