I read and re-read the new National Education Policy, much has been said and discussed about this. Something was nagging me, vexing me and then, I read this.
“I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him”.
The source of my angst became instantly clear to me.
The NEP has articulated the principles that the education system must be built on – a holistic education that is equitable, that is locally relevant and uses technology and places the teachers at the centre of the process. These principles are as self-evident as they are not new. Further the NEP seeks to include a part of childhood hitherto left out of school education, namely the Early childhood years, from 2- 8 years. The structure it proposes seems to follow logically from the stated objectives. At every stage the child is to be prepared for the next level. The adults – teachers and caregivers – will be trained in all the techniques needed for this. And the system will be adequately resourced for this. So, what is the seed of unrest in me due to?
The discomfort in me was not due to what the NEP has articulated but on what it has remained silent on. About creating a school environment that is not determined by hierarchy between the teacher and student. On nurturing a learning process that is supported by a trusting and respectful relationship between the participants. On the fundamental principles that govern our structure of society and its institutions. On the implicit acceptance of the current, exploitative principles of societal organization. On the automatic role that education is being asked to perform in the organization of such a society.
Education needs to originate from the local for it to be truly empowering and emancipatory. For education to liberate, the processes must create original minds, capable of thinking, questioning and exploring, fearlessly. It is not to be exclusively focused on delivering an end product of an individual who can contribute productively, but rather be a process of unfolding and flowering. The NEP is correct in its assertion that the teacher is the central element of a reformed education; but a teacher who is concerned with the society as a whole, the ecology that we are a part of and the relationships that all of us are embedded in. Literacy and numeracy and functional excellence are essential and will emerge quite naturally from this process.
The curriculum must concern itself with questions of equity – not merely in terms of opportunities and implements for learning – but from the very fundamental questions of what constitutes learning, what societal requirements are allowed to be articulated for education, what skills are deemed necessary and the relative value of these skills. Students should become aware of questions of equitable access to resources and opportunities, meaningful livelihoods and diverse knowledge systems. School education should build in children an, original mind, capable of reflecting and discerning the right action, preparing them to live a life of harmony within and with the world. In the absence of such an overarching purpose, a mere stringing together of arts and crafts and arithmetic and sciences will remain just that – an assortment of different skills.
Education is not a mere instrumentality for a productive society; the teacher is not a technician to function in “a light but tight” regulatory framework. What is needed is a very different kind of preparation of the teacher – beyond providing tools to build numeracy and literacy, beyond the mechanics of teaching a craft. It is imperative that we reclaim the intellectual autonomy for the teachers in creating meaningful, culturally responsive and affirming learning experiences for the students. Let the teachers demonstrate the the potential and necessity of the normative project of education.
If we are to produce a truly equitable society, with opportunities for all, let Gandhi’s talisman be the point where we start.