LIFE CENTERED EDUCATION

LIFE CENTERED EDUCATION

Education in India was child-centered to a certain extent, from times immemorial, though there had been a decline in later days. The child was given the central place in the process of teaching and learning. During the British period, with the westernization of education, the educational system of India

Became teacher centered and text book oriented. This system of education had many defects. It was unrealistic and unproductive. It was inadequate to foster right interests and attitudes in children. It was to meet this challenge that Gandhiji evolved a scheme of Life-Centered Education. According to Gandhiji “Education is for life, through life and through out life”

CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE CENTERED EDUCATION

1.   Education is imparted through a craft or productive activity. Closely related to the life around. Here pupils learn by doing something directly related to their life

2.   Education inculcates a love for work among children, and teaches them the dignity of labour.

3.   Subjects are not compartmentalized. All that the children learn become meaningful, correlated to life and significant to them.

4.   If offers children various kind of activities for their all round development .It makes them self-reliant, creative, co-operative and socially efficient.

5.   It develops qualities of leadership, loyalty, co-operation, sympathy, honesty, etc.

Gandhiji’s Basic Education is essentially an education for life and through life. It aims at creating a social order free from exploitation. The teaching of a craft makes education meaningful and realistic. Basic education equips children with the basic tools for character building and citizenship training. It emphasizes community living and vocational training. Every thing learnt is related to the present and future life of the child. Hence it is a kind of life-centered education.