Gandhi’s Concept on Education and Its Relevancein the Present DayV.N. Rajashekharan Pillai
The Purpose of EducationI

have been involved in the university system for more than 30 years. I
used to interact with a large number of under-graduate students in thecolleges and universities. I used to go to the colleges and universities toaddress students as a Vice Chancellor. Society has always been criticizing and doubting the purpose of education. What is the purpose of education in society? Dr. Radhakrishnan in his address today discussed therelevance of Gandhism and Buddhism in the cyber age. I used to talk in
my lectures about the dehumanizing and alienating aspects of education.
I used to tell students, particularly high-school and college-age students,
about the dehumanizing aspect of the established types of education
being offered.
In my lectures, I used to give an example of a highly educated brotherand his almost illiterate brother. When something unpleasant happens,such as a fire or a bus accident, in the immediate vicinity of this illiterate
brother and the highly sophisticated and educated brother, the moment
the illiterate brother hears about this accident, he will run to that place
as a sort of reflex action. The educated brother, he will ponder the situation and remark, “I will not go at any cost.” He will even try to prevent
his illiterate brother from going to that place and offering help to thevictim. He will say, “Don’t go there as there will be problems.” The educated brother probably will not go to that place: He will wait to find out
what happened the next day: Probably he will send a condolence message to the family of victim, or if he is one of the highly educated andsophisticated types of people, he will send a condolence message
through the newspapers. That is an example of the type of education weare offering. Today, I will concentrate my remarks on Gandhi’s views on
education, with particular reference to India, and I will touch on some
aspects of the Buddhist view on education.
This alienation, this dehumanization aspect of the established types ofeducation is happening in India because we do not understand Gandhi’sviews on education. Dr. Radhakrishnan has also made passing remarks
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GANDHI’S CONCEPT ON EDUCATIONon the tension being created among the educated youth because of theestablished types of education and the over domination of science andtechnology. It is not the over domination of science, but it is probably
the misinterpretation of science and technology that is the underlying
cause for much of the tension.
We have heard about several of the educational reports contained in
the UNESCO Report on Education that examines the different types oftension that are being created in educated individuals. The tension thatexists between tradition and modernity is a very significant tension. Thistension between tradition and modernity is not a new thing. Right fromthe start of the industrial revolution, this tension between tradition andmodernity has been there. Not only in education, but also in the Arts,
Literature, and our day-to-day dress, these tensions exist. Then there is
the tension between materialism and spirituality, or you can call it thetension between science and religion. There is also a tension in the areaof development, for example our view about long-term development andour short-term requirements. There is a feeling that science and technology can solve our problems immediately, and naturally, we resort toimmediate, short-term solutions, neglecting the long-term views on
development, thus, naturally causing concern in realms of the environment, ecology, and other areas.
If modern education is creating tension between these areas of concern, we definitely need to build consensus because of the way in which
education is imparted. When people ask me about the purpose of education, or to define education, I refer to what Mahatma Gandhi said several
decades ago. He said, “... education for life, education through life, andeducation throughout life.”
Gandhi’s Views on Education
These were the words he used. When I was working in the university inKerala and I saw the different types of disturbances occurring on campuses. I used to say that literally we have taken life out of education.
Everybody is doubting the purpose of education. Education is for life,life in its entirety and then education through life. This is not happening
at all today. Education is only being provided through our so-called lectures and in the laboratory. Education throughout life is not happening atall. Of course, we are trying to supplement this education by using artificial means. Education throughout life: As teachers, we can say that once
we get the qualifications, once we get our degree, we stop our educationand do away with further study. I think nowadays we have several different types of education, whatever adjective we put before the word edu-

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73cation, it is a different discipline altogether. This definition of Mahatma
Gandhi would comprise everything that can be conceived under education. Education for life, education through life, and education throughout life. That the concept of life has been taken away from education isprecisely the reason for the dehumanizing, alienating aspect of education.
I used to say that literally lives are taken away from the campuses
because of the physical clashes among the members of the student body.
This is happening in India. Hence, when we give life in its entirety as
part of education, Gandhiji’s views on education are realized, and thisact of instilling life into the education process is the solution for any
kind of educational development for this country. I have just mentioned
some random thoughts on his views of education and how these views
are relevant for any society, any country for that matter.
To bring about a change in society, which is really a stupendous task,
especially in a country where considerable disparities in income persist
and ignorance and illiteracy widen the gulf between the elite and themasses. In a developing society like India, each one adopted a planned
approach towards development, where education becomes a key agentof socio-economic reform. As the famous education commission of1964–66, the Radhakrishnan Commission, observed; “for achieving
change on a grand scale the only effective instrument is education. Education does initiate changes in social institutions and sub-systems, andthis affects the social situation of the country.”
Gandhi’s Scheme of Education
In the Gandhian constructive program, the most important element is‘Nai Talim,’ or the new education, which in the words of Acharya Kriplani, “... is the coping stone of Gandhi’s social and political edifice.”
Gandhiji regarded his scheme of education as spearheading the silent
social revolution and expected it to provide a healthy relationshipbetween the city and the village, which would go a long way in eradicating the poisoned relationship between the classes. This view wasaffirmed by various other scholars and thinkers in the field of education.
Zakir Hussain once commented on Gandhi’s views on education. He
wrote, “... Gandhi socially considered the introduction of such practicalproductive work in education to be participated in by all.” The childrenof the nation will tend to break down the existing barriers of prejudice
between manual and intellectual workers and harmful elites to both.
Such is the social significance of the so-called new educational conceptof Gandhi, but it does not entail any sacrifice of the individual goal of

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education or its social goal. Gandhiji had said, “by education, I mean an
overall all around drawing out of the best in child and man, in body,mind, and spirit.” This concept of education serves both goals at thesame time. The application of Gandhi’s concept of education was firstsuggested for children between the ages of 7 and 14. This is called basic
education. This was later on extended to all the stages. Gandhi felt thatit should include the education of everybody, at every stage of life;
including the university stage. The Sarvodaya thinkers accepted thewhole idea underlying the new educational concept of Gandhi, including
its social and individual aims.
Gandhi laid the foundation of a scheme of national education that wassuited to our needs, requirements, genius, and aspirations for the future.
It is left up to us to perfect it and extend it to cover the entire field ofeducation. In this process, adjustment and adaptation may be necessary,
but these actions must be undertaken in the spirit of the total philosophyof Gandhi, that is, for the individual and the society. Whatever may be
its merits and demerits, we should not forget that education to Gandhi
meant inspiring the children with a new ideology based upon personal
purity and unselfish service, resulting in the creation of a society based
upon truth and love. This is precisely the Buddha’s concept also.
Basic education stands for a new outlook, a new approach. The fountainhead of all the conflicts in the world is that knowledge has been
separated from work. They have been separated in thoughts by a faulty
psychology. They have been separated in life by a faulty sociology. They
have been assigned different market values by faulty economics. One of
the basic principles of education is that work and knowledge mustnever be separated. Separation of learning from labor results in social
injustices. In dynamic societies, education has to equip individuals withthe skills and attitudes necessary for them to adapt to changing conditions, and for constructive participation in the task of social change. Thisis possible only through the adoption of a suitable educational system.
Gandhi believed that education should be intimately related withhuman experience, “... what better book can be there than the book ofhumanity?” he asked. The convergence of ideas and action was the key
note of his approach, which was national in scope, as he wanted to present an alternative to the system introduced by the British colonial system. He stressed that the educational system must be one in which thehighest development of mind and soul is possible and which instills
courage and self-reliance in the individual, while at the same time, helping them cultivate the highest intellectual scientific, moral, and ethicalaccomplishments. Gandhiji aimed at developing a society, “a socially

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conscious ‘man’ dedicated to truth and nonviolence.” His educational
scheme was nationalist in setting, idealist in nature and pragmatic on
one hand while social in purpose and spiritual in intent on the otherhand. It was also an essential instrument for materializing his dream of
Sarvodaya Samaj, in which the vertical and horizontal distance between
people is reduced to a minimum. Gandhi formulated his scheme of basic
education in the context of poverty, illiteracy, backwardness, frustration,and the degeneration of our masses, resulting from the disruption of traditional social institutions and the destruction of the small-scale cottage
industry.
He says that we must draw out the best in adult and child, as I mentioned earlier. This radical scheme was geared up, checking the progressive decay of our villages, reviving the village economy, laying thefoundations of a just social order, in which there is no unnatural division
between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ and everybody is assured ofachieving acceptable standards. The basic educational scheme was an
essential ingredient of Gandhi’s plan to eliminate the rural-urban divide
and redress the structural and socio-economic imbalances that wereabound in Indian society. Gandhi also addressed the issue of free education. By free education, Gandhi did not mean an education fully supported and subsidized by the state or other outside agencies. Instead, heimplied a system that had the maximum possible capacity of self-support from the people’s work experience, which is both an instrument ofeducation and a source of income. The Gandhian system was free inanother sense also: It did not regard formal, full-time schooling of thepupil as essential. He had very specific views about secondary and higher education. There is a feeling that Gandhi was against research, highereducation, etc.
He had very specific ideas about research, higher education and theaccumulation of knowledge. In Gandhi’s scheme, higher education performed the essential function of providing training and properly motivating human power for national needs and there was an urgent need forthe purposive expansion of such education. I would like to conclude
with a quote from Gandhi. He declared, “... under my scheme, there will
be more and better libraries, more and better research institutes. Under,
it we should have an army of chemists, engineers, and other experts whowill be the real servants of the nation and answer the varied and growing
requirements of the people who are becoming increasingly conscious of
their rights and wants.”
Several critics say that Gandhi was only concerned with primary andbasic education. This was not true. He had very specific views of higher

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GANDHI’S CONCEPT ON EDUCATIONeducation. Of course, I have a few more points to cover, which I willtake them up with you later during the discussion session.