Give modern education the Indian ethos
AD Pradeep Kumar
``Education is not the amount of information that is put into your
brain and runs riot there undigested all your life. We must have
life-building, man-making character building assimilation of ideas,''
said Swami Vivekananda in one of his speeches.
Education should aim for an integrated development of students--physical,
mental, moral and spiritual. Such an education is the foundation
stone for nation-building. A modern education system based on India's
rich cultural heritage will be a perfect synthesis of eastern maturity
and western activity. This is what Vivekananda had envisaged a century
ago.
Holistic education provides this perfect blend. The Mata Amritanandamayi
Math, a key spiritual centre in the country, runs institutes that
provide holistic education. These institutes, based in south India,
follow a curriculum that is strongly underlined by Indian ethos.
The curriculum may range from the kindergarten to postgraduate studies
in engineering and management. Following are some of the maineducational
programmes conducted by these institutes:
--The Amrita Institute of Management (AIM) offers a residential
post-graduate programme in management that is rated at par with
many of the leading management programmes in the country. The programme
is a combination of higher spiritual values and new management techniques.
The placement cell of the institute has a good record of getting
excellent employment avenues for its students. The institute also
has a large computerised library, with a good collection of management
journals and books.
--The Amrita Institute of Computer Technology (AICT) is one of
the outstanding institutes of computer technology in the country,
with its main centre located near Amritapuri Ashram at Karunagapally
and with branches in Ernakulam and Chennai. It is the only institution
in the private sector with has a student chapter of the Computer
Society of India, with a tie-up with C-DAC (Centre for Development
for Advanced Computing).
Technical-cum demonstration seminars areregularly conducted by
reputed professionals at the AICT centres. The institute has developed
and implemented software packages and gives training to reputed
companies like Tide Water Oil Co Ltd, India Rare Earths Ltd, Malabar
Cements etc.
AICT is soon emerging as one of the top-most institutes in the
country in the field of computer education.
--Amrita Institute of Advanced Computing (AIAC) offers a full-time,
post-graduate diploma course in advanced computing approved by C-DAC.
--MAM Industrial training Centre (MAMITC) gives technical education
and vocational training to hundreds of students by running NCVT
approved courses in various trades such as civil draughtsmen, fitter,
electrician, radio and TV repair, electronics, and so on. With a
highly dedicated teaching faculty and well equipped workshops, MAMITC
is one of the best industrial training centres in Kerala.
--Amrita Institute of Technology and Sciences (AITEC) is located
at Ettimada, Coimbatore. Located in a picturesque campus extendingabout
150 acres, the institute conducts four-year BE degree courses in
mechanical engineering, production engineering, computer sciences,
electrical and electronics, and electronics and telecommunication.
AITEC also conducts a diploma course in advanced computing and is
an authorised training centre of C-DAC.
Sri Mata Amritandamayi, the founder of the math places great importance
on the need for modern education based on the principles of traditional
education systems in India. Her aim is to provide free education
to as many young people as possible from the underprivileged section
of the society The math is also running 25 English medium schools
with residential and transport facilities. These schools impart
modern education including computer education and studies on spiritual
values, culture and moral values.
The students are also given training in yoga, meditation and sports.
Amrita arts and cultural centres provide training for students in
various forms of Indian classical music and dance.
AmritaSanskrit Higher Secondary School is a unique institution
where students have the option of taking up Malayalam, Sanskrit
or English as their medium of studies. It is the largest Sanskrit
school in Kerala where nearly 600 students study Sanskrit which
includes a large number of students from the scheduled castes and
tribes.
Amrita scholarships are awarded to meritorious students and also
to students from poor families to encourage them to take up higher
studies.
Amrita Speech and Hearing Improvement School scientifically teaches
deaf and mute children to develop their speaking and communication
skills.
A certain percentage of seats are reserved for deserving candidates
from the underprivileged sections of the society. Free scholarships,
tuitions boarding and lodging facilities are provided to students
from poor families. The math also distributes food, new clothes,
books and various other necessities to children from underprivileged
section of the society.
The math is also running 15 tribal schools atAttapadi in Kerala,
providing informal education to tribal children at places considered
most inaccessible.
The higher ideals the math is striving to inculcate among the modern
youth was also envisaged by many of the eminent leaders of the pre-Independence
era like Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya, Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi
and Aurobindo.
Their views can be summed up in Pt Malaviya's words, ``To revitalise
India as a nation, it is necessary to feed her youth with old spiritual
and moral values and religion must be made a part of education based
on Indian ideals.''
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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