ABSTRACT

The present system of education has not been able to give right direction
to the youths and it does not provide them affluent opportunities for their all
round development to make them self reliant. Now-a-days the students are
passing examinations and earning their degrees with first or higher divisions,
but most of them are unable to become self reliant and incapable to face the
challenges. So to overcome this condition there is a need of such education
which was predicted by Mahatma Gandhi like ‗Basic Education‘ or ‗Nai-
Talim‘. Gandhi realized that the basic education was an essential component to
the structural and socio-economic imbalances that were badly affected. It was
the treatment for all the ills and evils of the society in India. His idea on basic
education not only changed the educational system of India but also led a social
revolution. This paper aims to understand and review the principles of Gandhiji
on basic education which are assessed from his several writings. Some
important features of Gandhiji‘s basic education are also described comparing
present system of education.

1
CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION

2
1.1 INTRODUCTION:

Education is the process of acquisition of knowledge, skills, beliefs and

moral habits. The main aim of education is to make the people better and to let
them develop their own skills and confidence which are needed for their life. It
reduces the challenges faced by individuals in their life and helps them to learn
how to earn. The more knowledge one gains, the more opportunities open for
the individuals to achieve better possibilities in career and in personal growth. It
opens the mind for different situations, which help to solve problems of life
effectively and to think critically about the world. Basic education is the most
empowering force in the world which creates knowledge, builds confidence and
opens the door of opportunity eliminating all obstacles (Wikipedia). For
children, it is their key to open the door to a better life. A child gets the first
education from his own family, learns from the own environment and gather
learning experiences from the school. It is a social process which occurs only in
social environment and without it no one can acquire experiences. The role of
basic education is to socialise individuals and to keep society smooth and stable.
It teaches a child to observe, understand and realize. It teaches to act decently,
to be creative, to develop skills and to learn more things about life so that when
the child grows up, he/she uses the basic education to build a better quality of
life. However, the modern educational system of India is incapable to achieve
humanitarian and peaceful social life. The present system of education is unable
to contribute much to the individual as well as social development. In order to
bring some social changes, proper and quality education is very much required
for all. In this context, Mahatma Gandhi‘s scheme of basic education is an
alternative measure to establish a new social order. Gandhiji‘s principle on basic
education would be able to inspire the whole world with his ideas of truth,
nonviolence, peace and love. His idea on handicraft is very important as it
represents the culture and tradition of any country. It promotes the heritage of a

3
country through the use of indigenous materials. Anyone can spend their free
time to learn the various techniques related to handicrafts and can earn money
by utilising the skills. It preserves traditional knowledge and talents. It
encourages self-employment which is the best method to fight against current
unemployment situations.

4
CHAPTER-2
REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE

5
2.1 INTRODUCTION:

This chapter is on review of literature. The study is focusing on Gandhian

views on education contemporary education .Various educationists have written
scholarly papers, books, project reports, highlighting the social, economic, and
political importance in Education. A large number of Seminars/ conference/
workshops and Symposia have been organized and in which different authors
have presented papers regarding the importance of primary education. A
number of official resolutions have been adopted and judgments pronounced on
various occasions to ensure primary education for all. Despite these exercises,
the goal of universal primary education remains elusive. The National policy on
Education (1986 and 1992) has enumerated various problems of education in
India. Also, in this policy, various recommendations are made for improving the
Education in Indian economy. The various recommendations furnished in the
NPE paper have helped for improving the primary education in the country.

2.2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

Anuncated by Morries. This book has 27 chapters explaining about the

different areas of education such as the philosophy of Indian education. Open
book examination, working of the semester system, the concept of
accreditations and assessment, academic staff training, attitude of villagers
towards education, promoting family planning through non-formal education
literacy drive among weakest sections, rural urban contrasts in primary
education the need for investment education inequalities in HRD Education and
HRD a host of other things. According to Chalam, all education policies are to
be pursued to establish the linkage between education and development. The
ultimate objective of education policy according Chalamis to achive higher rates
of human development in India. Chalam, KS (1993), educational policy for
Human Resources Development(New Delhi rewet poblcation)

6
 ―A comprehensive study of the progress of education in Karnataka‖ written
by D. Jagannath Rao is a book which documents the growth of education in
Karnataka over the past 150 years. It deals with all sectors of education –
Preprimary, Elementary, and Secondary, and Higher Secondary, collegiate and
technical education. It also gives a bird‗s eye view of all the premier institutions
in the state. The main focus of the book is of course school education –
elementary education, and secondary education which is discussed in all
dimensions – growth in each sector, programs, equity issues, role of private
sectors, financing of education, issues in education sectors and future
challenges. The reports of various committees are also analyzed and the status
of their implementation discussed. The book consists of 21 chapters besides 5
annexure and statistical tables.

The story of my experiments with Truth (An Autobiography), Towards New

Education, To Students, Hind Swaraj, Truth is God, Young India, Satyagraha,
Harijan are the main written contributions of M.K. Gandhi. His scheme of
education ‗basic‗ stands for the Art of Living. He tried to reorient the
educational system towards productive labor. He enunciated the principle of
―Basic Education‖ in which academic subjects were to be taught through
productive activities in the form of agriculture, gardening, rural industries,
animal husbandry, and the like. According to Gandhiji, students should learn the
principle of self-help, self-reliance dignity of labor along with their various
academic subjects. He desired that the medium of education should be creative
labor and not textbooks. Education in handicrafts teaches the dignity of labor
and combines learning and doing. Thus handicrafts are the center of teaching of
all subjects education, according to Gandhiji was a harmonious development of
the body, mind and soul.

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India wrote about education in
his book Ideal mind, According to him Education to be the pursuit of truth and

7
an endless journey through knowledge and enlightenment which opens up new
vistas of development of humanism where there is no scope nor room for
pettiness, disharmony jealousy hatred or enmity indicating importance of
education, he states that education transforms a human being into to a
wholesome whole, a noble soul and an asset to the universe. He holds that real
education enhance the dignity of human being and increases his or her self-
respects. Dr. Kalam often says that education is drawing out and developing
creativity inherent in students.

According to Prof. Drever, Education is a process in which and by which

knowledge character and behavior of the young are shaped and molded. As
human behavior is inherently opportunist, adverse election and moral hazards
may influence the individual motivation to share knowledge in a negative
manner. Moreover an individual‗s ability to appreciate new knowledge is a
function of their ―absorptive capacity‖. Present condition is very much required
of value in youngsters. They are the pillar and strength for this county. If there
is no value, the whole country should face dangers. The most important crisis
that the educational system faces today is the crisis of objectives. Education for
what?Education for whom? Education has not been able to anticipate the
changes in the social ethos even fail to adopt it to the changes that are the
operative realities of today. It has sought to maintain a tenuous kind of
autonomy based on the ideals and methodologies of the past, without realizing
that the remedies of yesterday are no longer efficacious for the ills of today.
(Journal of Indian Education 2007).

M. Siddalingaiah in his book ―Democracy and Education‖ says that

education is the greatest of arts, the art of living and the science of living. There
are 18 chapters in the study of M. Siddalingaiah. In these chapters,
Siddalingaiah in an easily intelligible manner has analyzed the aims of
education, the problems of education, the nature of students, the factors

8
affecting learning, the role of teachers in imparting education to students. The
teaching devises, ganer al methods in education etc. according to another more
than 30 millon children are out of school in india.

The Education commission and after(1982) written by J.P.Naik. This book

was the last and precious contribution to the education field, according to the
great educationist and planners. This book is about commission and its
nominations, previous phenomenon, politicians and the government
administrations and commissions recommendation about its defines and
alterations and implementation, and also this book is about difficulties in
education field and future development and its curriculum. This book analyzed
these all thing and also this book will be the real proof of achievement of Mr
Naik and his real concern to the education, social status and development.

Noble prizewinner Economist of India Amartya Sen in his papers entitled

―disquieting picture: Primary problems in Education‖ has wrote about the
problems of Primary Education in India. According to Sen ―Primary education
in India suffers not only from inadequate allocation of resources but often
enough also from terrible management and organization. He cites in the opinion
of Albert Einstein ―That problem cannot be solved on the same level on which
it was created; one has to rise above it to next level. Thus an entirely new
approach is required to set right the Primary Education problems. The delivery
system needs to be alerted drastically Amartya Sen strategy i.e. Devi Singh an
altogether new delivery mechanism, is the need of the hour. Which it was
created, one has to rise above it to next level. Thus, an entirely new approach is
required to set right the primary education problems. The delivery system needs
to be altered drastically Amartya Sen strategy i.e. Devi Sing an altogether new
delivery mechanism, is the need of the hour. A model that is cost-effective self,
Sen Amartya (2202) "Disquieting picture: Primary Problems in Education: The
Times of India November 19. P7.

9
 J.Lenka and Minaty in their study entitled "Growth of primary Education in
Orissa" Quality VIS. Quantity" as stated that the constitution, the National
Education Policy and the Five year plan have lied much emphasis on the role of
educational development .To this end the number of programmers have been
lunched .the authored will that it is high time to review the effective that
existing programme of education from the point of view of equality in
education.

JBG Tilak (2002) in his paper "Financing Elementary Eduaction in India"

(vide Ed. R. Govinda) opines that the "households from even lower socio-
economic background, low income groups, households whose primary
occupation is not high in the occupational hierarchy, all spend considerable
amounts on acquiring education including specifically elementary education,
which is expected to be provided by the state free to all". The public Report on
Basic Education in India (PROBE 1999) finds that in northern states of India
such costs are substantial "In fact, Schooling is too expensive" came first among
the reasons cited by PROBE respondents to explain why a child had never been
to school".

Vincent Sheean - ―Gandian ideas of „Basic Education‟ were in conformity

with Indian conditions…he started as always with mass level of the poor Indian
villagers whose maintenance standard (food and clothing) he emulated. Such a
villagers cannot afford to lose the work of his children. Therefore, the school
must combine learning with useful work which should be remunerated.‖

J. D. Sethi, ―The use of craft in education was justified by many

considerations. First, it satisfied the most basic Gandhian principle of bread-
labour…Secondly, through craft and labour, education provided a link with
various human activities…Thirdly, craft was not to be taken merely as a part of
curricula, but must reflect a change in educational methodology. It formed a
kind of process known as learning by doing…Fourthly, crafts must be economic

10
to make education selffinancing…Finally, the craft system in general must be
correlated to society. As such craft is both a means and an end.‖

Dr. Gunnar Myrdal, ―The Nobel laureate has expressed in unequivocal

language that basic oriented primary education could be the ideal solution for
the reform of teaching method in Indian schools‖. Professor Castle of the united
kingdom in his publication ―education for self-help‖ , has described basic
education as one of the most interesting and promising development in Indian
education. Professor Paul Goodman calls the existing system has ―compulsory
MassEducation‖ and asserts that the school works, the administrators and
professors have proliferated into a vested interest of the work kind in human
history.

Dr. Anil Gupta in his article Preference for management education in

Gandhian Views is argued that Preference for management education is an
increasingly global trend in career planning. Growing demand has led to
varying needs and expectations from this field. The spectrum of aspirants for
management education ranges from undergraduates to experienced and senior
professionals, from employed personnel to entrepreneurs, from primary sectors
like agriculture and mining to tertiary sectors like banking services to secondary
sectors like manufacturing and production.

Hanif Kanjer, founding dean, Rustomjee Business School in an article

'Students Benefit from Improvements in Pedagogy' brings out the importance of
improvements in pedagogy in management institutes. According to the article,
'business schools are working towards faculty development programmes and
sharing of resources and knowledge.'

11
CHAPTER-3
RESEACH
METHODOLOGY

12
3.1 OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of the study are to:

 Highlight some important features of Gandhiji‘s basic education and its

relevance.
 Understand and review Gandhiji‘s principle of basic education with
present world.

3.2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Some journals and e-contents relating to Gandjiji‘s model of basic

education are studied. Several books on education are reviewed and some of
Gandjiji‘s own writings are referred to find the significance of his ideas on basic
education.

3.4. DATA COLLECTION:

The data collected for this research are mainly from secondary sources.
Such as, Journals, websites and blogs of different publishers and also from
Books of different authors.

13
CHAPTER-4
BASIC EDUCATION
ACCORDING TO
MAHATMA GANDHI

14
4.1. BASIC EDUCATION ACCORDING TOMAHATMA GANDHI:

At Round Table Conference in London (1931) Mohandas Karamchand

Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi pointed out the ineffectiveness of the
primary education system of India and the low percentage of literacy rate
among Indian people. He blamed the policy of the British Government
responsible for the pathetic situation in the field of mass education. Ghandiji
described the main defects of the system of education as, ―I am fully convinced
that present system of education is not only wasteful but positively harmful.
They would pickup evil habits. English has created a permanent bar between the
highly educated few and the uneducated many.‖ He further said, ―let us now cry
a halt and concentrate on educating the child properly through manual work not
as a side activity but as a prime means of intellectual activity‖ (Maheswari).
Mahatma Gandhi proposed his scheme of Basic Education (Nai Talim) in a well
formulated approach to education in 1937 in his news paper ‗Harijan‘. In order
to discuss different aspects of the scheme of education, an All India education
conference was held in Wardha on 22nd and 23rd October, 1937. The
conference is called Wardha Educational Conference and Gandhiji himself
presided over the conference. After serious discussions, the following four
resolutions were passed in the conference (Maheswari).

1) Free and compulsory education is to be provided for seven years on a

nationwide scale.

2) Mother tongue should be the medium of instruction.

3) The process of education throughout this period should have some manual
and productive work and ability should be developed to engage them with
handicraft work according to the environment of the child.

4) The proposed system of education would gradually be able to generate

remuneration of the teachers.

15
 Basic education or Nai Talim was based on the fundamental principle of
―learning by doing‖. Gandhiji believed on action and hence his concepts of
basic education can be classified as activity method or practical method. It was
mainly a method of co-relation between book learning and doing activity
through craft like gardening, weaving, spinning, carpentry, etc. According to
him, a realistic scheme of education must be closely integrated with the physical
and social environment of the student (Gandhi). He said, ―It is called the new
method of education, for it is not a foreign importation or imposition, but is
consistent with the environment in India which is predominantly made up of
villages. It believes in establishing equilibrium between the body, the mind and
the spirit of which man is made. It is unlike the Western type which is
predominantly militarist, in which the mind and the body are the primary care of
education to the subordination of the spirit. This is best done when education is
given through handicrafts. The other specialty is that it is designed to be wholly
self-supporting. It does not, therefore, demand an expenditure of millions on
education.‖

4.2. IMPORTANT FEATURES OF GANDHIJI'S BASIC EDUCATION:

According to Gandhiji and his philosophy, the important features of basic

education may be listed as below;

1. Free and compulsory education for all- Gandhiji wanted the basic
education should be free and compulsory for all boys and girls between
the ages of seven to fourteen. According to Gandhiji, ―I am a firm
believer in the principle of free and compulsory primary education for
India. I also hold that we shall realize this only by teaching the children a
useful vocation and utilizing it as a means for cultivating their mental,
physical and spiritual faculties. Let no one consider these economic
calculations in connection with education as sordid or out of place. There
is nothing essentially sordid about economic calculations.‖

16
2. Mother tongue as medium of instruction- Gandhiji, believed that the
medium of basic education should be the mother tongue. Strong mother
tongue foundation leads to a much better understanding of the curriculum
as well as a more positive attitude towards school. Language and mother
tongue play an important role in the development of personal, social and
cultural identity of a child. Children with a strong foundation in mother
tongue can have deeper understanding of the curriculum and develop
confidence to tackle any situation. When children develop their mother
tongue, they will develop other essential skills, love towards mother
tongue and incline towards motherland.
3. Craft centred education- Gandhiji emphasised on craft-centred education
which had great importance in Indian scenario. In Indian scenario, craft
would make education self-supportive as it is not possible to educate all
citizens and provide them government jobs. So, the craft centred
education would help to provide employment opportunity to all citizens
and make them self-sufficient. According to Gandhiji, the method of
training the mind through village handicraft from the beginning would
develop disciplined mind. Such practical productive work in education
would to break down the existing barriers of discrimination between
manual and intellectual workers. The scheme would increase the
productive capacity and utilise their leisure profitably also (Maheswari).
According to Gandhiji (Prabhu) ―Craft, art, health and education should
all be integrated into one scheme. Nai Talim is a beautiful blend of all the
four and covers the whole education of the individual from the time of
conception to the moment of death….. Instead of regarding craft and
industry as different from education, I will regard the former as the
medium for the latter.‖
4. Development of creativity and critical thinking- Gandhiji emphasised on
the principle of 'learning by doing' which stimulates the individual's mind

17
 to think creatively and critically. His great emphasis on work-culture to
the students from initial stage was to enable the students to start
producing while learning. So, his primary aim of basic education was to
utilise head, heart and hand rather than concentrating on reading or
writing only. In July 1937, Ghandiji wrote in the Harijan, ―By education I
mean an all-round drawing out of the best in child and man-body, mind
and spirit. Literacy is not the end of education nor even the beginning. It
is only one of the means whereby man and woman can be educated.
Literacy in itself is no education. I would therefore begin the child‘s
education by teaching it a useful handicraft and enabling it to produce
from moment it begins its training. Thus every school can be made self-
supporting, the condition being that the State takes over the manufactures
of these schools.‖
5. Emphasis on collaborative learning- True education is a lifelong process
which helps in cultivating the spirit of co-operation, tolerance,
collaboration and a sense of responsibility. All these qualities are required
for the development of human personality which can create the pleasant
balance between the individuals and social aim of education. Gandhiji
always emphasised on collaborative learning. Craft work helps a child to
acquire collaborative learning skills and to realize the value of honest
labour.
6. Importance on moral education- Gandhiji thought that the peace is
essential for human life which can be attained through education. Peace
can be attained only through morality and ethics. According to him,
education must be based on ethics and morality. Gandhiji advised to all
students to consider morality and honesty as essential parts of their
education. He said, ―Our system of education leads to the development of
the mind, body and soul. The ordinary system cares only for the mind.‖

18
 (Harijan, 9-11- 1947, p. 401). ―I attach far more importance to the
cultural aspect of education than to the literary.‖
7. Emphasis on character building- Education is the most powerful weapon
which helps to build genuine characters of a student. The goal of
education should consist of character-building. The character-building
includes the moral, intellectual and social behaviour of a student under all
circumstances. A student should develop personality, compassion,
kindness, fair-mindedness and the spirit of dedication by virtue of
education. Gandhiji said, ―When it is remembered that the primary aim of
all education is, or should be, the moulding of the character of pupils, a
teacher who has a character to keep need not lose heart.‖
8. Development of self reliance and patriotism- The main purpose of basic
education was to achieve an integral development of children and to
create a sense of patriotism though practice of handicraft. Gandhiji
desired that the basic education system should be self-supporting for
every child by learning a craft or occupational skill for livelihood. He
wanted education to ensure employment. He told ―My Nai Talim is not
dependent on money. The running expenses should come from the
educational process itself. Whatever the criticisms may be, I know that
the only education is that which is 'self-supporting'.‖ (Harijan, 2-3-1947,
p.48). He also said, ―The teachers earn what they take. It stands for the art
of living. Therefore, both the teacher and the pupil have to produce in the
very act of teaching and learning. It enriches life from the
commencement. It makes the nation independent of the search for
employment‖.
9. Development of faith on Truth & Non-violence- Gandhiji was always
considered that non-violence is an important and essential part of
education. Truth & Nonviolence was the fundamental formula of
Gandhiji‘s philosophy. Basic education too was also based upon the

19
 principle of truth and Non-violence. As he said ―I want to see God face to
face. God, I know, is Truth. For me the only certain means of knowing
God is non-violence-ahimsa-love. I live for India‘s freedom and would
die for it, because it is part of Truth. Only a free India can worship the
true God. But my patriotism is not exclusive; it is calculated not only not
to hurt any other nation, but to benefit all in the true sense of the word.
India‘s freedom as conceived by me can never be a menace to the world‖
10.Awareness on Social Services- Students should be involved in different
community services to develop responsibility and create awareness on
social services. Education must be based on social good, welfare for all
and must uplift the human aspect. The basic education by Gandhi aimed
at encouraging the spirit of service and self-sacrifice. Addressing the
college students once he said (Shah) ―Your education, if it is a vital thing,
must shed its fragrance in your surroundings. You must devote a certain
portion of your time daily to serving the people around in a practical
manner. You must therefore, be prepared to take the spade, the
broomstick and the basket. You must become voluntary scavengers of
this holy place. That would be the richest part of your education, not
learning by heart literary thesis.‖ Mahatma Gandhi was a true social
worker fighting against the evils of society. He always said, if we want to
do social work, we should start it by ourselves.
11.Sensitise on Cleanliness and Untouchability- Students should be
sensitised on merits and demerits of cleanliness and the evils of
untouchability. Gandhiji had been opposing untouchablity and caste
system from very beginning and putting relentless efforts to eradicate. He
was arguing that Brahmins and untouchables were equal in his eyes. He
was publicly rejecting the notion of high and low caste feeling. At the age
of twelve, Gandhiji had disagreed his mother‘s warnings on not to touch
an untouchable who used to clean their latrines in their house. He tried his

20
 best to break the centuriesold caste system and to remove the mark of
untouchability from Hinduism. Gandhiji described (Prabhu) on his
conception on Samagra Gramaseva that ―I will inculcate in them the
importance of hygiene and sanitation, and when they come and ask me
for a sweeper, I will tell them: ―I will be your sweeper and I will train you
all in the job.‖

4.3. SIGNIFICANCE OF BASIC EDUCATION:

Gandhi thus had a dream of achieving a silent social revolution through

his education programme. He wrote, ―My plan to impart primary education
through the medium of village handicrafts like spinning and carding etc., is thus
conceived as the spearhead of a silent social revolution fraught with the most
far-reaching consequences. The object of his education was to transform the
village children into modern villagers. It was meant to uphold non-violence and
was to be of a non exploitative character.

More importantly, the aim of Gandhian education was not merely to

prepare the individual for employment but to make the individual self-
sufficient. For Gandhi the goal of education was character building. He
advocated that National Education had a great role to play in the formulation of
selfrule. The future of the individual and the progress of the nation were thus
wholly dependent upon education. Gandhi never lost sight of the manifold
problems and challenges that confronted the nation. His prescription thus
envisaged a meaningful, useful and relevant education that would cater to the
needs of a post independent Indian society. But Gandhi‘s vision of providing
social justice through the adoption of a village based programme remained
unrealized to a large extent as independent India opted to cast its lot with the
Macaulayn paradigm.

21
 The Third All-India Conference on Basic education held at Sevagram in
January 1945 reviewed the working of Basic education in the light of the
provincial reports presented on the occasion and was satisfied ‗that despite the
adverse circumstances, Basic education had made a headway and its influence
had been marked by the development of the child‘s personality. People had
recognized its worth. The development of citizenship was so marked from the
review of the reports that it was considered to be the strongest point in favour of
the scheme and provision of it on a very large scale was contemplated.

In September 1945, while addressing the New Adult Education

Committee Gandhi said, ―Education for life does not mean education for the
duration of life, but education for the sake of life …. Adult education is a matter
of teaching the art of living. A man who masters the art of living has become a
complete human being. Keep this vision before you; let this ideal of Nai Talim
inspire your work.

This scheme of education was accepted as the basis of university and

secondary education in the report of the University Commission (1949). In the
chapter of the repeat dealing with Rural Universities it is described in the
following words;

―The method outlined in its rudiments by Gandhiji is not just a way of meeting
the educational needs of little children. He has stated the essential elements of a
universal method of education, from the time a little child shares in its mother‘s
work. Through the whole process of growth of personality to the time when the
nature man of disciplined mind and character works at the side of the master in
the achievement of a great design. The essence of this philosophy is that
education should combine practice in the everyday processes of living and
working, with more formal training. This is a fundamental concept which is
steadily gaining support and application in the educational world."

22
In its appraisal of Basic education in 1956, the Assessment Committee had
every justification for coming to the conclusion:

‗There is unanimous testimony that Basic school children are more alert,
more full of question and more eager to know, more resourceful, more
resourceful, more responsible and more concerned with their surroundings.
They also exhibit more powers of expression and more of the qualities of an
integrated developing personality. Intellectually also they show more keenness
to analyze, understand and piece together whatever knowledge is gained. All
these are undoubtedly educational gains. But as we have stated, the whole of
Basic education is yet only in the making and much more effort and care will
have to go into the work before Basic educational schools can give us the real
picture of their possibilities".

4.4. RELEVANCE OF MAHATMA GANDHI'S EDUCATIONAL

PHILOSOPHY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY:

Most of Gandhi‗s important writings on education have been compiled

and edited by Bharatan Kumarappa in two slim books, Basic Education (1951)
and Towards New Education (1953). These writings are mostly miscellaneous,
consisting of letters, speeches, extracts from books, and so on, but together they
may be taken to constitute a coherent philosophy of education. The most
significant single document in all of Gandhi‗s writings on education is probably
the Inaugural Address that he delivered at the Wardha Conference of 1937.
Perhaps, it is not accidental that we are meeting at the same venue sixty-two
years later. I shall come back to this Inaugural Address, in which Gandhi is
reported to have spoken for 85 minutes (Varkey 4). But first, let us try to
understand, briefly, what this conference was about.

The Wardha conference was held under the auspices of the Marwari
Education Society (later renamed as the Nava Bharat Vidyalaya) at Wardha on

23
22nd and 23rd October 1937. Jamnalal Bajaj was the President of this Society,
which held the conference to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the society and
of the Marwari High School of Wardha. The idea was to give Gandhia national
platformto launch his ideas of education. Gandhiwas the President of the
conference, which was attended by well-known educationists and ministers,
including B. G. Kher, Premier of Bombay Presidency, Zakir Hussain, Principal
of Jamia Millia, Delhi, P. Subbarayan, former Minister for Education, Madras,
Viswanath Das, former Minister for Education, Orissa, Ravishankar Shukla,
former Minister Educational Minister, Central Provinces, Jamnalal Bajaj, J. C.
Kumarappa, Kakasaheb Kalelkar, and a number of other eminent educationists
and associates of Gandhi.

The Agenda, formulated by Gandhi, contained four propositions, which

may be summarized as follows: 1. ―The present system of education does not
meet the requirements of the country....‖ 2. ―The course of primary education
should be extended at least to seven years and should include the general
knowledge gained up to the matriculation standard, less English and plus a
substantial vocation.‖ 3. ―For the all-round development of boys and girls all
training should as far as possible be given through a profit-yielding vocation.‖ 4.
―Higher education should be left to private enterprise and should be to meet
national requirements whether in the various industries, technical arts, belles-
letters or fine arts".

At the conclusion of the conference, four Resolutions were adopted.

These had been proposed by a committee, which worked through the night,
under the Chairmanship of Zakir Hussain. The resolutions were:

1. ―That...free and compulsory education be provided for seven years on a

nation-wide scale.

2 ―That the medium of instruction be the mother-tongue.

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3. ―That ... the process of education ... should centre around some form of
manual and productive work....

4. ―That...this system of education ... be gradually able to cover the

remuneration of the teachers‖ (ibid 5-6).

Afterwards a committee was formed to design a suitable syllabus and to

submit its report to Gandhi. This report was submitted in December 1937.
Thereafter, a second Report was published in 1938, with detailed clarifications
and replies to objections raised against the first Report. This second Report
contained detailed syllabi for three subjects, or crafts as Gandhi would have
preferred to call them: agriculture, spinning, and weaving.

So, all these documents—Gandhi‗s Inaugural Speech, the Agenda, the

Resolutions, and the two Reports that followed, make up the kernel of Nai
Talimor the New Education, that later became famous all over India.

What I propose to do here is not to examine these texts in great detail, but
focus instead on Gandhi‗s underlying principles of education upon which they
were based. This will enable us to escape from an engagement with the nitty
gritty of the syllabus or of several other practical aspects of the scheme such as
funding. In fact, most the objections and criticisms were aimed at these aspects
while very few questioned the basic philosophy behind them. The latter is
clearly voiced by Gandhi in his aforementioned Inaugural Address, to which we
can now turn for a more detailed look.

Gandhibegins by explaining that his educationalagenda includes both

primary as wellas higher or college education, but his emphasis is clearly on the
former. Also that his ideas are an outcome of his extensive travels through
Indian villages and his experience of rural life in South Africa (see Varkey 19-
20). In other words, Gandhi‗s educational philosophy was born out of his
intense need to better the condition of rural India. As Kumarappa puts it,

25
―Gandhiji saw that the only way of saving the nation at that juncture was to
revive village economic life and to relate education to it. Education... was to be
based onvillage occupations. The child was to be trained to be a producer".

The first major point Gandhi makes in the Inaugural Address is that the
prevalent system of education is defective: ―I am convinced that the present
system of primary education is not only wasteful but positively harmful‖
(Varkey 20). I suppose, we can stillassent to this basic truth that
Gandhiobserved. His reasons for advancing such a claim are, however, equally
important: ―Most of the boys are lost to the parents and to the occupation to
which they are born. They pick up evil habits, affect urban ways and get a
smattering of something which may be anything but education‖(ibid).

The rest ofthe speechgoes onthe elaborate uponand explain the salient
features ofthis scheme. First ofall Gandhi tells that he came upon this method
through his educational experiments in Tolstoy Farm, where he himself learned
shoe making from his associate Kallenbach, who had been trained in a Trappist
monastery (ibid).

Gandhi also insisted that his scheme for primary education would include
―the elementary principles of sanitation, hygiene, nutrition,‖ besides
―compulsory physical training through musical drill‖ (ibid). Gandhi refutes the
charge that he is opposed to ―literary training,‖ and rejects the accusation that
his scheme would result in the exploitation of children. ―Is it burdening the
child to save him from disaster?‖he asks. Besides, he argues, the takliis an
effective toy, not just the source of livelihood (ibid). Unlike the present system
which is wasteful, unaffordable, and alienating, Gandhi argues that his scheme
would make students strong, confident, and useful to their parents and their
country. Gandhiadds that his systemwould lead to communalharmony because it
would be the same for all; it would this be ―practical religion, the religion of
self-help‖ (Varkey 23). Gandhi believes that his ―plan springs out of non-

26
violence‖ (ibid). It has the capacity to make students ―true representatives of
our culture, our civilization, of the true genius four nation‖(Varkey 23-24). We
are not to follow Europe, Russia, or America, Gandhisays, because their
systems are founded onviolence and exploitation.

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CHAPTER-5
CONCLUSION

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5.1. CONCLUSION:

Basic education is related to the basic needs and interest of the education
for the development of a child. The aim of Gandhiji‘s basic education was to
educate the students on crafts which would enable them to solve the problems
of their livelihood and at the same time develop qualities of good citizenship. In
Gandhiji‘s view, sound education must be rooted through the culture and moral
value also. At present various educational committees are emphasising to make
education job oriented and productive for self-employment. With the serious
problem of educated unemployment situation among young men and women,
the present educational system should be reformed on the spirit of Gandhiji‘s
concept of basic education. Gandhiji‘s idea of basic education is valid and
fruitful which may also be used as guiding principles in the present scenario.
The modern education system needs to be reformed at elementary stage keeping
in view of the moral value and employability features of the Gandhiji‘s basic
education.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Gandhi M.K. The Voice of Truth. Retrieved on June 18, 2020 from
https://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/the-voice-of-truth.pdf
2. Harijan : (1933-1956) English weekly journal founded by Gandhiji and
published under the auspices of the Harijan Sevak Sangh, Poona, and
from 1942, by the Navajivan Trust, Ahmedabad. The weekly suspended
publication in 1940 during the "Individual Satyagraha"; resumed in
January 1942, but stopped appearing during the Quit India Struggle. It
reappeared in 1946.
3. Maheswari V. K. (2014). The Wardha Sheme of Education in India.
Retrieved on June 18, 2020 from http://www.vkmaheshwari.com/
4. Prabhu R.K., Rao U.R. (1967). The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi Retrieved
on June 20, 2020 from
https://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/mindofmahatmagandhi.pdf
5. Shah P. K. (2017). Gandhiji‘s view on basic education and its present
relevance. Pune Research, 3(4), 1-6.
6. Wikipedia. Basic Education. Retrieved on June 20, 2020 from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_education
7. Young India: (1919-1932) English weekly journal, published from
Bombay as a biweekly, under Gandhiji's supervision from May 7, 1919,

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