Open Forum

New Delhi, 30 September 2014  

Right to Education

 IS GANDHIAN IDEAL REALISED?

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

The nation today observes Mahatma Gandhi’s 150 birth anniversary with the launch of “Mission Swacch Bharat” in the hope of realising his dream of a clean India. However, while all Ministries will kick start the cleanliness drive, one Ministry will need to go a step beyond—to take forward Gandhi’s another vision of universalization of education in all its aspects.  

Undeniably, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, which became operational way back in April 2010, has been a landmark achievement. But sadly, the follow-up of this law has been rather tardy. Even after four years, the relevance of inclusive education, particularly of disadvantaged groups, has not yet become a reality. Some 7 million-odd children between the ages of 6 and 14 are estimated to be still out of school due to various factors like lack of teachers, poor quality of teaching, lack of infrastructure in schools etc.

The RTE itself is indeed a revolutionary step taken by the Government after years of wait. Mahatma Gandhi had first talked of universalization of education way back in 1937. Today, the Act, makes schooling in India for all children between 6 and 14 years a Fundamental right. But there is criticism of the RTE by a section of experts who feel that the Act should have included children below 6 years and up to 18 years i.e. covering the entire gamut of school education up to Class XII. This is no doubt justified and the Government must give due cognizance to this argument and bring necessary amendments to the Act.  

In fact, there is much to learn from Gandhiji’s concept of education. In an article in Harijan in 1937, he had observed: “Education of the intellect can only come through a proper exercise of the bodily organs… the intelligent use of the bodily organs in a child provides the best and quickest way of developing his intellect”. Indeed, knowledge of mathematics, history, geography and the sciences are no doubt necessary but they ought to be imparted “through handicrafts, for example, by explaining the origin and manufacturing process of the tools, the sources, supply and processing of raw materials, the amount of goods produces etc.” He wanted the State to purchase the produce of the schools and guarantee students employment in the craft that they have learnt in the schools.

Gandhiji was aware that the country lived in villages and accordingly he formulated his ideas on education with great stress on the crafts. This becomes particularly relevant today because most students do not go or do not have the capacity to go for higher education. However, if they have some knowledge of the crafts, they could easily become self-employed. There is thus a vital need to frame the curricula in such a way, specially in the schools of rural and semi-urban areas, that there is sufficient emphasis on the crafts.

When the country has been facing the problem of unemployment and underemployment on a large scale, proper learning and even specialization in the crafts – say in Class XI and XII like one does today in computers -- could greatly help a large section of students to earn their livelihood. It is necessary that the curriculum be framed in such a way that there is ample scope for learning and eventual specialization in a craft at school and this could start from Class V onwards or even earlier. This could check the drop-out rate for studying which would then become linked to vocational education. 

Another vital aspect of Gandhiji’s idea of education was the emphasis on spirituality. While he embodied the principles of truth and non-violence in his political life, he similarly wanted the students to lay the greatest emphasis on these aspects. The understanding of our religious texts was to him necessary for students to develop a sense of brotherhood and fraternity as also discipline which, in turn, would lead to great cohesion and unity in society. This is very important today as most schools either teach the Bible or the Koran or the Gita but there is rarely any school which teaches religious understanding based on the different religious texts.

The need for inculcating a sense of spiritualism and understanding of non-violence is all the more necessary, when materialism has pushed up our greed and demands while communal tendencies have led to inter-religious violence. Moreover, alienation and deprivation has instigated a section to resort to violence. These problems can only be resolved if students right from schools onwards are imparted education on spiritual lines and shown the right way to lead a righteous life.     

According to the Mahatma, inequality and centralization of power cannot lead to a truly non-violent society. Thus, he wanted a mass moral upsurge to ensure such a society, the challenge of which has to be taken by the young generation. Education must be tuned in such a way that the young mind becomes aware of the need for transformation in society so that all sections could live as good human beings.

However, imparting education is not enough. There has to be proper content along with quality of teaching. There have been many surveys that have indicated poor quality of teaching and the lack of commitment of teachers. This needs to be changed and along with it, the new curriculum should ensure that students find interest in what they are taught. Proper education should ensure that young minds are motivated so that the learning process becomes easier and faster.      

The Gandhian educational thinking has been totally wedded to Indian conditions and very much different from the British system that we have practiced so far. This needs to be changed and while incorporating modern trends and current developments, there is need to understand the relevance and usefulness of the education imparted. Moreover, education should not remain bookish but linked to employment needs, i.e. vocational education must be part of the high school curriculum. A student from a poor family in a backward area should get the benefit of learning and be able to stand on his own feet after completing his high school education.   

If the RTE mission is to succeed, the public school system has to be increased further with quality teaching. Apart from augmentation of infrastructure, there is need for identification of real problems faced by schools in rural/backward areas and possible scope for improvement. Simultaneously, there is need to put responsibility on voluntary organizations at every block level to analyze the situation and send their recommendations for improvements.

Thus, basic changes have to be brought about in the content of teaching while also ensuring that teachers are committed in their profession. This is easier said than done but sustained efforts are needed in this direction. Then only will Gandhiji’s ideal of education reaching the masses across the country will be fulfilled. Echoing the Mahatma’s vision, the Kothari Commission observed long back that there is a need for “a revolution which in turn will set in motion the much delayed social, economic and cultural revolution”. The children are the future torch-bearers of the country and if proper education does not reach them, social ills and impoverishment will accelerate. There is need for another mission. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)