Restructuring education on the basis of Gandhi’s experiments and in the context of the aspirations of the new generation learners.

 

Restructuring education on the basis of Gandhi’s       experiments and   in the context of the aspirations of the

new generation learners.

                                                    - N. Radhakrishnan

Ancient India  gave us the goal of education as “Saa Vidya Yaa Vimukta the”—education is that which liberates.

By whichever name we may describe Gandhi’s views on education and his sustained strivings from his South African days to the historic Peace Mission in Noakhali followed by the heroic efforts undertaken by him in Delhi to douse the fires of communal frenzy and orgy of violence until he fell a victim to hatred, he was offering a  viable alternative to what we call ‘education’ and demonstrating new praxis . Education to him is a liberating power and process for life, through life and throughout life.

How much have we learned from Gandhi?, probably very little. The  many valuable insights about education he offered and extremely important experiments he designed and implemented revealing  astonishing results were all ignored by both his disciples and the nation at large for a variety of reasons. As the American scholar Allen pointed out:”Educators can benefit greatly by studying his formulations of the true goal of value education as liberation: providing means for service to meet the needs of others, for liberation from all forms of servitude and domination, and for one’s ethical and spiritual liberation. Gandhi presents challenging  insightful formulations of basic and new education with regard to character building as the goal of education. Gandhi is a moral idealist, and his reflections on education do not emphasize intellectual development, but rather the primacy and goal of developed human beings as moral beings. In various formulations, he presents the goal of education as character building that focuses on the development of courage, strength, fearlessness, virtue, and the ability to engage in selfless work directed at moral and spiritual aims. He emphasizes the centrality of work, vocational training, and productive manual labor, the focus on real needs and simple living, the development of nonviolent relations, greater emphasis on moral development than on usual intellectual development, and a holistic approach that involves the integrated training of body, mind, and spirit.”

                                                                      (i)

                  Gandhi’s world vision and search for nonviolent alternatives

“… my whole heart went out to the millions of the children of the semi-starved villages of India, and I asked myself…’is it possible for me to give them those lessons and the training that are being given under your system?”,Gandhi asked while addressing a Montessori school after observing the calm, self-directed orderliness of children in a Montessori school. He was highly impressed by the Montessori-type education and did not mince words to say that it was exactly the kind of education he would like to see practiced widely in India.

      This little-known statement of Gandhi  also came handy to those who were highly critical of Gandhi’s views and practices of education to convince the nation that his own views and experiments in education were either out of date or unsuccessful, hence we should turn to new models .

       An activist-theoretician  that Gandhi was , his views and practices  on education are to be looked at from his world vision and intense search and strivings for nonviolent  alternatives.

       Gandhi’s views and approaches to education offer significant challenges to the existing educational practices and dominant theoretical formulations. The value of the creative alternatives Gandhi offered was unfortunately lost in the din of debates and searches for identity.

       Gandhi has written extensively about education and  his writings include hundreds of pages of critiques of the evils and deficiencies of British and other modern educational models and his proposals for positive alternative approaches. The little classic Hind Swaraj  Gandhi wrote in 1908 which was promptly banned by the British for the  alleged seditious views Gandhi aired in it invited massive adverse criticism also even among his  close supporters.

                  Gandhi’s search for alternatives begins

       Gandhi had begun his experiments in education much before he wrote Hind Swaraj . His bold initiatives revealed an unusual vision of  new man and new society. He emphasized the importance of education in community building as early as 1904 when he began his community work in South Africa. His innovative, often unorthodox  and  controversial, educational experiments invited sharp criticism  while  he learned from their success and failures. His many experiments and reflections finally led to his Wardha Scheme of Education, formulated at the educational conference held on October 22-23, 1937 in Wardha.This became known as the Nai Talim or New Education. Gandhi’s Basic Education  focuses on eight years of elementary education.  

               Education as an integral part of the Constructive Programmes  

What many observers or critics of Gandhi failed to notice was the fact New education initiated by him  is an essential component of Gandhi’s famous Constructive Programmes  that presents his positive moral and spiritual vision for a new social order in  independent India.

        In sharp contrast to Macaulay’s concept of education which prepared half-baked babus for sarkari naukari and associates of colonial order Gandhi offered a revolutionary concept of new education, Nai Talim. He called it Jivanna-Sikshana or Basic Education. He described:

        This system is meant to transform village children into model villagers. It is principally designed for them. The inspiration for it has come from the villages. Basic education links the children, whether of the cities or the villages, to all that is best and lasting in India. It develops both the body and the mind, and keeps the child rooted to the soil with a glorious vision of the future in the realization of which he or she begin to take his or her share from the very commencement of his or her career in school…. The object of Basic Education is the physical, intellectual, and moral development of the children. Any scheme which is sound from the educational point of view and is efficiently managed is bound to sound economic. For instance, we can teach our children to make clay toys that are to be destroyed afterwards. That too will develop their intellect. But it will neglect a very important moral principal, viz, that human labour and material should never be used in wasteful or unproductive way. The emphasis laid on the principle of spending every minute of one’s life usefully is the best education for citizenship and incidentally make Basic Education self-sufficient. (Gandhi 1949:62)

Gandhi viewed the fundamentals of basic education in the following manner:

1.     All the education to be true must be self-supporting, that is to say, in the end it will pay its expenses excepting the capital which will remain intact.

2.     All education must be imparted through the medium of the provincial language.

3.     In this, there is no room for giving sectional religious training. Fundamental universal ethics will have full scope.

4.     This education, whether it is confined to children or adults, male or female, will find its way to the homes of the pupils.

5.     Since millions of students receiving the education will consider themselves as part of the whole of India, they must learn an inter-provincial language. This common inter-provincial language can only be Hindustani written in Nagari or Urdu script. Therefore, pupils have to master both the scripts (Gandhi 1953b: 16)

He believed that:

            Manual training will serve a double purpose in a poor country like ours. It will pay for the education of our children and teach them an occupation on which they can fall back in their later life, if they choose, for earning a living. Such a system must make our children self-reliant. Nothing will demoralize the nation so much as that we learn to despise labour. ( Gandhi1955:60)

In this scheme, the hand will handle tools as it draws or traces the writing . the eyes will read the pictures of letters and words and also will know other things in life; the ear will catch the names and meaning of things and sentences. The whole training will be natural, responsive and, therefore, the quickest and cheapest in the world.

            Primacy of the mind, the heart and the skill to use one’s hands

            Gandhi believed that values can be instilled in a person only through a conscientious practice and in children unless it is woven in their education process it will be of no consequence. Education as practiced in the various schools and colleges funded by Gandhi since the 1920s aims at developing three aspects of the child: the mind, the heart, and the skill to use one’s hands. The child knows with his mind, loves with his heart, and creates with his hands. Unless we provide outlets for all these three, and training in all these areas, the child has a lopsided education.

            Gandhi did not want to accumulate learning as many people accumulate assets or riches-learning should not be for the purpose of being first or winning a competition, at the expense of others. Rather than being acquisitive/competitive, Gandhi wanted education to become cooperative. It should prepare the individual to be lifted into a non-exploitative social structure.

            The Basic Education (or New Education- Nai Talim) in its essential form fosters self-sufficiency. With that aim in mind, students do their own laundry, work in the kitchen, sweep and scrub, practice gardening, weaving, pottery, and carpentry as well as learn the three R’s and acquire knowledge of essential academic subjects. In summation, Basic Education is:

1.     Child-centred or learner-centred;

2.     Dynamic;

3.     Cooperative;

4.     Nonviolent; and

5.     Geared towards the acquisition of self-sufficiency.

Vinoba and other Sarvodaya thinkers developed it further as follows:

1.     Nai Talim is the integration of Jnana (knowledge) and Karma (Action) resulting in Ananda (Joy).

2.     Nai Talim cannot be pursed keeping the social order of today as it is. Nai Talim is based on the principle of bread labour. It is a revolution in social values.

3.     Nai Talim is the education for non-violence. It is founded on freedom and mutual cooperation. The aim is freedom from fear.

4.     Nai Talim is based on Swavlamban or bodily needs, for independent critical thinking and acquiring complete knowledge and for spiritual development.

5.     Education should develop social consciousness among the students, the attitudes and habits of doing work in cooperation with others.

6.     The social principle of Nai Talim is that all human lives are to be respected equally.

7.     Education should be intimately and harmoniously related to life and nature. Life without association with agriculture is incomplete.

8.     The school should be organized on the model of a good family.

9.     The goal of education is discipline and character; not self-indulgence but self-control.

      10.  Nai Talim is never-ending continuous process, always fresh. It varies from day-to-day, and from region to region.

            11.  Nai Talim is not meant for the elementary grades only. It is the character of every education. It’s not meant only for the villages, but for everyone at all stages of life.

            12.Nai Talim is not an education method. It is not ‘activity education’. It      is a creative idea, a way of life. It is a approach. The alpha and omega of education is the quest for truth (Gandhi 1950:93).

             Hind Swaraj and its importance in understanding Gandhi

Gandhi had the vision of ‘a true system of education’ which he had advocated in  Hind Swaraj. He was sure that the family should be the starting point, and Tolstoy Farm, the historic settlement was run like a big joint family. Tolstoy Farm was one of the communities started by Gandhi in Transvaal, South Africa, in 1910. The other was Phoenix  Ashram. These two communities became the headquarters of Gandhiji’s satyagraha campaigns (non-violent resistance for justice) which he led at that time. There was a common kitchen, which was possible because those who were habitual meat eaters voluntarily gave up meat during their time there. The woman took charge and the children regularly helped them in turns. The whole community, adults and children alike, were set to work on the farm, in the vegetable gardens, and in the workshops. Everyone shared in the sanitation work, and there was carpentry and sandal making also. With all this bodily exercise and simple healthy food, the children grew well and there was very little sickness. It was the rule there that children should not be asked to do things that their teachers did not do; teachers would work with them at every kind of labour, so things went fairly well, even though it was completely a new experience for all the children. Gandhi was clear about three things: the children should live at home, they should not be separated from their parents and sent to a residential school; they should learn in their own mother tongue; they should not have any privileges which other children  could not share. They live at home because ‘the education that children naturally imbibe in a well ordered household is impossible to obtain in hostels’.

‘The intimate relationships of the home where’, Gandhiji believed, ‘the foundation of all social and moral education’ and that was what he regarded as of central importance. ‘I had always given the first place to culture of the heart and the building of character,’ he wrote(Gandhi 1953a: 9).

Later, when Gandhi looked back on these years, he felt that his children have been able to learn the meaning of ‘simplicity and a spirit of service’ by growing up in a home where these things the young children of today are deprived in the name of modern education.

Unfortunately, in a country like India, education becomes the first casualty with every change at the political level too much of tampering with education has been done. This explains why we have had so many education commissions during the last 70 years since independence. And it has assumed the level of a national tragedy when we painfully realize that after many years of experiments we are back to square one, re-examining the Gandhian alternatives now. Alas, that too half-heartedly!

          The Rural Institutes : bold steps by the government

The establishments of Rural Institutes in 1957 was one of the major decisions of the government of India perhaps to bring Gandhian principles in the policy frame and practice of education at higher level. The Rural institutes were conceived to be a new system of education with their focus  on integration of education with productive work  and preparing  the young to face the challenges of the country under transition through the blending of the educational resources, academic excellence, spirit of inquiry, scientific and technological advancement within manageable limits, extension and research, mostly on the Western and American pattern of Community Colleges. It was even the practice to confer the students Diplomas instead of Degrees which will distinguish the graduates from the traditional graduates.

The emphasis was on character development, skill formation and attitudinal changes, so much so a student of the three-year Diploma Course for example, had to do, besides his optional subjects and languages, compulsory courses in Art Appreciation, Story of Civilization, Extension Education and Community Development and Hindi. In addition to this, a student had to spend a minimum of three months during his three-year period of study in villages, working with the villagers ; and trying to identify themselves with the villagers. As a partial fulfillment of this undergraduate course a dissertation had also to be  prepared by every student. The courses were thus very tough and were highly competitive. Still what made the courses attractive and kept sustainable were the additional hours of work, the campus life, the joyful participation of the students and staff in the programs.

                                                         (ii)

            Education Centres as  bridges and facilitators of social change

             It was definitely a bold experiment in offering a modified version of the Gandhian dream of the Nai Talim at a higher level integrating  Art,  Science, Music, Crafts, tools of development and citizen-making with education.

         The Rural Institutes started by the Government of India as part of taking higher education to the very doors of village India for a time opened new vistas of experiments in higher education and it generated considerable hope and opened up vast possibilities. The 14 Rural Institutes situated in different parts of India, one each in the states, rekindled visions of Gandhian education slowly getting  some attention.These centres raised great hopes all over India.

             Integration of Art, Music, Crafts, tools of development and citizen-making     with education. 

The Gandhigram Rural Institute near Madurai started under the leadership of two veterans of the Gandhian era, Dr G.Ramachandran and his wife Dr Soundaram achieved great heights as a Centre of education for total development as Gandhi had wished. Several innovative measures taken by this couple who had the benefit of being groomed by both Gurudev Tagore and Gandhi attracted national attention and soon Gandhigram Rural Institute became a great centre of Gandhian vision of education for holistic development in practice.

A very important and attractive side of the Gandhigram experiment was the campus life. Keeping in tune with the Shantiniketan tradition of boys and girls, waking up early in the morning and going round the campus, singing choral songs in praise of the gift of nature and our duty to preserve nature at any cost as developed and successfully implemented by Tagore both in Shriniketan and Viswabharati and called Prabhatpheri was an experience.

On their return from the Prabhatpheri to the hostels at 5 a.m. they get themselves divided in batches. Some turn to the cleaning of toilets and bathrooms, while a substantial number would be working on cleaning the thoroughfares. A third batch would move into the kitchen to take up cooking while another batch would be at the cleaning of the vessels. There were no cooks, no cleaners, no scavengers and nobody to serve. From preparing the menu to the purchasing of groceries and accounts maintenance students managed everything under the guidance of staff- in- charge.

 The spirit of service, camaraderie, friendship, sharing, self-dependence which these programs fostered was remarkable. There were plenty of scope for amusement, sports and creative expressions. Three important items stood out in his context. There was what was known as the Aam Sabha, the student's parliament, which used to meet once every month regularly to debate on students' problems without fear or favor. This constituted an exposure to democratic practices and training in parliamentary procedures.

As one  who watched these students' parliament I was surprised to see the dignity with which the students organized their assemblies, certainly with much more sense of decorum and decency than the way present-day assemblies and parliament are functioning.

             Education for integration 

Another attractive side of the campus life was the spirit of unity fostered by promoting the cultural streams of different segments of Indian society. Almost all the important festivals and occasions connected with major religious groups were organized jointly. Tagore's  birth anniversary every year was an occasion for a gala get-together and Bengali dance, Rabindra Sangeet, Rangoli competitions, enactment of Tagore's plays, creative competitions, exhibition of Tagore's paintings were the highlights of the programs on that day.

There was a Kalabhavan which trained students in different fine arts including theatre arts and crafts. The' Kalabhavan became the nerve centre of highly creative programs and were managed at different periods  by  eminent artists and scholars like Prof. M.G.Gopalakrishnan, J.M.Duttta, artist  S.P.Srinivasan,S.Ramanujam, G.Sankara Pillai , Abani Haldar --all distinguished academicians and artists of repute who hailed from different parts of India. These scholars and artistes contributed greatly to the emergence of an outlook among students which truly was egalitarian, secular, democratic and definitely tolerant and understanding. The campus became a nest of singing birds and all Saturdays witnessed cultural programmes which showcased the rich cultural tapestry of India. A world-class artist and film director like Sri Adoor Gopalakrishnan who was a student of Gandhigram acknowledged his indebtedness to the kind of education that he received from Gandhigram.

Training in Conflict Management, Community Service, Relief work, and nonviolent leadership  through Shanti Sena

 Another pioneering  aspect  that attracted many visitors to Gandhigram from different parts of India and abroad was the adherence to cultural traditions and values and the manner in which they were sought to be promoted. Mention may be made here about the Youth Organization, the Shanti Sena and the way Dr. Soundaram and G.Ramachandran tried to integrate this as with the main education pattern and community life in Gandhigram.

The idea of Shanti Sena, first mooted by Gandhi in order to develop a body of unarmed soldiers of peace who would rise above any kind of parochial or caste or  religious considerations, would even be willing to risk their lives to preserve life and property and would strive to promote communal harmony, amity and peace in society during crisis and who would work like a task force and undertake service programs on a regular basis, did not receive much attention for quite some time. Vinoba Bhave, the spiritual heir of the Mahatma and walking-saint who collected several thousand acres of land and distributed them to the landless and the poor in this country and who launched the revolutionary programs of Gramdan, Jivan-dan and sampath-dan took up the idea of Shanti Sena and organized units during his Bhoodan padayatra.

Gandhigram took up the Shanti Sena program in big way and made earnest efforts to develop a comprehensive youth training program in nonviolence and conflict resolution. G.Ramachandran himself initially took care of this program and extended his full support to make this a very attractive program so much so for a number of years the Shanti Sena training program remained one of the most important attractive programs of Gandhigram. GR would say  often that Shanti Sena was his first love and verily it was so.

The Shanti Sena did excellent relief work under the leadership of Dr.Soundram in the sixties during the Rameswaram floods and the Ramanathapuram communal clashes. In keeping the surrounding villages clean and in the literacy drive before the Adult education programs were launched the Shanti Sena did commendable work. Sri V.M. Chandrasekhar and S.N.Subba Rao remarkable organizers of Shanti Sena made this body of students an accomplished team of peace activists and social workers.

Perhaps I have a partiality for the Shanti Sena program because from the day one I joined  the Gandhigram Rural Institute in 1968, Dr GR asked me to assist Sri Chandrasekhar as Deputy chief organizer and it was the beginning of a new chapter in my life. My association with the Shanti Sena during the next 21 years in Gandhigram and another ten years in Delhi offered me opportunities to fully understand the infinite potential and scope of this program if the program is comprehended and implemented correctly.

            The training programs we organized in different parts of India and abroad, the bold initiatives of involving the students in conflict resolution activities  during and after bloody communal clashes in Kanyakumari, Theni, Uthamapalayam, Dhamapuri, Villupuram (all in Tamilnadu) Punjab, Assam, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir, Meerut and in Delhi have demonstrated the firm belief of Gandhi and his disciple Dr G.Ramachandran that the  youth trained in the marvel of nonviolence could play very effective role as peace promoters.

             Every visitor to Gandhigram found in the Shanti Sena not only immense hope but they insisted on the experiment being duplicated. Chairman of Indian Association for Universities said after his visit to GRI in 1986 that he would persuade the UGC to recommend introduction of Shanti Sena in all the Universities.

              Security personnel in Gandhicaps

               The importance Gandhigram attached to the  Shanti Sena could be illustrated here from one example. The Shanti Sena volunteers used to be in-charge of the watch and ward duty and management of crowd and taking care of discipline during the visit of even the  President or the Prime Minister of the country to the campus  in those days. During the visit of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1957 the security persons suggested that the PM security would be their responsibility and students would not be involved in this. G. Ramachandran insisted on the Shanti Sena as usual taking care of the watch and ward duty of the campus and he said that no uniformed policemen would he allowed in the campus. The protocol and the security people found this unacceptable and there was an impasse and the matter reached the PM and he ordered that the tradition of the Gandhigram Complex be maintained and their practice of not allowing policemen in uniform be strictly adhered to and no violation of this be allowed. Hence as a face-saving and practical step, plainclothes policemen wearing the Gandhicaps and the white dress of the Shanti Sena volunteers were allowed to be present in strength and be stationed wherever they thought they should be stationed. The tradition continued until the 80’s.

On another occasion during the India-China clashes the Government of India made N.C.C. compulsory in educational institutions and the Gandhigram Rural Institute also received a circular in this regard. G.Ramachandran replied to the Ministry that Gandhigram stood for Gandhian values and hence Gandhigram Rural Institute would not be in a position to implement the government instruction to replace the Shanti Sena with the N.C.C. There was a prompt reply from the Secretary to the Government that those institutions which failed to implement the order would forfeit all government financial aid. G.Ramachandran was not a person who could be brow- beaten. He replied that he would gladly close down the Gandhigram Rural Institute than introducing military or paramilitary training in Gandhigram. The matter reached the Prime Minister who again ruled that Gandhigram should be left alone.

 The disappearance of Rural Institutes in other parts of India and GRI’s survival

By the mid seventies the Rural Institutes which were started with great fanfare and expectations in different parts of India were facing crisis due to a number of reasons, the chief among them being the fall in student enrolment and the other related to the apparent failure of the experiment in the present form. The students who were studying in these institutes were clamoring for degrees instead of diplomas which the National Council for Rural Higher Education to which these fourteen institutes in different parts of  India were affiliated to was offering. Secondly, under the agreement governing the Rural Institutes fifty per cent of their total expenditure would come  from the Central Government while the remaining fifty would be met by the state government  or the agencies which were running these Rural Institutes. Several state governments did not care to honor this clause while many institutes did not have the resources to meet even their share of the twenty five percent. Thus the Rural Institutes found themselves to be second class, neglected and uncared-for-centres of learning. The matter was taken up at the highest level and these institutes were advised either to affiliate themselves with the nearest Universities or to the State Agricultural Universities.

Gandhigram Rural Institute was also given this option. Here came in the redoubtable Dr G.Ramachandran. He stuck to his guns and refused to toe the line suggested by the government. He pointed out that it would not be possible for the GRI to compromise on its ideals after having been party to an experiment for over 20 years. The Institute has developed many models and it could not abandon its social commitment to the surrounding forty villages where it was doing extension work and integrated rural development. Hence he suggested to the government to accord the status of a University to GRI. Nobody in the higher echelons were prepared to give any serious consideration to this apparently 'outrageous' suggestion initially. By that time all the other thirteen Rural Institutes had disappeared and surrendered their special identity. GRI was also promptly advised by all concerned to affiliate itself with the nearest University..

And finally when on August 7, 1976 the Government granted the status of  University to the Gandhigram Rural Institute it proved beyond any shadow of doubt that the vision of a leader and uncompromising adherence to what one considers dear would never fail.  Thus the GRI became eligible for 100 percent financial support on par with some of the Central Universities and Institutes of Science and Technologies.

Traditional Universities turn to Gandhigram experience

Thanks to Gandhigram Rural Institute’s experience  several universities became convinced that a definite emphasis on extension, research and integrated rural development, hitherto ignored by many universities in the country became the core area of concentration in their focus and syllabus.

 The assessment pattern was fifty per cent internal and fifty per cent external with village placement and submission of dissertation on the basis of a field study was made obligatory. The fifty per cent internal marks, a revolutionary step at that time, was based on the integrity of the teacher and the continuous assessment of the students on the basis of their day-to-day performance. The idea was to eliminate what G.Ramachandran would always say "the policeman's examination" and awarding marks on the basis of one or two terminal examinations.

The courses were fully semesterised --again a revolutionary step in the 70s when hardly any Indian University was willing to take up such a step.

Gandhigram Rural Institute emerges as a Global Centre of Gandhian education in practice

The Gandhigram Rural Institute with its sixty years of experience now  has the potential to emerge as the Global Centre of Gandhian Education and Sustainable Development. In this great effort Science, Technology , Literature , Arts and Crafts, Spiritually etc. could become dependable allies in improving the quality of life in several hundred villages around GRI and thus providing a model University for the whole world.

                                                   ( iii)

                                    Lessons from  Gandhi’s experiments in education

Before we discuss this further we have to ask ourselves: how is education viewed and treated today : a commercial activity or as a process to enable children and teenagers or adults acquire knowledge and skills required in their life? A seeming contradiction of ideas and a lurking selfish motive is discernible in the present system. As a nation, have we since the last 70 years taken a national view on our education? Cosmetic changes, yes. Have we fully shown our desire to throw away the British System which they themselves have revised suitably and admirably in their country? We have forgotten the simple truth that those nation which are dominating today in various fields, began their march towards modernization and progress by restructuring their education system suitably.

Education, according to Gandhi should become a tool, a mighty  adventure of nation building and shaping the character of younger generation.

It is a fact this nation did not take Nai-Talim of Gandhi seriously due to several factors. Vinoba Bhave, a great revolutionary-thinker and activist who knew the mind of the Mahatma was very candid when he said, “Nai Talim is not a system, it is a far-reaching educational idea, it is a seed- thought, like the Brahma-vichar which was formerly so wide spread in India and in which so many different systems of thought-advait, dvait, visisht-advait and so on-were all rooted.”

It is over one hundred years since Gandhi began experimenting his  ideas on education. Both the admirers and detractors of Gandhi seem to have ignored a fact about Gandhi during this period: that he continuously evolved new strategies, absorbed new ideas, gave up many as he came across new truths inviting charges that there are inconsistencies and contradictions in his stand on many issues. Gandhi would have revised many of his views had he been alive in conformity with the changes in society.

 It is unthinkable for many Gandhi disciples and scholars  to revise or resile from certain positions and they consider it is irreverential to criticize  him. Gandhi admitted that he erred many a times and admitted that he committed Himalayan blunders. 

We very often forget the fact that Centres of education by whichever name they are known and irrespective of their focus  should undergo a metamorphosis into  community centers of excellence which will offer opportunities to students, staff and community outside to interact and enrich on the larger issues of life as Gandhiji wanted such centres  to be.

A question arises here naturally: what would be the role of institutions of  learning and research under such circumstances? Are they to remain silent on the burning issues which are corroding the social, religious and political fabric of the society in whose well-being Universities and institutions of higher learning have a role to play?

 Besides acting as the repository of knowledge and disseminating agency, education institutions should act like bridges between the academic world and the society.

The society around the University also should be the social laboratory of the school/university. Instead of looking at the various problems compartmentally, they  should strive to look at social change from its totality and the role it can play in this crucial area is that of a dedicated facilitator. This would not be possible unless meaningful extension activities in accordance with the needs of the society are drawn up and implemented with dedication and courage of conviction.

Should not Centres of Education, research, planning, extension and out-reach activities become entwined with the lives of the people? Every pie spent should bring back new returns in terms of the rejuvenated life of the common people which alone is the ultimate aim of all education.

·        Contextualise Basic Education programme

·        There is an urgent need for overhauling the present system of education.  It may not be possible to uproot the present system and replace it with the education based on Nai Talim. 

·        However, one must start with institutions based on these principles and provide an alternative to the present system, so that people may have an option to opt the system that suits them.  It would definitely to go to a long way in developing a convincing attitude among society members for the so called alternative system thereby enhancing the acceptability of the society.

·        There may not be uniform system of education throughout the country.  However, there must be broader frame-work within which local specific individual models may be developed for the basic education.

·        The broader framework to be developed should be based on Gandhian philosophy and principles of Nai Talim.

·        Teacher training programme should be intensified with a focus on changing the mindset of the teachers and developing effective transactional skills along with.

·        Teachers to be prepared through vibrant and living experience to function as a role model.

·        Emphasis should be given to resource based learning process to ensure effective partnership between the community, parents and the school faculty including student population.

·        Enterprising community through education and drawing rich experience of the community for enrichment of school programme.  For this, there should be advocacy campaigns.  Teachers will have to play a major role in bringing community closer to the schools, and also in the process raising funds for running the institutions.

·        Education that aims at the development of Head, Hand and Heart should form the basis for chalking out the objectives, strategies, curriculum etc.

·        It would be the responsibility of those devoted and committed to Gandhian philosophy and having faith in principles of Nai Talim to run and popularize such type of institutions so that slowly they may take over those run on present philosophy.

·        Central and state governments both should be persuaded to come forward for funding such type of institutions.  Government should help to build model schools as role models of experiments to draw their experiences in the field.

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·        Most important, Gandhi’s reflections on peace education  should serve as a challenge and a catalyst for rethinking dominant positions and have more value for significant philosophical refection than most mainstream “academic” philosophy.

·        The University Grants Commission and the Human Resources Development Ministry expect the Universities to become the harbingers and promoters of social change laboratories by reconstructing and refocusing their programs to meet the challenges by adopting revolutionary methods

·        Schools, Colleges and Universities are no longer the sole repositories or centers of learning. Commercialization of education and mushrooming of educational institutions, have added a new dimension. Spread of liberal education and compulsory state-sponsored education, while have been found to  be useful in the general context, a certain kind of gulf seems to be developing between the schools directly under state and those run by private institutions. A large number of schools have become "Information Pumping Centers" (IPC) rather than centers which shape the character of children.

Gandhi who admired the Montessori system was conscious of  societal values and class room objectives. His constant endeavors to facilitate children’s emergence as autonomous spiritual beings and not  as robots of elder’s fancy have opened  of late new discussions. His advocacy to free the child from the tyranny of text books and make learning an  enjoyable process  has now many takers. The demand for a shift from the teacher-centred- text book-centred- student centred- examination-centred  education pyramid is becoming louder and louder.

With Gandhi  the role of the five stakeholders and promoters of  what is perceived as education namely ,  child--family—school—teachers and society  has acquired a new meaning in the restructuring of  education to suit the demands and challenges of a fast-changing generation who defies all traditional notions .

The value creating educational practices of the Soka Ghakkai

We may also learn from what is happening around us in the field of education particularly, in different parts of the world. Very meaningful and highly creative experiments in education right from kindergarten right up to the university level are being carried out to link the principal stake holders of what we consider education. It has to be both liberating and value creating in every sense of the term as the Soka educational system led by Dr.Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai international are doing now in different parts of the world through their network of Soka educational institutions.

What is required under the emerging scenario is patience to listen while  formulating policy perspectives. Perhaps  the caution Montessori issued “ the erroneous belief has persisted that it is the duty of the adult to fashion the child according to the pattern acquired by society” has to be kept as a  valid guideline.