Education is necessarily a process of inculcating values to equip the learner to lead a life that is satisfying to the individual in accordance with the cherished values and ideals of the society.
Philosophers, spiritual leaders and educationists of our country, all in various ways, have emphasised the role of education for ‘character development’, ‘bringing out the latent potentialities and inherent qualities’ and developing an ‘integrated personality’ for the well-being of the individual and the society at large. Whatever term we may use, the importance of developing values has long been embedded in the age old traditions of India’s civilisational and cultural heritage, spanning over the centuries.
The diverse and rich cultural heritage that we are so fortunate to inherit in our country is in many ways symbolic of the foundation and wellspring of values from which we draw our value nourishment.
Life of individuals and communities and that of our saints, sages and philosophers are examples of values like self-discipline, survival in the absence of material resources, simplicity, handling conflicts without violence, exploring simple but revolutionary ideas as a mark of superior conduct and living. The concerns for value education are reflected in our key policy documents from time to time. After independence the National Commission of Secondary Education (1952-53) was a significant landmark in emphasising character building as the defining goal of education. “The supreme end of the educative process should be the training of the character and personality of students in such a way that they will be able to realize their full potentialities and contribute to the wellbeing of the community.”
The Report of the University Education Commission (1962) noted, “If we exclude spiritual training in our institutions, we would be untrue to our whole historical development.” The report went on to make a case, not for religious or moral education, but for evolving “a national faith, a national way of life based on the Indian outlook on religion, free from dogmas, rituals and assertions.” The Education Commission of 1964-66 put the spotlight on “education and national development”, from which perspective it identified the “absence of provision for education in social, moral and spiritual values” as a serious defect in the curriculum.
The commission recommended that these values be taught “with the help, wherever possible, of the ethical teachings of great religions.” Agreeing with the Sri Prakasa Committee Report, it recommended “direct moral instruction” for which “one or two periods a week should be set aside in the school time-table.” The National Policy on Education (1986) expressed concern over “the erosion of essential values and an increasing cynicism in society.” It advocated turning education into a “forceful tool for the cultivation of social and moral values.” Education should “foster universal and eternal values, oriented towards the unity and integration of our people”. The Programme of Action of 1992 tried to integrate the various components of value education into the curriculum at all stages of school education, including the secondary stage.
The Government of India’s report on Value Based Education (Chavan’s Committee Report, 1999) submitted in both houses of Parliament, provided impetus to resume work on value orientation of education. The National Curriculum Framework for School Education (2000), echoing the National Policy on Education (1986), lamented the “erosion of the essential social, moral and spiritual values and an increase in cynicism at all levels.” Against this backdrop, the framework advanced a plea to integrate value education into the curriculum asserting that “Schools can and must strive to resolve and sustain the universal and eternal values oriented towards the unity and integration of the people enabling them to realize the treasure within.” (p.8). It further stated that “the entire educational process has to be such that the boys and girls of this country are able to see good, love good and do good, and grow into mutually tolerant citizens.” (p.36).
The National Curriculum Framework NCF (2005) echoed the vision of education where values are inherent in every aspect of schooling. The framework articulates the need to reaffirm our commitment to the concept of equality amidst diversity, mutual interdependence of humans to promote values that foster peace, humaneness and tolerance in a multi-cultural society (p.2). Enabling children to experience dignity, confidence to learn, development of self-esteem and ethics, need to cultivate children’s creativity, making children sensitive to the environment and the need for fostering democracy as a way of life rather than only as a system of governance, as well as the values enshrined in the Constitution assume significance in the framework.
It further opines that independence of thought and action, capacity of value based decision making, sensitivity to well being and feelings of others should form the basis of rational commitment to values. The NCF (2005) particularly emphasises Education for Peace as one of the national and global concerns. As the position paper on Education for Peace prepared by the National Focus Group as part of NCF (2005) puts it, “Peace is contextually appropriate and pedagogically gainful point of coherence of values.” Peace concretises the purpose of values and motivates their internalisation.” Education for Peace has been considered as a strategy to make value education operative. It aims at equipping students with the values and
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