This document summarizes the educational philosophies of several prominent Indian thinkers such as Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Zakir Hussain, Sri Aurobindo, Jiddu Krishnamurthi, Tarabhai Modak, Jawaharlal Nehru, and recommendations from the Kothari Commission and Yashpal Committee. It outlines their views on topics like the aims of education, curriculum, role of teachers, discipline, and pre-school education. Key philosophies included integrating education with practical skills, using the mother tongue as the medium of instruction, avoiding rote learning and corporal punishment.
2. MK Gandhi
Education is an all round
drawing out of the best in
child and man, in body,
mind and spirit .
3. Nai Talim should be the self supporting aspect of
education, otherwise education will be like a lifeless
body. Gandhiji’s Nai Talim approach includes:
Physical activity, Mother Tongue, Social Studies and
General Sciences, Art, Arithmetic, Craft work including
study of correlated subjects.
Free and compulsory education should be given in 8
years i.e. from 6-14 years in two phases.
Mother tongue as the medium of instruction for mental
development.
4. External examinations are to be abolished. The day to day
work of students is to be the determining factor.
Text books to be avoided as far as possible.
Cleanliness and health, citizenship, play and recreation are
to be given sufficient importance.
Useful manual labour, intelligently performed is the means
of ‘para intelligence’ for developing the intellect (Value of
dignity of labour).
Opposed corporal punishment (Discipline).
Student’s mind should not be caged and he should be
allowed to think freely (Freedom in education).
5. Rabindranath Tagore
Education is the highest purpose
of man’s life which can be
achieved through ‘Nature
contact'. The objective of
education is the freedom of
mind which can only be achieved
through path of freedom.
6. The man’s most cruel and wasteful mistake is to expect
child to learn in the same manner as adults learned.
We should let the children explore the world in their
own manner. We should observe child’s thoughts as
they have subconscious mind which is more active
than their conscious intelligence.
Living ideas cannot be set into clock-work
arrangement. He was completely against punishment.
7. An ideal school is an Ashram where men have
gathered for the highest end of life. His main objective
was to provide spiritual culture to children.
“A teacher can never truly teach unless he is learning
himself.” The teacher should have guiding spirit and
the ability to facilitate it with personal love.
8. Zakir Hussain
The aim of education according to Dr.
Zakir Hussain was emotional
integration.
Education instead of being bookish,
should become an integral part of the
personality.
The teacher should not merely be a
source of knowledge rather he should
be a source of love and affection.
9. The school should function as a society.
In curriculum, in addition to the study of mother
tongue, English should be taught as a literacy and
international language. For acquiring knowledge,
nature study, observation, and activity should be
planned.
10. Sri Aurobindo
Shri Aurobindo Ghosh was a great
revolutionary turned into a saint,
philosopher and educator. His ideas
on education are contained in
books named, “A system of national
education” and “Shri Aurobindo
and the mother on education”.
His philosophy was that education
has its maximum result if it begins
from birth.
11. He emphasized more on mother’s contribution to
child’s education. The part of education which the
mother has to go through is to see that her thoughts
are very beautiful and pure, her feelings always noble
and fine and her material surroundings as harmonious
as possible and simple.
12. His contribution:
1. Creative approach to education: Ideas according
to him,should be organised around a central theme
or higher ideal. It is not necessary to teach many
subjects to the child. The child may find many
approaches to the same subject.
2. Function of Education: The principle function of
education is to discover the “psychic being” within
the person.
13. 3. Vehicles of learning: There are four vehicles of learning
which include the vital (body), the physical (environment),
the mental (attention, perception, problem solving) and
the psychic are instrumental in cultivating power, beauty,
knowledge and love respectively.
4. Independent work by Children: On the other hand the
children should be given instruction on work sheets so that
they are able to carry out these activities independently by
following some kind of “discovery” or “heuristic” approach.
14. 5. Free Progress system: Acc. to this system each
student proceeds at his own rate. The students are
allowed free choice in their subjects of study, develop
areas of interest and take examinations only if they
like.
6. Training of the senses: The five senses and the mind
form the six senses of man. The training of these
senses is the first care of the child.
15. Jiddu krishnamurthi
His teachings are based upon the ‘self-inquiry’ and
‘illumination’.
His Educational Philosophy:
Self knowledge is the best education. Freedom, rather
than conformity, is the essence of true knowledge.
(i) Current System Of Education: The existing
system of education, according to Krishnamurthi,
has some inherent drawback . It doesn’t awaken the
integrated intelligence of the child.
(ii) Aims and Objectives of Education: The purpose
of education is not to acquire knowledge and
correlate it with other aspects of life. Education
should prepare the child for life as a whole.
16. (iii)Approach to Curriculum: Education is not merely for the mental
development of the child. It should not merely provide for technical efficiency.
The child young children are easily influenced by environmental pressures.
(iv) Upbringing of Children by Parents: Parents’ love has no substitute. But
most parents corrupt their love for children by foisting their own fears and
ambition on their children. They try to condition them to a particular way of
living and distort their outlook for life. Both parents and teachers need to be
re-educated in this.
(v) Concept of Discipline: one drawback of external discipline is that the system
assumes more important that the human beings who are included in it.
Discipline takes the place of love. It is because our hearts are empty that we
cling to discipline. Freedom can never come through resistance for change.
(vi) On teachers and type of Schools: We should have schools with a limited
number of students. Small schools with limited financial resources are
suggested. Right kind of education is concerned with the children not with the
number of children it has on its rolls.
17. Tarabhai Modak
Tarabai Modak is a great pioneer in
pre-school education and child
welfare programme in India. She
evolved a simple Anganwadi (a
courtyard or open school) on a rural
pattern for pre-school care.
18. Main features of Aanganwadi
or Meadow School Concept:
It is meant for village children between the age of 3
and 6.
It is a school located in the courtyard or open space or
under a tree in the village.
It is looked after by a motherly village woman.
The motherly village woman is trained in the basic
principles of child care including play techniques.
Ordinary local equipment is used for teaching and
learning.
19. This Programme was basically launched for the tribal
children of Kosabad hills in Maharashtra. . It now runs
a complex of educational institutions beginning
from ‘Balwadi’ to a ‘high school’, training institution
for teachers at different levels and a workshop for
educational materials. The meadow school concept is
now turned into non- formal education. After
training the trainees set up Anganwadis in villages to
devise play materials and elicit community support.
20. Jawaharlal Nehru
He was convinced that no amount of
money spent on children and their
mothers was too much and that it was a
sound investment for the future.
He was deeply interested in any scheme
designed to benefit children and
women, more especially the provision
of mid-day meals for the under
privileged school children.
21. Nehru was responsible for Indian Schools introducing
knap sack which would hang on the back of children
instead of the front or the sides.
He wanted children not to be stooping but to be erect
while walking with a load of books on their back.
22. Kothari Comission
Headed by Prof. D.S. Kothari, popularly
known as Kothari Comission departs from
the traditional practice of dividing the
period of school education into three
stages- Pre-primary, Primary and
Secondary. It makes pre-primary
education an integral part of schooling.
23. To develop in the child good health habits and to build up
basic skills necessary for personal adjustment, such as
dressing, toilet habits, eating, washing, cleaning etc.
To develop emotional maturity by guiding the child to
express, understand, accept and control his feelings and
emotions.
To encourage aesthetic appreciation.
To stimulate the beginnings of intellectual curiosity.
To encourage independence and creativity by providing the
child with sufficient opportunities for self expression.
24. To develop the child’s ability to express his thoughts
and feelings in fluent, correct and clear speech.
To develop in the child a good physique, adequate
muscular coordination and basic motor- skills.
25. Yashpal Committee-Learning without
Burden
In its report titled ‘Learning without Burden’ committee
observes that ‘deeply harmful practices in pre-schools and
primary schools such as early emphasis on shapely drawing,
writing and memorizing information’ result in a lot of
stress and anxiety for the children.
The committee recommends that:
Appropriate legislative and administrative measures be
adopted to regulate the opening and functioning of early
childhood education institutions (pre-schools).
26. Norms regarding accommodation, staff, apparatuses, play
materials be laid down for the recognition of these schools.
It should be ensured that these institutions do not
perpetrate violence on young children by influencing a
heavy dose of ‘ over-education’ in the form of formal
teaching of Reading, Writing and Numbers.
The practice of holding tests and interviews for admission
to nursery class be abolished.
There is no justification for torturing the young children by
compelling them to carry very heavy bags of books
everyday to schools.
