Nilacharal

In the part -1 we discussed about some of the serious shortcomings of our education system. In this part let us discuss the important components of a good education such as inquisitiveness, listening skills, guarding against prejudices, knowledge on native history, and culture, social concern and awareness, and civic senses.

True education is holistic
A good education system ought to impart courage to face challenges, to face the truth and to manage oneself. It should infuse good "Values" in an individual while guiding him/her according to his/her "conviction" based on an unbiased assessment of situation. Education is not just mastering mathematical and linguistic skills. It is Not just a process of assimilating information in science. The concept of Provoking "why" are not practiced and only loadings of "what" and "when" are Considered important.

True education is something holistic which imparts ability in different faculties. The famous educationist and philosopher Krishnamurthy remarked ,"science is a tool to develop inquisitive and reasoning talents to question everything and anything to make a judgement. It must drive away prejudices and bias towards set notions". Even many amongst us who are highly educated take totally meaningless stand when it comes to the issues like nuclear testing, women reservation bill etc. A good education must wipe out false notions especially about the concept of progress and development. For instance, the knowledge of world summits on Ecology and Environment finds a place in the curriculum but when it comes to the question of raising our protest against disturbance to the ecology in the name of progress, we tend to fall in line with set notions of progress.

The present education makes an individual more of a conformist and the inquisitive talents are inadvertently blunted. As Lincoln wrote to the teacher of his son, a Proper education system must "teach a person to listen to all men but also be taught to filter all one hears on a screen of truth". Krishnamurthy also adds that "it is not to be viewed as romanticizing science or education as a whole if it is said that only through proper education can we become truly cultured, civilised and move towards idealism". It is not an exaggeration that the character and moral fabric of the nation is greatly interwoven with the quality of education. Also the nuances of our cultural, spiritual and philosophical metamorphism of this ancient land should not remain an enigma for the upcoming generation.

Education has ended up as a status symbol of an individual. The deviation from the true objectives of education is because of the obsession with information packing .

Education is for body,mind and soul
Improper education produces hypocrites and as such the individuals are not to be blamed as they do not realize the link between what they read and the reality. Also, one is driven away or kept unexposed to practical realities. Added to this is that no practice is given to face encounters with real life situations. Because of this handicap, one succumbs to pressures and fails to live up to one's idealism that he was taught. Thus, the modern education in its present form neither imparts idealism nor pragmatism. A proper system must teach ways to synchronize the efforts so that the body, mind, and soul are educated. Thus, a 'true' education should assure well-being of four aspects of an individual - physical,mental,spiritual,and psychological. Through the phenomenon of education, the thought process is to be activated and refined. If this is achieved, the action would be beneficial. Added to these, the system has failed in cultivating a civic sense. Imparting social concern and awareness are not at all considered an important component of education ....more