Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a candle - Minister Mohan Lal Grero

By Dhaneshi YATAWARA

We need to create an education system where we can avoid clashes and find solutions in an amicable manner. Education should help cultivate respect for others, their culture and religion, said Education Monitoring Minister Mohan Lal Grero while addressing the national conference on the Role Education in Reconciliation organised by the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS).

He said it is vital to promote non-violence among children to foster peace in the country. Such an approach will help prevent prejudices which lead to conflicts though it is not an easy task as people generally give more value to their own ways of thinking and to those in their group and tend to harbour grudges against others."

Following the event, in an interview with the Sunday Observer Minister Grero emphasised that the society needs to realize that if we are to survive, we have to act together for a common goal. It is not only the self success that matters in survival but the team spirit of the society to act as one unit is what is crucial. Following is derived from the discussion on the role of education in political and social reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

The most responsible institution in the country to mould future citizens would be in the Education field, Minister Grero said adding that it plays a crucial role in promoting reconciliation in society.

"Children need to learn how to live in harmony. Not only with other ethnic groups but how to live and tolerate, not only in school but also with their family, friends, neighbours, with the country and at international level, he added. The classroom is a small society with a cultural diversity, he said.

Education is not only intellectual development it has other facets too such as social development, physical development, emotional development and many more.

"Emotional development is very important. It helps to avoid conflicts which one would harbour with different prejudices.

"In my opinion the major reason for conflicts is that either you or about your group always we have a higher estimation - one stands very high in his own estimation. This tends to make a child look down on others," he said.

"So the first thing is to know one's self. Aristotle's motto was 'Know thy self'. Before knowing others one should know himself. This is one of the primary aims of education", he said.

Education is not only to fill one's bio data. Education is not only to gather knowledge but also about wisdom. In this, one should start questioning one's self to understand who he or she is.

Equity

They should learn the diversity of the world as well its similarities.

When a child gets to him or her self they start analysing their emotions, i.e. Why they get angry? How can they get frustrated, about patience and such emotions?

Another aspect is that the children need to be aware of other religions and cultures of the world. For example there is a subject in modern education called human geography.

In certain countries this subject is tought at a very young age. It teaches about other people, cultures and religions, languages, literature. Through this children get to know how other people enjoy their lives and how they would react when in grief.

The concept of children from different ethnicities learning in one school should be promoted, says Grero. "Due to the perceptions of adults children from different ethnicities do not get equal chances all the time," he said.

Principals, teachers need to set an example to show that everybody is equal, he said.

" For example if there is a school where majority of the students belong to one ethnicity and there is a community of another ethnicity living closer to schoolchildren of that community need to have an equal chance to study in this particular school," he added.

Common goal

During a time of food scarcity there was a need for humans to act together - to achieve a common goal. And according to all the research done on history and human evolution it is believed that this lead to the birth of languages. We have to realize very clearly that if we are to survive, we have to act together for a common goal.It is not only the self success that matters in survival but the team spirit of the society to act as one unit is what is crucial. Eventually each member of the society can harvest the benefit of the success.

Likewise it is important to have common targets in schools to teach children how important is to act together to achieve access. All Sri Lankans should unite to develop the country.

If we can motivate people irrespective of their ethnicities to aim at a common goal for the betterment of the country, there will be no room for conflicts.

People have to put aside all their personal agenda and emotions to achieve a common goal," he emphasised raising the need to train and teach children to adapt to such situations.

"It is taught through the school curriculum to an extent but needs further enhancement," he added.

There are many things that need to be changed in the Sri Lankan Education system, he said. "The new Education Act addresses many issues", he said.

Training teachers

"Teachers are shepards who mould the future generations," Grero said "We need people who honestly want to be teachers and who won't see it as a mere job opportunity," he added. Thus in the recruitment of teachers it is suggested to know the real reason a candidate applying for a teaching post. "There area many aspects that need to be viewed and need a change.

We have received thousands of suggestions from educationists, principals, teachers and many others from the education field in formulating the Education Bill. The committee is considering all suggestions to formulate it in a way that would address the National problems of the country," he added.

"All the teachers should come through the National Teacher Training Colleges. There are 17 colleges at national level. We must look for candidates with a true passion for the profession. "Now we have a three year diploma course and now, with the changes in the national system, the Education authorities are planning to change it into a four year degree," he added. Teachers should be able to understand the differences among children in a class and how to tackle them at different age groups and support them to broaden their perspectives," he explained.

Self-control

"We need to teach children to understand themselves and realise why do they crave for power and wealth.

They need to be taught to how to analyse themself and have self control, which is crucial for peace and harmony of a society," he added. Children need to be taught to be creative and innovative. Unending desires would definitely lead to unending conflicts," he added.

While giving people a strong economy it is essential to pass them the knowledge of how to be satisfied at a certain level of development and of self control as otherwise there will be no end to arguments and demands among different groups of societies as well as with neighbouring countries.

Grero said "If politicians had a better understanding of everything about other groups of the society we could have omitted many conflicts in the past."

It is not only the knowledge but the wisdom one gains throughout their life is what matters most, he said. "Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a candle," he said.