seo now wary ew cuucauunial planning (ie., NaiTalim), lag of various drawbacks, his socio-economical concern in it cal never be neglected. The failure of it was caused by its mechanic, application. It is not the fault of his theory. NAI TALIM “The principle idea is to impart the whole education of tz body, mind and soul through the handicraft that is taught to the children.” . - Mahatma Gandhi Introduction le which states that knowledge and work latma Gandhi promoted an educational same name based on this Pedagogical principle an ‘Scanned with CamScanneriC: SCHEME, OF EDUCATION 1937 : OBJECTIVE, MERITS AND. DEMERITS: Ircan be translated with the phrase ‘Basic Education fo all’, However, the concept has several layers of meanin i itdeveloped out ef Gandhiji’s experience with the English educational system and with colonialism in general, In that system, he saw that Indian children would be *qlienated and career-based thinking’ would become dominant. In addition, it embodied a scries of negative outcomes the disdain for manual work, the development of a new elite class and the increasing problems of industrialization and urbanization. The three pillars of Gandhiji’s pedagogy were its focus on the long character of education, its social character and its form a holistic process. For Gandhi, education is ‘the moral velopment of the person’, a process that is by definition ‘lifelong’. portant Characteristics * Education: Gandhiji's model of education was directed toward his alternative vision of the social order: “Gandhiji’s basic education was therefore, an embodiment of his perception of an ideal society consisting of small, sclf- reliant communities with his ideal citizen being an industrious self-respecting and generous individual living in a small cooperative community”. Nai Talim also envisaged a different role for the new teacher, not simply as a professional constrained by curricula and abstract Standards, but rather as a person relating directly to the student in the form of a dialogue. “A teacher who establishes rappor! becomes one with them, learns more eae teaches them. He who learns disciples is in my opinin Worthless, Whenever I talk with someone learn [rom him. take from him more than 1 give him, In this WP ef teacher regards himself asa student of his students 1 T teach your pupils with this attitude you WH Much from them. Sandhijis disciple, Vinobha Bhave. 4! ther as a means of social transforma 'aiTalim lay in overcoming distinctions { with the taught, from them than he eveloped the idea tion: “The crux of petween learning ‘Scanned with CamScannerCONTEMPORARY INDIA AND EOUCA and te Tettne tl Tay reat to redefine Sather g and need sthey must each regard (he other asa Tella, “dnstead, Uhe teacher wats to he skilled in hala) hunar (and to derive sustenance from this and Dota teaching salary), The student was to live, work and Row with the teacher and his/her family in this process she/he would learn the kala/hunat > the skilla part Of a Way of life, code of ethics, web of relationships, ete.”, ring buomlevige an work, Vinobha discusses ye Hoan the relationship between teache student, worker Finally, Nai Talim was conceived as a response to one of the main dialectics of modernity as Gandhi saw it the dialectic between human being and machine’ o; technology. “In this dialectic, man represented the whole of mankind, not just India, and the machine represented the industrialized West” it is for this reason, among others, that Gandhi placed such central emphasis in his pedagogy on the role of handcrafts such as weaving metal work, pottery, spinning, they symbolized the values of self- sufficiency or Swaraj and independence or Swadeshi. Handicraft iji's proposal to make handicrafts the centre of his pedagogy had as its aim to bring about “radical restructuring of the sociology of school knowledge in India” in which the ‘literacy’ of the lower castes —"such as spinning, weaving, leatherwork, pottery, metal work basket making and book bindii 12” would be made central The other aim of this use of handicrafts was to make schools financially and socially independent of the state —an even more radical concept. Thus in his influential article on education in Harijan in 1937 he argued: “bY education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best it chia and man body, mind and spirit. Literacy is not the Seaton a even the beginning. It is only one o Literacy in ere man and woman can be educate’ thechitte eden’ no education. I would therefore beg! enabling it to rote coaching ita useful handicraftare training Thus P duce from the moment it begins every school can be made self-supporting ‘Scanned with CamScannerat the Tolstoy Farm Ashram in South Africa. It was much jater, while living at Sevagram and in the heat of the Independence struggle, that Gandhi wrote his influential article in Harijan about education. In it he the basic pedagogy. fe mapped out ¢ “Ihold that the highest development of the mind and the soul is possible under such a system of education. Only every handicraft has to be taught not merely mechanically as is done today, but scientifically i.e. the child should know the why and wherefore of every process...I have myself taught sandal-making and even spinning on these lines with good results. This method does not exclude a knowledge of history and geography. But I find that this is best taught by transmitting such general information by word of mouth. One imparts ten times as much in this manner as by reading and writing. The signs of the alphabet may be taught later... Of course, the pupil learns mathematics through his handicraft, attach the greatest importance to primary education, which according to my conception should be equal to the present matriculation less English... Se eee hij’: iret cee een as ge jistory: Gandhiji’s first experiments in education began “Harijan of the 31st July 1937.” ¢ Anational education conference was held at Wardha on 22-23 October 1937. Afterwards two model schools were opened at Wardha and nearby Segaon. Post-basic education and pre-basic education schools were developed after Gandhiji’s death. plementation © The National Planning Commission set up by the central government expressed its opposition to Gandhiji’s vision of Basic Education on several grounds. The Nehru government's vision of an industrialized, centrally planned economy had no place for ‘basic education’ or self- supported schools, rather it reflected the “Vision of a powerful and growing class of industrialists, their supporters in politics and intellectuals with high qualifications in different areas, including science and technology.” ‘Scanned with CamScanner146 Quotations “Basic education villages. 10 y CONTEMPORARY INDIA AND. EOVEA, | links the children, whether of cities OF th le all that is bestand lasting in us.” “The principle idea Is to impart the whole education 0 the body, mind and soul through the handicraft that tanghtto the children” (Mahatma ndhi)" An education, which does not teach us to discriminate between good and bad, to assimilate the one and eschew the other, isa misnomer “(Mahatma Gandhi) “The aim of university education should be to turn our true servants of the people who will live and die for the country’s freedom “(Mahatma Gandhi) “The schools and colleges are really a factory for turning out clerks for Government."(Mahatma Gandhi) “The real difficulty is that people have no idea of wha education truly is. We assess the value of education in the same manner as we assess the value of land or of shares in the stock exchange market. We want to provide only such education as would enable the student to earn more. We hardly give any thought to the improvement of the character of the educated. The girls, we say, do not have to earn; so why should they be educated? As long as such ideas persist there is no hope of our ever knowing the uve value of education.” Right from the beginning, Gandhiji was clear about three things the children should live at home, they should not be separated from their parents and sent toa residentia! school, they should learn in their own mother tongue; they should not have any privileges which other Indian childre" could not share. They should live at home because the education that children naturally imbibe in a well-ordered housetold impossible to obtain in hostels.” “The intims" filationships of the home were, Gandhiji believed: foundation of all social and moral education, and that®* ‘Scanned with CamScannergu OF EDUCATION 1937: OR FCTiy, fcent E, MERITS AND py rE the ean Portance, “Th reo < he wrote, f the heart and the Gandhiji was equally emphatic abi mother tongue, “It has always been me geclared, “that Indian parents who trate think and talk in English from their infor children and their country, They deprive betray their spiritual and social heritage of the nation, at of the {o that extent unfit for the service of the count them , “pyeducation Imeananall-round drawing out of the best in child and man-body, mind and spirit. Literacy i: the end of education nor even the beginning. This ouly one of the means by which man and woman can be educated. Literacy in itself is no education, 1 would therefore begin the child's education by teaching ita useful ‘handicraft and enabling it to produce from the moment itbegins its every school can be made self-supporting, the condition being that the State takes over the manufactures ofthese schools. + Thold that the highest development of the mind and the soul is possible under such a system of education. Only every handicraft has to be taught not merely mechanically asis done today, but scientific i.e., the child should know the why and wherefore of every process. I have myself taught sandal-making and even spinning on these lines with good results. This method does not exclude a knowledge of history and geography But I find that this is best taught by transmitting such general information By word of mouth, One imparts ten times as much in this The signs of the manner as by reading and writing. aihabet may be taught later..Of course, the pupil learns ’thematics his handicraft. imary education, “Tattach the i to pri Whi &reatest importance to P the we according to my conception should be equal t "(matriculation less English...”CONTEMPORARY INDIA AND = National Education 1937-1944 ; gutcation Conference t0 discuss Gang Pideas Srimannarayan put the proposal pills it gated him fo preside, and Gandhifi readily gg conference was held in Wardha on October 2 Numbers were restricted: invitations were sen n who were known Co be concerned A to We, men and wore c muly Indian education, and Co nationalist educations al u ane. institutions like Jamia Milia Islamia, the Gujarg Vidvapeeth, the Tilak Maharashtra Vidayapeeth, and Andhra Jativa Kalasala at Masulipatnam; some ministor, ang officials of the newly-established Provincis Governments were also included. Because of the limited numbers and the quality of the participants the conference proved remarkably effective and led direct to action. ¢ “Primary education, extending over seven years of longer and covering a subjects up to the matriculation standard except English, plus a vocation used as a vehicle for drawing out the minds of the boys and girls in till departments of knowledge, should take the place of what passes today under the name of primary, middle and high school education. Such education, taken as a whole can and must be self-supporting, Self-support is the acid test of its reality.” * He had no wish to impose his ideas on anyone, he said, and he invited “free and frank criticism,” for he was anxious that the misunderstandings that had arisen should be cleared up. [twas being said, for example, that he was opposed to literary education, that the children would be “exploited,” that he had included no “religious instruction” in his plan. His speech touched on many oe still as relevant as ever, fifty years later: "The postive ee of education is not only wasteful but village, z they toss are lost to their parents, to me dependent on ra ional skills. They become helplest rl habits 4 ry ninor clerical jobs moreover they pick { nd urban snobbery, and learn to despise Scanned with CamScanner«gar from being opposed to literary education, I want how the way to give it... to make our children nee representatives of our culture, of the true genius of our nation. As for “exploiting,” do we burden the child whe qe save him from disaster? The children will become self. confident and brave.as they he for their education by their awn labour. Why do I not lay stress on religious jnstruction? Because this system is to be common to all, Hindu, Muslim, Parsee, Christian, and am teaching them all practical religion, the re igion of self-help. The whole plan springs out of non-violence, it is an integral part of the discipline of non-violence and truth.” The conference passed the following resolutions: 1. That free and compulsory education should be provided forseven years on a nation-wide scale; 2. That the medium of instruction should be the mother- tongue: 3. That the process of education throughout this period should centre around some form of manualand productive work, and all other activities to be developed and training to be given should as far as possible be integrally related to the central handicraft, chosen with due regard to the environment of the child, that the products of tile handicraft should gradually be able tocover the remuneration of the teachers. These resolutions were adopted as a national education policy by the next annual mecting of the Indian National Congress in February - March 1938. “All national progress,” it declared, ‘ultimately depends on the method, content and objectives of the ucation provided for the people.” An independent national lucation council, the Hindustani Talimi Sangh, was set up to ide and direct the development of a practical programme. * Looking back on this picture of “national education” after fifty years, one is impelled to ask certain questions about every one of the four points described above. The first point fails to specify which seven years of childhood should be covered. Gandhiji was clear that the sevent a ‘Scanned with CamScanner—_— a =—,,—a oy fo conte none vin ID EBay Jace, by di " Hination have developed sure the Skills gp af Indi It had bee, stosend children to school in the sbxth or even the fifth ye and when this practice was followed In basic schools it could lead to disappointment ang disillusionment, because the children had not yet reached the necessary level of maturity: ‘Through Life For Life; Adult Education 1945-1947 If Nai Talim is to embri the whole d velopment of man and the whole period of human life, nothing of human concern can be left outside the range of Its Interest. It must include the education of the mother and the baby In the home and ofall the adult members of society In their economic, social, cultural and political activities, Post-Basic Education; year was the right starting p! powers of muscular coore clently for them to tal hip. But over large ple ‘The Beginnings 1947-1950 Discussions about the nature and content of Post-basic education were initiated during the 1945 conference with Gandhiji at the same time as those on the Adult and Pre-basic stages. Al that time the B: had not yet built ups omplete seven or eight year cou Lit was realised that some e-planning for the next stage was desirable, and a sub- pmmittee of the Hindustani Talimi Sangh was appointed forthe Lurpose, :ven in the 1945 conference the old question of the plact of English in “higher” education raised its head once more. If students were (o do advanced work beyond the “matriculation lev as asked, should they nat beglt to study English during the later part of their Bas course! Gandhiji had expressed his own convictions about this very strongly seven years earlier during the controversies which followed the Wardha conference of 1937 He hi declared then that it was “gross superstition” to think thal no one could do first-rate scientific or other research wo” Without English. "English" education had done the coun" a great wong, he said it had, made even his ow va! colleagues “strangers in their own homes.” “We and oll tw oe ‘Scanned with CamScannerORJECTIVE, M ERITS AND DEMERIT: puild on our own heritage, Tote, asures of every culture and ough our own vernaculats, only then can the [Ng ches of science and literature become the sors erty of the people, For a deep seated evil nn Te we need a heroic remedy" — te the sits in practice of a higher education achieved de : the mother tongue with no dependence upon English in i. whatsoever Bhawan: The Training of Teachers saitale have seen the training of the teachers was of crucial Av eta the development of Basic Ed ion, The vision np sm of the training school at Wardha in the early years yn pence the work of the children’s schools. As the work of na in Segaon village developed it was decided that the tes ‘straining should be moved to these rural surroundings, bien new institution was inaugurated on'Ist. August 1942. The oa a is at the opening ceremony was on the twin ideals of love eyauth Dr. Zakir Hussain told the assembled students that “in the book of education the first leafi inscribed With the one word [0vE" The students themselves recited as their own ideal the great ation of the Upanishad ‘Iwill speak only the truth. That truth will protect me: That uth will protect my teacher.’ Gandhiji took up this theme in his a “May this prayer protect sou,” he said in his address to the students NON! yng OU oe on mu ye 3 st met ee the con afi 1. What are the aims of Basic Education scheme? 2. Critically analyze the Basic Education scheme. 3. What are the Proposals of Basic Education? 4 Curriculum of Basic Education ‘Scanned with CamScanner