“Educating the
mind without educating the heart is no education at all” - Aristotle
Destiny of a nation is shaped in her classrooms. One child, one teacher,
one book, one pen has the power to transform the whole world. The importance of
education can nicely be expressed by the lines “A pen is mightier than the
sword.” It is beyond doubt that all the individuals, societies, institutions, governments
throughout the world have realized the importance of education. But if we see
it from a different perspective then we would realize that education alone
itself can’t make this world a perfect place. If it alone could then, “Why the
present world is not free of problems?” “Why still there is social unrest
leading to violence?” “Why are we still experiencing miseries in day to day
life?” “Why despite having everything we lack prosperity and wisdom?” The
answer lies in the importance of “values”. Education without values is just
like producing machine/robots and not humans. It makes no sense if we gather
knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. Therefore, value education is
necessary so that the civilization that teaches us to manage complexities can
be sustained and further developed.
Malala Yousafzai was an ordinary school student when Taliban attacked
her for propagating education among children (especially among girls). What
made her to raise voice against that injustice was value system inculcated to
her by parents and teachers.
What Education without
values would be?
A knife in the hands of a doctor can save many lives but the same knife in
the hands of a murderer becomes a source of destruction. Education without
values would create world of - Politics without Principle, Religion without
Sacrifice, Science without Humanity, Business without Morality, Knowledge
without Character, Pleasure without Conscience and Wealth without Work!
In this era of a “knowledge explosion” which has engulfed the
present-day education system, the primary goal of education for improving the
quality of life has been lost sight of. The present education system presses students
hard to master vast content areas without providing them opportunity to
introspect how that content/knowledge can be put to best of use.
When students cheat during exams it’s because our school system values grades more than student’s value learning. Our present education system is producing good engineers, doctors, lawyers, leaders but not good humans/thinkers/philosophers. This clearly signifies the lack of values in our present education system.
Why need for adherence to values
in Education?
Bookish education mere provides us knowledge but it is the value system
that teaches us how to utilize it – For or against the mankind! Discovery of Atom
Bomb and Penicillin are both products of knowledge but it is the values which
differentiate their inventors. It is the same value system that differentiates
between Gandhi and Hitler (despite both of them being intellectual). Gandhi is
respected world over for propagation of truth and non-violence whereas Hitler
finds his place as “devil” in the pages of history books.
There are several problems plaguing the whole world. Corruption has spread its roots
everywhere and almost every section of the society is affected by it. Scholars
have researched intensively but are unable to come out with a universally
accepted solution. Hence, now majority are of the view that this evil can only
be encountered by value education. As former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
rightly said “If a country is to be corruption
free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three
key societal members who can make a difference – the father, the mother and the
teacher." In other worlds he is directly emphasizing on value
education to children through teachers and parents.
According to Global Risk Report, one major risk world is facing at
present times is Religious/Ideological
Extremism. Whole world is sitting on the brink of religious civil wars
because of hatred and intolerance towards different religious ideologies. Our
country also had witnessed riots. Every day in newspapers we read about youth world over joining ISIS, Al Qaeda –This
is because youth today is becoming Impatient and wants immediate results which
weakens his rational thinking to differentiate between right and wrong. Hence
there is need to strengthen their value system to make them more tolerant and
secular.
Income Inequality could be reduced if ‘business’ is replaced
by ‘business with ethics’ and the necessary values must be inculcated into the
graduates – Doctors, Engineers, MBA scholars, Lawyers who will shape future of
our nation so that they consider it their duty and not mere ‘profession’.
Sexual
Abuse – What urges a
juvenile to rape an innocent girl puts a big question mark on our ability to
inculcate values in our children. Not only the individual who raped but society
as a whole is responsible for these kinds of heinous acts because values were
lacking in that juvenile.
Drug
Abuse Problem – Major
problem in state of Punjab. We can open innumerable Rehabilitation centers but
they only serve as a ‘cure’ and that too with very low success rate. The best ‘prevention’
strategy in this regard will be to engage youth in value education.
Development of biotechnology and bio-informatics has on the one hand, increased agricultural production, better medical facilities, some environmental gains, but has also created problems of ‘gene cloning’ and ‘surrogate motherhood’, raising complex ethical issues. If we neglect to make connection between basic ethics and technological progress, we would be ushering in an era of barbarism with a human face.
Remember, education is better safeguard of liberty than a strong army; it is a better tool for women empowerment than mere government schemes; it is an effective tool that can better safeguards human rights rather than conventions, declarations etc which merely exist on paper.
Framework
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Recourse Development in
its Eighty First Report on Value based Education (1999) highlighted that Truth
(Satya), Righteous Conduct (Dharma), Peace (Shanti), Love (Prema), and
Non-violence (Ahimsa) as the core universal values which needed to be
identified as the foundation stone on which the value based education programme
can be build up. United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a
specialized body of UN for propagating education has also realized the
importance of values in education.
Value education must begin right from the family and must be continued
in schools. The family system in India has a long tradition of imparting value
education. But with the progress of modernity and fast changing role of the
parents it has not been very easy for the parents to impart relevant values in
their wards. Also schools and universities today run on profit motive
considering imparting education as mere business and not a duty. Hence a
holistic and multi-pronged approach may be adopted starting from informal
education by birth itself and then continuing it in schools and University
level. First and foremost need is to rejuvenate the family system of imparting
value education to child. Ethical and moral values must be included in school
curriculum. School must strive to provide ‘Gurukul’ like culture to students
(Teachers can prove to be a vital link for this as a good teacher teaches from
heart and not from the books). Emphasis must be put on Human Rights Education
in Universities by introducing research and documentation courses at graduate
and post graduate levels. Values of empathy, compassion, secularism,
inclusiveness and pluralism must be highlighted to fulfill ideals of justice,
equity, freedom, democracy and human rights. Philosophies of great reformers and
thinkers must be taught and healthy discussions/debates must be held. In this
regard Swami Vivekananda philosophy of
‘not I but thou’, meaning you are a
part of me and I of you, in hurting
you I hurt myself and in helping you I help myself can be of immense
importance. Focus must be on broad values such
as cultural, universal, personal and social values. Even there is need to inculcate Environmental values to avoid instances
of deforestation, global warming, water and air pollution. The concept of our
planet as ‘mother earth’ must be reviewed by introducing environmental values
in curriculum.
We must keep in mind that it is the value system that could prepare the
younger generation to become responsible citizens who finally would contribute
to the welfare of society and to the advancement of human race. True values
would be inculcated when we would be able to produce more and more ‘eklavyas’
in our class rooms who just like him (sliced off
his thumb without hesitation and offered it to Drona as guru dakshina’)
would devote themselves for the development of nation and betterment of mankind/society
as a whole.
