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Th anavat hi

B.Ed. First Year – Semester I (2021 – 2022)

C2 - CONTEMPORARY INDIA AND EDUCATION
Unit - I
EDUCATION IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA,
CONSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT
Education – meaning, definitions, nature, functions and aims; nature of education as a
discipline - types of education; formal, informal and non-formal; levels of education - Pre-
primary, primary, secondary, senior secondary, higher, professional, distance and optional
education; Aims and purposes of education drawn from constitutional provision; Education as
a means of social justice in the Indian Constitution; Constitutional values and education
(Preamble, Fundamental rights and duties); the Right to Free and Compulsory Education 2010
(RTE) and inclusion; Education in the concurrent list and its implications.

1.1. EDUCATION
Education is a systematic process through which a child or an adult acquires knowledge,
experience, skill and sound attitude. It makes an individual civilized, refined, cultured and
educated. For a civilized and socialized society, education is the only means. Its goal is to make
an individual perfect. Every society gives importance to education because it is a panacea for
all evils. It is the key to solve the various problems of life.

Education has been described as a process of waking up to life:

 Waking up to life and its mysteries, its solvable problems and the ways to solve the
problems and celebrate the mysteries of life.

 Waking up to the inter-dependencies of all things, to the threat to our global village, to
the power within the human race to create alternatives, to the obstacles entrenched in
economic, social and political structures that prevent our waking up.

 Education in the broadest sense of the term is meant to aid the human being in his/her
pursuit of wholeness. Wholeness implies the harmonious development of all the
potentialities God has given to a human person.
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 True education is the harmonious development of the physical, mental, moral

(spiritual), and social faculties, the four dimensions of life, for a life of dedicated
service.

ETYMOLOGICAL MEANING OF EDUCATION

Etymologically, the word ‘Education’ has been derived from different Latin words.
a) ‘educare’ which means ‘to nourish’.
b) ‘educo’ which means to lead out (of ignorance)
c) ‘educere’ which means ‘to draw out’
d) ‘educatum’ which means ‘act of training’.
e) ‘educatus’ which means ‘to bring up, to rear’.
f) ‘educatio’ which means “a breeding, a bringing up, a rearing.”
The word ‘shiksha’ is derived from the Sanskrit which means ‘to discipline’, ‘to
control’, ‘to instruct’ and ‘to teach’; and the word ‘vidya’ is also derived from Sanskrit
which means ‘to know’.
1.2. DEFINITIONS
Since time immemorial, education is estimated as the right road to progress and
prosperity. Different educationists’ thoughts from both Eastern and Western side have
explained the term ‘education’ according to the need of the hour. Various educationists have
given their views on education. Some important definitions are:

1. Aristotle – “Education is the creation of sound mind in a sound body.”

2. Rousseau – “Education is the child’s development from within.”
3. Plato – “Education is the capacity to feel pleasure and pain at the right moment.”
4. Pestalozzi – “Education is natural, harmonious and progressive development of man’s
innate powers.”
5. Froebel -“Education is enfoldment of what is already enfolded in the germ.”
6. John Dewey – “Education is the process of living through a continuous reconstruction of
experiences.”
7. Mahatma Gandhi – “By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in man –
body, mind and spirit.”
8. Rabindranath Tagore – “Education enables the mind to find out the ultimate truth, which
gives us the wealth of inner light and love and gives significance to life.”
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9. Zakir Husain – “Education is the process of the individual mind, getting to its full possible
development.”
10. Swami Vivekananda – “Education is the manifestation of divine perfection already
existing in man.”
1.3. NATURE OF EDUCATION
Education is a triangular process. It involves the inter-play of the educator, the educand
and the social forces. The educator tries to modify the personality of the child in the light of
the needs of the individual and the society to which he belongs. The nature of education is very
complex. Let us now discuss the nature of education:

1. It is a life-long process- Education is a continuous and lifelong process. It starts from the
womb of the mother and continues till death. It is the process of development from infancy to
maturity. It includes the effect of everything which influences human personality.
2. It is a dynamic process: Education is not a static but a dynamic process which develops the
child according to changing situations and times. It always induces the individual towards
progress. It reconstructs the society according to the changing needs of the time and place of
the society.
3. It is a systematic and a purposive process- It refers to transact its activities through a
systematic institution and regulation. Every individual has some goal in his life. Education
contributes in attainment of that goal. There is a definite purpose underlined all educational
activities.
4. It is development of individual and the society- Education helps in individual adjustment
a man is a social being. If he is not able to adjust himself in different aspects of life his
personality can’t remain balanced. Through the medium of education, he learns to adjust
himself with the friends, class fellows, parents, relations, neighbours and teachers etc.
Education is also a force for social development, which brings improvement in every aspect in
the society. It is the society which will determine the aims, contents and methods of teachings.
5. It is training and modification of behaviour- Education is a training- Human senses, mind,
behaviour, activities; skills are trained in a constructive and socially desirable way. Human
behaviour is modified and improved through educational process. As per the definition of John
Dewey education reconstructs and remodels our experiences towards socially desirable way.
6. Education is instruction and direction- It directs and instructs an individual to fulfil his
desires and needs for exaltation of his whole personality. Life without education is meaningless
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and like the life of a beast. Every aspect and incident needs education for its sound
development.
7. It is balanced development: Education is concerned with the development of all faculties
of the child. It performs the functions of the physical, mental, aesthetic, moral, economic,
spiritual development of the individual so that the individual may get rid of his animal instincts
by sublimating the same so that he becomes a civilized person.
8. Education is growth: The end of growth is more growth and the end of education is more
education. According to John Dewey, “an individual is a changing and growing personality.”
The purpose of education is to facilitate the process of his/her growth. Education is continuous
reconstruction of our experiences.
Therefore, the role of education is countless for a perfect society and man. It is
necessary for every society and nation to bring holistic happiness and prosperity to its
individuals.

1.4. FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATION

Education has three main functions. They are as follows:
1. FUNCTION TOWARDS INDIVIDUAL.
2. FUNCTION TOWARDS SOCIETY.
3. FUNCTION TOWARDS NATION.
1. FUNCTION TOWARDS INDIVIDUAL
i. Education as Growth,
ii. Education as Direction,
iii. Preparation for responsibility of adult life
i. Education for Growth
Every learner is immature at the beginning.
He is to be trained deliberately for adult life.
Education deliberately and systematically influences a mature influence of the teacher
through instruction, discipline and harmonious development.
The harmonious development includes development of in terms of physical,
intellectual, aesthetic, social and spiritual powers of human being, according to the
needs of the society.
The cardinal factors responsible for the growth of a child are:
a. Dependence.
b. Adaptability.
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a. Dependence
Every learner has a capacity to grow and develop.
This development is possible because the child has qualities of dependence upon
adaptability.
The learner depends upon other mature persons, instructors for the satisfaction of his
physical needs.
This dependence decreases as the child grows older.
Dependence enables children to inculcate qualities like obedience and co-operation.
b. Adaptability
Every individual learns to adjust and adapt himself to his environment.
This virtue is primarily learnt in family.
Adaptability is also learnt from the individual’s own experience in the family and in the
neighbourhood.
This virtue helps the individual with necessary power for development of habits and
attitudes to manage his future circumstances.
Education provides such guidance through a pre-planned programme of education.
Educational programme will modify and re-direct the instincts of the child to desirable
ends to lead a worthwhile progressive and harmonious growth.
ii. Education as Direction
Direction is fixation of the activity into a right response by elimination of unnecessary
and confusing movements.
Every learner is gifted with an innate capacities and powers.
His physical and social environment provides the learner with stimulus for activity.
In the beginning as the learner acts in response to the stimulus in an immature way,
much of his constructive energy is wasted.
This wastage can be avoided if the learner is properly directed towards an objective.
Education provides this sense of direction and activities of the learner becomes
purposeful.
Types of Direction
There are two types of direction:
1) External and internal direction. 2) Personal and impersonal direction
1) External and Internal
The immediate environment which provides the learner with a stimulus for his activity
is external.
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Responses to the stimuli which proceed from his internal tendencies are internal.
2) Personal and Impersonal
Personal direction includes ridicule, disapproval and punishment. It refers to physical
control which is not educative.
Impersonal direction is important as this direction is bound to appeal to the learner’s
mind and heart.
In this context the teacher has to set a good example to follow.
This direction is corrective it has potentials to have corrective effect.
Role of a Teacher - Direction
The teacher should consider the external factor of environment and the innate tendency
of the learner.
Direction will imply growth from within, brought about by the co-operation of the pupil
and the teacher.
iii. Reconstruction and re- organization of experience adds to meaningful experiences and
increases the ability to direct subsequent experiences.
2. FUNCTIONS TOWARDS SOCIETY
i. Socialization
ii. Re Construction of Experiences
Education is a powerful tool to bring in positive socialization process and has the ability
to reconstruct the life experiences for the growth of the society on the whole.
i. SOCIAL FUNCTION
Man is a social animal.
An individual is the sum total of his interactions with his social environment.
The elders of the society pass on their experiences, interests, findings, conclusions,
traditions and attitudes to the younger generation.
All these have a profound influence on the growth and development of the younger
generations.
In this manner the continuity of the societal function is successfully maintained.
ii. Re-Organization of Experiences
As growth is a continuous process, education is also a continuous process throughout
an individual’s life.
Education provides the learner with rich resources to shape his life, personality,
character, outlook and his experiences and interaction in the society.
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Thus education helps the learner in re-constructing and re-organizing of the individual
and societal life.
3. FUNCTION TOWARDS NATION
i. Civic and Social Responsibility
ii. Training for Leadership
iii. Emotional Integration
iv. National Integration
Education has potentials to indirectly influence and support the state’s/nation’s
functioning by means of inculcating civic sense among the learners and thereby paves way for
emotional and national integration.
i. Civic and Social Responsibility
Promoting the civic responsibility is considered to be the most important function of
education.
True education promotes learners to understand their rights and duties as individual
citizens.
The very existence and progress of a nation depends on the educational system of the
state.
ii. Training for Leadership
Efficient functioning in all the spheres such as social, political, religious, and
educational activities depend on the quality of education.
Therefore, the function of a good educational system is to develop such qualities among
the learners so as to promote a comprehensive development of the individual and the
state.
iii. Emotional Integration
Educational system aims at promoting unity in diversity, in terms of unity in the areas
of religion, language, diet, dress, habit and physical environment.
iv. National Integration
True education aims to raise individuals to break down narrow prejudices of caste,
community, region, and to look to a broad national outlook.