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Education With The Right Direction

Dr. Ravindra Kumar - 8/15/2007

What I understand the education with right direction, of course of the imagination of Mahatma Gandhi too, and on which I have emphasized time-to-time in India and abroad, is a process containing four kind of learning. It may be called complete education also, and through it, as I believe the real objective of education can be fulfilled. In it, apart from general education that is imparted according to the syllabus fixed to the purpose at different level, there is a provision of physical, moral and technical learning.

Most of the schools generally impart two types of education in these days: general [according to the prescribed syllabus] and physical education. General education, as we know, ends with the earning of a degree; physical education on the other hand consists of games, sports and different kinds of body-exercises, which is, definitely, important for both-physical and mental development.

In this process, moral education occupies third place. No doubt, it helps the student grow into a full-fledged, responsible and duty bound adult. And if he lacks this education, do you know what will be the consequences? On the basis of general education he will earn a degree; through physical education he will grow strong and will become mentally sound. But he will not become a good human being, no matter if he possesses some extraordinary virtues in him; definitely, in the absence of proper moral education he will even lack those qualities that are expected from an ordinary human being. To quote some of those qualities we can mention tolerance, good conduct in general, tendency of cooperation, love for justice and obedience.

A number of examples are before us in which we find so many physically strong, mentally developed, handsome and charming persons who occupied highest positions in political fields of their respective countries. But due to lack of moral education they crossed all limits even of general ethics and they pushed the whole world to the brink of destruction. I do not want to name a particular person as all of them must be known to us. The series of events of the two World Wars, and especially of the Second one, are before us where we find such people who, due to lack of moral education, had been responsible for destruction of property and mass killing of innocent people. Even today, it will come to be true if there is lack of moral education.

On the contrary, there are also so many instances which amply prove that morally upright people, time-to-time, set the world on the path of prosperity, succour and peace. They saved humanity even if they were not strong enough physically or they did not look charming. Also some of them did not hold high degrees of education. That is why; the importance and significance of moral learning or education cannot be minimized or under estimated. All those concerned with the process of education around the world must understand that if they lack behind imparting moral education properly right from the beginning of formal study of a child, it will lead to weakening of that aspect of his future life which otherwise is going to make him a true human being.

The fourth kind in this very process of education is the technical learning. It is very similar to the Gandhian term ‘Buniyadi’. Although it does not mean that a student who does not come within the domain of this particular learning will fail to appreciate social etiquette, but even its importance lies in the fact that it is through this learning that the student tends to become self-dependent, which, according to the Mahatma is the prime object of education.

Now let me have my point to clarify in simple manner about technical education. We are well aware that all most all countries of the world-developed, developing or under-development and poor-are, more or less, facing the problem of unemployment. A large number of handsome, healthy and qualified youths are jobless. They do not have any work to do and the education they have acquired is of no use for them; therefore, it is imperative for the schools to impart technical knowledge from the very beginning of study in order to get rid of unemployment and to make education meaningful, and to assure all-round development of personality.

But while starting process of imparting this type of education, there is a need of good home work by those who intend to do so as there is no place to unnecessary haste in it; also it is not a short cut way. In it there is a need to identify that predominant virtue from amongst those virtues which every child possesses and they may be termed as God-gifted, familial, ancestral, inherited or natural. After this identification the development of child in technical knowledge must predominantly be based on that very virtue while imparting the other three types of education to him, which will gradually lead him to proficiency in the particular trade of technical learning.

On the basis of this learning he will be able to select his future goal while acquiring the middle or secondary level of education. And, thus, with the earning of a degree or equivalent to it, he will not face difficulty in becoming self-dependent because of this technical learning or knowledge. He will have the ability to start his own work independently on the basis of his technical know-how in case he fails to get a job. Therefore, it will also be proper to call it practical training which helps a student to become self-dependent.

Today, it is the bounden duty of schools to prepare the student to obtain his degree, to works for his physical and mental development, to see that he through moral learning becomes ideal human beings and also to assure his self-dependence by guiding him in the field of technical knowledge predominantly on the basis of that principal virtue which he possesses as has been mentioned already.

Mahatma Gandhi was a practical man. He used to go to the roots of problems, and through his experiences he drew solutions for them. For society and students too he had extraordinary views. He was for self-dependency and all-round development of students. And no one can deny the fact that self-dependent and prosperous students can lead the society and nation in right direction. So, it is high time that the way shown by Mahatma Gandhi be taken seriously; and with necessary modification, as per the demand of time and space, it should be followed.