BASIC
EDUCATION
SCHEME
OF
MAHATMA GANDHI
Mahatma Gandhi was very much aware of the needs of the country – illiteracy and poverty was plaguing India and steps needed to be taken to ensure that the situation was not the same in in independent independent India. India. According to him, a proper of system of basic education is the way out to the vices that was gripping India and that would eventually come in the way of its development. The series of article written in the Harijan on education formed a basis of education that he had complete faith in. He realised that to have a proper system of education, the nation had to have a strong monetary and fiscal condition. In other words, education was dependent on money. To find a constructive way out of this, he suggested that education to be self-sufficient. Thus, education would be a two-fold policy. It would not only provide literacy but also a self sufficiency that would be helpful to the education system and also to the literate individual. In 1937 1937,, at the the nati nation onal al conf confer eren ence ce at Wa Ward rdha ha,, unde under r Gandhi Gandhi’s ’s leade leadersh rship ip and and in consi consider derati ation on of his his ideas ideas,, the following ideas were passed: •
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Free Free and compu compulso lsory ry educat educatio ion n must must be provi provided ded for seven years on a nation-wide nation-wide scale. The The medi medium um of inst instru ruct ctio ion n shou should ld be in the the moth mother er-tongue
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Some sort of technical training should be provided so that the students would be able to become self-sufficient in their future. The same craft practised ion the school would also help in the sustaining of the school. Through a gradual but steady policy, this system would also be able to cover the remuneration of the teachers.
This scheme of education also came to be known as the “ Nai Talim” Talim” or the basic education. “ Nai” Nai” pointed out that it is the new way of education and “ talim” talim” stands for appr appren enti tice cesh ship ip.. The The stud studen ents ts woul would d be an appr appren enti tice ce and and would master a craft that would help the student to establish his own livelihood. Basic would also stand for fundamentals. Thus this scheme of education was based on the national culture and civilization of India. Mahatma Gandhi believed that education should be able to bring out the best of the child and the man in the Body, the Mind and the Spirit. Literacy is not the end of education but rather it is the way to which a sustainable way of education is taken up – the road just begun and it continues as a person gets to know more about oneself. Education should help the citizens of India to be selfsufficient. It should enable a boy or a girl to develop a certain amount of self-reliance which would help in the earning of a livelihood. This was the reason why Gandhiji placed so much stress on the industrial training of the child so that he becomes acqu acquai aint nted ed with with the the real real life life.. He want wanted ed the the educ educat atio ion n to beco become me the means means of prod produci ucing ng ideal ideal citiz citizens ens.. Seein Seeing g the
epidemic of poverty that was plaguing India, he suggested that educ educat atio ion n shou should ld be base based d on indu indust stri rial al trai traini ning ng and and the the development of manual skill and handicrafts. Gandhiji believed that education centres round the child. He impressed upon people that the cultural aspect of education is more important than the literary aspect, because it is through the cultural aspect that the child learns to develop his character and ideals. He was a supporter of the ancient Indian ideals of education. Gandhiji addressed the importance of thought, word and deed, non-violence and truth. It is clear from the foregoing account that Gandhiji’s view viewed ed educ educat atio ion n from from a comp compre rehe hens nsiv ivee or broa broadm dmin inde ded d standpoint. Any education that develops only one aspect of the the chil child d can can be dubb ubbed as narr narrow ow and and oneone-si side ded. d. Thus, hus, Gandhiji states that education must make the individual to live and earn his daily bread, to be the means of his sustenance. In a way Gandhiji synthesized the individual and social aims of educ educat atio ion. n. Lik Like Vive Vivek kanan ananda da,, Gand Gandhi hiji ji main mainta tain ined ed that that character formation and manual skill were equally important. Gan Gandhi dhiji’ ji’s plan lan of edu educati cation on laid str stress ess on all typ types of education – physical, mental, moral, aesthetic and religious. The scheme of the basic education clarifies the means of education. According to Gandhiji, the most important means of education in basic scheme was craft. About this means of education, Gandhiji said “The principle idea is to impart the who whole educ ducatio ation n of the the body body and and the the mind ind and and the the soul soul through through the handicraft handicraft that I taught to the children. children. You have to draw out all that is in the child through teaching all the
pro proccesse essess of hand handiicraf craftt and and all all your your less lesso ons in hist histo ory geo geogr graph aphy, y, arit arithm hmet etic ic will will be rela relate ted d to the the craf craft. t.” ” Thus, some handicraft was necessary to be the centre of child’s education. Besides other craft recommended were: weaving, carpe carpentr ntry y agric agricult ulture ure garde gardenin ning g and other other handi handicra crafts fts and other rural crafts. It was pointed out that the following criteria should be followed in deciding about the basic craft: •
Craft fulfilling individual and social means.
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Craft based upon local requirement.
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Craft in tune with local conditions
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Craft favourable to the interest, aptitude and the ability of the child Less expensive and simple craft Craft leading personality.
to
all
round
development
of
But But Gand Gandhi hi’s ’s “revolutiona revolutionary ry educational educational policy” policy” has been criticized as being medieval and impractical. One of the first criticisms that faced this “Nai talim” was that there was a dearth of teachers – teachers who were artisans and artisans who were also teachers. And to create a new pedigree of teachers for India would be extraordinarily difficult. Professor K.T. Shah who was a part of the Wardha conference and the only member to oppose it made it quite clear that this scheme would require huge amount business acumen of management
of goods and their sale. An embargo against foreign goods would be in keeping with the nationalistic feelings but it this policy would also harm the existing professional artisans and give them competition. In an article in Harijan in Harijan an anonymous anonymous reader pointed out that this would legalize child labour and schools and colleges should be places where the young minds shou should ld be taug taught ht abou aboutt the the valu values es rath rather er than than the the pric prices es.. Rabindranath Tagore pointed out that this teaching does not pro prom mote the the chi child’s ld’s aesthe stheti ticc and and crea creati tiv ve power owerss and “ass “assum umee that that mate materi rial al util utilit ity, y, rathe ratherr than than deve develo lopm pmen entt of personality, is the end of education.”
The The kind ind of soci social al tran transf sfor orma mati tion on that that Gand Gandhi hi was was calling for was primarily an inner moral transformation, one which placed as paramount the need for a conscious simp simpli lici city ty and and self self-i -imp mpos osed ed limi limita tati tion on.. This his limi limita tati tion on Gandhi’s scheme on the intellectual, scientific, economic and even social spheres were therefore clearly unacceptable to the modernist mindset. The question that was asked: “who would seriously want to give up the manifold benefits of modern life and take up a hard life of manual work?” In contrast to Gand Gandhi hi’s ’s radi radica call poli policy cy of chan change ge,, his his detr detrac acto tors rs of the the educational policy would see it to be medieval and conservative. But the dominant nationalistic feelings and to some extent the politics of the dominant elite political class would combat the Gandhian opponents and create a middle path for the basic education. But by the very act of negating
the voice of the Other, by trying to efface it, they contributed to its recognition. recognition.
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