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Dr. Surya Nath Prasad was born in 1942 in
India. He is M.A. in Sociology, M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Education. He has
received Honorary Doctorate in Peace Education from USA and in Education
from Nigeria, D.Sc. from Sri Lanka, and D.Litt. from Netherlands at the
hands of His Excellency Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, Former President,
Govt. of India.
By Prof. Surya
Nath Prasad, Ph.D. Education has been doing great harm to the peoples who are nations and the world. And it will do more harm unless we understand education correctly, use it properly and invest it fully and universally without discrimination of any form. Education has been producing persons of different sects, castes, colours, races, languages, nations to fight each other, and also doctors, engineers, teachers and other professionals to exploit each other ignorance but it has failed to produce man-men and women to live with mutual cooperation, help and in peace.
Hence there were 2 world wars and many
civil wars and widespread exploitation and oppression of people by the
people in the governments and outside of the governments, and this
practice of injustice is still prevalent everywhere. Since the inception
of United Nations on 24 October 1945, there have been 9 conflicts, and
each took atleast a million lives. There were nearly 110 million deaths
in 20th Century. Now the world is facing the problem of ‘genocide’ and
‘ethnic cleansing’. And the most recently the whole world was witnessing
as mute spectator the war against Iraq waged by the two superpowers
United States of America and United Kingdom neglecting the Resolution of
the United Nations.
Therefore Peace Education is essential for
human survival in the New Millennium. It is needed for individual,
national and global peace. In the world of physical and structural
violence, peace education has a great importance because the form of
peace education has to be compatible with the idea of peace which
exclude direct and structural violence both. Peace education has
relevance also in this age of exploitation because it teaches about
justice which is the parent of peace. Peace education is also a
necessity in the era of selfishness because it teachers about altruism
which is itself peace. Peace education is also significant in today’s
world of xenophobia and intolerance because it teaches about tolerance
which is understanding that means respect for diversity and acceptance
of differences. At present peace education has a great demand in the
world of violation of human rights everywhere because it conscientizes
the learners towards their total situations which enable them to fight
for their liberation through non-violence.
The real education is peace education.
Therefore, education is the unfoldment of all capacities already in man.
In this sense, the very definition of education is definition of man. According to one definition, “Man is made of five sheaths, viz. body, vitality, mind, intellect and spirit.” As per another definition, “man is made of earth, water, air, fire and ether.” Each element, in both the meanings of man as five sheaths and elements, has corresponding meaning like this :
Integral Education for Creation of Global Man
Educational Programmes must be framed in
such a way that all the five sheaths or elements involved in man with
the help of these elements in the universe must be evolved integrally.
And this integral man would be able to declare, “I, indeed, am this
whole world.”
Peace and Prosperity of the Society are
disturbed due to continuous rise in the number of deprived peoples in
the world. Therefore, these deprived peoples are in need of a type of
education that can be truly compensatory. Integral education is
essential and beneficial for newly born children.
Education should be for all because all
have the five elements to be unfolded. All deserve to be educated fully
to be human.
In modern times, machines can do for
everyman to have leisure. Machines can assist very nicely, effectively
and successfully to solve the problem of Education for All. And a time
will come soon when every home will be a school for learning to be
human.
Merely learning in schools, colleges and
universities, and getting degrees are not the end of education.
Education should be perpetual, extensive and sharing throughout life.
The extension and sharing of knowledge about the self and the universe
are the basis of true learning for peace.
Education is more question of method or
form of communication than of contents. In fact, education is a learning
concept. Teaching is violence, learning is peace. Teaching does not help
students and masses in making them aware, and it serves the purpose of
oppressors while learning makes them aware and liberates oppressors and
oppressed both. Problem-posing and dialogue methods are very useful and
beneficial for learning peace.
Education, including higher education,
should not be considered as non-merit good and services, and it should
not be compared equally with electricity, diesel and fertilizer with
respect to subsidies. Education of all grades are highly merit-good.
Hence expenditure on education of all standard is not expenditure but it
is an investment – investment in human resource development, and in long
run, not only the particular society, but all societies of the world
will get heavy returns for centuries while the cost of ignorance can be
very high for every society. But education of people is very expensive.
All have no resources to meet the expenses of education. And for better
and democratic governance also, education is essential necessity. Hence
it is responsibility of the State to educate all. United Nations, World
Bank, philanthropists, foundations and rich persons and N.G.Os. should
help the needy States in implementation of education for all in all
grades. Therefore let the education of all levels be free for all – the children of rich and poor parents both – to feel them obliged and indebted towards all mankind to serve mutually better, and to build a global common society, and sustain peace for all. |
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