The new horizons of holistic education

Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam, being organised at Banaras Hindu University from July 7-9 at Varanasi, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narenda Modi, provides a great opportunity for the academicians and intellectual leadership of the country to delve upon a wide variety of themes that determine the policy direction for implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) – 2020.

The themes of the Samagam well up from the National Education Policy, which range from Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education, Skill Development and Employability, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Capacity Building of Teachers for Quality Education, Quality Ranking and Accreditation, Digital Empowerment and Online Education, Equitable and Inclusive Education, Indian Knowledge System, and Internationalisation of Education.

The National Education Policy -2020 is embedded on the cultural heritage of the country to seek, to find and to explore, as laid down in clear terms in the ancient Indian texts. The frontiers of knowledge, which were always considered fluid by the ever-expanding vision and intellectual might of the ancient sages echoed in the universal seats of knowledge of ancient India, Vikramasila, Takshashila, Nalanda, and Vallabhi. The intuition of the learners and the inquisition of the teachers for exploring the new domains of knowledge are inspirational and the guiding force for the National Education Policy to stress on the Multidisciplinary and holistic education for the all round development of the learners.

It is apt to refer to the episode of Rishi Haridrumata Gautama and his disciple SatyakamaJabali in the ChandogyaUpanishad, which alerts us to the two respective keys to our times in terms of knowledge and practical life on the part of the learner and the teacher. The two key qualities that are innate to a learner are 'jigyasa' and 'aarjava', curiosity and honesty as they are called in English.

Similarly, a teacher was also equally ordained to have ingrained the love for knowledge and an open-mindedness in assessing the learner. Jabali's honest confession about his mother's conception of him and admits that he doesn't know who fathered him, touches Gautama's heart and admits him to be his disciple. This timeless story is true for any field of study. One of the most respected linguists in the world today, Prof Noam Chomsky, echoes this Upanishadic touchstone of curiosity and claims that it was, and is, the source of all learning and progress in science, or any other field for that matter. Therefore, learners should be asked to question and explore the world around them. They should not be told anything in an authoritative way, but introduced to knowledge through suggestions that need to be verified. The National Education Policy -2020 encapsulates these ideals and practices.

The Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam, with the convergence of great minds, espouses this profound ideal of the acquisition of knowledge. The spirit of knowledge lies in unwinding the paths of the unknown to see it as a means to explore further unknown. The emphasis on learning regional, national and foreign languages in the National Educational Policy -2020 is one of the major steps in preparing the learners to culture new ideas that are meant to be expressed in various words. It is Bhartrhari, who said that "In this world order, there is no idea that doesn't take the form of a word. Every field of knowledge shines forth and the words illumine the world".

The National Education Policy has reasserted the principles of the teaching-learning process. A teacher should help facilitate the learners to gain knowledge and skills rather than diminishing the learners to being mere spectators in the classroom. The inhibitions of the learners will deepen further in this process of domination by the teacher in the classroom. The teachers can devise an evaluation method wherein the learners participation in the classroom dialogues and discourses may be well-recorded and should be vouched in their marks memos. Learners should be fearless, and should develop self-discipline maintain good health, and develop a spirit of nationalism that will reach the level of vasudhaivakutmmbakam as enshrined in our culture.

Technology is a major force in modern times. In one of the computer games, there is a provision that helps revise the poems of Emily Dickinson by hitting on the right word or expression that appears on the screen. This will be an attractive inducement to learn if it can be adapted to the subject in question. Flipped- and blended classrooms are some new innovations made possible through technology. The aim is to reach a critical mass, a situation where the learner will become independent in the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom.

The Prime Minister's consistent and unflagging interest in education is most welcome blessing for all the stakeholders in the education system, which of course includes the whole of society. The democratisation of education throwing it open to all the people offering them the option to balance their commitments and learning is boon to the people. Leaving and entering the education system makes it more people-centred, and the concept of a "surrender value" in which a learner will get a degree in accordance with his/her study is singularly wise. This is no less significant than the Independence we achieved in 1947.

(The author is Member, UGC, New Delhi and the Vice Chancellor of The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad, Lucknow and Shillong)