Education according to Gandhi

There is no denying that education plays a central role in the inclusive development of an individual.Gandhi too dreamed of a nation where education became a cherished goal for every individual.His views on education were relevant on primarily two accounts.

First,he was critical of the manner in which English education was imparted to the Indians and the people’s perspective on English language.In his speech in Orissa in 1921,Gandhi said ‘Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Bal Gangadhar Tilak would have been far greater men,had they desisted from thinking and transmitting their thoughts chiefly in English.’Later clarifying on his opinion,he published in Young India,that English language had robed the Indians of their freedom by replacing the vernacular medium of instruction.Education is transmitted through generations,and vernacular education will make education penetrative in a multi-layered and economically deprived nation like India,where millions of people live in perpetual poverty. However,he was not against English language as such,but considered it as an unmitigated evil in the manner it had weakened the vernacular and local languages.

Second,Gandhi liked to say that education should not only produce learned minds,but also create enlightened souls.In his views,education without moral and physical development is an evil,which can erode the society like a malicious worm.Gandhi didn’t want India to become a nation of strong minds and weak bodies or vice versa.He invoked the Nai Talim,a spiritual principle which states that knowledge and work are not separate.Therefore he insisted on pedagogical methods which focused on imparting knowledge of handicrafts to children.He was of the considered opinion that there should be no gap between mental labour and manual work.His works on Chakra and persuading people to wear Khadi revolves around the very concept of promoting education as an integrated tool for the development of an individual.

Thus,Gandhi considered school as an extension of home,where ideas could be transmitted freely from a Guru to a Shishya and also through mutual learning.Education should train mind,body and soul and it should seek the development of spiritualism in human beings.’Learning by doing’ was the mantra of his holistic views on education.