Sree Narayana Guru’s Educational Ideals In Light Of NEP 2020 Reforms

Abstract

The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), which was approved by the Union Cabinet of India on 29 July 2020, highlights the future picture and vision of India’s new education system. The NEP 2020 is a comprehensive framework for Indian elementary education to higher education system. The policy aims to transform India's education system by 2030. As per the Policy, the changing aims of education system must “move more towards learning about how to think critically and solve problems, how to be creative and multidisciplinary, and how to innovate, adapt, and absorb new material in novel and changing fields”. Also the Policy deals many aspects like vocational education, environmental education, health education, value education, Concept of Yoga, spiritual education, multi-disciplinary education etc.

Sree Narayana Guru, who liberated the society from the depressed and from the clutches of a caste-ridden leadership was a great visionary, saint, social reformer, great teacher, spiritual leader, educationist propagated among the mass the ideal of 'One Caste, One Religion and One God for Man'. Guru stood for the upliftment of the socially marginalized section in the State of Kerala during the end of the 19th century and his preaching influenced the world as a whole. He was such a spectacular visionary that his inspirational thoughts and philosophy on life and education are ever relevant. While analyzing the document of NPE 2020, which is the first education policy of the 21st century, we can see that the aspects dealt in the Policy are the same what Sree Narayana Guru had said in the 19th century. The present study tries to investigate the Educational Thoughts of Sree Narayana Gurudev in the Context of NEP 2020.