M.K. Gandhi and basic education
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theWardha scheme of Education, popularly known as ‘Basic education’ occupies a unique place in the field of elementary education in India. This scheme was the first attempt to develop an indigenous scheme of education in British India by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation. As a nationalist leader he fully realised that the British system of education could not serve the socio-economic need of the country. At Round Table Conference in London (1931) he pointed out the ineffectiveness of the system of primary education in India and the alarming low percentage of literacy among Indian people. He held the policy of the British Government responsible for this painful situation in the field of mass education. Gandhiji said “I am convinced that the present system of education is not only wasteful but positively harmful.” It was in this context the concept of Basic Education emerged in the mind of Gandhiji. In this unit we will discuss the historical background, the Wardha scheme of education, its fundamental features, curriculum and merits and demerits of this system of education.