Oriental, Conventional and Non-conventional learning programmes in India

Oriental learning: The word “Oriental” is derived from the term “Orient”. According to the oxford dictionary, the meaning of “Orient” is “the countries of the East, especially East Asia.” Merriam-Webster dictionary defined as “regions or countries lying to the east of a specified or implied point, the eastern regions or countries of the world.”

The Orient is a historical term for the East, traditionally comprising anything that belongs to the Eastern world. The term oriental is often used to describe anything from the Orient (East Asia).

Before the East India Company embarked on its political career in India, there was no organised education organised and supported by the state. Both Hindus and Muslims had their own indigenous systems, each deeply rooted with the great tradition of learning and scholarship behind them. The study of ancient and traditional education was called Oriental learning by European and Britishers.

UNIT X – Higher Education System (Click below on the topic to read the study notes) Institutions of higher learning and education in ancient India Evolution of higher learning and research in Post Independence India (New Topic) Oriental, Conventional and Non-conventional learning programmes in India (You are reading this topic) Professional, Technical and Skill-Based education (New Topic) Value education and environmental education (New Topic) Policies, Governance, and Administration

Oriental learning Programmes

In ancient India, both formal and informal ways of education system existed. Indigenous education was imparted at home, in temples, pathshalas, tols, chatuspadis and gurukuls. There were people in homes, villages and temples who guided young children in imbibing pious ways of life. Temples were also the centres of learning and took an interest in the promotion of knowledge of our ancient system. Students went to viharas and universities for higher knowledge. Teaching was largely oral, and students remembered and meditated upon what was taught in the class.

With the disappearance of the Gurukula system and the ancient universities like those at Nālandā and Takṣaśilā (Taxila, now in Pakistan) as also the gradual dissolution of the powerful kingdoms by conquests from outside, it became necessary to evolve a method by which the ancient knowledge and wisdom of the East, especially of India, could be revived and preserved.

It is the Western scholars of the 19th and the 20th centuries who were mainly responsible for this revival, though many an Indian scholar also has contributed considerably to it. Further, they started to preserve the ancient knowledge and education system, information, culture, etc. by setting up institutes and libraries.

Oriental Research Institutes

A lot of the ancient wisdom has been buried in the millions of manuscripts lying uncared for, in our temples, Maṭhas (monasteries) and private libraries of scholars or their descendants. The various Oriental Research Institutes in our country have successfully collected quite a lot of them, are taking care of them and are also bringing them out as printed books. Modern science and technology are being put to good use in this noble work. But for the struggle of these institutes, our appalling ignorance of our glorious ancient culture would have been more appalling.

There are around 16 institutes/libraries whose work is consisted chiefly in collecting and collating rare manuscripts in the oriental languages (like Prākṛt and Sanskrit) dealing with religion, philosophy, literature, grammar, arts and sciences, editing them and publishing them with or without translations and explanatory notes.

The remaing contents are available in STUDY MATERIALS OF PAPER 1.

Conventional Learning (Education) Programmes

In this section, you will know about Conventional learning Education and characteristics of Conventional education.

Non Conventional Learning Programmes

In this section, you will learn the meaning of non-conventional learning. You will know who has inspired non-conventional education.

Not only this, You will also learn the characteristics of Non-conventional learning.

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