EDUCATION OR KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER ?

I was stooping on the parapet in the balcony. It had been a rather bright day for the last day of June. The afternoon spell of rain had spread the fragrance of the wet earth. The rainbow in the clear blue sky was symbolizing hope. It was a feast for my eyes which was accustomed to the sight of concrete forest. The dusk was fast approaching and the boisterous kids had conquered the park which was adjoining my villa from the septuagenarians who were its otherwise predominant occupants. The kids were happily playing and enjoying the sunset which we rarely acknowledged as a miracle or a beautiful event worth watching. My mind traversed back in time and started savouring the reminiscent memories of my golden childhood. The days when we used to pray for a long day so that our play time could be extended beyond the stipulated duration. I remembered the way we used to sprint out from the class at the sound of the first gong of our school bell. I always used to be the first to be out of the class, thanks to my prestigious last bench status. We fought to come out first as if we will lose an Olympic otherwise. The days when I never slept without a bedtime story narration either by my mom or granny. I remembered the joy when we plucked a raw mango from my neighbour’s tree despite their repeated threats. Those were the golden days of my life. When I compared my childhood days with the present generation, I was in for a shock. There is no time for the kids to understand and enjoy the nature. They are devoid of bedtime stories. Team games are replaced by computer simulations. I was completely aware that the children were not to be blamed, but it was we who were responsible for such a blunder. I admire the innocence of the young minds devoid of greed, malice, vanity, egotism and lust for power which slowly and gradually percolates into theirs as well. Thanks to the otherwise responsible society. It is so heartening to see the once-innocent child indulge in malpractices and other misdeeds due to the external compulsion and bad influence. We were fortunate enough to get the moral science lessons right both at school and at home.
I am wonderstruck at the rate of reduction of age of mental maturity albeit the word needs to be redefined as the ability to understand the need to manipulate the truth according to the convenience of the self and the related. Gone are the times when we were punished severely for the utterance of the smallest of lies regardless of its consequence. I really vouch for that time tested system of ours. It really instills the importance and significance of such values and virtues in one’s life. No more is it considered wise to punish a kid for a wrongdoing. The motive behind the punishment has gone with the winds and so are the values. Education has lost its true purpose. It is reduced to a mere piling of inert facts in the brains of the fragile young minds and ensuring the same in the form of a terror called EXAMS. Teaching has become mere bread earning profession rather than a service to the mankind. There are no disciples of great gurus whose ideologies and principles were inspiring the young to tread the path of the noblemen. I pity the plight of kids who have grown up without listening to moral stories and words of the greats like Vivekananda who declared with virile and vigour that Courage and wisdom are the greatest virtues of man. I pity the plight of children when the word great people make them think about few billionaires who were in news recently. The importance of mother’s and grandmother’s wisdom transfer has been grossly neglected. Gone are the days when we were taught that the offenders of truth will be annihilated by God himself. It’s amazing to know the impact of such fable filled wisdom on the young and innocent. I strongly contend that the kind of holistic approach adopted by grandmothers to instill a sense of morality is not possible by any of the self acclaimed centers of excellence or international schools. An ideal Education must provide the opportunities for self fulfillment; it can at best provide a rich and challenging environment for the individual to explore, in his own way.

I am afraid that the present society and the system as a whole will envisage a wrong picture about the life and the world in the minds of the young. It is disturbing when I think of the world constituting only such people who are unaware of the glorious existence of some great souls who dedicated their lives for the elevation of the mankind. It is our duty to pass on the wisdom which was bestowed to us by our forefathers so that harmony can still hope to prevail in this cruel reality. If the tradition and culture of our land should be revived and kept alive, it should be carefully handed over from generation to generation so that the rich heritage is never lost. Considering the present state of matter, the day is not far when the whole process of education will be merely dubbed as Knowledge Transfer and a software is created to take care of one’s whole education. Thanks to the profound success of man in his endeavour to reduce his own interference.

“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence” - Tagore

RAO