IndiGlobal conducted a quick vox populi on key differentiators that separate Indic educational set ups from the contemporary ones
India was amongst the first three earliest civilizations, which only indicates the contributions it made to the world civilization. Aryabhatta added a zero to the counting system, while yoga, the exercise of mind and body, originated in India much before the swanky machines of the gym told us how to stay fit. India housed world’s first residential university in Nalanda with unparalleled education imparted there. But with the advent of western institutes and new curriculum, the ancient Indian wisdom is barely taught as part of one’s education. Or is it that the new curriculum entails all that one must learn to live in this world? We conducted a quick vox populi to gain an insight from people around on key differentiators that separate Indic educational system from modern set ups. Here’s what they have to say:
“There are two major areas where Indic education is different. Firstly, it is the objective of education. Today, modern education talks of outcome-based learning. Indic education is to create ‘medha’ – a higher level of intelligence that creates inner and outer harmony within individuals, societies, and nations. Therefore, the outcome is the holistic individual growth of an individual, and not merely being ready for a job. Secondly, there is a lot of self-responsibility on the learner’s part and the student follows a disciplined life for learning. Instead of instant gratification, Indic education aims at ‘indriya vijaya’. The pedagogy here is experiential, multidisciplinary, and personalized for ‘panch kosha vikas’ that translates to a five dimensional development.”
Prof. Mala Kapadia, Director Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Anaadi Foundation.
“There are two major areas where Indic education is different. Firstly, it is the objective of education. Today, modern education talks of outcome-based learning. Indic education is to create ‘medha’ – a higher level of intelligence that creates inner and outer harmony within individuals, societies, and nations. Therefore, the outcome is the holistic individual growth of an individual, and not merely being ready for a job. Secondly, there is a lot of self-responsibility on the learner’s part and the student follows a disciplined life for learning. Instead of instant gratification, Indic education aims at ‘indriya vijaya’. The pedagogy here is experiential, multidisciplinary, and personalized for ‘panch kosha vikas’ that translates to a five dimensional development.”
Prof. Mala Kapadia, Director Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Anaadi Foundation.
“One must learn about our rich Indian knowledge system
because there is much to learn from our roots. In our school, we go beyond the curriculum to align with the Indic philosophy such as sometimes include classes on Ramayana or at other times, we have sessions on understanding the Indian calendar system – Panchang. Why should one study them? If one looks at the Gregorian calendar system closely, one realizes that after September from septa, October from octa, November from nova, there is December which comes from decca. But it is not the tenth month of the calendar; it is the twelfth month. Something doesn’t match. This Gregorian calendar was designed in the 15th century by Pope Gregory to calculate the day of Easter. It’s a religious calendar. Not a secular one. And why Indians must study the Indian calendar. Such practices make students critical thinkers.”
Ashish Naredi, Chairman,
Indic International School.
“One must learn about our rich Indian knowledge system
because there is much to learn from our roots. In our school, we go beyond the curriculum to align with the Indic philosophy such as sometimes include classes on Ramayana or at other times, we have sessions on understanding the Indian calendar system – Panchang. Why should one study them? If one looks at the Gregorian calendar system closely, one realizes that after September from septa, October from octa, November from nova, there is December which comes from decca. But it is not the tenth month of the calendar; it is the twelfth month. Something doesn’t match. This Gregorian calendar was designed in the 15th century by Pope Gregory to calculate the day of Easter. It’s a religious calendar. Not a secular one. And why Indians must study the Indian calendar. Such practices make students critical thinkers.”
Ashish Naredi, Chairman,
Indic International School.
“I am a parent whose kids go to a contemporary school.
However, I wish if they could be taught the Indic way of view in every stream of education. They should stay connected to their roots. That is, in history they could be taught Ramayana and Mahabharata along with other portions. But these scriptures are pushed to the mythology section. There was Rishi Kanad who is said to have established the idea of ‘Atomism’ thousands of years ago. There could be a mention of him as well in the books. Recently, the Leibniz series was changed to Madhava – Leibniz series because our Indian mathematician predicted the series years before the west did. But none of these get taught to the students. What is of worth comes only from foreign land.”
Raghvendra Pathak,
Brhat.
“I am a parent whose kids go to a contemporary school.
However, I wish if they could be taught the Indic way of view in every stream of education. They should stay connected to their roots. That is, in history they could be taught Ramayana and Mahabharata along with other portions. But these scriptures are pushed to the mythology section. There was Rishi Kanad who is said to have established the idea of ‘Atomism’ thousands of years ago. There could be a mention of him as well in the books. Recently, the Leibniz series was changed to Madhava – Leibniz series because our Indian mathematician predicted the series years before the west did. But none of these get taught to the students. What is of worth comes only from foreign land.”
Raghvendra Pathak,
Brhat.
