Watila Longchar
Gandhiji made a substantial and solid contribution to the educational thought and practice in India. He said literacy should not be the end or beginning of education, it is only the means. In today’s world of competition, unemployment, chaos, etc. let us ponder on Gandhiji’s educational thought and how he particularly focused on self-sufficiency without being a parasite on the family and society. He attached greater importance to the personality of the educand than on the tools and subjects of study.
According to him, a craft should be taught not for production but for developing the intellect of the pupils. His aim was to cultivate the initiative and responsibility in the learner through the principles of cooperation and activity. Craft learning should be introduced systematically and scientifically to serve as a mean of intellectual work and economic self- sufficiency. He called it ‘Basic Education ‘or ‘Nai Talim’. To some, it may sound old fashioned or boring but think of whether we have the basic or essential qualification and requisites to stand on our own feet. Believe in the Dignity of Manual Labour, which is not meant only for daily wage earners but cultivates an attitude towards work culture.
The world needs your inborn talents and creativity to make things happen in and around you. No one should live with the false notion that they can earn a living only behind a desk. Realizing the value of dignity of work can make life more complete and more pleasant. It will also enhance the economic status of the person concerned and improve the quality of life of the whole family. For instance, a matriculate or an undergraduate with 2/3 children and unemployed has to consider himself as an ordinary labourer where earning a livelihood is concerned unless he has had the good fortune to be salaried. The knowledge gained should not go to waste. Gandhi attached great importance to dignity of labour and moral and intellectual significance of manual work. His philosophy of education has great relevance and similarity with the modern concept of Work- Experience/SUPW. Why wait for others to employ us when the power to earn is in our own hands.
Modern education should not alienate children from their roots as most come from a rural background. Gandhiji was of the opinion that learning and mastering the English alone cannot be wholesome education as was considered in the past. Rather, English, as the medium of instruction, has caused undue strain on the nerves and minds of children, made them memorise without understanding and become imitators and thereby unfit for original work and thought. Students have been learning the language with no option, but this factor has been a prime cause for the failure of students at many important examinations. Children do not lack the intelligence but the power of expression, especially for those growing up in unexposed environments. The language of instruction in the classroom hinders the development of understanding the precision of thought or clarity of ideas, thus affecting the performance of students at the examination.
Gandhiji’s thoughts, values and principles of life have been well reflected in his scheme of education. He believed in the total development of the human personality and not mere literacy alone. In order to avoid misinterpretations of Basic Education, the highlights and significant features of the scheme are to develop the total efficiency of the child, free from exploitation and non-violence. Psychologically, the scheme will also relieve the child from the tyranny of a purely academic and theoretical instruction and bring a balance between the intellectual and practical elements of experience, coordinating between the body and mind of the child. The school is organized as a living and functioning miniature society and children will have to be bought up to be great personalities in the creation of a dynamic social order. The scheme of basic education is not only for the rural areas, nor is it an inferior kind of educational system. It will provide a close integration between rural and urban life and create a classless society. It would place the destiny of the masses in their own hands and produce generations of useful, earning members of society.
[ Through this column, the members of KROS Education Society would like to thank her for rendering her service as The First Principal of KROS College. The members of KROS Education Society wishes her ALL THE BEST.]