Mahatma Gandhi launched a basic education scheme called Nai Talim in his newspaper ‘Harijan’ in 1937. The Basic Education Scheme is for 6 years of primary education, 3 years of lower secondary education and 3 years of higher secondary education. Mahatma Gandhi’s basic education was aimed at helping children recognize their basic identity. Let us know more about the basic education of Mahatma Gandhi – its objectives, curriculum, teaching methods and discipline. This can help in examinations like CTET.
Basic education of MK Gandhi
Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2Ra In October 1869 at Porbandar in Kathiawar (Gujarat) state. He was a great philosopher, educationist, politician and experimentalist. He has made significant and substantial contributions to educational thought and practice in India. He has not left even a single aspect of life untouched. He was a versatile philosopher cum politician. It is a great irony that Gandhiji, the messenger of truth and non-violence, was shot dead at 30.th January 1948 by Nathu Ram.
Main characteristics
The salient features of his general philosophy of life are enumerated in the following paragraphs:
- Strong belief in God. Gandhiji had strong faith in God. For them, God is an all-embracing reality that permeates man and the world. He is the ultimate reality and supreme ruler. The ultimate goal of life should be achieved
- For them truth is God and God is truth. Truth is the inner voice. This is inner wisdom. It is the means to attain the ultimate truth of God.
- Ahimsa or non-violence. Ahimsa means complete freedom from violence – freedom from hatred, anger, fear and ill-will. It is a means to achieve the goal of truth.
- This is the practical application of nonviolence. Satyagrahi is one who believes in truth, non-violence, fearlessness and non-stealing.
- Spiritual nature of a person. He believed that man had a divine soul. He is a spiritual being. The ultimate goal should be spiritual and not material.
- Love is the essence of morality. No morality is possible without love. Truth is attained through love and love itself leads one towards God.
- Concept of spiritual society. He wanted to establish a spiritual society based on the principles of love, non-violence, truth and justice.
In the year 1937, Gandhiji finalized a plan of education through his experiments and tried to adapt it in the entire country. He also laid out the main features of his education plan in the All India Education Conference held at Wardha on 22 and 23 October, 1937. His education scheme is known as ‘Basic Scheme of Education’ or ‘Wardha Scheme’.
Meaning of education:-
According to Gandhiji, literacy is not education in itself. It is one of the means by which men and women can be educated. For Gandhiji, education means all-round development of an individual. In the words of Gandhiji, “By education I mean the bringing out of the all-round best in the child and the man – body, mind and spirit.”
Objectives of education :-
Gandhiji had two goals: immediate goal and ultimate goal.
- Immediate objectives of education. These are related to our daily life:
- The goal of bread and butter. The aim of education should be to enable every individual to earn his livelihood. This should enable him to stand on his feet. Education should be a kind of insurance against unemployment.
- Cultural objectives. Cultural objective emphasizes on acquiring Indian culture. The culture which is reflected in the way we dress, the way we speak, our conduct and behavior. It enables a person to see things in their true perspective.
- Character purpose. He considered character to be an expression of the complete personality, including its moral and spiritual aspects. According to Gandhiji, education without character and character without purity will be of no use.
- Complete development goal. Complete development means all-round development of the child. It means development of head, heart and hands – nothing less and nothing more.
- The ultimate aim of education. Self-realization is the ultimate goal of life as well as education. Spiritual freedom provides knowledge of God and self-realization. Therefore, education should provide spiritual freedom.
Syllabus : –
Gandhiji suggested teaching the following subjects in the plan of education.
- Original craft. He emphasized that education should be craft centric. Basic crafts which may be agriculture, spinning, weaving, wood work etc. should be included according to the local conditions of life and society.
- Mother tongue. Mother should be studied because it is an effective means for expression and communication of ideas.
- Arithmetic should be related to the situation of life. This is a very useful topic for daily life.
- Social studies. It includes subjects like History, Civics Geography and Current Events to promote personal and social qualities.
- general Science. General sciences including nature study, zoology, physiology, hygiene, chemistry, botany and astronomy should be taught to promote intelligent and scientific attitude. Domestic science should be added for girls of class IV and V.
- Music and painting. These subjects should be included to generate genuine interest in education among boys and girls.
- Place for Hindustani. A national language should be included and taught in the school curriculum.
Methods of teaching:-
- Education through crafts. Gandhiji emphasized that education should be imparted through some craft or production work.
- Emphasis on activity method and learning from self-experience. He emphasized on activity method in the field of teaching. He stressed that learning by doing and learning from one’s own experience is very effective.
- Correlation method. He advocated the method of correlation. Education of various subjects should be in the form of correlated knowledge and not as separate subjects.
- Lecture and quiz method. Along with the lecture method, he also accepted the use of the question-and-answer method.
- Mother tongue as medium of instruction. He wanted that all education should be given through the mother tongue.
Discipline : –
Gandhiji advocated discipline through self-control. He emphasized voluntary discipline or discipline that originates from within. Self-discipline arises from a pure life of self-control, fearlessness, utility and self-sacrifice. This can be achieved by non-violent conduct of life.
Teacher : –
Gandhiji emphasized that only the right kind of teacher can help in achieving the objectives of education. He must have knowledge, skill, enthusiasm, patriotism, strong character and special training. He should be a friend, philosopher and guide. He should be inspired by the social vision and ideals of non-violence and truth. He should be fully equipped and aware of the objectives of life and education. He must have the qualities that he wants to inculcate in the students. He should practice virtues within himself. He should be able to establish heart to heart contact with the students.
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