________________
PERILS OF INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
Anil Dutta Mishra
Swami Vivekananda while explaining the universal significance of education, once said, "The Jucation which does not help the common mass to equip themselves for the struggle of life, which does not bring out strength of character, spirit of philanthropy, and the courage of a lionis it worth the name ?" No society attains prosperity unless it is managed by the people of high moral character. There is an inevitable relationship between perfect education and character building Infact both are the two wheels of the educational chariot.
Education and values are closely related and the prosperity and progress of a mankind rests on these pivots. If these are removed the society falls flat and people became distractive. Burke rightly remarked; education is the chief defence of the nation." While Henery Peter remarked : education makes people easy to led, but difficult to drive, easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.”
The French Sociologist, Emile Durkheim, 1 saw the majour function of society's norms and values. He maintained that, Society can survive only if there exists among its members a sufficient degree of homogenity; education perpetuates and reniforces this homogenity by fixing in the child from the beginning the essential similarlities which collective life demands.” Without these 'essential similarities', cooperation, and social solidarity, social life itself would be impossible. A vital task for all societies is the welding of a mass individual into a united whole, in other words, the creation of social solidarity
Education system in India, is a product of British cultural imperialism. It has been equated to merely acquiring academic qualifications. Education has been confused with literacy. That is why it has lost its utility. There is a class dimension of Indian education pattern which cannot be undermined so easily. According to Dr. Prem Kripala "Between the class education and masses education we have neglected the masses, especially the needs of rural areas. Between the education of children and the education of the adults we have favoured the children of the well-to-do families Between those who can afford fulltime education and the working population, India
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
