INTRODUCTION:
Mahatma
Gandhi, (1869-1948) a great philosopher in the world contributed his views on
education from a practical point of view and showed a new dimension of
education related to the realities of national life and aspirations of people.
He rejected the colonial system of education and introduced his planning of
Basic education. In 1937 he launched his new scheme of education. This new
scheme came to be known as Nai Talim or ‘Basic Education. Gandhi wanted to make
the child to be more practical rather than depending upon the accumulation of
bookish knowledge. He emphasized on the development of 3Hs (Head, Heart and
Hand) instead of 3Rs (Reading, writing and arithmetic). Gadhi’s proposal of
basic education favoured the child belonging to the lowest stratum of society
and changed the established structure of opportunities for education. He
envisaged education as ‘the spearhead of a social revolution’ which would
enable life to move forward towards peace, justice and co-operation. It is suggested that the west Bengal Board of
Secondary Education needs to develop an educational process on Gandhian line at
secondary level introducing activity based curriculum to bring all round
development of the learners particularly their life skills and environmental
consciousness towards sustainable development.
CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK:
Gandhian
Philosophy and thought on education had brought a new dimension and fundamental
changes for building up of a new social order based on mutual co operation,
tolerance, truth and non-violence. But a dismal picture in the sphere of
education is seen today as we have been failed to follow his glorious thought
in the field of education. Educational Institutions have been the breeding
ground of violence, communal conflicts, racial discrimination and social
disintegration. Moreover, education of today has become completely out of touch
both with the realities of life and the upsurge of national aspirations. It has
failed to cope up with the socio-economic problem stirring up in our country.
The morality and human values of the youth of our country have been decreasing
day by day as the system of education gives the youth a little insight in their
national heritage, culture and values.. Gandhi wanted to make the child to be
more practical rather than depending upon the accumulation of bookish
knowledge. Gandhian thought on education is the root of solutions of all
present social, economic and educational problems. His thought on environmental
education also makes human being concerned about the sustainable development
and ecological balance to challenge all sorts of environmental threats in the
21st century.
The study is initiated to prove that the aims
and objectives of Secondary education, methodology of teaching, framing of
curriculum and co-curricular activities, discipline, student-teacher
relationship, development of student and system of evaluation -all these
components of education need to be rejuvenated on Gandhian views to show a new
direction and order in Secondary education of West Bengal to keep up the
quality of education.
The
study is an attempt to prove if his principles and practices of education show
a new dimension to reach the goal of Secondary Education and prevent the value
erosion in the sphere of education and in all aspects of life.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: The objectives of the
study are as follows:
1. To find out the
impact of Gandhian educational thought on all aspects of Secondary Education in
West Bengal.
2.
To search out the trends of Indian education system in pre and post
independence period and the influence of Gandhian views for the reconstruction
of Secondary Education in West Bengal.
3.
To assess the influence of Gandhian thought in the process of all round
development particularly in Life Skills at Secondary Level.
4.
To search out the relevance of Gandhian educational thought in the present
Indian socio-economic and educational scenario.
5. To find out the impact of Gandhian values and
ideologies for the development of Human Resource and for solving the
educational crises arising in educational institutions in the 21st
century in West Bengal.
6.
To find out the process of development of education of women and untouchables
leading to the national progress by following Gandhian line.
7.
To search out the impact of educational thought of Mahatma Gandhi in developing
environmental consciousness at Secondary level for sustainable development.
8.
To help the future researchers by showing the new areas of research in
Secondary Education on Gandhian line.
Design and Methodology of the
study:
Here
the research problem is designed in the socio-cultural context and it is
considered as a qualitative study. A comparative study of educational progress
during the period of ancient, medieval, British India and the present day
education was done and the maxims of education defined by Mahatma Gandhi was followed. So related literature, books,
journals were reviewed to study the educational philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi to
define the ways for all round development. The primary sources such as autobiography,
biography, telegram, speech, survey report, books, journals, research articles,
monographs are studied and analysed. The textual sources, though time consuming
have provided a good source of information to the investigator. In the
secondary sources, the researcher compiles and summarizes the findings of the
work done by others and interpretation of these findings is done. The
investigator tries to overcome the limitation and makes his own judgment after
analyzing the data without much loss of time and energy.
FINDINS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS:
The
researcher has tried to prove the relevance of Gandhian educational thought in
the present educational scenario of Secondary Education of West Bengal. The
researcher has wanted to establish the truth that activity oriented education
on Gandhian viewpoints brings all round development of the learners and promote
self-reliance, self-confidence and self-enfoldment. The study has shown that proper development
of work skills and values accelerates the process of socio-economic development
in the country through community service and social work by students.
The
present study has emphasized on the Gandhian developmental prospects in
Secondary education. The study has followed Gandhi’s ideals of good citizenship
and gave emphasis on the development of ideal citizenship qualities. The study
has followed Gandhian view points and cited that Co-curricular activities in
Secondary Education help in the progress of curricular activities and
development of the pupils during adolescence. It is found that activity based
and activity oriented curriculum paves the way of mastery learning and quality
learning. The study has proved that
Gandhi’s views on women education particularly the suggestion for special
facilities, special curriculum to women, co-education during the middle stage
and education for the untouchables have created an avenue to reach the goal of
Universalization and equalization of education which will be inclusive in
nature irrespective of caste, creed, colour, and sex.
The
study has pointed out that the good relation between the teachers and students at
present is no more cordial. Relation is built on belief, trust and faith. So
the researcher has cited these three components of good relationship which have
to be followed both by the teachers and students. The role of the teachers,
their accountability and responsibility should be defined on Gandhian line to
impart man making and character building education in Secondary Stage.
Preservation, enrichment and inculcation of ancient culture on Gandhian line is
to be given more emphasis to impart value and peace education in Secondary
level to combat value erosion in every sphere of life.
The
study reveals that Gandhian thought on environmental education will make the
students concern about the sustainable development and ecological balance to
challenge all sorts of environmental threats in the 21st century.
The
study has attempted to prove that Mastery learning and Quality learning of the
students will be possible in this age of knowledge explosion and e-learning if
Secondary education is moulded on Gandhian line giving emphasis on both theory
and practice simultaneously.
It
is recommended that West Bengal Board of Secondary Education may design the
curriculum to frame the aims and objectives, methods of teaching, curriculum,
co-curricular activities, and evaluation of the progress of the students on
Gandian viewpoints to impart life centric education.
It
is finally concluded that implications of Gandhian educational philosophy on
Secondary Education in West Bengal will bring revolutionary changes in all
aspects of education.
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