The Indian education system is a legacy of the British system; increasingly it has become more and more commercialized in the hands of private and corporate sector. It is run under the lines of profit rather than imparting an education! The Indian society in the whole needs to move back from the emphasis on education to a secular and spirituality based education where values are taught. Post liberalization and commercialization education has become a profit making venture where education has been reduced to a rote system driven in producing robots where success is a measure of academic percentage of a child. It is the desire of the present society where the child excels in academia caught in the whirlpool of results, coaching aiming to better jobs translating into money. There are numerous incidents starting from nursery onwards where the right kind of school from the right kind of background are studying and its imperative that one gets admission there . In fact the Supreme Court had to intervene in Delhi to put an end to the psychological pressure which is exerted on the child.
Mahatama Gandhi, one of the foremost thinkers and advocate on education considers values an inseparable part in the full development of human personality. In his view, every value is a typical way that distinguishes one human from another. Values are determinants of human behavior. The gurukul system of the old provided this type of education where teachers were treated as Gods ; now we hold them in contempt knowing fully well that a parallel system of tuitions and coaching exists where it is available again for monetary value.
In our present education system morals, values, ethics, integrity need to be integrated, inculcated with the curriculum to balance out both. Moral values plus material knowledge need to go hand in hand. IF all we need to do is parroting what our grandparents/parents learnt; why are we mass producing kid’s choc-a block who mirror their parents? There is a slight deviant to the norm but 99.9% parents mold their students to score high, secure admissions ultimately translating to Mammon. The modern education system is yes more scientific, realistic practical and it teaches us to be strong, independent dealing with the vagaries of today’s world and how to cope with the ever changing scenario. It arms us to deal with the advancement in technology and the rapid scientific development.
However, the education today lays more stress on mugging up and does not encourage “out of the box “thinking .More emphasis is laid down in reproducing the book and the mind is conditioned to work in narrow and stringent lines.
Vivekananda said,” Education is all about building good character oneself”. Education is taught but character building lacks. There is no emphasis and even if there is one lesson taught in school that is always skipped or given the least emphasis. Dr. Kalkat says, they were taught a lecture every week for three years consecutive called QUANEEN WA HIFZANE SEHAT/ Public health and Rules of Citizenship in the year 1939 onwards. The first chapter highlighted that cleanliness is next to godliness or safai ibadaat ke doosra darza pe” and the main theme was the rules how to conduct oneself in the society. He says they were taught that one fights for their rights but falls to the ground for one’s duties!
If our grandparents, parents could be taught these ideals why are they missing now?
Education is more than teaching. It is the sum total of all parts and of which teaching is one part. Teaching is concerned with instruction and it influences pupils regarding the existing value system. Education ultimately means to modify the educated one with not only knowledge but with a value system.A parent, Gurbinder Singh Anand,says that education basically depends upon the teachers and not the learners. If a teacher is satisfied with what he/she is delivering I think we are not left with any other options. Values generally comes from what we learn from our parents, brothers, sisters…the society at large but that again comes from the teachers we have..dont change the subject we learn change the way our teachers teach us so that more value can be added to our learnings.
John Ruskin says,’ education does not mean teaching people to know what they do not know it means teaching them to behave as they do not behave.”
From time immemorial even the Upanishads are testament to this- they state in the chapters 6th and 7th of Chandoyga Upanishad which deals with education primarily; states that to raise knowledge to wisdom is real education. Sadly, what we get/impart is mere knowledge minus the wisdom. It is compulsory mis-education where values as basic as compassion, kindness, integrity are forgotten. The framework of education should inspire give vent to imagination be a support system to encourage to explore and not to limit one to a strict syllabi.
Value education starts with teachers first. First the teacher has to be taught values then only he/she can be a medium. Theoretical education works only a fraction a minuscule part / it is the inner development of the child which is integral to the development or self actualization of the person. It is the complete breakdown of the value system which has given rise to the rampant breakdown in the moral fiber of the society and has led to an increase in crimes and degradation in humanity where crimes against women are the highest in Delhi. Swami Vivekananda is the manifestation of perfection already in man”.
Broad spectrum spiritual education should be given from all religions and not only one so that we get rid of fanaticism /communalisim. This helps in reducing intolerance in later life and the stresses of modern day living. The first step always starts at home. There should be no state religion but a partiality to all.Secularisim should be where we all are deeply religious rather than narrowly religious. Do not change the beautiful, innocent, pure souls to be the fanatics, jihadis of tomorrow.
Man is a social animal with values governing his action to maintain order to live in a community. Moral consciousness leads an individual towards spirituality and which in turn leads to inner realization of spirit. Morality helps realize the difference between good and evil. It helps to respect the dignity of other people, to respect the human behind the casteism tag. The human child is devoid of all tags when once he/ she is born it is the society which labels or categorizes him. This is the blot which we need to erase out of the psyche to progress. The history of India is ancient and has great traditions like ahimsa, satya .Unfortunately our children do not study except via the customary Hollywood movie.
The recent fast unto death by Anna Hazare which has been started to weed out corruption is a testimony to the times or the present conditions the Indian society has sunk to. The New York times in a scathing remark says, “Billions came out to support the cricket team but only thousands came out to support Anna Hazare, wonder what patriotism is.”
If Indians don’t come out in masses now, probably they will never.”USA Today.
Why has the situation become so deplorable that we need a Tahir Square demonstration to reform the country? It is never late to overhaul the system to inculcate values in our children, in the defunct education system. Jugraj Dhillon Sohi, a partner in the upcoming Infoplus media says that “Value based education is never out of fashion, apparently, the current one needs an overhaul as we are producing rattu-totaas, mainly. She says at school we had a moral/spiritual education class, twice every week, not to be confused with reciting religious prayers and hymns but infusing ethics.
Another valid point raised by Chief Commissioner Ramesh Inder Singh is that ,’Education has three components-knowledge of the domain area, acquisition of the required skills to put that knowledge to practice and last but not least values. Education would be incomplete without anyone of the three. He further says, ‘Ethics/values are the very basis of realized existence –however these need not necessarily be spiritual. Many civilizations are highly value based, without being spiritual. Nations which have adopted ethics as an imperative of value based existence, without linking it to spirituality have more effectively internalized these in the society than those who ‘preach’ these as a part of spirituality.
Values are imbibed just as a child learns to speak, without formal teaching in class rooms. Formal curriculum may help marginally –unless a child sees and feels value based living, as he grows in life, he may not turn out to be ethical.
ravneet sangha
