Intro

There is a type of misconstrued notion that education is some kind of straightjacketed, formal transmission of information where adherence to man-made
structures is paramount. But, thats indeed furthest away from truth as it can be.
The reality is that education is ever changing, hotly contested, deeply personalized
and a politically a never ending issue. But, its imperative to understand the
different contexts through which the education has come up.
Philosophers View
Education according to John Dewey is the continuous reconstruction of experience
that prepares one for what is in store in future. He recommended thinking above
everything else to confront the external formulation and the unraveling of the past.
His idea was, to ensure that he creates a methodology which could ensure, that an
individual develops an organic connection with what the child has already seen or
felt and is not trapped by any rigid structure. Above all he was against any
education that transmits information in a ready-made manner, which he had warned
could only spike the number of dropouts and nosedive the motivation sharply.
However, Fromm had a very different take on how he wishes to look at education
with respect to society. He believed an individual has to grow up for the sake of an
integrated life. He gives importance to learning to love, develop reason, objective
world watching, developing a coherent sense of identity and through complete
command over his senses.
In the Indian context, education itself has a different meaning altogether. Its a
known fact that Indian education has always reckoned to be of classical and spiritual
rather than practical in nature. The love of education is always reckoned to have
been introduced very early and has had a ripple effect on the society. Thus, the
definitions itself have a different take of education altogether. The earliest definition
was given by G.K Gokhale who was very categorical in stating that an illiterate and
ignorant nation can never make any solid progress and must fall back in the race for
life. In this case he had advocated education to help get rid of back-breaking
poverty.
Gandhi, on the other hand advocated development of mind and body in close
proximity to one another to ensure that intellect is developed fully. The idea of
burdening an individual with useless information under the rote-based model, was
futile, which he in any case believed was dead-weight. He was adamant on practical
experience in a working environment to link with the knowledge. Ultimately, he
became a key proponent of aesthetic coupled with vocational education in addition
to attaining monetary independence and contributing to the economy side by side.

Tagore, Indias earliest Nobel laureate, laid emphasis upon becoming in touch with
complete life, economic, intellectual, aesthetic, social and spiritual. He insisted in
education becoming the heart of the society that forges bonds of varied
cooperations. More than anything else, he insisted on a child to develop an organic
connection with their surroundings.
The ideas of Sri Aurobindo were indeed gospels that could have revolutionized
Indian education completely. The three principles of nothing can be taught, allowing
mind to be consulted for growth and allowing an individual to develop in their own
chosen environment could have become gospel truth. Sadly, his principles were
ideologically sound but somehow not very specific.
One of the earliest Aurobindos disciple, Pavitra, who had contributed enormously in
post-independents first education commission called the Kothari commission, had
prophesized education having twofold benefits collective and individual aspect. He
emphasized upon healthy physical body, character building, master oneself and
realizing ones own abilities for the individual aspect. Also for a collective aspect,
one has to develop a harmonious relationship with society and does his own duty as
part of his obligation towards society.
But the educational philosopher who did fit the bill perfectly was Jiddu Krishnamurti
who laid the foundation for all future educational debates in India. In the process of
theorizing, he perpetually equated education to be equivalent of learning. The
argument which he created was that learning was not only a mere cultivation of
memory or accumulation of knowledge, rather it was the capacity to think clearly
and sanely without illusion and without any pre-fixed ideas.
However, contemporary political philosopher, Pratap Bhanu, advocated education to
be come under the headline of social mobility and economic advancement to
compete in the global knowledge economy. The argument is indeed not very far
from what Fareed Zakaria, a notable Indian-origin journalist, had sarcastically
mentioned of skills based education as the only path to a good career in India. But,
he somehow argued that the downward spiral of Indian education is completely
linked with the economy. His argument of 70s onwards surging inflation, slumping
economy and major nationalization drives were the major determinants impacting
the education sector was indeed hard to disagree with.
Conclusion
The contrasting directives show the depth of the problem through the lens of many
foreign and Indian thinkers. But thats not the only thing that mattered. The point is
who had a voice in the decision making after the formulation of the education policy
and to what ends they were pursued and why.

Its indeed very hard to disagree with anyone of the above. Possibly because
everyone is correct from their own point of view. But, the point is the Indian
education situation has become even worse than it was ever before. Ultimately,
learning outcome has become the biggest casualty in this din.
References
1.

Fromm Erich, Sane Society

2.

Dewey John, Child and Curriculum

3.

Dewey John, Democracy and Education

4.

Dewey John, Experience and Education

5.

Mehta Pratap Bhanu, Burden of Democracy

6.

Ghosh SC, History of Education in Modern India

7.

Harris Kevin, Aims of Education

8.

Pavitra PB, Aims and Education of Human Life

9.

Educational Practice and Philosophy

10.

A New Approach to Society: Sri Aurobindo Society

11.

11. Towards a New Education by MK Gandhi

12.

In defense of Liberal Education: Fareed Zakaria