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Primary Education in Retrospect and Prospect

by M Arshad Ali
Education m the Indian Subcontinent is as old as old as civilisation. Keay has rightly remarked 'Education is no exotic in India There is no country where the love of learning had so early an ori gin or has exercised so last Ing and powerful influence" This age old traditional indigenous system of education continued to exist till 1835 when Lord William Bentink took step towards educational reforms, for the Britishers in the interest of perpetuation of their colonial domination viewed this system as ineffectual and unworkable — an attitude of an tagonism not arising out of objective assessment of existing conditions but one bred from idiosyncratic attitude toward the culture of a different people.
They dealt a death-blow to this really broad-based system of education by totally replacing it by the so-called modern system of education .. which was nothing more than English education. Had they been really imbued with the ideal of catering to the changing educational need of the people, they could have reformed and improved it thus channelising the system of education properly — a measure which, if imple-
merited at that tune, could have changed the face of our country and we would not have to run short of really educated persons even after the passage of sixteen long
Bentink appointed Rev. William Adams a Scotish missionary. to inquire into the existing state of education in January. 1835. Adams was more a humanist than a religious preacher, more an educationist than a missionary and so he conducted assiduous survey in parts of Bengal and Bihar and prepared three reports which were faithful representations of the educational facilities available at the time. Adam's Report makes us aware of our glorious heritage and fills us with melancholy when it enumerates that as far back as two hundred years ago our country was the proud prossessor of one school per 400 people. Had those institutions not been made to extinct they could have more than adequately waged the war of universal primary education and won victory long ago and we would not have to be infested with multudinous problems that have heaped up with the passage of time, for illiteracy, it is rightly divined, breeds most of the deterrents to advancement. social, economic
and political And if once illiteracy could have been removed and that it has already been pointed out. was within a very easy reach, a new era coula have dawned burgeoning with activities, meaningful and gainful in all fields of life. Since education was broad-based in this part of the world, our people in those days were in many ways more advanced than the invaders. Our cottage Industries and other industrial products could not only meet the demand of the country but leave a tangible surplus for export to Eifrope and the Middle East where they were in Seat demand by virtue of
eir quality. The quality of the products and the flourishing international trade may be said to be a pointer to the development that ensued from the spread of education among the people.
The educational institutions at the time of the advent of the British were socially sustained not supported by the state or the government. If the British rulers really meant education for the people they could have developed those institutions to effective organisations for desired social change. Having occupied the state power, the British could realise that the light of edu-
cation should be put out from before the broad masses and they should be hurled down to the abyss of ignorance and illiteracy to be doomed to backwardness in all spheres. This they did to serve their own ends because it was easier to rule a backward people than a forward one who were imbued with a deeper realisation of. what life was and what it should have been.
To hood-wink the people and fabricate a semblance of education before them the British rulers engineered a system that was designed to produce "a class of people Indian in blood and colour but English in taste and ideas, in moral and intellect." With this education policy which was the comer-stone of their fundamental Divide and Rule Policy they were perfectly able to achieve their ultimate objective of perpetrating their domination to a period of 200 years. As edu cation in the true sense was withheld from the people, prolonged subjugation became tneir lot.
Now that we have broken the shackles of bondage, education should reach all and sundry. To this end the
Universal Primary Education (UPE) is a right step. But the' introduction of UPE is not sufficient in Itself. There are steps to be taken so that all children of the school going age are not only enrolled and given a few years of schooling but they are imparted such learning and in such a way as leave imprint on them lingering throughout their llfe-tlma with a sense of national In-) tegrity and cohesion that became the greatest causality of the British system.
National integrity and cohesion is the strength of good citizenship the foundation of which is to be laid at the primary stage of education. The good thrives in a good environment. So. meaningful primary education calls for the creation of a good environment which comprises good school building In* a suitable location with accommodation paraphernalia, , good teaching staff, good textbooks and reading materials. good scope for extracurricular activities leading to the full development of the physical and mental potentials of the budding citizens. Regretfully enough, our primary schools are conspicuously lacking most of these
components. Schools should be such places that are as attractive. if not more, to the tiny tots as their homes are.
It is the teachers who are more instrumerital to creating such an atmosphere than almost all the components taken together. So the teachers should be well-equipped with resources, both mental and material, to cater to the needs of the growing generation. Compromises in the quality of education that is imparted tn the schools are least acceptable to our country which must be speeding to catch up with the developed world for the sake of our existence as an independent nation. The qualification of the teachers should be well-matched and their conditions of service honourable and emoluments commensurate with the burden ant? responsibility of their profession. Professional accountability should be ensured.
What can immediately be done is the optimum utilisation of the resources available at disposal.'This is something In which we have miserably failed. Many of our disasters could have been averted should we be able to prove our worth In the utilisation and management of our resource. It is not that we have resources adequate enough to
I meet ali our needs but,It is equally true that we are not an absolutely resource deplete nation. In the event of the scarce resources available being utilised to the optimum possible extent the real goal of UPE will not be as tantalising to reach at as it has remained so far. •
This .demands a social awareness on the part of all the segments of the people from the executive head down to the man in the street because education is everybody's concern and everybody has to share his burden and play his role to contribute to Hs furtherance Management and supervision of the schools heed to be adequately geared up. Otherwise no amount of grant from the national exchequer or food for education will bring in the desired change and achieve the target of Universal Primary Education.
The syllabus and curriculum should be designed in a .manner that the lessons imparted should faithfully represent the real-life situations of the children. Such lessons read with pleasure and attention will have easy access to the child's mind where, implanted in its deep recess, they will find happy companionship. It is said that the first impression lasts long.
Carefully designed text-books suiting the needs and aspirations of the children will give thfcm lessons that will leave permanent impression upon their mind withstanding the hitherto known fate of oblivion that has been the case with almost everybody who has dropped out after a few years of schooling lapsing into illiteracy inveterate. Well-planned lessons based on child's experience and Imparted with care and affection are permanently treasured in his mind to bank on in the struggle for existence.
Once our country plunged into illiteracy due to the antipathy and lack of patronage of the government which would have otherwise bequeathed a universally literate citizenry. Now it is. again, the governmen machinery which can turn all the components of the education system in unison to yield the desired output — education for all in the course of a few years — a good which, if delivered. will render the deliverer ever memorable in the history of the nation. National expectation enjoins upon the government that it showers adequate but watchful patronage on the Universal Primary Education Programme to deliver this historic good.