Over the years India has constantly focused on education and believed that social development can never be achieved without education being an integral part of Indians. However, we failed to draw the real meaning of Education and also to a great extent failed in terms of preserving our culture and values. India has taken pride that academic standards of our educational system are far more advance and progressive as compared to many other developing and even developed countries. However, we are still lacking behind them in terms of experiences to focus on independent study, creativity and objective approach. Education in India is trapped in a concept which we often address as ‘earning bread and butter’. We have a result oriented system, where growth of students are mostly evaluated with aid of numbers scored over the exam; interestingly no format has been yet structured to evaluate understanding and judgmental skills of the students. The confused young Indian minds need help in developing their own values system. Hence, special emphasis should be given on Value Based Education and realization of the same.
Education is not an accessory to life but it is a necessity and it is a key to lead a better and satisfied life. Real meaning of education is far beyond our annual performance sheet; education in true sense is all about being a better person with each passing day. Education gives us this very knowledge, the most supreme knowledge of knowing oneself, which helps us to make our life better and purposeful. Interestingly our ancient educational system was based on values. Our history speaks of Education as ‘Vidya’, it is the light that enhances full potential of an individual, gift him/her with better understanding of their nature and sense to judge situations and their outcome of their own actions, a mindset to judge what’s right and what’s wrong for the society and environment they are a part of. In the olden days, ‘Vidya’ had two sub divisions, one was “Baahya Vidya” and another was “Brahma Vidya”. First one provided the adequate skills for earning livelihood and second one, lays down the path which leads to both joy in worldly relations and bliss in the life beyond. This Vidya was basically concern with morale and values essential for a healthy society, it is thus considered superior to all other Vidyas. This created an imbalance between academic knowledge and values, which with time and technological development we started focusing more on academics and got trapped in a system of marks, numbers and scores. And the concept of Value Based Education is gradually depleting and as a result today we are in a society where terrorism is the latest religion, where most of the time daily news papers furnish us with updates on increase in percentage of teenage pregnancy cases, student prostitution, suicide cases due to academic pressures, murders and this list will certainly go on and on.
But the question here is – Do we deserve to live this pressure cooked life? If no, then where is the way out? As respond to these basic questions of survival, educationalist over India soon realized importance of Value Based Education and introduced the subject ‘Morale Science’. Now, in school we do have a subject called Morale Science, however teachers, parents as well as students consider it as a subject which one just have to pass. I still remember, when I was a kid one of my friend said that her favorite subject is Morale Science and the next question our teacher asked is – Do you want to be a priest once you grow up? If not, then better focus on Math and Science. Sadly this is the story of every Morale Science lover. Now all we do is mug up CBSE book, and vomit it out over the answer sheet in the examination hall. Today’s education is sopping in textual scholarships, it deals more with concepts and conjectures, constantly forgetting the values and materialism is prevailing in the society.
Today education is brought and it is a calculated investment with high rate of interest. The girls are still deprived from education as people hardly expect them to earn as long as such thoughts continue there is no hope of discovering the true knowing the true value of education. A holistic approach to students' education is needed, one that provides complete learning of mind and body through critical educational thinking and innovative approaches.
There has been a lapse in our value system which the educational institutes should inculcate in a student. The need of the hour is to follow a balanced approach towards students’ academic career, which will bring in true value to their life and make them better contributor to our society and world at large.
Today education is brought and it is a calculated investment with high rate of interest. The girls are still deprived from education as people hardly expect them to earn as long as such thoughts continue there is no hope of discovering the true knowing the true value of education. A holistic approach to students' education is needed, one that provides complete learning of mind and body through critical educational thinking and innovative approaches.
At last, I would just like to say that - Value Based Education guradevelop a steadfast citizen but education all alone, without values might lead to a Chemical Engineer who is devoting his energy and time on concocting bombs for the coming up terror attacks. In simple words Education without Value is dangerous to society.
