What is Education?

The concept of education is used in a variety of contexts and with different shades of meaning. The term “education” is used in the narrow and the broad sense. In the narrow sense, ‘education’ refers to formal schooling— the process by which the society, through its different educational institutions i.e. schools/colleges specially established for the purpose, deliberately transmits its cultural heritage — its accumulated knowledge, values and skills from one generation to another. In the broad sense, education is a life-long process. All learning does not take place in the formal school system only. A large part of human life is spent outside the school and thus the individual learns many thing informally living in the home, the society and in the company of his fellow beings. Thus, any act, or experience that has a positive and worth while effect on the mind, character and ability of an individual during his life can be called ‘education’.

‘Education’ is also used to refer both to a process and to a product. As a product, education means the sum total of knowledge, skills, ideals and values that are acquired through learning. As a process, it refers to the act of developing these components in the individual.

The word ‘education’ is derived from the Latin word ‘educare’ which means ‘to bring up’ or ‘to draw out or ‘to mould’. Education is the realisation of individual potentialities. It helps in developing the hidden potential treasure in the individual to become the real. This meaning of education indicates that various capabilities are already present in the child in some form. Education is a process through which ‘the best’ in him/her is drawn out and his/her hidden potentialities are unfolded. Since the child himself does not know what constitutes the best for him/her and the society, the teacher becomes an important agent in the process of education. S/he has to allow the child to grow. For this s/he has to act as a facilitator to inculcate proper thinking, reasoning, skills and habits to draw out the best in the child.

In India, educational concepts have always conformed to the ideals, philosophy and objectives that the people set before themselves from time to time. The ideals and objectives were at one time influenced by the Vedas, the Upanishadas, the Puranas and the orthodox Indian Philosophy. The main tenets of Indian Philosophy are liberation from the bondage of evil which is a denial of good. According to the Upanishadas, education is that whose end-product is salvation. Vedic education on the other hand emphasises the evolution of human personality by making him self-reliant and selfless. According to Aurobindo, “education is that which helps the growing soul to draw out that in itself which is best and makes it perfect for a noble use”. To Tagore “Education means enabling the mind to find out that ultimate truth which emancipates us from the bondage of the dust...”. About education, Mahatma Gandhi says, “By education, I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in child and man body, mind and spirit”. All these definitions indicate that child’s in born power and faculties need to be given adequate scope to grow and flourish. They favour natural growth of the child but at the same time they emphasise that proper guidance should be available to him when he/she needs it.

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