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Internet set to revolutionise education: expert

Staff Reporter

"We might move from `Gurukulam' to `Shishyakulam'" `We might move from Gurukulam to Shishyakulam'

COIMBATORE: The growth of the Internet and the increase in the number of virtual universities are likely to radically change education, M. S. Ananth, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, said on Sunday.

"The Internet is sometimes known as the fourth `R'. It is the most democratic of entities," he said, delivering the graduation day address at the Kumaraguru College of Technology. "In India, we might move all the way from `Gurukulam' (education at the home of the teacher) to `Shishyakulam' (education at the home of the student)."

In the old economy, the four important elements had been land, capital, labour and organisation. However, in the new economy that had taken shape in a world permeated by information technology, land and capital had become unimportant. Labour required a larger amount of skills, while organisation — as the creator of order — had become all-important.

Prof. Ananth said one of the principles enunciated by Aurobindo on education was that nothing could be taught. A teacher could be only a helper and a guide. "Suppleness and comprehensiveness of the mind is increased not by the number and variety of subjects of study but by diverse approaches to the subject."

Effective education

The mind had to be consulted on its own growth, and learning ought to take place only "from the near to the far". Illustrative examples in teaching ought to be drawn from the student's own environment, and repetition was essential for effective mass education.

In the creative process, the left half of the brain collected data and the right half incubated the information and tried to make sense of it. The left half logically tested the solutions.

"Do not mistrust intuitions," he said. Experimental verification had been one of the major causes of the industrial revolution. The left side of the brain used logical sequences while the right side used visuals and intuition. Creativity and learning depended on the relationship between the two.

Knowledge is all

Knowledge, know-how and character made up education. It was knowledge that enabled people to relate what they had learnt to what they already knew. Know-how was the ability to put knowledge to work. However, the processes of character building were difficult to define.

Calling for a revival of national pride among the youth, Prof. Ananth said: "Traditionally, Indian culture has been associated with non-violence, an appreciation of arts, and pursuit of knowledge and wealth. Non-violence is more than the absence of physical violence, it is the absence of malice and hatred."

N. Mahalingam, chairman of the college governing council, presided over the convocation. Principal K. K. Padmanabhan presented the college report.

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