PROMOTION OF MORAL VALUES THROUGH EDUCATION

                              PROMOTION OF MORAL VALUES THROUGH EDUCATION

 I. INTRODUCTION

     Moral values are guiding principles of life. They are responsible for the all-around development of an individual. Values reflect one's personality, attitude, behaviour, mission and vision. Values are the backbone of any personality, religion, society or nation. Moral values can bring in peace of mind, joyful environment, better quality of life, sustainability, harmony in the global society. Country like India has a tradition of moral values and its education at various stages. Being a diversified country in religion as well as geographical region moral education in India was basically through religious talks or otherwise. 

    Our country finds itself faced with serious tensions and challenges of corruption, casteism, linguaism, provincialism, and regionalism etc. Value-oriented education can go a long way in curbing these fissiparous tendencies and inculcate the sentiments of unity and solidarity among various sections of Indian society. Character is the foundation of self-development. Character formation requires the development of traits such as purity, perseverance, faith, sincerity, obedience, fortitude, veneration, humanistic tendency etc. Education is a process of developing one's personality and not just gaining certificates and skills.

     Education is a process by which character is formed, the strength of mind is increased, intellect is expanded and one learns to stand on one's feet. The aim of education has been determined by the philosophical, social, economic, political and cultural norms of the society. Education must be capable of stabilizing social order, conserving culture in the society and acting as an instrument of social reconstruction. Education should not only preserve the social heritage but also be able to enrich it. Education being a multipurpose process not only inculcates social, economic and cultural awareness in humanity but is also an important medium for grasping and promoting life enhancing values among human beings.

     Education can decide the fate and future of our society or country. It equips the youth of the nation with a rational and pragmatic approach to life. It helps the society to value life and work for the betterment. Unless proper education is provided, it will be panic and chaos for the youth in the country. It is the education which makes the system value based and adheres to the accepted norms of the society. The purpose of education is self-affirmation and not self-negation. Value education alone can provide real meaning and content to life and enhances the cultural factor within the human being. Moral values lies in the educational philosophy of great visionaries like Swami Dayanand, Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr S. Radha Krishnan, Dr A.P.J. Abdul ISSN: 2249-2496 Impact Factor: 7.081 105 International Journal of Research in Social Sciences http://www.ijmra.us, Email: editorijmie@gmail.com Kalam who with their intuitive powers could prefer that education without moral values would lead to chaos, restlessness, mental as well as social disorders.

 II. NEED OF VALUE EDUCATION

     There are various aspects to our civilization like population explosion, rapid technology advancement, knowledge expansion, industrialization, globalization, mobilization, influence of various cultures on own culture etc. Society has become dynamic due to this modernization process. It is posing multiple problems of anxiety, stress, and worries in front of human life. Core human values like honesty, sincerity, morality, humanity, and non-violence are getting affected due to the evils of poverty, unsocialibility, caste system, gender inequality, ill treatment of child women and old people, and overutilization of natural resources without planning.

     To address these problems one must look at morals/ value education as an integral part of the education system as a whole. In the materialistic era of science and technology, everything except morality has reached its peak. Higher education in the present era is stimulated by economic consideration without any reference to age-old human values that separate man from animals. The aim of moral values inculcation has remained most neglected one. 

    The neglect has been abundantly visible now in the present dismal picture of society, rampant with corruption, malpractices, flouting of rules, polluted minds, restlessness, lack of peace, frustration, mental depression, violence and crime, and lack of mutual faith and trust among people by and large. Undue importance to achievement in terms of marks, remarks, awards, honors, degrees, judgments passed for others in one cause of depleting moral values.

     Without value inculcation, extracurricular activity is only viewed as an activity to win the competitions. Era of globalization has taught to become more and more selfish. Education without value is not only useless but also very harmful. The realization is particularly relevant at the present juncture of history when social, moral, cultural and spiritual values are disintegrating when the horizon of knowledge has been immensely widened and the media and the incident of scams, and scandals threaten to disrupt the value system and destabilize cultural base.

     The bookish knowledge is not helping the youth to achieve the goal of life. What the world badly needs today is a moral and spiritual revolution. Social interactions have reduced drastically. People have less tolerance, depressing mentalities and a bloated ego. Materialism has put all the Indian traditions and values in the dump yard. Everyone is running for well-defined and cash convertible goals. Nationalism, family, society and morality no longer matter for him.

    The youth of today are caught in the vicious circle of crime and violence. They have lost their moral values to the new era of commercialism and modernization world. This is a great concern for India. Inculcation of moral values through personality development is the necessity of hour to check the disintegration of social relations. Moral values are needed for developing quantities such as humility, truthfulness, honesty, courtesy, tolerance, sacrifice etc among the youth. It will help in developing positive social attitude in a new generation which prompts them to raise their voice against social evils. Moral values will inculcate sense of cooperation and fellow feeling among people.

 III ROLE OF PARENTS

     Parents are vital in the moral development of their wards because they are the first teacher and role models. The moral education of students starts in a house with parents. Parents try to talk to their wards and tell them what is good and what is bad behaviour by giving various examples. Changing socio-economic situation keep the parents busy with their progression and personal issues and they leave the whole thing to schooling system. One of the best ways to checks young minds to all kinds of low, obscene and negative thoughts and they become a prey to many wrong things at early age, is that the parents and elders should spend quality time with their children and also make them aware of the life building ideas of great personalities. No teaching can go on effectively without the support of parents. A teacher should discuss with parents the various aspects of the progress of their wards and make practical suggestions that would help the students.

 IV ROLE OF TEACHERS 

    Teachers through a positive approach need to make the youth of India realize that they are the future of India. Teachers need to teach how a lack of humanism and less consideration for society and colleagues due to lust for money and only enjoying the pleasure of materialistic life would dangerous for India’s development. Teaching moral values in personality development classes can promote individual and social welfare, love, peace, goodwill and understanding. The role of the teachers in institutions of higher education in inculcating values among students becomes important, as education is a forceful tool for the civilization of social and moral values. The teachers have to reflect on the value of honesty, integrity, compassion and justice in their own behaviour.\

     The teacher should possess core values like honesty, transparency, sincerity,  and compassion and position positive thinking. A teacher should try to create awareness about rights and responsibilities of being a good citizen. It is the teacher’s personality that makes the deepest impression on a student. A teacher should never humiliate the student but encourage the young ones by making positive comments, constructive criticism and appreciation. 

    A teacher should learn the art of shaping students' character. He should help him to develop moral values, good habits and thinking skills. Students interact with his teacher in institution and understand the values like friendship, brotherhood, nonviolence, peace etc. Moral education cannot be given by book only. One needs an example in order to develop faith in moral principles. Teachers are the role models for the renewal and improvement of moral behaviour. A teacher should appreciate the importance of understanding the factors and contexts which are influencing the behaviour, choices, lifestyles, health and welfare of students and their families. 

    A teacher should help students to acquire and practise specific skills that support positive values. He should implement appropriate evaluation strategies to monitor progress made by students towards acquiring positive values. Students often idealize their teachers watch them closely and also try to emulate their behavior. Students may view their teachers as authorities on subjects and their advice on many issues related to character and values. Teachers are responsible for teaching honesty, dedication and right behaviour. 

V ROLE OF INSTITUTION 

    In ancient times, education was imparted in institutions as Gurukul where education was given with much emphasis on moral education. Our present education has undoubtly widened and several new fields of education and technology have emerged but nothing serious is being done in modern educational institutions to teach morality. Therefore, in institution moral education should be taught as a part of their educational curriculum. The institution should promote co-curricular activities like painting, music, fine arts, elocution, recitation etc to develop the human quality of love. The programme of NCC and add-on courses on value education as an integral part of the curriculum will promote discipline leadership, self-reliance, self-control and integrity. Social values may be inculcated through the programmes of NSS and other activities related to the life and teachings of dignified personalities. Physical activities like games, sports and yoga will provide physical fitness, and a healthy body, mind and spirit.

     Participation in cultural activities will make the student aware of rich culture and heritage. All these practices are there in higher education institutes but the need is to integrate them in such a way that they are given equal importance and rating among academics and other intellectual activities. With the rapid technological, economic and cultural change, institutions will have to develop a variety of means to morally stimulate students and make them committed to moral action. The institution is responsible for maintaining a clean, beautiful and peaceful environment on the campus. Institutions must provide clean and safe drinking water and restrict social evils such as smoking, drinking, gambling and ragging on the campus. The role of an institution is to provide an environment that supports and reinforces the adoption of positive values. 

VI CONCLUSION 

    We urgently feel the need for value education in higher education institutes. To save the whole education system as well as humans we need to address more and more fundamental issues of the social and moral consequences of the unregulated activities in higher education institutes. The parents, teachers and the institutions have a definite and inevitable role to play in providing moral education in a multicultural society. To make our country an incredible India, we ought to influence our younger generations' mindset the best we could and make them understand the importance of moral values to build good character. If only we inculcate the moral value, which could be achieved only through education. We can glorify youth of today as the best citizen