31 May 2020

Fundamental Values of Indian Education System

Dear friends!

Have you thought of why we studied or learnt for almost 15 to 17 years? Sometimes even more than 20-25 years for the people who have carried out some research, done PHD or are double post graduate. I salute to the patience of all those who carried out the studies for so long and double salute to those who really had interest in the studies.

Do you remember the shouts/words of your parents while you used to ignore or take the studies casually or the sweet advice for future? Most of them pointed just one thing – if you study you will get good job, all materialistic desires and luxuries and if not the life will be miserable and you will be a big looser or beggar. This is not the fact which they learnt by themselves. The fact has been taught and transferred from generations to generations.

In the empire of British we were solely dependent on mercy of British officials or the local kings. British had direct and largest competition with the Mughal/Muslim rulers so they started favoring Brahmans and Kayasths as they were good learners. Kayasths (Shreevastav, Kher, Khanna, Sinnha etc.) were more close to British as they could mix well because of their drinking and eating habits which Brahmans couldn’t. At the same time after 1857 (Mangal Pandey’s incident) they realized that keeping Brahmans too close would be difficult as they have their own intelligence and it can also backfire.

If we try to understand the actual/original education system of India, it was a system which relied on principal of making people aware of basic education and then specialization in different streams and there was job security for everybody. Gandhi Ji had told that, “there is enough on earth for everybody’s need but all the resources would not be able to fulfill single person’s greed”.

The original education system focused on interest of the person and glorified all the professions. Talent had always been considered priceless by Indians but at the same time highest price of being talented has been paid by just those communities only who were most talented viz.   Hindus, Mayans and Jews. Normally seeing the activities and processes of a particular product or service automatically used to draw attention of the kids being nurtured by the family and this way they used to join as an intern and used to come out as masters. 

The fundamental principal of passing a skill was to pass or teach it after assessing the eligibility to grasp and soundness to use (intent and content both). In today’s education system it has vanished. In the race of aspiration at one way we are losing our natural ancestral talent and at the other way the same thing is to be repeated again and again to each unique learner. This normally didn’t happen in the original education system.

I think now after understanding the reality and side effects of modern education system we should return to our fundamentals and core. I don’t advocate old techniques viz. disciple system or training under trees but at the same time core and fundamental values of education system must be replenished once again. This will certainly help in making the people more employable and independent.







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