The author states that literacy does not solely consist in learning to read and write the letters of the alphabet – literacy consists of language and numeric skills, and their application to our daily lives. It is the basic means for an individual to take part in the affairs of society, and to make a meaningful economic contribution.
Education is much more than the mere accumulation of unrelated data or information. Education should lead to the development of life-enhancing mores and values. Education should lead to the development of an individual’s character. If the person is to play a constructive role in society, at a later stage in his life, the foundation must be laid in school and family. In any case, a person’s
secular education cannot be separated from his moral education. This, in sum, is the concept of value education. This is also the traditional system of education that has been followed in India through the ages. In the Gurukula system, the Guru was both the teacher and the spiritual guide. The students (or disciples, for both words meant the same thing) lived alongside the Guru in a hermitage, even as they studied the Vedas and mastered various secular skills. It would have been unthinkable to separate the
study of the Vedas from the
pursuit of more mundane forms of knowledge! It is true that India has made rapid strides in the field of secular education – there has been sustained
growth in the number of professional courses teaching engineering, computers, medicine and management. But the proliferation of educational
institutions has been (sadly) accompanied by a fall in ethical standards, which have long been our inherent strength. This is a dilemma that must be confronted, or else the pursuit of education will become synonymous with, and only with, the means of earning a livelihood. The author suggests that to redress the balance, we must give equal weightage to the study of the humanities, as we give to science & technology. As
far as official figures are concerned, there has been a growth in literacy from about twelve per cent (at the time of independence), to about sixty-five per cent (in the latest census). While this growth is impressive, and education for children has been made compulsory, it hides a deeper social malaise – the education of women still lags far behind that for men. Bridging the gender divide must be a priority for educational institutions in the coming decade.
More summaries about the Article: a Look at Indian Education