GOALS OF EDUCATION IN INDIA

GOALS OF EDUCATION IN INDIA

Introduction

           Education is a form of learning in which knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits of a group of people are transferred to the next generation through storytelling, discussion, teaching, training or research

           Goals are an observable and measurable end result having one or more objectives to be achieved within a more or less fixed timeframe

          Education in India is provided by the public sector and private sector. Control and funds are coming from three levels: Central, State and Local

          The educational commission (1964-66) said that the development of values such as a scientific temper of mind, tolerance and respect for the culture or other national groups will enable us to adopt democracy, as a way of life.

            This shows that in a democratic country like India, the first and the foremost goal of education should be the development of democratic values.

GOALS OF EDUCATION

          Indian democracy is made by the people who profess different religions, speak different languages belong to different races, castes, class and communities, keeping in mind these and several other characteristics of Indian democracy, following should be most appropriate goals of education

1. DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRATIC VALUES IN THE PEOPLE

           These values include a spirit of a large hearted tolerance of mutual give and take of the appreciation of the ways in which people differ from one another.

          No education is worthwhile if an educated person does not convert these values in his behavior and no democracy can survive for long in that case.

          Hence education has to make deliberate and planned effort on development of these values in the people.

2. NATIONAL INTEGRATION

          It emphasizes in harmonizing religion, language, caste and class and community differences as they exist in India causing social tensions.

          It is essential that people of India inspite of these differences should live peacefully and co-operatively and utilize their varied talent for enrichment of national life.

         Education through various programmes and tailored curricula should make efforts to develop in the people such attitudes and values that includes realizing the importance of knowledge and education, learning various social skills, developing social values, computer literacy considering science and technology important and so on.

          The commission in 1964 said that “The most important tool in the process of modernization is education based on science and technology”. But the commission further said “Modernization, if it is to a living force must derive its strength from the strength to spirit.”

         The Adiseshiah committee report in 1978 formulated the following goals to be achieved through education. They are:

a. Removal of unemployment

b. Removal of poverty

c. Rural development

d. Adult literacy

        Our schools should develop a tradition of striving to generate a sense of national unity and national consciousness, in the pupils and can be achieved by (i) Making pupils understand and revaluate cultural heritage and (ii) By the creation of a strong driving faith in the future towards which we aspire.

3. DEVELOPMENT OF PHYSICAL RESOURCES

          It is done through the modernization of agriculture and rapid industrialization. It should be an important aim of education in a democratic country like India. To achieve this, education should be linked with productivity. Science should be made a basic component of education, work, experience should be considered important, scientific and technical education should be improved and vocational education should be expanded.

4. DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE

          It should be considered still more crucial an important aim or goal of education in Indian democracy. This implies to the changes in the knowledge, skills, interests and values of people.

          In a democracy, the individual is an end in him and the primary purpose of education should be to provide him with the widest opportunity, to develop his potential through social re-organization and emphasis on social perspectives.

          Cultivation of essential values in the people, development of competent and dedicated leadership, educated electorate is essential for strengthening democracy.

5. DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL, MORAL AND SPIRITUAL VALUES

           In a democratic country, it is inevitable to inculcate social, moral and spiritual values in the people. Knowledge in the absence of essential values may be dangerous.

            The success of democracy, its strength and stability are contingent upon people’s developed sense of social responsibility and a keener appreciation of moral and spiritual values. Education must make effort on developing the values.

ANITHA

NATURAL SCIENCE

MAHATMA GANDHI

MAHATMA GANDHI

Life-Sketch

Mohandas  Karamchand  Gandhi was a great leader, a practical philosopher and a socio-political reformer of the  modern India .the father of the nation ,as he is called , was the apostle of peace and non-violence and champion of freedom movement . He devoted his life for this mission and incessantly worked for the upliftment of the million of down – trodden , poverty – stricken, half- naked and semi starved masses of India.

Sathyagraha  has been the most important tool used by Gandhiji while working as the architect of  India’s freedom. After his matriculation , he studied for law in England. After graduating in law , he joined the Bar in 1891. He had to go to South Africa as a Lawyer but had to stay there till 1914 devoting himself  to public work. From 1919 to 1947 he actively led the freedom movement of India and was  assassinated in 1948 , while participating in one of his prayer meetings.

Main publication

                      Gandhiji is known more by  his life than by his books , My experiment with truth , commentary on the Bhagavat  Gita , etc, are his famous works. He was the editor of a number of  journals such as Harijan  and young India and has published  innumerable booklets containing his views on various aspects ,including education.

Philosophy of  life

i.                   His belief in god

“To Gandhiji , god is all –pervasive reality , immanent in man also in the world which he considers as his manifestation and creation ‘ “ God is that indefinable something  which we all feet but which we do not know” . He says , To me god is truth and love ,. God is ethics and morality .  God is fearlessness. God is the source of light and life.

Like an idealist , Gandhiji believed :

.

“ God is that indefinable something which we all feel, but which we do not know . To me god is truth and love. God is ethics and morality. God is  fearlessness. God is the source of light and life.”

According to Gandhiji, God is Truth and Truth is God.

ii.                The three focal points: truth, ahimsa & love

1)   Truth : According to Gandhiji, the realization of truth is the ultimate goal of human life. He used to say : “I  have no god to serve but Truth’. In his views, the denial of Truth means the denial of  God and hence, the denial of all that is good in voice of the conscience. Gandhiji advocated Truth in all our personal and social dealings.

2)   Ahimsa : Gandhiji regarded Ahimsa as the only means to the realization of truth and god. He explained.” Ahimsa and Truth are so intertwined that it is practically impossible to disintegrate and separate them. Ahimsa is positive attitude and gives strength of spirit .

3)   Love :-Gandhiji advocated that the only true religion of man was the religion of  love. He believed ; “ To see the universal and prevailing spirit of  true face to face , one must be able to love the nearest of creation as oneself “ . Thus , his love attained the form of universal love.

iii.             Brotherhood of man

Gandhiji was not an egoist seeker after truth. His motto was : “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. his dream was the establishment of a universal community of free persons without artificial barriers   of caste , color , creed , wealth and power . He had a firm faith in the concept of brotherhood of man and fatherhood of god.

iv.              Service  unto Humanity

His greatest creed  was service of god through service of  humanity. To him , God is the “temple of humanity” . He devoted his entire  life in the  service of humanity. He stated; ‘ I shall work for an India in which the poorest  shall feel that it is their country , in whose making they have an effective voice …. An India in which all communities shall live in perfect harmony ,’ in such a society even the women shall enjoy the same rights as men.

Gandhiji’s Educational Philosophy

To Gandhiji , education is a potent force for social reconstruction . it is an activity which is necessary not only for social progress but also for moral , political and economic development . it may be pointed out here that basic education does not include the  total philosophy of the type of education as envisaged by Gandhi , as this scheme is concerned only with the education of children during the years 6 to 14 . However , we must say that he evolved a philosophy of education as a dynamic side his philosophy of life. And the system bears the stamp of his practical life a virtuous , pious and ideal life.

Gandhiji was at the same time an idealist , a naturalist , a pragmatist and a humanist .his philosophy of education is naturalistic in its  setting , idealistic in its goals , pragmatic in its method and humanistic in its outlook. He said , by education I mean an all-round drowning out of the best in the child and man-body , mind and spirit.

The aim of education included harmonious development of the personality of the individual , his social , cultural and spiritual development ,preparation for complete living , character formation , social training for effective citizenship , economic self sufficiency  , etc. The method suggested or education is chiefly craft centered . education for him is a kind of insurance against unemployment .The curriculum broadly covers craft-education, general education, training of the fine arts  and physical education.

Basic Education

Basic education or wardha scheme of education is a national system of education put forward by Mahathma Gandhi in 1937 as a revolt against the sterile , book –centred , examination oriented system of education propagated by the British. This system is called by the name ‘wardha scheme’ because the salient features of this scheme of  education was first presented by Gandhiji in the All India National Education Conference held at Wardha (near Nagpur , Maharashtra) on the 22^nd and 23^rd of October , 1937. Gandhiji used the term basic to describe his scheme of education because it is intimately related with the basic needs and interest of Indian children. Moreover, it is closely related to the basic occupation of  the people living in the villages. It is an educational scheme for common man who constitutes the base or backbone of our country . the goal of a basic education is to enable a student to acquire the desired fruit through his or her own actions.

Features of Basic Education

1.    The  core aim of Basic Education is to help students to develop self – sufficiency.

2.    Basic education laid a strong emphasis on manual work

3.    There should be free , compulsory and universal education within the group 7 to 14.

4.    It envisages providing education through the medium of craft or productive work so that the child gains economic self – reliance for his life.

5.    The medium of education should be Mother tongue.

6.    Education should develop human values in the child.

7.    It is aimed to achieve the harmonious development of the child’s body , mind , heart, and soul.

8.    In basic scheme education is imparted through some local craft or productive work.

9.    The basic education is self – supported through some productive work.

10.It is geared to create useful , responsible and dynamic citizens.

11.Play is an essential part of basic education  .

12.Subjects are taught in correlation with craft , with environment and with  other subjects.   

Preepthi – V

Natural Science

REALISM

REALISM

 Realism is a philosophy of the twentieth century. However, like naturalism and idealism its roots also can be traced far back to the times of the Greeks. Realism is based on the belief that the physical world alone is objective quite contrary to idealism; realism regards the worldly realities of everyday life as true.

What is Realism?

               According to realism, the external world is a reality. It is a world of objects and not ideas. The material creation is mortal and flexible but it does not mean that it has no existence. The idealist regards the existence of this creation as dependent on ideas. According to the realist the universe does not depend on ideas. The origin of ideas took place in the mind of man who is a creature of this earth originated and hence the existences of creation cannot be said to depend on ideas.

                    According to realism our experiences is not independent but related to our reaction to the external objects. Experiences are influenced by the external world which has real existence. According to the realist man should have through knowledge of his environment. He should know whether he can change the environment or not, and he should act according to this knowledge. Here in lies his wisdom.

1.      Different forms of realism

Realism is of two kinds. The old form of realism is scholastic realism and the new form is scientific realism.

2.      Chief exponents of realism

a.      Aristotle (384-322 B.C)

b.      St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 A.D)

c.       John Locke (1690-1781 A.D)

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

1.      Principles of education according to realism:

#. Education is preparation for life

#. Truth has to be discovered with the help of scientific methods

#. All knowledge is derived from experience.

2.      Aim of education :

According to the realist the aim of education should be to equip students with knowledge and skills needed to understand and master their physical environment. The aim of education is to enable students to adjust themselves to the realities of the physical world and to adjust with approved patterns of adult behavior.

3.      Curriculum:

      According to realism curriculum should be a detailed one. The child should have freedom to choose suitable subjects from that detailed curriculum, according to his ability. The student should be taught only those subjects which he is capable of mastering and which will make his future life successful. The student should be taught various subjects, so that he can adjust himself to various circumstances. The realist prefers a system general education extending over a period of time during the earlier stages and specialization at a later stage. During the latter stage a vocational bias may be given to the curriculum. Subject of the curriculum should include physics, chemistry, mathematics, life science and their application social science in an integrated way and also literature, biography, psychology philosophy and art. They do not advocate a separate curriculum for moral education.

4.      Methods of teaching:

         According to realism, any good method of teaching should enable the student to gain understanding. Whatever is taught must be learnt easily, pleasantly meaningfully and thoroughly only one thing should be proper sequence in teaching. Socratic Method of teaching is preferable. Lavish employment of audio-visual methods in teaching is advocated, as this will help to develop sensory powers in children. Motivation is considered very important for effective-learning.

5.      Discipline :

         The school should be organized in such a way that the child could attain self- discipline. He should learn to control his feelings and desires and to perform his duties. Discipline, is adjustment to objectivity. It is required to enable the child to adjust to his environment. It helps the child in concentrating on his studies. Every student is a part of the diverse stimuli. Discipline however, is not withdrawal. The students should remain in close touch with the harsh realities of life.

6.      Role of teachers:

        Realism does not attach much importance to the personality of the teacher. The realist also does not give any importance to the opinion of the teacher. The realist also does not give any importance to the opinion of the teacher. The teacher is only a guild to children. He guides the children towards the hard realities of life. He must expose children to the problems of life and the world around.

7.      Contribution of realism of education

1.      Systematic organization of teaching and learning

2.      Scientific evaluation

3.      Use of standardized tests

8.      Weaknesses and limitation of realism in education

1.      It is weak in its treatment of the learner who is considered merely as a physical organism with a highly developed nervous system.

2.      It is not found to be sufficiently efficient in presenting lessons for the realization of cognitive and effective development.  

SAJITHA.S

NATURAL SCIENCE