Introduction:
Mahatma Gandhi’s contribution to the field of education theory and
practice is really outstanding. He has been considered to be a revolutionary
educational thinker of modern India
he wanted to bring about a social revolution in
our country, thereby leading to the creation of a new social order, reflecting
his philosophy of education and life .He is regarded as a practical educational
philosopher and experimenter on education to the core. His educational
philosophy was rightly considered as the dynamic side of his philosophy of life
and his educational system is the dynamic side of his educational thought.
His philosophy of
Life:
The
political, economic, education and other ideas of Gandhi are parts of a whole,
integrated philosophy of life. Yet Gandhi was not a philosopher in the accepted
sense of the word, nor has he left behind him a systematic statement of his
thought. He was essentially a man of action and it was through the adventure of
living, his experiments with truth, that he came to formulate ideas-that are
strewn over thousand of pages of writings, speeches and correspondence. Some of
his philosophical doctrines are concept of god, truth, morality, non-violence
(ahimsa), sathyagraha, labour, economic
equality, citizenship, brotherhood of man etc.,
His philosophy of
Education:
The meaning of Education is
Education of the whole man.
Gandhi has synthesized the three important
philosophies, Idealism, Naturalism and Pragmatism. He defined education as an “
all-round drawing out of the best in the child and man-body, mind and spirit”.
His education emphasized both the imminent and eminent goals of life.
Aims of Education:
Gandhi’s concept of
education has two fold aims, ultimate and immediate.
Ultimate aim of Education:
Self-realisation is
the ultimate aim of life as well as of education. It is spiritual education
which provides knowledge of god and self- realization. In the words of Gandhi
“True education should result not in material power but in spiritual force”. It
must strengthen man’s faith in God and not waken it. He further adds
“Development of the whole-all was directed towards the realization of the
ultimate reality, the merger of the finite being into the infinite”.
Education
for character building:
Character building was the
fundamental enterprise n Gandhi’s ideal school. Development of personality was
more significant than accumulation of intellectual tools and academic
knowledge. Good education is “that which draws out and stimulates the spiritual,
intellectual and physical faculties of children”. His concept of personality
was based on the ideal man of the Gita who is an integrated personality a sthita prajana or sage of settled
intelligence.
Self supporting aspect of Education:
Gandhi aimed at
the self-supporting aspect of education. He advocated knowledge through work.
The use of craft at all levels and at all stages of education was his concept
of ‘karma-yoga’. He wanted to teach children the dignity of labour and to make
them learn to regard. It is an integral part and a means of their intellectual
growth and to make them realize that it was patriotic to, pay for their
training through their labour, his aim was to bridge the gap between education
and life by drawing upon the cultural, social and vocational potentialities of
the students and to make education “life-centered”.
Cultural aim of education:
Gandhi does not ignore
the cultural aspect of education. In his words “ I attach far more importance
to cultural aspect of education than to the literacy”. Culture is the
foundation, the primary thing which the girls ought to get from here. Inner
culture must reflect in your speech, the way in which you treat your visitors
and behave towards one another and your teacher and class. Thus Gandhi laid
much emphasis on cultural aim of education and recommended that Gita and
Ramayana be taught as a means of introducing students to their rich cultural
and spiritual heritage.
Social and Individual aims of Education:
The aim of education of Gandhi is both social and individual. He
wanted individual perfection and a new social order based on” Truth” and
“non-violence”. We cannot think of social service and the individual vice
versa. Thys according to Gandhi, the individual and social development are
independent.
Fundamental of
Basic Education:
Gandhi
designed pre-basic education for the children under six years of age. At this
stage principles of sanitation hygiene, nutrition, work and helping parents in
the home were emphasized. Basic education is meant for the children under the
age group seven to fourteen and was a seven year plan. Post-basic education was
for the students of age group fourteen and eighteen. It was an extension of the
basic education with greater emphasis on self sufficiency.
Features of Basic
Education:
Free and compulsory education:
Gandhi advocated that
within the age group 7 to 14, there should be free, compulsory and universal
education. He wanted to combine the primary education with secondary education
and called it, matriculation minus English was his aim of education.
1. The craft:
The basic education aimed at
providing education through the medium of craft or productive work. The basic
craft which be agriculture or spinning and weaving or card board, wood and
metal work, gardening, leather work.
- Mother Tongue:
Gandhi emphasized mother
tongue to be the medium of instruction and the subject of study. Mother tongue
would enable the children to express themselves effectively and clearly. It can
acquaint the child with his heritage, ethical and moral values.
- Mathematics:
Mathematics was introduced in
the basis system with a few to enable the students to solve numerical and
grammatical problems, connected with craft and community life. In teaching of
mathematics emphasis was laid on practical measuring and field work. Teaching
of mathematics helped the students to develop their reasoning capacities.
- Social studies:
Social studies were a
combination of some subject like history, geography, civics and economics. It
was introduced to enable the students to understand and appreciate their own
culture and also to understand nature and function of family, state and the
nation and their relationship.
- General science:
Nature study, botony,
zoology, chemistry, astronomy, hygiene, culture and knowledge of stars were
included in general science.
- Drawing and music:
Drawing and music included
in the curriculum to develop creativity in boys and girls.
- Hindustani:
Gandhi believed that
Hindustani is the combination of Hindi and Urdu. Therefore, he desired to make
it a compulsory subject in basic school and the Lingua Franca of India
Gandhi’s views on teacher:
Gandhi advocates devotion to the teacher. He says education of the
heart could only be done through the living touch of the teacher. He said It
will be very difficult to achieve character building in the absence to the
teacher.
Gandhi’s views on adult Education:
Gandhi desired that adult education must touch
the life of all the villagers at all the economic, the hygienic, the social and
political. Villagers should acquire some useful knowledge through the programme
of adult education.
Gandhi’s view on university Education:
Gandhi criticized the prevailing system of university education in
which the students have no participation. Involvement or activity. He felt that students
in the prevailing system of university education are dying of boredom and their
bottled-up energies are running riot in wrong channels. The aim of university
education and emphasized on originality
of full personality and to make it a creative process.
Conclusion:
In fact, Gandhian approach to
education so quite sound and very practical. He stands as a modern
educationalist. His educational ideas developed both the present life and the
life after. His method of education was activity-centred, craft-centred,
life-centred, and society-centred. He considered education as a strong force
for individual, social and national development.
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