Gandhi’s Concept on Education and Its Relevance in the Present Time
Gandhi’s Concept on Education and Its Relevance in the Present Day
V.N. Rajashekharan Pillai The Purpose of Education
I
have been involved in the university system for more than 30 years. I used to interact with a large number of under-graduate students in the colleges and universities. I used to go to the colleges and universities to address students as a Vice Chancellor. Society has always been criticizing and doubting the purpose of education. What is the purpose of education in society? Dr. Radhakrishnan in his address today discussed the relevance of Gandhism and Buddhism in the cyber age. I used to talk in my lectures about the dehumanizing and alienating aspects of education. I used to tell students, particularly high-school and college-age students, about the dehumanizing aspect of the established types of education being offered. In my lectures, I used to give an example of a highly educated brother and his almost illiterate brother. When something unpleasant happens, such as a fire or a bus accident, in the immediate vicinity of this illiterate brother and the highly sophisticated and educated brother, the moment the illiterate brother hears about this accident, he will run to that place as a sort of reflex action. The educated brother, he will ponder the situation and remark, “I will not go at any cost.” He will even try to prevent his illiterate brother from going to that place and offering help to the victim. He will say, “Don’t go there as there will be problems.” The educated brother probably will not go to that place: He will wait to find out what happened the next day: Probably he will send a condolence message to the family of victim, or if he is one of the highly educated and sophisticated types of people, he will send a condolence message through the newspapers. That is an example of the type of education we are offering. Today, I will concentrate my remarks on Gandhi’s views on education, with particular reference to India, and I will
V.N. Rajashekharan Pillai The Purpose of Education
I
have been involved in the university system for more than 30 years. I used to interact with a large number of under-graduate students in the colleges and universities. I used to go to the colleges and universities to address students as a Vice Chancellor. Society has always been criticizing and doubting the purpose of education. What is the purpose of education in society? Dr. Radhakrishnan in his address today discussed the relevance of Gandhism and Buddhism in the cyber age. I used to talk in my lectures about the dehumanizing and alienating aspects of education. I used to tell students, particularly high-school and college-age students, about the dehumanizing aspect of the established types of education being offered. In my lectures, I used to give an example of a highly educated brother and his almost illiterate brother. When something unpleasant happens, such as a fire or a bus accident, in the immediate vicinity of this illiterate brother and the highly sophisticated and educated brother, the moment the illiterate brother hears about this accident, he will run to that place as a sort of reflex action. The educated brother, he will ponder the situation and remark, “I will not go at any cost.” He will even try to prevent his illiterate brother from going to that place and offering help to the victim. He will say, “Don’t go there as there will be problems.” The educated brother probably will not go to that place: He will wait to find out what happened the next day: Probably he will send a condolence message to the family of victim, or if he is one of the highly educated and sophisticated types of people, he will send a condolence message through the newspapers. That is an example of the type of education we are offering. Today, I will concentrate my remarks on Gandhi’s views on education, with particular reference to India, and I will