Educational philosophy of Gandhiji

1. Educational Philosophy of M.K Gandhi

2. Meaning of Education acc.to Gandhiji
• By education I mean all-round drawing out of the best in child
and man-body, mind and spirit.
• True education is that which draws out and stimulates the
spiritual, the intellectual and physical faculties of the children.
• Gandhiji has paid highest importance to character because acc.
to him education without character can avail nothing if they do
not cultivate purity of heart.. The end of all knowledge may be
the building of character.

3. Gandhiji's View of Life
• Gandhiji's philosophy of life has a deep spiritual basis and the
two pillars of his thoughts were obviously Satya" and Ahimsa"
truth" and nonv
• 1) Realization of Truth: A devout worshipper of truth, Gandhiji
firmly believed that no religion is possible without truth. In his
view, God is absolute truth. He said, , I have no God to serve
but truth.,,
• 2) Non-violence (Ahimsa): Ahimsa is the only way, Gandhiji
suggested, that can lead us the ultimate destination of life.
Satya and ahimsa are the two sides of the same coin. iolence" a
happy combination of karmayoga" and Gyanyoga".

4. • Realization of God: Mahatma Gandhi believed in
Ekeswarvad (there is only one God) and thought that only
through the medium of God, the manifestation of truth, love,
life and knowledge is possible.
• Sarvodaya Society: According to Gandhiji, completion of life
is attained through the fulfilment of soul, and for this purpose
a favourable society is needed. What he sought was a spiritual
society set on the foundation of freedom, justice, equality,
love, peace and non-violence.

5. Combination of karmayoga and Gyanyoga:
• Gandhian philosophy is a fine blending of gyan and
karma, knowledge and work. He said, by education I
mean an all- round drawing out of the best in a child
and man’s- body, mind and spirit.
• According to him, the purpose of life is to acquire
spiritual knowledge to self-control and activity.

6. Main features of the system of Education based on Gandhiji’s
Philosophy
1.Education for a just social order
2.Education through craft and manual work
3.Education through mother tongue
4.Self sufficient education
5.Education related to life activities and experiences

7. • Dignity of labour
• Correlation
• Religious education
• Spiritual training
• Freedom to children but under discipline
• 11.Character development
• 12.Mass education
• 13.Women education

8. MEANING AND PHILOSOPHY OF BASIC EDUCATION :
The word 'Basic' is derived from the word 'base' which
means the bottom or the foundation of a thing upon which
the whole thing rests or is made to stand. Gandhiji wanted
to make the foundation of the educational edifice strong. It
is with this objective that he put forward this scheme. This
scheme of education is based on the national culture and
civilization of India.

9. MAIN FEATURES OF THE BASIC EDUCATION
• Free and compulsory education: Gandhiji wanted education to be
free and compulsory for all boys and girls between the ages of
seven to fourteen.
• Education through Craft: The basic idea of this scheme is to
impart education through some craft or productive work. Craft
work helps the child to acquire sensor and motor co-ordination
and to appreciate the value of honest labour.
• Medium of instruction: One of the resolutions that was adopted at
the All India National Conference at Wardha was that education
must be imparted through the mother tongue.

10. • Ideal of citizenship: Another important feature of the basic scheme is
the ideal of citizenship which is implicit in it. It aimed at giving the
citizens of the future a keen sense of personal growth, dignity and
efficiency and social services in a cooperative community.
• Flexible-Curriculum-and-free-Environment: The flexibility of the
curriculum and free environment for the child to perform according
to his own capacity are another remarkable features of basic
education.
• Under this scheme the teachers and students are free to work
according to their interest and there is no compulsion for completing
a prescribed portion due to fear of examinations.

11. CURRICULUM OF BASIC EDUCATION
1. Basic Craft
2. Mother tongue
3. Mathematics
4. Social Studies
5. General Science
6. Art, Music and Drawing
7. Domestic Science
8. Hindi for that area in which it is not the mother tongue

12. Characteristics of Basic Education
1)English has not been included as a subject of study.
2) Although the medium of instruction is mother tongue,
all students must learn Hindi language.
3)There is no place for religious and moral education in
the curriculum
4) The craft chosen must not be taught mechanically, but
systematically and scientifically keeping in view the
social significance.

13. MERITS OF BASIC EDUCATION
• It is also economically productive as it is based on the
principle of work
• The system was able to remove class and caste
distinction
 It also removes the barriers between the educated and
the non- educated, between manual work and
intellectual work, between the rich and the poor and
village and the town.
• Basic education is activity -centred education.

14. • Basic education is child-centric.
• Basic education is based on sound educational principle
of correlation, where all educational activities are
correlated to a basic craft.
• The system is based upon the cultural and social
heritage of the land.
 It aims at a harmonious development of the body, mind
and soul.
 Basic education system recognizes the dignity of
labour.

15.  It recognizes the importance of mother-tongue as the
medium of instruction at the elementary stage.
 It inculcates democratic values like co-operation,
responsibility, fellow-feeling in the minds of the
students, which are essential for proper functioning of a
democratic social order.

16. DEMERITS OR CAUSES OF FAILURE OF BASIC EDUCATION
• Too much emphasis on craft had led the neglect of liberal
education.
• A single craft can and should not be the basis of the entire
educational process.
• This scheme turns a school into a centre of small scale
industry and the teachers had to depend upon the
earnings of the students.

17. • It may not help in the development of liberal education
and thus would create an imbalance in the educational
system between vocational and intellectual education.
• The method of correlation as technique of instruction was
not stressed and sincerely followed.
• Basic Education is often regarded as inferior type of
education meant for the poor villagers.
• The general public had no confidence in basic schools
because of the degraded social value accorded to it