Proceedings of the 7th International Academic Conference on Education
Year: 2023
DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/7th.iaceducation.2023.11.102
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Learning by Doing’: A Road Map leading to a New Era of Education –An Interventional Initiative of Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education (Ministry of Education, Govt. of India)
Dr. V. Janaki Thenneti, Dr. Debendranath Dash
ABSTRACT:
‘Method of Education’ is the means to attain the principal objectives of education. In a Nation like India, with the highest percentage of youth, the objective of an education system is to ensure the livelihood of a person through imparting basic awareness and vocational practice. It follows then, that there is a requirement to help inculcate necessary skills to pursue a vocation. The method of education adopted through policy will help determine the various sets of skills and competencies possessed by the society in the coming years. Prior to the Indian Independence, ‘Father of the Nation’ Mahatma Gandhi advocated Work Education system known as Nai-Talim (New form of Education), having comprehensively considered the socio economic system of the country. Nai-Talim system entailed that a pupil will learn a vocation which can provide them with a sufficient means of livelihood, in tandem with their regular schooling. This proposed system is akin to the Kolb’s ‘Experiential Methodology’. Following the idea, the New Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) took a big leap towards integrating vocational education in subject methodology. Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education (MGNCRE) has taken up a capacity building program to enhance the capabilities of the faculty members of schools in the country. In the present paper authors made an attempt to describe the intervention of the Council and the outcome realized. The study employs an action research approach, chosen for its participatory and iterative nature. The study arrives at the conclusion that the intervention resulted in the creation of sizeable content (approximately 5000 in number) in the form of re-designed lesson plans embedded with vocational education, thus, successfully paved a way for the introduction of new curriculum with new methods of instruction recommended by New Education Policy.
keywords: Action Research, Education System, Education Policy, Integrating vocations, Work Education