IT IS ONLY A MEANS TO EDUCATE THE PEOPLE BUT LITERACY IS NOT EDUCATION. GANDHI WISHES THAT CHILD’S EDUCATION SHOULD BEGIN WITH THE TEACHING OF A USEFUL HANDICRAFT.
THIS ENABLES THE CHILD TO PRODUCE FROM THE MOMENT THE CHILD BEGINS HIS TRAINING. THIS HELPS EVERY SCHOOL TO BE SELF-SUPPORTING. UNDER SUCH SYSTEM OF EDUCATION, THE HIGHEST ENVELOPMENT OF MIND AND SOUL BECOMES POSSIBLE. EVERY HANDICRAFT NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT NOT IN A MECHANICAL MANNER ALONE BUT SCIENTIFICALLY. THE CHILD HAS TO BE IN A POSITION TO KNOW EVERY PROCESS OF IT.THE PROPOSAL INTRODUCED BY GANDHI IS OF REVOLUTIONARY TYPE, WHICH SAVES IMMENSE LABOR.
IT IS ECONOMICAL ON THE OTHER HAND. 18 GANDHI HOLDS THAT AN INTELLECT WHICH IS DEVELOPED THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF SOCIALLY USEFUL LABOR WILL BE AN INSTRUMENT FOR SERVICE AND IT WILL NOT EASILY BE LED ASTRAY OR FALL INTO DEVIOUS PATH. 19 GANDHI LOOKS UPON EDUCATION AS AN INTEGRAL WHOLE AND ALSO AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SOCIAL REVOLUTION LIFTING THE HUMAN LIFE CONTINUALLY TO SOMETHING BETTER CULTURALLY, SOCIALLY, MORALLY AND SPIRITUALLY.GANDHI HAS NAMED HIS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME AS NAI TALIM, WHICH IMPLIES NEW EDUCATION UNDER WHICH EDUCATION HAS BECOME LIFE CENTERED, INSTEAD OF TEXTBOOK CENTERED. NAI TALIM HAS BEEN DEFINED AS EDUCATION FOR LIFE, THROUGH LIFE AND THROUGH OUT LIFE. NAI TALIM HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO PRE-BASIC, BASIC, POST-BASIC, UNIVERSITY AND SOCIAL EDUCATION.
PRE-BASIC IS THE NURSERY SCHOOL PART, BASIC IS ELEMENTARY EDUCATION FOR A PERIOD OF EIGHT YEARS, BETWEEN 7 AND 15 YEARS OF AGE. POST-BASIC IS HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION AND SOCIAL EDUCATION HAS BECOME ADULT EDUCATION. 0 GANDHI HAS TAKEN UP BASIC EDUCATION FOR BOYS AND GIRLS BETWEEN 7 AND 15 YEARS OF AGE FOR A PERIOD OF 8 YEARS. IN THE VIEW OF GANDHI BASIC EDUCATION IS THE BIRTH RIGHT OF EVERY CHILD IN INDIA. NO CHILD COULD REMAIN WITHOUT IT IF INDIAN HUMANITY IS TO MAKE PROGRESS.
21 BASIC EDUCATION OR NAI TALIM (NEW SYSTEM OF EDUCATION) AS GANDHI CALLS IT IS REVOLUTIONARY IN ITS CONCEPTION. IT IS BASED ON THE THEORY THAT IT IS THE ACTIVITY KNOWN S ‘THE THINKING HAND’ WHICH MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE HAS GUIDED THE EVOLUTION OF MAN AND SOCIETY.IN THIS SYSTEM OF WHOLE EDUCATION, MAN CAN BE IMPARTED THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF A BASIC HANDICRAFT. IT’S GOAL IS TO BUILD UP ‘ A NON-VIOLENT, NON-EXPLOITING SOCIAL ORDER IN WHICH THE IDEALS OF FREEDOM, EQUALITY, AND BROTHERHOOD CAN BE FULLY AND UNIVERSALLY REALIZED. 22 THIS TYPE OF EDUCATION IS LIFE CENTERED BUT NOT TEXTBOOK CENTERED.
23 GANDHI HOLDS THAT CRAFT, ART, HEALTH AND EDUCATION SHOULD ALL BE INTEGRATED INTO ONE SCHEME. NAI TALIM IS A BEAUTIFUL BLEND OF ALL THE FOUR AND COVERS THE WHOLE EDUCATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL FROM THE TIME OF CONCEPTION TO THE MOMENT OF DEATH.HE REGARDS CRAFT AND INDUSTRY AS THE MEDIUM OF EDUCATION. 24 HE IS OF THE OPINION THAT IF RIGHT KIND OF TEACHERS ARE GIVEN, CHILDREN WILL BE TAUGHT THE DIGNITY OF LABOR AND LEARN TO REGARD IT AS AN INTEGRAL PART AND AS A MEANS OF THEIR INTELLECTUAL GROWTH.
HE MAINLY SUGGESTS THAT HANDICRAFTS ARE TO BE TAUGHT NOT MERELY FOR PRODUCTIVE WORK BUT FOR DEVELOPING THE INTELLECT OF THE PUPILS. THIS HELPS THEM TO BE SELF-SUPPORTING. 25 EDUCATION IS POPULARLY AND CORRECTLY DESCRIBED AS EDUCATION THROUGH HANDICRAFTS BUT IT IS PART BY TRUE. THE ROOT OF THE NEW EDUCATION GOES MUCH DEEPER.
IT LIES IN THE APPLICATION OF TRUTH AND LOVE IN EVERY HUMAN ACTIVITY. THE NOTION OF EDUCATION THROUGH HANDICRAFTS RISES FROM THE CONTEMPLATION OF TRUTH AND LOVE, WHICH PERMEATES EVERY ACTIVITY OF THE HUMAN LIFE. TRUE EDUCATION SHOULD BE MADE EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO ALL. IT SHOULD BE OF MUCH USE TO EVERY VILLAGER IN HIS DAILY LIFE. SUCH TYPE OF EDUCATION DOES NOT DEPEND ON BOOKS. 26 THE TEACHER’S EARNING IN THIS NEW EDUCATION STANDS AS THE ART OF LIVING.
THEREFORE, BOTH THE TEACHER AND THE TAUGHT HAVE TO PRODUCE IN THE VERY ACT OF TEACHING AND LEARNING, WHICH ENRICHES LIFE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. 7 GANDHI IS OF THE OPINION THAT THE COMMENCEMENT OF TRAINING BY TEACHING THE ALPHABET AND WRITING HAMPERS THE INTELLECTUAL GROWTH OF THE PUPILS. HE PROPOSES ON THE OTHER HAND TO TEACH THE ALPHABET WHEN THE PUPILS ACQUIRE ELEMENTARY KNOWLEDGE OF HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY AND THE ART OF SPINNING. THROUGH THESE THEIR INTELLIGENCE SHOULD BE DEVELOPED. THE TEACHER HAS TO HANDLE CORRELATION CAREFULLY AND PRECISELY.
HE HAS ALSO TO ENABLE LEARNING BY CHILDREN TO BE AN EXPIATING AND JOYFUL PROCESS BY HANDLING CORRELATION ALSO AS AN ARTIST.
