PEOPLES COUNCIL OF EDUCATION
A DRAFT NOTE ON PROPOSED PEOPLES UNIVERSITY
001 PREAMBLE
Peoples Council of Education (PCE) proposes to establish a Peoples University rooted in the concept and
theory of democratic and scientific education system for all with a view to flowering the creative potentialities of
young minds – minds free from all forms of bondages and boundaries and capable of creating an ecologically
sustainable and materially and socially pleasant and peaceful world – a world without war, conflict, hatred and
violence.
002 CONTEXT
Peoples Council of Education was established on August 15, 1995 with its registered HQ at Allahabad with
a view to discovering, developing and disseminating a new democratic and scientific education system reflecting
peoples’ needs, aspirations and creative urges/potentialities. Peoples Council of Education initiated organization of
Peoples Education Congress, seminars/symposia/group discussions in pursuant with its objective. The First Peoples
Education Congress was held in 2005 at Allahabad, second in 2009 at Mumbai and third in 2012 at Gujarat
Vidyapith, Ahmedabad. Numerous group discussions, seminars/symposia/colloquia too were held. What emerges
out of these is as follows:
0201
Indian Educational Institutions, namely, schools, colleges and universities are, today, in deep crisis and the
crisis is deepening day by day.
0202
The crisis in Indian Education System is systemic and not non-systemic. The mismatch between Indian
Education System and Indian Democratic Social System appears the major source of crisis. The new Indian
Democratic Indian Social System is said to have been rooted in principles of equality, freedom and
fraternity whereas the British-born Indian Education System places premium on promotion of inequality,
discrimination bondage, obedience, hierarchy and alienation from one’s family, society, culture and
nature.
0203
The Indian Education System is neither democratic nor scientific.
0204
The Indian Education System is a sub-system of the major social system or given socio-political-economic
system. The crisis in Indian Education System, therefore, ought to be seen as the crisis in Indian
democratic social system/or socio-political economic system.
0205
There is a very intimate connection between pre-primary – primary – School Education System and
university Education. One cannot be independent of the other.
Keeping all this in view Peoples Council of Education proposes (a) to evolve a truly democratic and
scientific education system in consonance with democratic needs, aspirations and ethos of our people, (b) to
create/establish new pre-primary-primary-school education institutions to University Educational institutions all
over India.
Question to ponder is: How to conceptualize Peoples University which is an altogether different from the
existing universities? The question is vital because the Peoples University, ought not to be another addition to
existing universities.
003 OBJECTIVES
Delineation of objectives of proposed Peoples University may be one step toward formulation of its
concept. This will be possible only when we examine the explicit and implicit objectives of modern universities all
over the world. The assumption would be that the existing modern universities do reflect their past to a greater
extent. But the task is stupendous. It, however, can be made easier through collective thinking. Some tentative
objectives, are, therefore, stated below for stimulating creative thinking leading to correct and precise formulation:
0301: Promoting democratic values of equality, freedom and fraternity. Access to the University should not get
limited by congenital and fiscal constraints.
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0302: Promoting science of Nature-Humans-Society.
0303: Creating congenial environment for full flowering of creative potentialities and urges among its students and
faculty.
0304: Development of sustainability science as a new paradigm of science for enabling the people to live longer
than expected while living in harmony with Nature.
0305: Discovering new scientific theories of non-violence, peaceful co-existence, conservation of Biodiversity,
Natural Resources, Water, Environment and Ecology.
0306: Building non-hierarchical, class-caste-race-religion-free social systems.
0307: Invention, development and dissemination of principles of cooperation and cooperative living.
0308: Founding on mutual love and respect.
0309: Any other
0400 CONCEPT OF PEOPLES UNIVERSITY
Keeping the objectives in view the concept of Peoples University can be formulated. New Democratic and
Scientific Education System will be central to this concept. Authoritarian system that dominates the existing
University Education System shall have no place in it. Since cooperation will be another pillar of Peoples University
all forms of competition-based discrimination shall have no place in it. All existing universities consciously or
unconsciously promote all forms of alienation from Nature, Society, family and oneself. The concept of Peoples
University, therefore, ought to be non-alienating and non-market-oriented. Open for all is still another defining
parameter of Peoples University.
Unity between mental and physical labour ought to have central focus of Peoples University.
Thus, concept of Peoples University involves an altogether new paradigm of Knowledge of NatureHumans-Society.
0500 STRUCTURE
Structure of Peoples University ought to be rooted in its new paradigm. It ought not imitate the existing
structures of modern universities. Its structure has to be in accordance with the paradigm of Democratic and
Scientific Education System. All forms of hierarchical and authoritarian. Structures have to be replaced by nonauthoritarian, non-hierarchical democratic and scientific structures. All problems related to and created by the
existing system have to be well understood and resolved while trying to develop a new democratic and scientific
structure of Peoples University.
0600 CONNECTING WITH SCHOOL AND COLLEGIATE EDUCATION
The proposed Peoples University will be developed keeping very intimate connection between PrePrimary, Primary, School and Collegiate Education System and University Education System..
0700 CONNECTING WITH FAMILY AND SOCIETY
The vital connections between family, society and universities have been broken. Today’s universities are
like other markets. Peoples University, therefore, shall have to strive hard for building its living and dynamic
connections with family and society and avoid from becoming another market.
0800 VALUATION OF DEGREES, DIPLOMAS AND CERTIFICATES
Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates awarded by universities, colleges and schools are no longer valued
even by the awarding institutions. All kinds of Entrance Tests supposedly of high value are held by almost all
universities, colleges, IITs, Medical colleges, etc. This has given rise to coaching organizations all over the country.
Peoples University shall have to grapple with it. It will have to do away with admission tests by developing better
method of appraisal/valuation Degrees/Diplomas/Certificates awarded by it ought to carry higher values. This will
be possible only when its degrees/diplomas/certificates reflect higher order of competence/knowledge/skill.
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Peoples University shall also have to keep domination of Information Technology under check while
discouraging teacher-less distance education.
0900 FROM FRAGMENTATION TO INTEGRATION
The existing university promote fragmentation of science of Nature-Humans-Society by emphasizing on
Knowing more and more about less and less and claim of producing so-called ‘expertise’. Peoples University
has to move away from it by emphasizing on integration of science of Nature-Humans-Society by knowing more
and more about more and more. Its approach has to be inter-disciplinary/multi-disciplinary and historicalphilosophical in true sense. A fine balance between Humanities and Science has to be maintained by it.
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