Text: Ar. Pervaiz
Vandal
Part I
The purpose of formal education, since its beginnings in
India in the Vedic age (ca 2000BCE),
was to inculcate holistic thinking about existence in its interaction with
Nature and the Unknown. Human inquiry was directed towards understanding the
Self with all its physical and psychological layers and the context within
which it operated as an integrated, interactive system. In the axial age,[1]
(ca 1000-300 BCE) humanity
discovered values, which transcended the simple struggle for physical survival.
Compassion for others, appreciation and creation of beauty brought pleasures
that made life worth the struggle and it was this innate quality that uplifted
humans to a level higher than other animals[2].
In Europe, before the industrial revolution, education had
no divisions of art or science disciplines; astronomers, mathematicians,
physicists could be well versed, in logic, poetry, philosophy and the classical
languages, Greek or Latin. Education was transferring of awareness and wisdom;
in more advanced cases it meant a deeper knowledge of both the tangible and
intangible natural phenomenon. With the advent of large scale production,
specialized and trained labor was required.
Slave labor was undoubtedly used earlier to perform unskilled work, but
for the first time human beings were reduced to usable skilled man-power
through a deliberate process of education and training. The purpose of
education began to be linked with production.
