NATIONAL GOALS AND THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER (1 & 2)*
Introduction 2.01 India seeks today a relevant education. Behind her lies her ancient but living culture, her tireless quest for knowledge in all fields of thought and human endeavour and the proud record of her industrial and technological achievements of the past four decades. Before her man the vast and challenging unknown frontiers of the future. The explorations in science and technology would make available yet greater possibilities which would add new dimensions to the quality of life and living; but if misused, it holds the threat of destroying not merely the quality of life, but life itself. It is to this future that the children entering life are born. It brings to the nation a sober realisation of its immense responsibility to prepare her children for the demanding tasks of tomorrow.
2.02 Education has always been linked with society. It has both a personal and a social dimension, and like the two sides of the same coin, they are Inseparable. Accordingly, the goals and priorities of the nation must necessarily be reflected in the objectives of the teaching profession and of the teacher, since these are intrinsically and casually linked. For the same reason, as the priorities and thrusts of a nation undergo a certain amount of change from time to time, so must educational priorities and objectives, to enable education to retain its currency and relevance. Hence we have given the report the title The Teacher and Society.
National Goals and Priorities 2.03 National goals must derive from and be consistent with the vision and ideals of our people as enshrined in our Constitution.
The preamble to the Constitution of India is :
"WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens :
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual' and the unity and integrity of the Nation."
2.04 The national goals must also be responsive to the major socio-economic challenges of our times. In that context, we have identified the following four national goals as having critical urgency for the wellbeing of our people. We also recognise education to be a powerful instrument for the attainment of these goals. The goals are ;
(i) A United Secular India
(ii) A Modern Nation
(iii) A Productive People
(iv) A Humane and Caring Society
Education Today 2.05 To provide basic educational facilities and reach, as rapidly as possible, the goal or education for all was indeed a political imperative in a socialist democracy. We give below the main facts of the educational development in our country from 1950-51 to 1984-85.
2.06 Educational Development from 1950-51 to 1984-85
Year
Item 1950-51 1960-61 1970-71 1980-81 1984-85
(Actual) (Actual) (Actual) (Actual) (Actual)
A. INSTITUTIONS (Number)
(i) Primary 2,09,671 3,30,399 4,08,378 4,85,538 5,50,000*
(ii) Middle 13,596 49,633 90,621 1,16,447 1,40,000*
222 Deptt of Edu/ND/85
NATIONAL GOALS AND THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER 5
Year
Item 1950-51 1960-61 1970-71 1980-81 1984-85
(Actual) (Actual) (Actual) (Actual) (Actual)
(iii) High/Higher Secondary 7,288 17,257 36,738 51,592 60,000*
(iv) Colleges
(a) Art, Science and
Commerce 548 1,161 2,587 3,393 3,500*
(b) Professional 147 381 1,017 1,382 1,500*
(c) Universities &
Institutions
deemed to be Univer-
sities 28 44 93 123 135
3. ENROLMENT BY STAGE
(i) Primary (I-V
Classes) 19,155 34,994 57,045 2,688 84,766
(2.6) (62.4) (76.4) (83.1) (Targets)
(ii) Middle (I-VIII
Classes) 3,120 6,705 13,315 19,846 27,383
(12.7) (22.5) (34.2) (40.0) (51.9)
(iii) High/Higher
Secondary/
Intermediate 1,481 3,483 7,167 11,281 13,490*
(iv) University and above
(1st degree) 174 557 1,956 2,752 3,442*
C. EXPENDITURE (Rs. in crores)
Total 114 344 1,118 3,746 6,000*
Plan 20 90 115 520 800*
Non-Plan 94 254 1,033 3,226 5,200
* Estimates
Sources :
(i) For school education and expenditure-Ministry of Education and Planning Commission.
(ii) For Higher Education, University Grants Commission Reports, Figures in parenthesis indicate gross Enrolment ratios.
2.07 The table given above speaks eloquently about the tremendous gains in, the expansion of education since independence. As a result, basic facilities and resources, both human and material, have been provided for the education of over 130 million students a monumental achievement in educational history. And yet, we must record, with dismay, that the beneficiaries of this vast system constitute but a small minority. The majority of the students, to mention one of the many failures of the system, drop out even before the rudiments of literacy have had an opportunity to take. root in them. It is estimated that about 60% of the students enrolled drop out in the very first year. Small wonder, therefore, that in the "Approach to the Seventh Five Year Plan", we are told in unmistakable terms that :
"The existing education system is widely felt, in its contents and processes, to be dysfunctional to the requirements of our country, and in need of radical changes. Mere expansion of existing structures, models, methodologies and institutions will not best serve the country's needs. Educational reforms and renovations, aimed at introducing and reinforcing new patterns and design of education that are flexible and varying, relevant and linked to widely diverse local culture and social environments, will have to be taken in hand. The emphasis should be on innovation, on low cost alternatives and social involvement. all aimed at linking education effectively to the needs of the people, to employment, and to development. The reforms should aim at continuous improvement of standards at all levels. and even more importantly at greater equity."
The education that is provided today has not proved relevant to meet the national goals listed above. We examine briefly the meaning and dimensions of these goals.
A United' Secular India 2.08 The urgency for national unity can hardly be over- emphasised, since stresses and tensions have appeared in the body politic, threatening to dismember it. In many minds and hearts the question that arises is "will this country endure ?".
2.09 What divides Indians ? The multiplicity of developed languages has enriched our national culture. However, the political division of the country on a purely linguistic basis does not seem to have been an unmixed blessing as it has! definitely given rise to centrifugal tendencies in our national life. Caste, though abolished by the Constitution, remains very much a part of everyday reality. This is so not merely in the rural areas, considered backward, but even in the most developed parts of the country. Nor has the influence of religion been entirely constructive. We have witnessed, in recent years, major upheavals that were sparked off by the violence of one religious
6 THE TEACHER AND SOCIETY
community on another. While no religion preaches violence, in practice it has not prevented its adherents from resorting to killing with impunity. The mixing of politics with religion has further compounded the situation. Besides there are vast social and economic disparities among the people. There is at one end the tremendous affluence enjoyed by a relatively small minority while abject poverty and deprivation continue to be the unmitigated lot of a sizeable majority. Even today countless millions of our very young children go to bed hungry and without hope. What is more, acute malnutrition causes permanent brain damage to thousands keeping them sub-normal for the rest of their lives.
2.10 At this point of our history the most urgent need is to develop a national spirit and a national identity without which there can be no national unity. Indians today have become the smallest minority in their own country, while each linguistic, regional and religious group counts its own numbers separately. The one most important political task before the nation is to bring together these separate groups and hold them into single people. Just as a world without borders would be the aim of the international community of Man, so an Indian without emotional barriers between States, groups and religions should be our national goal.
2.11 We are convinced, that unless the contemporary national and political preoccupations of our people shift from regional and communal loyalities and are re-directed to the sustained pursuit of the integrity and unity of India, it would be futile to expect the national education system to go it alone in accomplishing this nation- building task. The mood of the nation is one of the jubilant expectation. Education can become a major force for national integra- tion if it is asked to support the political determination of our leaders to pursue single-mindedly this goal.
A Modern Nation 2.12 Several years ago, the Chairman of the Indian Oil Corporation made this significant remark: "Oil is found in the, mind of man". What he meant was that unless man applies himself, has energies, his enterprise and his creativity to face a situation, explore the dimensions of a problem and make possible what appears impossible at first sight, Many of the achievements and miracles of today would have remained visionary dreams. Essentially modernisation means giving primacy to reason, an openness and flexibility of mind and an ability to fashion life and environment and not surrender to unknown forces.
2.13 Thanks to science, We have today, in many areas, a firm understanding of the way nature works and have been able to do away with the myths and blind beliefs that held away earlier. This scientific temper and spirit must permeate the life of all our people. We have many bright spots of modernity in India. Witness the atomic reactors, designed and built by Indians, and the many outstanding achievements in agriculture, industry, communication, air and space travel etc., or witness the coming of the computer era affecting every walk of life.
2.14 Today's society and even more startlingly, tomorrow's will be driven on the wheels of knowledge. Science and its executive instrument, technology, have discovered vast area of new knowledge and applications literary revolutionising all aspects of human life. In the emerging society, the present unskilled or semiskilled labour- intensive jobs will give way to jobs that demand scientific and technical skills of a high order. We will require men and women and can apply their knowledge and the competencies to concrete situations. New machines, new processes and more complex organisations and styles of management will demand the possession of appropriate and updated skills, approaches and attitudes. The modernising of India is possible only when these skills are developed and used effectively.
2.15 But we are also aware of large patches of what is medieval, feudal and primitive. Whether it is sowing or reaping, whether it pertains to the production of an item in a factory or the way the numerous activities and processes are organised in an office or a home, the choice has got to be made between staying traditional or going in for a better and more appropriate technology. That we have been lagging behind in the matter of modernisation is clear from the simple fact that, in spite of the great advances made over the last four decades, we are still not able to provide food, clothing, shelter, education and a minimum of recreation and leisure to most of our people. Our output, whether in agriculture, or in industry, while high compared to our past performances, is still low by international standards. In a world that is being revolutionised by the advances of communication technology modernisation becomes an imperative for our people whether to meet the demands of social justice and equity or to enable India, as a nation, to take its rightful place in the comity of Nations.
A Productive People 2.16 Most of us, if not all. have experienced the widespread dissatisfaction of our people with what is
NATIONAL GOALS AND THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER 7
happening in India and even more so with what is not happening but which ought to happen. We are aware of the lack of 'quality' in most of our products which results in a desire to possess things made abroad. As a people, we seem to have accepted an attitude that is well reflected in our languages, like chalega in Hindi or ki pharak painda hai in Punjabi or similar expressions in other languages, indicating our willingness to make do with mediocrity. We forget that great progress whenever it has occurred in a civilisation has been the outcome of sustained hard work and discipline. backed up by the right attitudes and mind-sets to be thorough, to maintain high standards and to shun mediocrity. It has called for willingness to stretch to the utmost one's powers of mind and body. Discipline is inner order of the highest quality. It is the capacity to apply one's mind and energies totally to the task at hand. It means consciousness of time, commitment to targets and deadlines and intolerance of shoddiness. We like to complain bitterly, especially if we are in positions of authority, about the growing indiscipline of the younger generation though, in not a few instances, the model that youth would like to respecting nation, we must develop a work ethic, and see is totally missing. If we wish to survive as a self-aim at efficiency, namely doing things right and effectiveness, namely doing the right things. India has made a mark in the world of talented manpower. We produce them in such numbers and quality that they have made distinctive contributions in other countries. But we find, that within the country we have become a mediocre people.
A Human and Caring Society 2.17 The phenomenal developments in science and technology pose a critical challenge to man. Science has been the most significant achievement in the history of man. But science, not tempered by the spirit of humanism, has brutalised man; the rich and the powerful nations to bully the weak, to divide the earth, its resources and its bounty between a small minority of the haves and a vast majority of havenots. India mirrors the world scene. Even today basic human conditions of living, like food, clothing, shelter and education are teasing illusions for the majority of our people.
2.18 There is the deep and genuine compassion of our Constitution that is unique in its prescription to care for the disadvantaged sections of society and to restore to them equality of status, and opportunity. Narrow considerations of self-interest prevent us from extending our concern to women and children, to the weak and the aged and to the stranger. This is in contrast with the established human and humane traditions of our culture.
2.19 India's view of fellowman was not restricted to kith and kin, tribes and neighbours alone but enclosed within its fold the whole family of man. In fact, today this interdependence not only between the peoples of our country but between the families of nations is recognised as essential for establishing international understanding leading to lasting peace. Recall the beautiful words of the Yajur Veda (XXXVI. 1.8), which sound so fresh and current today; "May all beings look on me with the eye of a friend : may I look on all beings with the eye of a friend".
2.20 Caring for people is necessary. However, caring for nature and environment is equally important. In India man had lived in harmony with nature in a sense of communion that is singular. But today pollution and the undiscerning destruction of the environment has upset many of the delicate balances between man and nature. While man threatens nature, the greater threat is posed by man to himself. Using the forces of science, man can destroy nature or grossly mutilate it but that will also be an act of suicide. Hence, the nation is committed to environmental protection and conservation so that once again the balances are preserved, the cycles remain unbroken and man re-establishes his kinship with nature. The Atharva Veda (XII. 1.1) expresses this poignantly "Truth, External Order and Dedication : these uphold the earth. The home of cattle, horses, birds may she give us lustre... whatever I dig from thee, may it be speedily regenerated O, Purifier, may we not injure thy heart. Earth, my mother, set me securely with bliss in full accord with Heaven".
The Role of the Teacher 2.21 For the proper fulfilment of the national goals mentioned above and for their Proper fulfilment of which education must mediate, the teacher's role assumes great significance. Today the average teacher's Perception of his role and responsibility is, far too limited and is concerned with his own immediate tasks, namely the teaching of the 3 Rs. and later covering the subject matter prescribed for the examinations. The teacher must actively and feelingly associate himself, as an essential and responsible partner, in the great tasks which face the nation. If the four national goals were to become the actual motive force and the ideals that every man, woman and child in our land would live by the teacher must intervene in a big way. The formation of character, a character evolved in response to the national goals, would constitute his
8 THE TEACHER AND SOCIETY
primary task. He will indeed prepare students for examinations. and open to them the world of knowledge. But these will count for little unless he has helped them become persons of character. There is the personal aspect of character-building to develop qualities like honesty and integrity and there is the social aspect which defines national character. Such a character identification must not be based on cultural and religious traditions of any one group but must find acceptance by all sections of the people.