MES – 011: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION

1. a) Explain how education is

differentiated from schooling and
learning with suitable
examples.
Answer-
The difference between schooling,
learning, and education
Any discussion about the future of education has to first focus on
the purpose of education. To do this, we must first distinguish between
education, learning, and schooling. Here’s how I see the difference:

Learning: The cognitive process of acquiring new skills or knowledge.

Education: Knowledge acquired by formal learning and instruction.

Schooling: The process of being formally educated in a school (as

opposed to self-study, online learning, private tutorship etc.)

Learning is a lifelong process. However, education and schooling are

temporary. We undoubtedly need education. But I’m not entirely
convinced we need schooling — especially in most schools as they
currently are.

Currently, it would not be an exaggeration to say that most people

survive and succeed in life not because of but in spite of their
schooling. Renowned educationists such as Marc Prensky and Sir Ken
Robinson have all pointed out how the current school systems are not
fit for purpose. The reason for this is because most teachers, principals,
educational boards, and governing bodies aren’t clear in their minds
about what the purpose of education is and what the difference
between Education, Learning, and Schooling is.

We don’t need schools to get an education.

The Purpose of Education

In the words of Albert Einstein: “Education is what remains after one

has forgotten what one has learned in school.”

The purpose of education ought to be this: to create compassionate and

creative students who will help develop and sustain a just society
where all individuals are able to live happy, fulfilled lives — as free
from pain and suffering as possible. The goal of education should also
be to ensure we achieve species-wide transcendence and bring about
civilisation-level change so that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the
past as we move forward into the 21st century and beyond.

This ties in closely with Marc Prensky’s views on what the purpose of
education ought to be. He says, “We educate our kids so they can better
their, and our, world. Our children can be, and should be, improving
their world — and improving themselves in the process — via a new
approach that far better suits them and the needs of our future society.
From the very start of their education, we should be fusing ‘thinking
skills’ and ‘accomplishing skills’ into an education with a direct, hands-
on connection to the world and its problems.”

Marian Wright Edelman Is an American activist for children’s rights.

She has articulated what is perhaps the best reason for educating our
kids: “Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving
your community and world better than you found it.”
If our children aren’t leaving schools being able to do this, then we
must seriously question the kind of education we are offering them.

School is a ritual.

In his 1971, book, Deschooling Society, Ivan Illich makes a powerful

case against Schools. “School” is thought of as something that is
indispensable. We have raised generations of people (parents,
educators, students, politicians, and bureaucrats) to believe that
without schools and a conventional education society will collapse.
Illich makes a compelling case to “deschool” society, wean our citizens
off institutionalised, factory-style, pointless education, and start
thinking of alternatives.

Pupils are “’schooled’ to confuse teaching with learning, grade

advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency
with the ability to say something new. His imagination is “schooled” to
accept service in place of value. Medical treatment is mistaken for
health care, social work for the improvement of community life, police
protection for safety, military poise for national security, the rat race
for productive work.”

We have been indoctrinated to believe the notion that only schools can
offer education and that skills and knowledge acquisition are only
reliable if it is done formally in a traditional school. In the words of
Ken Robinson “Schools kill creativity.” And in the words of Ivan Illich,
“Schools pervert the natural inclination to learn.”
If you require more details to be convinced, read my past review
of Deschooling Society.

2. b) Describe the Constitutional Provisions of

Education in India with special reference to the
Articles related to free and compulsory
elementary education.
Answer-

Constitutional Provisions on Education in India

In this article, we would discuss the constitutional provisions for education in India. The Indian
constitution contains a large number of clauses and articles that have a direct or indirect bearing on
education. Its preamble embodies the character, values, and aspirations of the country.
Constitutional Provisions on Education – Image source canva.com

The Central Government of India has been entrusted with many educational obligations under the
Indian Constitution.

Education is one such aspiration of our country that would lead it towards national prosperity and
national integration. We can cultivate the ethos and values of Indian democracy in citizens through
education.
 Constitutional Provisions for Education in India

The Indian constitution provides specifies provisions for education in the following major areas of
education:

Provisions Article

1. Right of free and compulsory education 45

2. Right to education 21A

3. Education for women 15(1) (3)

4. Promotion of education and economic interests of SC, ST and other weaker sections 46

5. Religious education 25, 28(1)(2)(3)

6. Education of minorities, protection of interests of minorities 29

7. Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions 30

8. Instruction in mother-tongue at the primary stage 350-A

9. Promotion of Hindi 351

10. Education in union territories 239

11. Fundamental duty to provide the opportunity for education 51(A)

Right of free and compulsory education

Article-45

The state shall endeavour to provide within the period of 10 years from the commencement of this
constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14
years.” – Article 45, Directive Principles of State Policy.
  Article 45 of the constitution provides the provision for free and compulsory education.
 India has set lofty educational development goals since its independence.
 According to the Kothari Commission, ensuring free and universal education for all children
is a top educational priority, not only for social justice and democracy but also for improving
average worker competence and increasing national productivity.
Universalization has the following problems:

 Lack of financial resources

 Very small villages
 Lack of suitable buildings
 The poverty of Parents and their non-co-operation
 Providing suitable staff and facilities
 Indifference to primary education and dropout of students without completing primary
education
Right to education

Constitutional Acts related to Education

Right to Education Act 2009 is a constitutional act related to education in the Indian Constitution.
This act has come into force on April 1, 2010. This act gives the Right to Education the same legal
status as the right to life.

Section 21(A) –
 The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14 years in
the manner determined by law (86 amendment, Act 2002).
 The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A into the Indian
Constitution, declaring right to education a Fundamental
Amendment 93 (Primary Education a Fundamental Right) –
 Primary education is now a ‘Fundamental Right’ under the 93rd amendment to the
constitution. It is now a legal right.
Education for women

 One of the prominent elements of contemporary Indian education and its policies is the
promotion of women’s education.
 The education of girls is regarded as equally vital as that of boys.
 The following provisions are made in several articles of the Constitution:
 Article 15 This article prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the basis of gender,
religion, race, or place of birth.
 Article 15 (3) of the constitution empowers the state to create specific provisions for
women, including education.
 Article 15(1) According to this article, the state shall not discriminate against any citizen
on the basis of gender, religion, race, or place of birth.
 The 1986 National Policy on Education was especially concerned with the status and
education of women in the country.
  According to the Education Policy of 1986, “education would be employed as an agent of
fundamental change in the status of women in the society.”
Constitutional Provisions for education of SC and ST in India

 The Indian constitution requires the government to promote the educational interests of
the socially, culturally, and economically disadvantaged sections of society.
 There are many provisions made in our constitutions for the upliftment of weaker sections
of our society like, Article 14, 15, 46, 46, 338, 339 and 340.
 Out of many such articles, article 15 and 46 of the constitution give provisions related to the
education of SC and ST (weaker sections) in India
 Article 46 states that “The state shall promote with special care the educational and
economic interests of the weaker sections of the society, particularly the Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all types of
exploitation”.
 It is one of the directive principles of state policy.
Education of minorities, protection of interests of minorities

 These constitutional provisions (Article 29 and 30) ensure that minorities’ special interests
are protected. Minorities are classified according to their religion, linguistic script, or
culture.
 Article 29- This article is related to the education, rights and interests of minorities. This
means that the constitution provides certain safeguards for the cultural and educational
interests of minorities. It states that
1. 29(1)- Any section of the citizen, residing in the territory of India or any part there of
having a distinct language, script or culture of its own, hall have the right to conserve
the same.
2. 29(2)- No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained
by the state or receiving aid out of state funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste,
language or any of them.
Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions

 Minorities are granted the ability to establish and administer their own educational
institutions by the Constitution of India. Article 30 is sometimes known as the “Charter of
Education Rights.” This article states that
1. “All minorities whether based on religion or language shall have right to establish and
administer educational institutions of their choice”.
2. “The states shall not discriminate against any educational institution in respect of
granting aid, on the ground that it is under the management of a minority whether
based on religion or language”
Instruction in mother-tongue at primary stage

 Our country is multilingual. The Indian Constitution establishes that the study of one’s own
language is a fundamental right of citizens.
  The Secondary Education Commission of 1952–53 proposed that the mother tongue or
regional language be used as the primary medium of teaching throughout the secondary
school stage, with the caveat that special accommodations be made for linguistic minorities.
 Additionally, the Kothari Commission (1964–1966) said that at the college and university
levels, mother tongue should be the medium of instruction.
 In respect to this issue, Article 350A provides Facilities for instruction in mother-tongue at
the primary stage. It states that
It shall be the endeavour of every State and of every local authority within the State
to provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother-tongue at the primary
stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups, and the
President may issue such directions to any State as he considers necessary or proper
for securing the provision of such facilities

Promotion of Hindi

 The Indian Constitution calls for Hindi to be developed and promoted as the country’s
official language. Article 351 of the Indian constitution has a Directive for the development
of the Hindi language.
 Part of it states that it shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi
language, to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements
of the composite culture of India.
 Additionally, the constitution stipulates the development and promotion of national
languages, including Hindi.
 According to article 351, it is the central government’s specific responsibility to nurture
Hindi language, in order for it to serve as a medium of expression for all the parts of India’s
composite culture. The Central Ministry of Home Affairs has a directorate of Hindi for this
purpose.
Education in union territories

 Article 239 of the constitution states,” Save as otherwise provided by Parliament by how,
every Union Territory shall be administered by the President acting to such extent as he
thinks fit, through an administrator to be appointed by him with such designation as he may
specify.”
 This means that each union territory has its own education department, and education in
union territories has been the responsibility of the union or centre government.
Fundamental duty to provide the opportunity for education

 Article 51A Clause ‘K’ – It shall be the duty of every citizen of India who is parent or
guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or as the case may be, wards
between the age of six and fourteen years.
3(c) Critically examine various
dimensions of education and
their implications for the
development of the nation.
Answer -

Education in the Process of

National Development
This article throws light upon the eleven catalytic roles of
education in the process of national development. The roles
are: 1. Increasing production 2. Development of Talents and
Virtues 3. Development of Human Resources 4.
Development of Individual Personality 5. Promotion of
Social and National Integration 6. In Respect of
Modernisation and Others.
Catalytic Role # 1. Increasing production:
Education helps in increasing production by equipping men and
women with the latest knowledge of science and technology.
Education must be related to productivity to increase national income
i.e. total output of final goods and services expressed in real terms.

Following are the ways by which education is related to

productivity:
(i) Making science as a basic component to education and culture.

(ii) Introducing socially useful productive work (S.U.P.W.) as an

integral part of general education.

(iii) Vocationalizing education, particularly at the secondary school

level to meet the needs of industry, agriculture and trade.

(iv) Improving scientific and technological education and research at

the university stage with special emphasis on agriculture and allied
science.

Catalytic Role # 2. Development of Talents and Virtues:

The key to the development of nation lies in cultivation of talents and
practical virtues. The awakened mind, right knowledge, sophisticated
skills and desirable attitudes are the indicators of national
development. Education helps in unfolding the latent powers or
talents for the purpose of harnessing the process of national
development and personal development.

Full-flowering of talents and virtues by a suitable programme of

education surely contributes to the pace of progress of a nation. Thus,
education is considered as a means to harnessing talents and virtues
for achieving development of a nation in all its facets.

Catalytic Role # 3. Development of Human Resources:

Human resource development is essentially a key indicator of socio-
economic development of a country and the quality of life of its people.
It is the maximization of the realization of the potential of human
beings as well as promotion of its optimum utilization for economic
and social progress.

The NPE (1986) beautifully states, “The human being is a positive

asset and a valuable national resource which need to be
cherished, nurtured and developed. The catalyst action of
education in this context needs to be planned and
implemented meticulously”.
Development of sound human resource is sine-qua-non for the
development of nation. Although, physical resource development is
essential but development of physical resource is possible by the
development of human resource. Thus, the need of the hour is to
develop an army of skilled man-power to meet the challenges of time
and the requirements of the nation.

The man power needs to be elevated by, means of development of

skills, knowledge and training. Therefore, traditional knowledge is not
required but the need of the hour is the introduction of scientific and
technological knowledge. As such, a sound base of human resource is
the foundation of economic growth and national development.

Catalytic Role # 4. Development of Individual Personality:

Education aims at all round development of individual personality in
all its manifestations— physical, mental, social, emotional, moral,
spiritual and aesthetic. Without development of individual, national
development cannot be possible.
Development of individual includes certain qualities— development of
self-confidence, generation of scientific temper, attainment of self
sufficiency, sense of devotion to duty, discipline and decency, sense of
dedication, promotion of social and ethical values, fostering a positive
attitude towards unity and integrity of nation, and cultivation of social
efficiency.

Therefore, education helps the individuals in developing and fostering

the aforesaid qualities required for the resurgence and development of
a nation. Education should be expanded to cover all segments of
population. Education transforms people socially, culturally and
economically to establish a socialistic, democratic and secular social
order.

Catalytic Role # 5. Promotion of Social and National

Integration:
Social cohesion is a stepping-stone to achieve national integration
which in turn helps in the process of national development. Our
education and other activities should be a geared to strengthen unity
and solidarity of the nation.

The following steps are recommended by Kothari

Commission in order to reinforce national development:
(i) Introduction of a common school system of public education.

(ii) Organisation of social and national service programmes.

(ii) Organisation of community life in the schools.

(iv) Developing all modern Indian languages.

(v) Encouraging participation of students in community living on the

school campus.

(vi) Taking necessary steps to enrich Hindi as quickly as possible.

(vii) Regional languages should be gradually adopted as the medium

of instruction in higher education.

(viii) The teaching and study of English should continue to be

promoted right from the beginning.

Catalytic Role # 6. In Respect of Modernisation:

Modernisation is said to be the royal road to national development.

Education plays an important role in national development

by performing the following:
(i) Awakening of curiosity, proper interest, attitudes and values; and
building up proper skills as independent study and capacity to think
and judge properly.

(ii) Adopting novel methods of teaching.

(iii) Changing the composition of the intelligentsia and educated

people of all strata of society.

(iv) Emphasizing vocational subjects, science based education and

research.
(v) Establishing major universities/institutions of excellence in the
country.

Catalytic Role # 7. Developing Democratic Values:

Fostering democratic values like co-operation, mutual understanding,
freedom, equality, justice, mutual help, sharing of experiences,
shouldering of responsibility, taking leadership etc. is essential for the
progress and development of a nation.

Education helps in development of democratic values

through the following:
(i) Organizing student self-government in schools.

(ii) Decentralizing educational management and administration.

Catalytic Role # 8. Establishing a Socialistic Pattern of

Society:
Education helps in achieving national development by
establishing a socialistic pattern of society through the
following:
(i) Equality of educational opportunities.

(ii) Common school system of public education.

(iii) Compulsory social and national service.

(iv) Liberal provision of scholarships.

Catalytic Role # 9. Developing Secular Outlook:

Fostering secular outlook is essential for the development of a nation.
Education helps in fostering secular outlook in the following
ways:
(i) Provision of instruction in moral, spiritual and social values.

(ii) Incorporating well-fitted information about each of the major

religious of the world.

(iii) Presentation of high ideals of social justice and social service

before the students.

(iv) Helping students in applying rationality to all religions.

Catalytic Role # 10. Promotion of International

Understanding:
For the national development like national integration,
internationalism is of crucial importance.

It can be promoted by education in the following ways:

(i) Stressing the solid contribution given by various nations in the
progress of humanity.

(ii) Reinstating text books in proper perspectives by eliminating

hostile material about other communities.

(iii) Helping in fostering cosmopolitan outlook.

(iv) Eliminating negative attitude in the minds of students towards

other communities or races of the universe.
Catalytic Role # 11. Synthesizing Cultural and Scientific
Values:
Education brings a synthesis between cultural and scientific values
which is essential for development of a nation. Science should not be
isolated from the main stream of our hoary tradition and moorings of
the past. The blending of cultural values with that of scientific values
paves the way for national development.

So, the need of the hour is the reflection of cultural and scientific
values in the curriculum at every stages of education.

In this way, education plays a very pivotal role in bringing about

national development. It is education which acts as a powerful
instrument to bring about national development in its true sense. A
nation cannot sit idle ignoring its role towards education.

It should invest on education today and tomorrow for a better life of

the nation and her people. NPE (1986) conceived education as
a “unique investment in the present and the future.”