Educational Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi and its Impact on Present Education System

Education is a natural and continuous process of life. It is education which makes man active, industrious and ensures his process in present and future. Gandhiji was a great educational reformer. He propounded his philosophy of Education which can be properly understood in the background of his philosophy of life. He has expressed his thoughts about education in the ―Harijan‖ of 31st July,1937 in the following words: ―As a nation we are so backward in education that we cannot hope to fulfill our obligation to the nation in this respect in a given time during this generation, if this programme is to depend on money. I have, therefore, made bold, even at the risk of losing a reputation for constructive ability to suggest that education should be self -supporting. By education I mean an all round drawing out of the best in child and man- body, mind and spirit. Literacy is not the end of education or even the beginning. It is only one of the means whereby man and women can be educated.‖ The aims of education, the curriculum, the methods of teaching, the financial aspect of education, educational planning, women education, teachers education, discipline for the whole country- all these areas are analyzed in his philosophy of education. He believed that the new Social order based on truth and non-violence may remove every type of corruption and exploitation in society. Thus he developed his educational planning.