Opinion Its not about the brand
As we universalise education,what can we learn from an oasis of excellence?
Decades ago Sri Aurobindo,the visionary genius,commenting on the growing clamour for universalising education wrote that there is not quite so universal an agreement… on what education is,or practically or ideally should be… We have in fact entered into an atmosphere of great and disconcerting confusion. If I had withheld the source,the readers would have assumed this to be an astute observation on the state of education today.
The founding fathers of St Stephens College were committed first and foremost to the meaning and purpose of education,and only thereafter to the size and scale of its practice. The bane of the modern age,said Albert Einstein,is that means are pursued to the neglect of goals. The mechanism,in other words,overrides the meaning; the process eclipses the purpose. The founders of College had a clear idea what a Stephanian the end-product of education should be like and,hence,how it should contribute to fostering a sane and wholesome society. To them in the late 70s of the 19th century,as indeed to Swami Vivekananda later education was all about man-making,the harmonious and holistic development of young persons,nurturing them to be responsible citizens alike of heaven and of earth.
At a time when this institution is completing 130 years of its tryst with the destiny of India,it is with mixed feelings that I view the ever-growing enthusiasm for its educational sanctuary. As against the 12,000 applications for 400 seats in 2007,there were 28,000 in 2010. Perhaps we should be proud? Perhaps not!
It all depends on why young women and men are desperately keen to be on Colleges rolls. Is it because of the awesome Stephanian alumni network,ensconced wherever it really matters to be,such that it pays to bear St Stephens stamp,amounting to immanent job-reservation in important places? Or is it the hype over the disproportionate representation of Stephanians in Parliament and the cabinet at the present time? Or,alternately,is it because the vision and practice of education pursued here is life-enriching and is,for that reason,to be preferred above all else?
Is St Stephens,in other words,an invitation to engage with the soul of education,or is it a lurid label,a brandname,to be coveted? This is a crucial question as it affects day-to-day educational transactions; it will redefine our heritage, honouring it or cheapening it,as the case may be.
Ironically,those who relate to an institution for its brand value erode its brand value. The reason is simple. Brand value is alien to the purpose of every great educational enterprise in history. This would degrade ones relationship with ones alma mater into one-way traffic,subverting character-building. It recasts students into parasites,and prevents them from developing into responsible,harmoniously developed citizens.
As St Stephens completes 130 years of service to the nation,there is a need indeed a duty to be clear about the basics; for it is not only by what we do that we serve the nation. It is,even more fundamentally,by what we are.
To the founders,the teacher-student relationship was the soul of education. The importance that the character-smiths of the Stephanian tradition attached to this shaping principle of education is obvious from even the layout of the campus: 90 per cent of the infrastructure is residential! The academic and living spaces comprise a seamless whole. Educational experiences cannot be confined to classrooms. The campus,indeed the nation as a whole,is the nursery for human formation.
Second,the total growth of the person,not competition and success,is the raison dêtre of learning. Joy is the hallmark of growth. Joy morphs into gratitude and enduring bonding. The fact that this indeed was the case in the Stephanian tradition is amply evident from (a) the stature of the alumni,which does not have to be argued (b) the deep bonding that they continue to experience with their alma mater. You can be only as attached to your college as you have grown on account of it. It is urgent to note this,as market forces,gatecrashing the sanctuary of education,today sideline the holistic growth and character-formation of students. Young women and men are extremely talented. They achieve a great deal. But will they be a blessing on the nation? And what will be the substance of their commitment to realising the India of our dreams?
Finally,its founders envisaged St Stephens as a river of blessing,spreading on the surface of this sub continent,kindling dignity and hope,unity and brotherhood,competence and conscience,achievement and greatness. The best come to St Stephens. We must send out the very best. They must be imbued with a sense of duty to serve as catalytic agents in the unfolding destiny of this great nation. St Stephens is happy to welcome into its fold all who want to participate in the educational renaissance of India,which has to be as much a matter of the heart as it is of the head.
The writer is principal of St Stephens College and a member of the National Integration Council
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