Any nation’s teaching system is always inspired and influenced by its ideology, which is inspired by its cultural heritage. Culture is built up by the interworking of different aspects of society. As the social values change, the cultural values, parameters, and patterns also keep growing with it. Due to this effect, the ancient Indian society has turned into a contemporary one. Many values have deteriorated and we are establishing new ones at the same time. At this point, is it very important to contemplate the relevance of old teaching methods?
India has always been a land of riches. Richness not only in the material form but also in spirituality, tradition, knowledge, and ethics. We can say that Indian heritage and its patterns of imparting education had a distinct quality. It mainly focused on the overall growth of an individual.
Under this tradition, the youth from different social backgrounds of the society had to live and learn with the monks and saints. These places were called “Gurukuls,” which were situated in natural surroundings and helped students to be in the lap of Mother Nature with the practical imposition of knowledge. Takshshila and Nalanda were two of the most famous gurukuls of ancient India.
Through these methods of training and learning, India has created some of the greatest kings, leaders, and reformers. These “Gurukuls” united the divided and imparted knowledge to all the levels of society indiscriminately. These saints taught and treated these students as their children and led them to be responsible in all genres of life. These students were trained to be morally rich, which gave them truthfulness, honesty, kindness, compassion, and religion while developing their character.
The contemporary education system and ancient education systems are very different. Contemporary education has contributed a lot in terms of the development of the economy, technological advancement, the best of the medical facilities, instruments, etc. Indian students have made their name across the globe.
Looking at the other side of the coin, we encounter a bitter truth. The contemporary education system has turned learners into trainees. As a result of this, the educational organizations and teachers have turned into service providers and students as customers. Educational institutions have indiscipline, immorality, weak character, desperateness, and misbehavior.
We can be proud of the developments that this new era students have brought in, but the affectionate learning that the teachers used to give is missing. Society has developed market-based education. There is much necessity to inculcate and accept the ancient educational aim in the contemporary education system. There can be coordination developed between these two to gain a perfect education system for Indian society. The need for the hour is to develop a kind of system where students, teachers, and institutions will work together in the direction of the holistic development of the new generation.
Author
Miti Bhandari Dhupia
Masters of Arts (English Literature), Bachelors of Arts (Economics, English Literature, Home Sciences). The last ten years she has been working as an Assistant Professor in Metas Adventist College, Surat, India.