The Gandhian Vision of Education

- By Govindbhai Raval

"Basic Education is my most important gift to the world" said Gandhi who is known for his cautiousness in whatever he speaks. And so what it means needs to be thought through.

Gandhi wanted to construct a new society, a value-based new society. A society built on inequality, exploitation, and violence was no acceptable to him. In Vinoba's words, new social order of Gandhi's vision, is not based on violence nor on punitive power, but on a 'third power" which is the basis of non-violent, Sarvodaya Society.

The means, the instrument o this new social order is basic education. Basic education is not merely and educational methodology. Of course, it is best as a method of education, but it is more of a life style. The fundamental unity of goals and means is Gandhiji's contribution to theory and practice. He was a practitioner. He diagnosed the sickness of the civilization and started treating it. He gave the constructive program to counter the poverty, unemployment, ignorance, superstitions, addictions, till social practices and inequality which were eating into body of the society. At the top of the constructive programmed is the key, the basic education.

Gandhi made a plan in which basic education illuminated the constructive programmed. Basic education was a laboratory for the creation of a new social order. It is an ideal device of the demonstration of the constructive proagramme.

What is not understood by speech opens up its secrets through action. The constructive programmers such a communal harmony, eradication of Untouchability, khadi and village industries, prohibition etc. do bring about certain results but basic education has a special capability to bring these values to the new generation.

Basic education brings about silent, nonviolent revolution. It merits a deep study.

If basic education which is education for life based on industry, community and social service is properly understood and practiced, then the new generation can not only be saved from the destruction inherent in today's world but new values can also take root. Of course, how much can be saved is a moot question. This is where a light generating faith and hope is needed.

We need to understand that first and experiment has to be conducted, a seed bed has to be prepared. Only then a wider use is possible. So also basic education is a seed from.

All the seeds sowed do not grow into plants. They need time for growth. Similarity, the production of basic education need not be all good .The best seed could sown and gradually the new seed will take root.

Twenty-fifty years in human history is not a long time. We need to be patient to allow the time necessary for the basic education t come to fruition .

Ganghi, whose eyes were set on the north pole star, always set his feet on the ground. He was a practical idealist. That which cannot take a life form had no attraction Gandhi. And so the means he selected for the implementation of basic education, which is post-modern in so many its aspects, are often unfathomable by modern scholars.

What are these means? Spinning-wheel, the broom, cow, agriculture, and the boarding house for the students.

These traditional instruments were understood by Gandhi in a new context. Spinning wheel is the means of the old women for centuries. But Gandhi's touch illuminated it to a revolution. These are the ways of the seers, the alchemists of the yore. Those of use who do not understand it turn it into a magic or a superstitions practice.
Why is this so? It is like the story of the four blind men and the elephant. Whatever parts came to each one's hands were seen as the elephant and so they all fought. Spinning-wheel is basic education, cleanliness is basic education. Incomplete and one-sided observations have created misunderstandings about basic education. Of course the spinning-wheel and cleanliness both have their place in basic education. But that does not complete it. It is neither its beginning not its end.

Industry may appear to be basic education. But without experience, how could it be understood that industry is one of the parameters of basic education.

To Gandhi, education is a process form pregnancy to death. Formal school education is a small part of it. Today we see that education is limited to school, is bound by the school. But as long as Gandhi's concept of education is not accepted, the problems of the world of education will remain unsolved. Because we tend to divide life into small parts, atomise it, we look for the solutions in the law, the rules and the punishment t, In each new rule or a new law is seen the solution. We no longer trust the understanding of the thought, the cultivation of thought, the development of the virtues, habit formation, the development of skills etc.

Like the man, education is indivisible too. In education we have divided man into intelligence, mind, limbs etc. And as if this in not enough, it is hierarchiesed. At the top is intelligence; at the bottom are the lowly hands and legs. In Gandhi's basic education, we talk of the harmony of 3 Rs in education. Head, heart, and hand - the integrated development of the three is education. The unite grated growth of the three is at the base of varied problems, of today. The verticality of intelligence and manual labor is at the root of permanent violence and ceaselessness, as all of us can see.

We cans see than Gandhi has Brahmin's knowledge, Kshatriya's power, Vaiasya's productivity - Creativity and Shudra's service orientation.

It today's time this varnashram division of labour cannot be revived not it needs to be revived. But it basic substance is the quality of the each. Attributing such a quality to any social group is not consistent with today's society. But education and socialization could be such that all the four qualities can flower in each individual, each citizen. This is the task of education. And this is the approach of basic education.

There are five aspects to basic educations: (1) Industry, (2) community living, (3) Social Service, (4) Environment, (5) Holistic View.

1. Industry:

Educationists before Gandhi did consider activity as a part of education. But the inclusion of industry is the contribution of Gandhi. Industry means socially productive labour. One must participate in the production of what one needs- food and clothing. Without this classless society is not possible. "Industry in education" principle is integral to the new social order. Basic education does not mean vocational education for employment or the reduction of unemployment. Industry is the main vehicle of education. Without it the total education of man is incomplete. This is the concept of "Industry in education." Industry does not mean mere labour with hands and legs. It includes the machine, the nonpolluting machine which helps in development of skills and competent production. The use of machines in vocational training are not negative. He said that even a spinning wheel is a machine. I am not opposed to machine; my opposition is against the craze of machine. Spinning and weaving are not the only vocations in the basic education. The basic education also includes agriculture, instrumentation, forestry, home science e and several other vocations.

2. Community Living:

Like industry, community living is also an indivisible part of basic education. The bane of Indian Social life is its lack of team spirit though an individual we have high standards. We must accept that social aspect of community life is less developed. The characteristic of our culture is that though our culture has produced persons like Ram and culture is that though our culture has produce person s like Ram and Gandhi,our common man is superficial. Education for citizenship knows more by its absence. It is the other way round in the West. A common man there will not throw not produce many great persons. A common man there willnot throw dirt around, he will in a queue; he will not escape work, he will not wast time in gossip. Yes, he drinks alcohol, eat meat, and his of concept man-women releationship has no conspicious differences. But he is far above us in his capacity to shoulder responsibility and commitment to work. Pehaps our other - worldly view is responsible for our behavior. Such wrong notions as nobody belongs to you, your parents, husband or wife or children are not with you when you leave this world as also you seek you rowan salvation and basic alones are common. Have such notions corroded social aspects of community life? We are taken aback by the crude behavior of young adolescents ho otherwise as individuals are good enough. We have outcome if we have to work together as a group.

Education can correct this deficiency. Training for group life in education can do this. This is the reason why training for hostel lair is emphasised basic education. Here students can live together transcending differences due to the caste, community, and religion. They work and live together as a group. It is through camps, study-tour, cleanliness, cooking, service, industry and cultural activities that one learns spontaneously that the group is above the individual self.

The fact that the present generation is in the grip of corruption, communalism, violence is symptomatic of the deficiency in the training for group and social life. Given such training, the new generation will shine in industries, business, and politics.

3. Social Services

Social service is the third medium of basic education the Students should be helped to realize that this parents are not the only ones who have contributed to whatever he is or he will become. It is due to the labour of so many people in the society that he can study and use the things that he does. Our debt to society is so great that any amount of hard and severe work will not balance it. We owe our knowledge, career, comforts of life and even security to so many people's service whom we have never met. Then should we not whatever we can in return for the society? A student can comprehend this debt only through small service-action while he is studying. Three plantations, cleanliness, manual labour, eradication of illiteracy, nursing the sick, and relief work during famine, flood, earth-quake and fire-it is only through this action that not only can a student be socialized but he can also become conscious of his responsibility to the society.

4. Environment:

Education is receiving and not giving. Nobody can educate others. That I teach a student is an illusion of the teacher. What can then a teacher do? He can create an environment. Education means environment. And so basic education is the education through environment. Three types of environment educate the child: (1) Natural (2) Social, and (3) vocational. Today the word environment is well accepted. The skill of the teacher lies in how he creates these three environments. One who knows this art is a true teacher. A skillful teacher raises the consciousness of the students so than the can learn from each environment. The paucity of such teachers has reached education bookish.

5. Holistic View:

Integration is the soul of education. The words childhood, youth, and old age are used to describe life but life itself is indivisible. So also various class room subjects, industry, community life, social service and cultural activates not different components of education. They are educational means of life to flower as a whole. How and went to use these means Mediums is the skill of the teacher. Without such integration, education can become a mere ritual which eventually generates boredom and mechanical ways. Teacher's ability to integrate prevents such on outcome. "Holistic view is knowledge a science that accrues form human action and brought creatively by the teacher to the students." A student's interest and motivation would increase when he understands the concept behind whatever he does. Without against each concrete act. Once the student understands this, his consciousness would expand. It is axiomatic that the teacher needs training of r competence in bringing the holistic view the students There is no doubt that with such a competent teacher a student would learn Andy subject easily. Basically a holistic view is a scientific orientation.

This is not a complete exposition of the essence of Gandhi's basic education. It is only a general over-view

Often Gandhi's basic education has been ludicrously equated with vocational training. But one who goes in depth would soon find that it sea a "revolutionary vision" for the fundamental transformation of human beings. The transformation of theist revolutionary means to educational practice is a challenge for the modern educationalist. The acceptance of such a challenge would open a new horizon. Shall we accept that this new vision is a proper response to day's age of science?

The acceptance of basic education as an educational methodology is not enough. The goal is for it to become a way of life in the new society. The aim of basic educationist to research and demonstrate the development of this new way of life. Gandhi's vision of education means habit formation and development of virtues and skills through education. The vision and philosophy of his education of 'new man' through basic education is Gandhi's gift to us.

Source: Gandhi Marg, July-September, 1998