The Central Government has brought out its first reforms in education through National Education Policy 2020. In the previous article (https://indiachapter.in/index.php?/user/article/2/13/30) we saw what Sri Aurobindo thought of National Education and how NEP 2020 seems to have been drawn some inspirations from his work. In this article we go deeper into the analysis and compare Aurobindo’s concept of Integral Education with NEP 2020. 

Sri Aurobindo's philosophy of education is termed as Integral Education. Integral Education has two components 

1. The child who seeks knowledge

2. The divine who is the source of all knowledge and the teacher himself is but the link, the channel of communication, the willing paraclete. 

Integral is that education of perfection. It integrates all dichotomies. It aims at integrating the material and spiritual dimensions of the human personality. Integral Education is not actually opposed to or contrary to any system of education, but a fulfilment of all the systems of education. It is integral because it leads to self-integration i.e. integration of all the aspects of human personality. (Ghose, A., 1956).

The guiding principle of Sri Aurobindo's educational philosophy was the awakening of the individual as a spiritual being. 

It is self-mastery by the child through 

(a) self-discovery 

(b) self-realisation 

(c) self-fulfilment 

(d) self-perfection. 

Sri Aurobindo made a five-fold classification of human nature i.e. the physical, the mental, the psychic and the spiritual, corresponding to five aspects of education – physical education, vital education, mental education, psychic education and spiritual or supermental education (Saini, A., 2017). There are three main philosophical contributions observed from classical works by Sri Aurobindo. First is The Evolution concept, which is central to Aurobindo’s philosophy. Second is Integral Yoga and third is Integral Education. In this article we will be focusing only on the principles of Integral Education and how these principles have been recognised in NEP 2020.

 

In this context, it is important to look at Sri Aurobindo’s education and how modern education has influenced a great visionary. His voluminous work stands as a guiding light for spiritual seekers, educationists, policy makers and the common man till today.

Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo was born on 15 August 1872. His father was Dr. Krishna Dhan Ghose, a graduate doctor from the Aberdeen University in England and his mother was Swarnalata Devi,  Daughter of Rishi Rajnarayan Bose, who was a staunch Bramho and social reformer of his times. Dr. Ghose was a great admirer of English education and their ways of life and hence he wished that all his children be educated in the British tradition. Aurobindo was not given the opportunity to learn his mother tongue or come in contact with Indian children during his childhood. When he was five, he was sent to the Loreto convent school at Darjeeling, a school run by Irish nuns. It was meant for children of foreigners and the medium of instruction was English. (RN Pani, 2017). 

He then lived for 14 years in England. There, he mastered Greek, Latin and French. This gave him direct access to the original classics and literature in these languages. He developed an abiding interest in English literature, mostly poetry and this continued till the end of his life. He concentrated on the study of classics, history, politics, ancient and modern. He also attempted learning Italian, something of German and a little Spanish. He spent an extraordinary little of his time on school and college, but in one year he won all the awards. (RN Pani, 2017). 

Aurobindo’s life in England ended with him failing to pass the horse riding test required to enter the Indian Civil Services. He then began his teaching career in Baroda, India where he worked as a Professor of English and French in the Maharaja's college. When in Baroda, he married a woman named Mrinalini, but unfortunately, she faced an untimely death. He went on to become the principal of the Bengal National College and took an active part in the Indian freedom movement. 

His fight for Independence was soon interrupted when he became an undertrial prisoner in connection with the Alipore bomb case. He later contributed many freedom movement articles in ‘Yugantar’,‘Vandemataram’ and ‘Bhawani Mandir’ writing that  Swadeshi Swaraj boycott movement should take a definite shape. It was one of the busiest years in his life. He even toured Bengal and Western India for political work. He was a teacher, poet, humanist, nationalist and yogi (RN Pani, 2017).

Comparing NEP 2020 with Integral Education

 

 

The principles of both NEP 2020 and Integral Education look at learning as experiential. NEP emphasises on flexibility which is at the heart of Integral Education philosophy. According to Aurobindo, the mind has to be consulted in its growth in the process of learning so the individual has to be supported to expand his own nature rather than forcing anything from outside. This has been pragmatically rolled out in NEP 2020’s approach towards assessment. It is a 360-degree, multidimensional report that reflects the progress as well as the uniqueness of each learner in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. Those include self-assessment and peer assessment, and progress of the child in project-based and inquiry-based learning, quizzes, role plays, group work, portfolios, etc., along with teacher assessment. The proposal to set up a National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) as a standard-setting body under MHRD fulfils the basic objectives of setting norms, standards, and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation for all recognized school boards of India, guiding the State Achievement Survey (SAS) and undertaking the National Achievement Survey (NAS).

Today’s classroom environment is very competitive and the interests of the child are rarely met.  The curriculum is not tailored to the needs of each child but based on the need for global standards. Parents may want their children to do well in their examinations. Therefore, there was a pressing need for an alternative education system or new framework which is child-centric and has a flexible learning environment. Integral Education is that education of perfection. It integrates all dichotomies. It aims at integrating the material and spiritual dimensions of human personality. 

The integration is at the (1) Individual level (2) National level and (3) Advancement of both. The new NEP has proposed a National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE). Under this, developing national textbooks with local content and flavour is one of the prime activities. Transforming Assessment for Student Development aims to bring a cultural shift in the schooling system. This is summative and primarily tests rote memorization skills to one that is more regular and formative towards holistic assessment. 

Sri Aurobindo emphasized the role of native language in early school education. NEP 2020 encourages multilingualism, multidisciplinary and holistic education. This shift was very much needed in the current system. The split between disciplines have created gaps and very few excel in connecting the dots across different domains. Ensuring what the students want to learn based on his/her strength and interest is a great boon under this NEP framework. This shows that NEP 2020 has a “child-centred” orientation. Sri Aurobindo says that there should be more interest in and responsiveness to children’s individual needs, great willingness to give children latitude in responding, and more tolerance and approval of their behaviour. All this encourages the child to express their personal ideas and opinions. This makes children ‘independent learners’. In NEP 2020 there has been a fundamental shift in teacher’s thinking and in the strategies they apply to a child’s education. 

Further life skills of teamwork, resilience and communication have been recognised in NEP 2020. According to this policy, a teacher plays an instructor in creating course content based on the current needs of students, he/she plays as a facilitator in promoting the best practices in the classroom, and has to continuously dedicate him/herself in developing new forms of assessment, feedback and unique teaching methods. The role of teacher and parents has been redefined. Though there are new challenges and opportunities at the stage of implementation, the proposed NEP 2020 will take national education from individual to nation and from nation to mankind. 

India has witnessed enculturation through processes such as McDonaldization, Pizza Huts and powerful influence of the American media and toy industry. Children are rapidly becoming exposed to a different world view through the western occupation of cyberspace, media, entertainment, and business in the name of globalization. Children gain easy access to channels such as MTV and the Cartoon Network on cable television. Reminiscent of colonialism, this neo-colonialism could work to facilitate in the Indian mind the creation of a worldview that will take on the mentality and meaning-making processes more in consonance with that of the western colonizer of today (Gupta, A., 2008).

Currently, teachers’ education is geared towards learning western pedagogy (neo-colonialism), creating content, platforms as per the needs of the industry, and applying that directly in the classroom. Such experiments are only resulting in faster rote learning. Developing scientific rigour in the absence of context is very common. Today we are preparing the workforce for cyber-physical space. Tomorrow when the same systems are automated, the economy demands another skill set to cater to the demands of the changing business environment. Is this the sole purpose of education? We have transitioned workers from manual to mechanical, energy centric to information-centric and now automation to learning machines. What is the use of learning a particular specialized skill set in absence of the true spirit of life? What is the use consuming of those natural resources in absence of ethical and moral values? Will these modern knowledge systems facilitate the understanding of the true purpose of life to mankind? What is the use of tools in absence of moral character? What is the use of success or failure in absence of equanimity?

Education is a guiding principle. But today we see it in terms of systems, products and outcomes. It must also be emphasised that the role of aesthetic arts, crafts and industry in commune moral and spiritual uplifting of humanity as part of NEP 2020 is essential. We look forward to seeing how this policy brings out the collective experiential learning module in education

Dr. Sindhuja C V is Post Doctoral Research Associate and Prof Ashok H S is Visiting Professor, Center for Education and Social Studies.

References

Aurobindo, S. (1995). Bande mataram (p. 132). Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Aurobindo, S. (1950). The ideal of the karmayogin (Volume 2). Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Gupta, A. (2008). Tracing global-local transitions within early childhood curriculum and practice in India. Research in Comparative and International Education, 3(3), 266-280.

Pani, R. (1987). Integral Education: Thought and practice. Ashish Publishing House.

National Education Policy (1968). New Delhi: Ministry of Education.

National Policy of Education (1986). New Delhi: MHRD, Government of India

National Policy of Education (2020). New Delhi: MHRD, Government of India

National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in Schools. (2018). New Delhi: MHRD, Government of India.

Secondary Education Commission. (1952-53). Report of Secondary Education Commission. New Delhi: Ministry of Education and Youth Services.

 

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