Steps taken by the government to promote the Languages in Eighth Schedule

 The policy of the Government of India is to promote all Indian Languages.  Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore works for the promotion of all Indian languages including Scheduled/Non-Scheduledand Classical languages. There are separate organisations for development and promotion of Hindi, Urdu, Sindhi and Sanskrit languages.  Sanskrit Language is promoted through three Central Universities viz, Central Sanskrit University, New Delhi, Shri Lal Bhahdur Shastri National Sanskrit University, New Delhi and National Sanskrit University, Tirupati. Hindi is promoted byKendriya Hindi Sansthan     (KHS) Agra, Central Hindi Directorate (CHD), New Delhi and Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology (CSTT), New Delhi. 

Sindhi is promoted through National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language (NCPSL), New Delhi and Urdu is promoted through National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL), New Delhi. In addition to promote all Indian languages, Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore also works for the promotion of four Classical Languages namely Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia.  Development and promotion of Classical Tamil is done by Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT), Chennai.   CIIL works and collaborates with   various     stakeholders      including    Universities, Institutes, State Governments, etc for development of languages through its various schemes like National Translation Mission, Linguistic Data Consortium of Indian Languages, Bharatavani, etc for development and promotion of languages.

National Webinar on Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education

 As part of the celebration of one year of transformative reforms under National Education Policy, 2020, Government of India is organising a series of theme-based webinars on different aspects of National Education Policy, 2020. Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education being one of the biggest thrust area of NEP, University Grants Commission organised a National Webinar on Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education today. Minister of State for Education Dr. Subhas Sarkar delivered the address. Senior officials from Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission attended the Webinar.

National Webinar on Holistic and Multidisciplinary Education on 02.08.21 from 12:30PM onwards https://t.co/9xsRiYjYmw

— UGC INDIA (@ugc_india) August 2, 2021

Delivering the inaugural address, Minister of State for Education, Dr. Subhas Sarkar emphasised upon the long tradition of holistic and multidisciplinary learning, from the times of Takshashila and Nalanda. The Minister said, in ancient India, attention was given to overall personality development. He stressed upon the need to re-build the model of education where one is empowered in every aspect of life. Further elaborating on the Multidisciplinary Education, the Minister mentioned, now the student will not be limited by the boundaries of science, commerce and humanities. On holistic education, the Minister said 21st century skills like active learning, out of box thinking, critical thinking, effective communication, collaboration, technological skills and life skills must be developed in our learners. Dr. Sarkar also reminded the academia about their responsibility of giving wings to the aspirations of new generation. 

Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Higher Education in his opening remarks shed light on the formulation and fundamentals of National Education Policy, 2020. Shri Khare focused on the role of NEP, 2020 in realising a self-reliant India and illustrated the role of collaboration among institutions, glue grants and inter section of disciplines in realising multidisciplinary education.

Prof. D.P. Singh, Chairman, UGC welcomed the Minister and other dignitaries. Stressing upon the vision of Swami Vivekanand in envisioning holistic perspective of education and stressed upon value-based education to learners. Prof. Singh during his concluding remarks highlighted different aspects of holistic education and flexibility through multiple entry-exit system.

The Webinar on Multidisciplinary and Holistic Education provided an opportunity to bring members of the committee on draft NEP, educationist, scientists and educational administrators on one platform. The first session of the Webinar was on the theme “Holistic Education” and was addressed by Prof. Rama Shankar Dubey, Vice Chancellor of Central University of Gujarat. Prof. Dubey focused on social and emotional literacy.  He also focused on assessment of student on high order skills, such as analysis, critical thinking and conceptual clarity to ensure better learning outcomes. 

Prof. M.K. Sridhar, Member, Committee for draft NEP and Member, UGC addressed the Webinar on the theme of “Multidisciplinary Education” in the second session. Prof. Sridhar provided an insight into the critical role of multidisciplinarity. He emphasised upon multidisciplinary education not as a replacement of existing disciplinary importance but as a supplement for having boundary crossing competencies along with deep competencies in one discipline among our students.

The thematic discussion moving on to the final session was on ‘Multiple Entry Exit through Academic Bank of Credit’ and featured Prof. V.K. Jain, Vice Chancellor, Tezpur University as the speaker. Prof.  Jain illustrated about qualification levels, credit requirements and other aspects of UGC Regulations on Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) and Guidelines for Multiple Entry-Exit System.

Prof. Nageshwar Rao, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, Prof. Sunaina Singh, Vice Chancellor, Nalanda University, Prof. Badri Narayan, Director, G.B. Pant Social Science Institute, Prof. Anup Kumar Singh, Director General, Nirma University, Prof. Bhimaraya Metri, Director, IIM, Nagpur and Prof. Avinash Chandra Pandey, Director, IUAC made their remarks in different sessions. 

The Webinar was joined by academia, industry and Higher Education Institutions from across the country. Officers from different Ministry, UGC, AICTE and NCTE were also present in the Webinar.

Dissemination of the takeaways of the Webinar like competencies beyond discipline, innovative intervention of holistic education and features of multiple entry-exit and Academic Bank of Credits among the stakeholders will contribute in the realisation of the goals of NEP, 2020 in delivering holistic and multidisciplinary education and bringing in much needed flexibility into the higher education system.

Samagra Shiksha Scheme for School Education

 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for continuation of the revised Samagra Shiksha Scheme for a period of five years i.e., from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a total financial outlay of Rs.2,94,283.04 crore which includes Central share of Rs.1,85,398.32 crore.

Benefits:

The scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students and 5.7 million Teachers of Govt. and Aided schools (from pre-primary to senior secondary level).

Details:

The Samagra Shiksha scheme is an integrated scheme for school education covering the entire gamut from pre-school to class XII. The scheme treats school education as a continuum and is in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4). The scheme not only provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act but has also been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.

The major interventions, across all levels of school education, proposed under the scheme are: (i) Universal Access including Infrastructure Development and Retention; (ii) Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, (iii) Gender and Equity; (iv) Inclusive Education; (v) Quality and Innovation; (vi) Financial support for Teacher Salary; (vii) Digital initiatives; (viii) RTE Entitlements including uniforms, textbooks etc.; (ix) Support for ECCE; (x) Vocational Education; (xi) Sports and Physical Education; (xii) Strengthening of Teacher Education and Training; (xiii) Monitoring; (xiv) Programme Management; and (xv) National Component.

Following new interventions have been incorporated in the revamped Samagra Shiksha based on the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020:

  • In order to enhance the direct outreach of the scheme, all child centric interventions will be provided directly to the students through DBT mode on an IT based platform over a period of time.
  • The scheme will have an effective convergence architecture with various Ministries/ developmental agencies of the Centre and State Governments. The expansion of vocational education will be done in convergence with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and other Ministries providing funding for Skills. The existing infrastructure of schools and ITIs and Polytechnics will be used to ensure optimum utilization of the facilities, not only for school going children but also for out of school children.
  • Provision of training of Master Trainers for training of Anganwadi workers and In-service teacher training for ECCE teachers.
  • Provision of upto Rs 500 per child for Teaching Learning Materials (TLM), indigenous toys and games, play based activities per annum for pre-primary sections in Government Schools.
  • NIPUN Bharat, a National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to ensure that every child achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing and numeracy at the end of grade III and not later than grade V has been launched under the scheme with provision of TLM upto Rs 500 per child per annum, Rs 150 per teacher for teacher manuals and resources, Rs 10-20 lakh per district for assessment.
  • Specific   training   modules   under   NISHTHA  by NCERT to train Secondary teachers and Primary teachers.
  • Strengthening of infrastructure of schools from pre-primary to senior secondary, earlier pre-primary was excluded.
  • Incinerator and sanitary pad vending machines in all girls’ hostels.
  • Addition of new subjects instead of Stream in existing senior secondary schools.
  • Transport facility has been extended to secondary level @ upto Rs 6000 per annum.
  • For out of school children at 16 to 19 years of age, support will be provided to SC, ST, disabled children, upto Rs 2000 per child per grade to complete their secondary/senior secondary levels through NIOS/SOS.
  • Financial support for State Commission for Protection of Child Rights @ Rs 50 per elementary school in the state, for protection of child rights and safety.
  • Holistic, 360-degree, multi-dimensional report showing progress/ uniqueness of each learner in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains will be introduced in the form of Holistic Progress Card (HPC).
  • Support for activities of PARAKH, a national assessment centre (Performance, Assessments, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development)
  • Additional Sports grant of upto Rs. 25000 to schools in case atleast 2 students of that school win a medal in Khelo India school games at the National level.
  • Provision for Bagless days, school complexes, internships with local artisans, curriculum and pedagogical reforms etc included.
  • A new component Appointment of Language Teacher has been added in the scheme- components of training of teachers and bilingual books and teaching learning material added, besides support for salary of teachers.
  • Provision made for all KGBVs to be upgraded to class XII.
  • Enhanced financial support for existing Stand-alone Girls’ Hostels for classes IX to XII (KGBV Type IV) of uptoRs 40 lakh per annum (earlier Rs 25 lakh per annum).
  • Training for 3 months for inculcating self-defence skills under ‘Rani Laxmibai Atma Raksha Prashikshan’ and amount increased from Rs 3000 to Rs 5000 per month.
  • Separate provision of stipend for CWSN girls @ Rs. 200 per month for 10 months, in addition to student component from pre-primary to senior secondary level.
  • Provision of annual identification camps for CWSN at block level @Rs. 10000 per camp and equipping of Block Resource centres for rehabilitation and special training of CWSN.
  • Provision for Establishment of New SCERT has been included and new DIETs in districts created upto 31st March 2020.
  • Setting up of assessment cell preferably at SCERT to conduct various achievement surveys, develop test materials & item banks, training of various stakeholders & test administration, data collection analysis and report generation, etc.
  • The academic support of BRCs and CRCs has been extended for pre-primary and Secondary level also.
  • Support   under   Vocational   Education   extended   to Government aided schools also in addition to Government Schools and grant/number of job roles/sections linked to enrolment and demand.
  • Provision of Classroom cum workshop for Vocational Education in schools serving as Hub for other schools in the neighbourhood. Provision of transport and assessment cost for schools serving as spokes has been made.
  • Provision of ICT labs, Smart classrooms including support for digital boards, smart classrooms, virtual classrooms and DTH channels have been provided.
  • Child tracking provision included for students of Government and Government aided schools
  • Support for Social Audit covering 20% of schools per year so that all schools are covered in a period of Five years.

 

Implementation Strategy and Targets:

The Scheme is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme through a single State Implementation Society (SIS) at the State level. At the National level, there is a Governing Council/Body headed by the Minister of Education and a Project Approval Board (PAB) headed by Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy. The Governing Council/body will be empowered to modify financial and programmatic norms and approve the detailed guidelines for implementation within the overall Framework of the scheme. Such modifications will include innovations and interventions to improve the quality of school education.

In order to enhance the direct outreach of the scheme, all child centric interventions will be provided directly to the students through DBT mode on an IT based platform over a period of time.

The Scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students and 5.7 million Teachers of Government and Aided schools (from pre-primary to senior secondary level) by involving all stakeholders of the school ecosystem i.e. Teachers, Teacher Educators, Students, Parents, Community, School Management Committees, SCERTs, DIETs, BITEs, Block Resource Persons, Cluster Resource Persons, Volunteers for providing quality, inclusive and equitable education. Further, the scheme will have an effective convergence architecture with various Ministries/ developmental agencies of the Centre and State Governments. As envisaged in NEP 2020, there will be a greater focus on imparting skills among the students. The expansion of vocational education will be done in convergence with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and other Ministries providing funding for Skills. The existing infrastructure of schools and ITIs and Polytechnics will be used to ensure optimum utilization of the facilities, not only for school going children but also for out of school children.

 

Major Impacts:

The Scheme aims to universalize access to school education; to promote equity through the inclusion of disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, and to improve the quality of education across all levels of school education. The major objectives of the Scheme are to Support States and UTs in: 

  1. Implementing the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020); 
  2. Implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009; 
  3. Early Childhood Care and Education; 
  4. Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy; 
  5. Thrust on Holistic, Integrated, Inclusive and activity based Curriculum and Pedagogy to impart 21st century skills to the students; 
  6. Provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes of students; 
  7. Bridging Social and Gender Gaps in School Education; 
  8. Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education; 
  9. Strengthening and up-gradation of State Councils for Educational Research and Training (SCERTs)/State Institutes of Education and District Institutes for Education and Training (DIET) as nodal agency for teacher training; 
  10. Ensuring safe, secure and conducive learning environment and maintenance of standards in schooling provisions and 
  11. Promoting vocational education.

 

AtmaNirbhar Bharat:

Recognizing the crucial role of Foundational skills in the national development, it was announced under the ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat’ campaign that a National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission will be launched, for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy in Grade 3 by 2026-27. In this context, “National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat)” has been launched on 5th July 2021 under Samagra Shiksha.

Details and progress of scheme if already running:

The Scheme is being implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State and UT Governments to support  the   States  and  UTs  in  universalizing  access  and improving quality of school education across the country. The achievements of Samagra Shiksha are as follows:

 

•      During 2018-2019 to 2020-2021, 1160 schools have been upgraded at Elementary, Secondary and Higher Secondary level, 54 new residential schools/ hostels have been opened, 41180 schools have been strengthened (including Additional classrooms), 13.51 lakh schools have been provided library facilities, 13.14 lakh schools have been provided sports equipment facility, 12633 schools have been covered under ICT & Digital initiatives, 5579 schools have been covered under vocational education, 783 KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to class X, 925 KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to class XII and 11562 separate girls toilets have been constructed.

•      In addition, during 2018-2019, 4.78 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at elementary level, 4.24 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 16.76 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(l)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.96 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.72 cr children have been provided free textbooks at elementary level, 0.74 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 14.58 lakh teachers have been trained, 69173 schools provided self defence training to girls, 3.79 lakh CWSN girls have been provided stipend and 23183 special educators have been provided financial assistance.

•      Also, during 2019-2020, 5.07 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at elementary level, 6.78 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 21.58 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(l)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.89 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.78 cr children have been provided free textbooks at elementary level, 1.76 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 28.84 lakh teachers have been trained, 166528 schools provided self defence training to girls, 3.22 lakh CWSN girls have been provided stipend and 24030 special educators have been provided financial assistance.

•      Also, during 2020-2021, 3.23 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at elementary level, 2.41 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 32.67 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(l)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.57 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.84 cr children have been provided free textbooks at elementary level, 1.44 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 14.32 lakh teachers have been trained, 81288 schools provided self defence training to girls, 3.52 lakh CWSN girls have been provided stipend and 22990 special educators have been provided financial assistance.

 

Background:

Union Budget, 2018-19 has announced that school education would be treated holistically and without segmentation from pre-primary to class XII. It is, in this context, that the Department launched the Integrated Scheme for School Education, Samagra Shiksha in 2018 by subsuming the erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). The scheme treats school education as a continuum and is in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4). The scheme not only provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act but has also been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.

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Steps taken by the government to provide online education to students

 A comprehensive initiative called PM eVIDYAhas been initiatedas part of AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan on 17th May, 2020, which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education. The initiative includes: 

  • DIKSHA (one nation, one digital platform)is the nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content for school education in states/UTs and QR coded Energized Textbooks for all gradesare available on it.
  • One earmarked SwayamPrabha TV channel per class from 1 to 12 (one class, one channel).

 

  • Extensive use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast- ShikshaVani.
  • Special e-content for visually and hearing impaired developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube.

All these schemes/programmes are free of cost and available to all the students across the nation.

Also, to reach out to those students who lack access to technology various innovative activities are being done at national, state or district level such as Gali-GaliSim-Sim, Tili-Mili programme, Motor Eskool, Roving Teacher, Project SMILE (Social Media Interface for Learning Engagement), e-Kaksha, formation of Whatsap and other social media groups, Work Book Distribution at home, Teacher calling to maintain connects with students.

School Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and the state governments have been directed to act based on the situation prevailing at every place to meet the demands of all students for providing them with the digital access required for learning digitally. Depending on the states’ requirement the Ministry of Education provides Rs.6.40 Lakh for setting up computer labs and Rs.2.40 Lakh for smart classroom. Also, the approval in 2021-22 for ICT, DIKSHA and Smart classrooms are given below:

  • An amount of Rs. 68685.2 Lakh is approved under Non- recurring head for ICT lab in 10727 schools. 
  • An amount Rs. 94633.20 Lakh is approved for smart classrooms in 42204 schools under the Non- Recurring head.
  •  An amount of Rs.1098.01 Lakh is also recommended under DIKSHA for development of digital contents. 


National webinar on Quality Teacher Education, Accreditation, and Teacher Development

 Ministry of Education, AICTE and National Council for Teacher Education organized a national webinar on “Quality Teacher Education, Accreditation, and Teacher Development.”  Dr. Jitendra Singh, MoS (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, PMO and DOPT was the chief guest for the webinar.

Addressing the participants, Dr. Jitendra Singh  said that in line with the vision of Prime Minister, the National Education Policy 2020 will help in realising the goal of New India. The Minister stressed that there is a strong need of aligning professional degree and career choices. He also spoke of integrity in the selection process of teachers and incentivizing best students to take up teaching as a profession.

The Minister said that since ancient times, teachers have been at the centre of education and contributing to the country’s progress. High quality teaching will improve educational outcomes and will lead to holistic development of students.

Prof. Narendra Kumar Taneja, VC, CCS University; Prof. C.K. Saluja, Rtd., CIE, Delhi University; Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar, VC, JNU; Prof. Padma Sarangpani, Tata Institute of Social Sciences; Dr. Maitreyee Dutta (Head), Dept of Computer Science & Engg., NITTTR, Chandigarh; Ma. Ramya Venkataraman, CENTA also participated in the webinar.

The webinar featured two  sessions on (i) Quality Education and Teacher Development (ii) Accreditation. Prof. HCS Rathore, Former VC, South Bihar Central University, and Prof. Mahendra P. Lama, School of International Studies, JNU facilitated the questions/answers/interactions and summarized both the sessions.

The webinar focused on Digital Integration in Quality Education, Impact of Language on Quality Education , Maintaining Quality of Education, Holistic Teacher Development, Teachers of the Future, Teacher’s Role in Developing 21st Century Skills, Quality Technical Education and Accreditation and Teacher Accreditation.

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Introducing Indian Values in School Education

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has developed the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005, which emphasizes on ethical development, inculcating the values, attitudes and skills required for living in harmony with oneself and with others.  NCERT has developed curriculum, syllabi, textbooks and other curricular materials for elementary and secondary stages, integrating different aspects of value education and at the same time providing adequate space to study the contents of different subjects. NCERT textbooks have integrated concerns related to environment, peace oriented values, gender, SC/ST Minority in all its textual materials and supplementary reading materials.  The module prepared on Pedagogy on Social Sciences at the elementary and secondary stage for NISHTHA Programme also attempts to inculcate Indian values through participatory approaches in the teaching and learning of Social Sciences. 

The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 provides to include in the curriculum ethical reasoning, traditional Indian values and all basic human and Constitutional values (such as seva, ahimsa, swachchhata, satya, nishkam karma, shanti, sacrifice, tolerance, diversity, pluralism, righteous conduct, gender sensitivity, respect for elders, respect for all people and their inherent capabilities regardless of background, etc. The NEP, 2020 also provides that all curriculum and pedagogy, from the foundational stage onwards, will be redesigned to be strongly rooted in the Indian and local context and ethos in terms of culture, traditions, heritage, customs, language, philosophy, geography, ancient and contemporary knowledge, societal and scientific needs, indigenous and traditional ways of learning etc. – in order to ensure that education is maximally relatable, relevant, interesting, and effective for our students. 

The Ministry of Education through NCERT organizes Kala Utsav every year to promote indigenous arts and culture in education, by nurturing and showcasing the artistic talent of school students in the country. Kala Utsav is a unique celebration of its kind where students get an opportunity to understand, and celebrate cultural diversity at school, district, state and national levels and helps in creating awareness of our regional cultural heritage and its vibrant diversity among different stakeholders of education. Since Kala Utsav involves all schools of States and Union Territories (UTs), it covers Madhya Pradesh also. 

The “Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat” programme, launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on Rashtriya Ekta Diwason 31st October, 2015 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabbhai Patel, aims to celebrate the Unity in Diversity of our Nation,promote the spirit of national integration through a deep and structured engagement between all Indian States and UTs, and showcase the rich heritage and culture, customs and traditions of either State for enabling people to understand and appreciate the diversity that is India, thus fostering a sense of common identity. The States carry out activities to promote a sustained and structured cultural connect in the areas of language learning, culture, traditions & music, tourism & cuisine, sports and sharing of best practices, etc.The State of Madhya Pradesh is paired with the States of Manipur & Nagaland and students of these States are encouraged to learn about each other’s culture, Arts, etc., through activities in schools in accordance with the guidelines for the programme. 

University Grants Commission organises National Webinar on the 'Use of Technology in Education’

 To mark the completion of one year of transformative reforms under National Education Policy, 2020, Ministry of Education (MoE) is organising a series of theme-based webinars on various aspects of National Education Policy, 2020. Technology driven education being one of the major innovative thrust area of NEP, MoE and University Grants Commission organised a National Webinar on Use of Technology in Education today. Union Minister of Railways, Communication and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw addressed dignitaries who joined from various parts of the country. 

In his inaugural address, Union Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasised upon the need of using technology in education to make it available for all. He stressed upon the adaption of technology for smoothening the process of education. Antyodaya, being one of the major philosophies rooted in Indian culture, he mentioned various initiatives to help reach technology to the last person in the society. While talking about lifelong learning, he emphasized on bringing college campuses at the doorsteps of the learners. He pointed out several measures by the Government taken under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to further enhance the connectivity, high speed internet, and means of communication with the use of advance technology.

Prof. D.P. Singh, Chairman, UGC in his address shed light on the multiple initiatives taken up by UGCto make the courses available on digital platforms. Prof. Singh highlighted SWAYAM, SWAYAM Prabha, NAD and other digital platforms which have brought learners in the mainstream of online education as part of UGC’s initiatives.

Smt. Anita Karwal, Secretary, School Education & Literacy said that the blueprint for national digital architecture for school education through which child can register and get linked to learning process which will be a digital record of his/her certificates, academic tracks.

Smt. Anita Karwal, Secretary, School Education& Literacy said that the blueprint for national digital architecture for school education through which child can register and get linked to learning process which will be a digital record of his/her certificates, academic tracks.

 

Chairing the first technical session on National Education Technology Forum, Shri S.D. Shibulal, Ex CEO & MD, Infosys addressed the participants on bridging the divide between technology and regular education.

Speaker of the session Shri Manoj Ahuja, Chairman, CBSE talked about ways to digitalize education through virtual labs, AR/VR, Gamification. Shri Sanjay Sarma, Professor, MIT, USA put forward the need to inculcate openness to adopt technologies. Prof. Partha Pratim Chakraborty, Deptt. of Computer Science, IIT Kharagpur concluded the session by focusing on creation of AI generated textbooks with the help of National Digital Library, digital twins, robot citizens.

The second session of webinar on the theme “Use of Technology for Operationalization of Academic Bank of Credits” was chairedby Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan, Former Vice Chairman, UGC. He threw light on how the Academic Bank of Credits is a flexible, revolutionary and forward-looking innovation in the National Education Policy, 2020.

Shri Abhishek Singh, CEO, MyGov talked about how Digilocker will facilitate the storage and transfer of Academic Bank of Credits. Prof. R.P. Tiwari, Vice Chancellor of Central University of Punjab emphasised on how the NEP will move from digital divide to digital provide. Prof. Rajnish Jain, Secretary, UGC gave insights on how the universities are spreading awareness among faculties and students about ABC and Multiple Entry & Exit.

The last session on MOOCS/Virtual University was chaired by Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE. He spoke on the use of AI for personalized learnings with the help of digital toys especially in the field of school education.

Prof. Saroj Sharma, Chairman, NIOS stated how approx. 1 Crore people from rural areas have benefitted from the digital initiatives by the government. Prof. Andrew Thangaraj, Deptt. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras addressed the webinar on developing virtual + physical hybrid model of courses. Prof. P.D. Jose, Deptt. of Strategy Area, IIM Bangalore emphasised on creating world class universities leveraging technology to provide high-quality, cost-effective education to students across the world. Prof. Sreedhar Iyer, IIT Bombay concluded the session by providing insights on learner centric MOOCs.

Several academicians, higher education institutions, students, experts from industry and technical fields from all across the country took part in the webinar. Officers from different Ministries, UGC, AICTE and other premier institutions were also present in the webinar.

The key takeaways of the webinar were that of establishing a hybrid model of education with the blend of virtual and physical education. The National Education Policy, 2020 with use of technology will increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio, decrease the drop-out rate, improve student mobility, equity and quality of education for students as well faculties.

The webinar on the Use of Technology in Education created a space for academia, scholarsand higher education institutions across India to discuss ways about enhancing technological support in the realm of education in India.

 

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University Grants Commission organises National Webinar on the 'Use of Technology in Education’

 To mark the completion of one year of transformative reforms under National Education Policy, 2020, Ministry of Education (MoE) is organising a series of theme-based webinars on various aspects of National Education Policy, 2020. Technology driven education being one of the major innovative thrust area of NEP, MoE and University Grants Commission organised a National Webinar on Use of Technology in Education today. Union Minister of Railways, Communication and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw addressed dignitaries who joined from various parts of the country. 

In his inaugural address, Union Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasised upon the need of using technology in education to make it available for all. He stressed upon the adaption of technology for smoothening the process of education. Antyodaya, being one of the major philosophies rooted in Indian culture, he mentioned various initiatives to help reach technology to the last person in the society. While talking about lifelong learning, he emphasized on bringing college campuses at the doorsteps of the learners. He pointed out several measures by the Government taken under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to further enhance the connectivity, high speed internet, and means of communication with the use of advance technology.

Prof. D.P. Singh, Chairman, UGC in his address shed light on the multiple initiatives taken up by UGCto make the courses available on digital platforms. Prof. Singh highlighted SWAYAM, SWAYAM Prabha, NAD and other digital platforms which have brought learners in the mainstream of online education as part of UGC’s initiatives.

Smt. Anita Karwal, Secretary, School Education & Literacy said that the blueprint for national digital architecture for school education through which child can register and get linked to learning process which will be a digital record of his/her certificates, academic tracks.

Smt. Anita Karwal, Secretary, School Education& Literacy said that the blueprint for national digital architecture for school education through which child can register and get linked to learning process which will be a digital record of his/her certificates, academic tracks.

 

Chairing the first technical session on National Education Technology Forum, Shri S.D. Shibulal, Ex CEO & MD, Infosys addressed the participants on bridging the divide between technology and regular education.

Speaker of the session Shri Manoj Ahuja, Chairman, CBSE talked about ways to digitalize education through virtual labs, AR/VR, Gamification. Shri Sanjay Sarma, Professor, MIT, USA put forward the need to inculcate openness to adopt technologies. Prof. Partha Pratim Chakraborty, Deptt. of Computer Science, IIT Kharagpur concluded the session by focusing on creation of AI generated textbooks with the help of National Digital Library, digital twins, robot citizens.

The second session of webinar on the theme “Use of Technology for Operationalization of Academic Bank of Credits” was chairedby Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan, Former Vice Chairman, UGC. He threw light on how the Academic Bank of Credits is a flexible, revolutionary and forward-looking innovation in the National Education Policy, 2020.

Shri Abhishek Singh, CEO, MyGov talked about how Digilocker will facilitate the storage and transfer of Academic Bank of Credits. Prof. R.P. Tiwari, Vice Chancellor of Central University of Punjab emphasised on how the NEP will move from digital divide to digital provide. Prof. Rajnish Jain, Secretary, UGC gave insights on how the universities are spreading awareness among faculties and students about ABC and Multiple Entry & Exit.

The last session on MOOCS/Virtual University was chaired by Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE. He spoke on the use of AI for personalized learnings with the help of digital toys especially in the field of school education.

Prof. Saroj Sharma, Chairman, NIOS stated how approx. 1 Crore people from rural areas have benefitted from the digital initiatives by the government. Prof. Andrew Thangaraj, Deptt. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras addressed the webinar on developing virtual + physical hybrid model of courses. Prof. P.D. Jose, Deptt. of Strategy Area, IIM Bangalore emphasised on creating world class universities leveraging technology to provide high-quality, cost-effective education to students across the world. Prof. Sreedhar Iyer, IIT Bombay concluded the session by providing insights on learner centric MOOCs.

Several academicians, higher education institutions, students, experts from industry and technical fields from all across the country took part in the webinar. Officers from different Ministries, UGC, AICTE and other premier institutions were also present in the webinar.

The key takeaways of the webinar were that of establishing a hybrid model of education with the blend of virtual and physical education. The National Education Policy, 2020 with use of technology will increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio, decrease the drop-out rate, improve student mobility, equity and quality of education for students as well faculties.

The webinar on the Use of Technology in Education created a space for academia, scholarsand higher education institutions across India to discuss ways about enhancing technological support in the realm of education in India.

 

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Synergy between education and skills for making a future-ready workforce

 Addressing the CII’s virtual special plenary session on ‘Job Creation & Entrepreneurship – Way Ahead for Livelihood Generation’, Union Education and Skill Development Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the economy is growing at a rapid pace and the future of India is looking very promising. He added that building skill capacity is a key to enhance productivity and drive the economy ahead. 

Shri Pradhan highlighted that continuous efforts are being made to equip our youth with the 21st Century Skills. He said that as envisioned in the National Education Policy (NEP) -2020, the Government is working to create greater synergy between education and skills for making a future-ready workforce. NEP will contribute in creating a robust education ecosystem and eventually facilitating economic growth, he added.

The Minister informed that Educational institutions and skill development centers have been affected during the pandemic but Government ensured continuity of education by developing digital content at a large scale. He further informed that in the near future every village will be connected with high-speed Internet and these mass-scale digitization efforts are creating new education, skilling, and entrepreneurial ecosystems. 

Shri Pradhan stressed that teachers play an important role in building society and technology is reshaping society. With the greater advent of technology and changing society, our teachers need to be re-skilled and up-skilled, he added. 

Shri Pradhan urged that as we celebrate “Azaadi ka Amrut Mahotsav”, we must work together to make our youth future-ready who will lead India towards the goal of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. He stated that with this goal, India is going to witness rapid economic growth and will become the engine of global growth. The Minister called upon the industry to contribute to this mission.

Shri Ajay Shriram, Chairman and Senior MD, DCM Shriram Ltd, Shri Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII , Dr. Gayathri Vasudevan , Pratham Education Foundation and other industry experts attended the session.

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Booklet on one-year achievements of NEP Implementation

 In order to commemorate one year of the implementation of NEP 2020, the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education has prepared a booklet on one-year achievements of the NEP Implementation. The booklet will be launched virtually by Union Minister of Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan on 24th August, 2021. 


In addition to the booklet, some major NEP 2020 initiatives will also be launched by the Education Minister. These include: NIPUN Bharat FLN tools and resources on DIKSHA, which is a separate vertical for FLN resources developed under DIKSHA to assist and mentor States/UTs and teachers for implementing NIPUN Bharat; Virtual School of NIOSfor providing advanced digital learning platforms through Virtual Live Classrooms and Virtual Labs; Alternate Academic Calendar 2021-22 of NCERT containing week-wise plan of interesting and challenging activities, with reference to learning outcomes, themes and chapters taken from syllabus or textbook. 

Union Education Minister along with Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr Virender Kumar will also launch, ‘Priya’- Accessibility booklet developed by NCERT in collaboration with Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disability for ingraining the concept and significance of accessibility in children right from their formative years itself as a move towards inclusive education.

As the National Education Policy 2020 envisions a substantial transformation in the entire education system at all stages, the Department of School Education and Literacy took the implementation of the NEP 2020 on a mission mode and has prepared a flexible, interactive, indicative and inclusive NEP implementation plan called SARTHAQ.  The Department has accomplished 62 major milestones in this one year, which will transform the school education sector. These include: NIPUN Bharat Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, aligning of the Samagra Shiksha scheme with the NEP 2020, Vidya Pravesh- a three months School Preparation Module, Blue print of National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR), capacity building of Secondary teachers under NISHTHA, Assessment reforms, Digital content on on DIKSHA, etc

The programme will be attended by senior officials of the Department and Heads of Autonomous Institutions and senior officers from the School Education Department from all States and UTs, and will be followed by a workshop with the states and UTs, SCERTs on the way forward for NIPUN Bharat Mission.

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Innovation-driven virtual schools to achieve greater inclusion in school education

 Union Education and Skill Development Minister, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Virendra Kumar today jointly launched the booklet on One-year New Education Policy (NEP) – 2020 Achievement along with some major initiatives of the New Education Policy- 2020 such as NIPUN Bharat FLN tools and resources on DIKSHA; Virtual School of NIOS; Alternate Academic Calendar of NCERT; and Release of ‘Priya’- accessibility booklet developed by the NCERT and Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. Minister of State for Education Smt Annapurna Devi and Secretary, School Education Smt Anita Karwal were also present on the occasion.

Addressing the participants, the Minister said that NEP is a guiding philosophy to transform the hopes and aspirations of millions of the youth to reality and making India self – reliant. He said that the formulation of NEP is also a live example of co-operative federalism to achieve a common goal of making India a global hub of knowledge. When we look back at the progress of NEP, we get more confident about the future of our students, he added.

Shri Pradhan stated that Education is not merely a competition to acquire degrees, but is a transformative tool to leverage knowledge for character building and eventually nation building. The Minister stressed that the Government is working to facilitate upgradation of infrastructure in schools, such as ensuring that Internet reaches the village schools across the country.

Shri Pradhan said that the book “Priya -The Accessibility Warrior”, released today will sensitize the students on accessibility related issues for Divyangs. Special emphasis has been laid to make the booklet simple, interesting and interactive to create awareness on accessibility in children right from their formative years, he added.

The Minister while launching the Virtual School of NIOS said that this school is a new model of learning and is an example how leveraging technology and innovation can facilitate greater inclusion in education. The school is first-of-its-kind initiative in the country which will provide advanced digital learning platforms through Virtual Live Classrooms and Virtual Labs., he added. Shri Pradhan also said that the Alternate Academic Calendar of NCERT has been developed to facilitate teachers and parents to assess the progress in the learning of children. The Alternate Academic Calendar contains week-wise plan of interesting and challenging activities, with reference to learning outcomes, themes and chapters taken from syllabus or textbook.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Virendra Kumar said that the accessibility opens doorways to opportunity and growth, thus, reinstating the importance of creating an accessible environment for everyone. He further said that awareness and a sensitized community are the essential fuels driving any revolutionary change. Government’s commitment to promote accessibility led to the development of the E-Comic cum Activity Book, titled – ‘Priya- The Accessibility Warrior’.

Shri Kumar urged both the Departments of School Education & Literacy and Department of Higher Education to take up the task of creating accessible educational infrastructure and content on a mission mode, consistently progressing towards Inclusive Education which is a vital component of the new National Education Policy. On the occasion of the 75th year of Independence of India, let us all work with our Children to become ‘Accessibility Warriors’ and make inclusive education a reality to build a brighter future for all our citizens, he added.

Another important initiative launched was “Priya -The Accessibility Warrior”, which is the outcome of collaborative efforts of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Department of School Education and Literacy. It provides glimpses into the world of a girl named Priya who met an accident and could not walk, due to plastered leg. The story depicts how Priya managed to participate in all activities at school, and in the process learnt the importance of the accessibility. She, therefore takes the pledge of being an accessibility warrior. The comic book is also available with Indian Sign Language (ISL) explanatory videos.

NEP 2020 envisages education as a continuum without any segmentation and focuses on making education more experiential, holistic, integrated, character-building, inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented, learner-centred, discussion-based, flexible, and above all, more joyful. With this perspective, the Department of School Education and Literacy has taken up a multitude of initiatives at all levels of school education and has achieved 62 major milestones which will eventually transform the school education sector.

Other major achievements include: the launch of NIPUN Bharat Mission with a vision to ensure every child achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27; aligning of the existing scheme of Samagra Shiksha with Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4) and the NEP 2020 to ensure inclusive and equitable, quality, and holistic school education; Vidya Pravesh- a three months School Preparation Module for Grade I children; Blue print of National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR) conceived to energise and catalyse the education ecosystem, capacity building of Secondary teachers under NISHTHA with a focus on improvement in quality of teachers and learning outcomes of students, Assessment reforms to make learning more joyful and experiential, DIKSHA as an teaching-learning repository of engaging e-content, etc.

NIPUN Bharat FLN tools and resources has been made available under a separate vertical for FLN resources developed under DIKSHA to assist and mentor States/UTs and teachers for implementing NIPUN Bharat guidelines. This vertical has infographics and videos on learning outcomes and assessment tools for teachers to facilitate them.

The programme was attended by senior officials and heads of autonomous institutions of the department, senior officers from the School Education department of all States and UTs and experts.

Click the link below to see the booklet on One-year New Education Policy (NEP): https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/nep_achievement.pdf

Click the link to see the booklet “Priya -The Accessibility Warrior”: https://ncert.nic.in/ComicFlipBookEnglish/mobile/

Click below to see the details of Virtual Open School: http://virtual.nios.ac.in/

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61st Foundation day of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)

 Union Minister for Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan will be addressing 61st Foundation Day of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)  tomorrow via video conferencing.. MoS (Education), Shri Subhas Sarkar and MoS (Education), Dr. Raj Kumar Ranjan Singh along with Sh. Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Addl. Secretary, DoSEL, Prof. Sridhar Srivastava, Director, NCERT and senior official of the Education Ministry and NCERT will also be present on the occasion.

As a premier national organisation the Council is committed towards promoting excellence, equity, inclusiveness and quality, in the arena of school education.  The significant activities of the Council, spanning six decades of its existence, covers research, development of curriculum, textual and training materials (both face-to-face and online), and supplementary readers, aim to meet the needs of teacher educators, teachers and students. The organisation has significantly contributed in all deliberations and consultations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, organised at all levels including the grassroots. Significant initiatives were taken up in eliciting bench mark information on student’s achievements in all States and Union territories that was collected with the help of the National Achievement Survey (NAS),. Contributions were made in developing Learning Outcomes (LO’s) and in preparing e-contents in all subject areas covering all stages of school education, for concept clarification and better understanding of subjects. Another milestone of achievement included the preparation of ECCE Curriculum and guidelines. NCERT is presently working towards development of National Curriculum Framework for school education, early childhood care and education, adult education and teacher education. It is helping the States to develop their own State Curriculum Frameworks. During the pandemic time, NCERT developed Alternative Academic Calendar for students of all classes and subjects so that their learning is not affected when the schools are closed.

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HAMMURABI – THE BABYLONIAN RULER OF MESOPOTAMIA

‘A youth full of fire and genius, a very whirlwind in battle, who crushes all rebels, cuts his enemies into pieces, marches over inaccessible mountains, and neve loses an engagement’ – Inscriptional evidence, William James Durant

WHO IS HAMMURABI ?

Hammurabi (Khammurabi/Ammurapi) was the 6th king of the Amorite first dynasty of Babylon, reigning from 1792 – 1750 BCE. He conquered all of Mesopotamia, from Babylon by 1750 BCE. The Sources that give us information about his life and achievements are inscriptions, letters and administrative records. He is famously known for his ‘Law code’.

HAMMURABI’S ACHIEVEMENTS

  • He centralized and streamlined the administration and heightened the fortifications
  • He issued a proclamation – cancelling all debts
  • He improvised Irrigation of fields and maintenance of infrastructure of the cities under his control.
  • A popular title – ‘BANI MATIM’ (builder of the land) was given to him, as he issued building projects like granaries, palaces, canals and a bridge across the Euphrates River that allowed city to expand on both banks
  • He built temples to the gods, as well as, renovated the sanctuaries of gods, especially Marduk (Babylon’s patron deity)

POLITICAL AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND OF HAMMURABI

  • Hammurabi – Hammu (family in Amorite) and Rapi (great in Akkadian) came from the Amorites, who were nomadic people coming from the coastal region of Eber Nari to Mesopotamia around c. 2 – 3rd millennium BCE. They were ruling the Babylonian region by 1984 BCE.
  • Hammurabi is credited with expanding the city of Babylon to unite all of Southern Mesopotamia.

HAMMURABI’S ‘CODE OF LAW’ (C. 1772 B.C.)

Hammurabi’s stele (Image credit: KJZ/Flickr. Copyright 2021)
  • Jacques de Morgan, found the stele on 1902. He was a French mining engineer, who led the archaeological expedition to excavate the Elamite capital of Susa, located at a distance of 250 miles from Hammurabi’s kingdom.
  • The black diorite block, nearly 8 feet high, was broken into three pieces, probably by the Elamites who brought it to Susa as spoils of war in mid 12th century B.C.
  • It is the longest inscription of early Mesopotamian History, containing almost 51 columns of text, housed in the Louvre museum of Paris.
  • Code of Law covers the following aspects: False accusations, Sorcery, kidnapping, burglary and robbery, duties and privileges of officer’s and constable, Land Laws, Debts deposit, Family and Marriage, and the economic matters like penalties for crimes and slaves.

HOW DOES THE CODE OF LAW STAND OUT?

  • It is one of the earliest examples of the doctrine – ‘lex talionis’/laws of retribution i.e. an eye for an eye
  • It provides the provision of ‘one crime, one punishment’
  • Even though the code does not include harsh punishments like removing the tongue, hands, breasts, eye or ear of the guilty, it sets an example for the principle of accused person being considered innocent until proven guilty.
  • The code shows a shift from communal to individual ownership, family or clan revenge to individual responsibility and marriage laws safeguards the legal status of a woman, despite the society being patriarchal.

PARALLELS TO THE CODE IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES

  • There are similarities between the English law back then and the code – in terms of the provision sales before witnesses being legal
  • There are similarities between the American law and the code – in terms of the provision penalties for aiding the escape of slaves
  • There are similarities between the Hindu law and the code – with the provision of paying the owner of the land the value of the crop that should have grown and infidelity of wife.
  • There are similarities between the European law and the code – with the provision of gradation of fines and damages for injuries to members of different social classes and divorce.
  • Similarities with other societies include, Berbers in the case of ill – treatment of wife and a Japanese fiction matching the provisions for children of a concubine and wife.

CONCLUSION

As Gwendolyn Leick said, Hammurabi was an ‘outstanding diplomat’ and ‘negotiator’, who waited for the right moment to fulfill his aims, with the right amount of resources and ruthlessness. He managed to create a civilized society, uniting the multi – ethnic, multi – lingual empire through his laws, so this is a classic example of ‘learning from the past’, not only in terms of the Mesopotamian region, but also for the political leaders all over the world.

REFERENCES

‘Laws of Hammurabi’ – George E. Vincent (American Journal of Sociology, 1904)

‘Review: The Code of Hammurabi’ – J. Dyneley Prince (American Journal of Theology,1904)

https://www.ancient.eu/hammurabi/

https://www.history.com/news/hammurabi-babylon-mesopotamia-city-state

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/hammurabi

https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/northandsouthwalls.pdf

Marxist Literary criticism

Marxism was introduced by Karl Marx. Most Marxist critics who were writing in what could chronologically be specified as the early period of Marxist literary criticism, subscribed to what has come to be called “vulgar Marxism.”

In this thinking of the structure of societies, literary texts are one register of the superstructure, which is determined by the economic base of any given society. Therefore, literary texts are a reflection of the economic base rather than “the social institutions from which they originate” for all social institutions, or more precisely human–social relationships, are in the final analysis determined by the economic base.

According to Marxists, even literature itself is a social institution and has a specific ideological function, based on the background and ideology of the author. The English literary critic and cultural theorist Terry Eagleton defines Marxist criticism this way: “Marxist criticism is not merely a ‘sociology of literature’, concerned with how novels get published and whether they mention the working class. Its aim is to explain the literary work more fully; and this means a sensitive attention to its forms, styles and, meanings. But it also means grasping those forms, styles and meanings as the product of a particular history.”

Karl Marx‘s studies have provided a basis for much in socialist theory and research. Marxism aims to revolutionize the concept of work through creating a classless society built on control and ownership of the means of production. In such a society, the means of production (the base in the architectural metaphor Marx uses to analyze and describe the structure of any given society in written human history) are possessed in common by all people rather than being owned by an elite ruling class. Marx believed that economic determinism, dialectical materialism and class struggle were the three principles that explained his theories. (Though Marx does attribute a teleological function to the economic, he is no determinist. As he and Friedrich Engels write in The Communist Manifesto, the class struggle in its capitalist phase could well end “in the common ruin of the contending classes,” and as Terry Eagleton argues in Why Marx Was Right, “Capitalism can be used to build socialism, but there is no sense in which the whole historical process is secretly laboring towards this goal.”) The bourgeoisie (dominant class who control and own the means of production) and proletariat (subordinate class: the ones who do not own and control the means of production) were the only two classes who engaged in hostile interaction to achieve class consciousness. (In Marx’s thought, it is only the proletariat, the working class, that must achieve class consciousness. The bourgeoisie is already quite well aware of its position and power in the capitalist paradigm. As individuals, workers know that they are being exploited in order to produce surplus value, the value produced by the worker that is appropriated by the capitalists; however, the working class must realize that they are being exploited not only as individuals but as a class. It is upon this realization that the working class reaches class consciousness). Marx believed that all past history is a struggle between hostile and competing economic classes in the state of change. Marx and Engels collaborated to produce a range of publications based on capitalism, class struggles, and socialist movements.

These theories and ideologies can be found within three published works:

The first publication Communist Manifesto (1848) argues that ‘the history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle’.[4] As class struggle is the engine room of history, to understand the course of history, one must analyse the class relations that typify different historical epochs, the antagonisms, and forms of class struggle embodied in such class relations. This involves the development of class consciousness and follows the revolutionary movements that challenge the dominant classes. It extends to rating the success of these revolutions in developing new modes of production and forms of social organization.

In contrast to the Manifesto, Preface to the Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859) and Capital (1867) focus on the unfolding logic of a system, rather than class struggle. These provide an alternative account of historical development and emphasize the self-destructive contradictions and law of motion of specific modes of production.Preface argues that society’s economic organization consists of a distinctive pattern of forces and relations of productions. From this foundation arises a complex political and ideological superstructure, where economic development impacts societal progress.

Capital was more concerned with the genesis and dynamic of capitalism. As Mclellan (1971) states, “it refers to class struggle mainly in the context of the struggle between capital and labor, within capitalism, rather than over its suppression.” Capital was less concerned with forecasting how capitalism would be overthrown, than considering how it had developed and how it functioned. The key to understanding this logic was the ‘commodity form of social relations – a form that was most fully developed only in capitalism.

Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism

Psychoanalytic literary criticism is literary criticism or literary theory which, in method, concept, or form, is influenced by the tradition of psychoanalysis begun by Sigmund Freud.

Psychoanalytic reading has been practiced since the early development of psychoanalysis itself, and has developed into a heterogeneous interpretive tradition. As Celine Surprenant writes, ‘Psychoanalytic literary criticism does not constitute a unified field. However, all variants endorse, at least to a certain degree, the idea that literature … is fundamentally entwined with the psyche’.

Psychoanalytic criticism views the artists, including authors, as neurotic. However, an artist escape many of the outward manifestations and end results of neurosis by finding in the act of creating his or her art a pathway back to saneness and wholeness.

The object of psychoanalytic literary criticism, at its very simplest, can be the psychoanalysis of the author or of a particularly interesting character in a given work. The criticism is similar to psychoanalysis itself, closely following the analytic interpretive process discussed in Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams and other works. Critics may view the fictional characters as psychological case studies, attempting to identify such Freudian concepts as the Oedipus complex, Freudian slips, Id, ego and superego, and so on, and demonstrate how they influence the thoughts and behaviors of fictional characters.

However, more complex variations of psychoanalytic criticism are possible. The concepts of psychoanalysis can be deployed with reference to the narrative or poetic structure itself, without requiring access to the authorial psyche (an interpretation motivated by French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan‘s remark that “the unconscious is structured like a language”[citation needed]). Or the founding texts of psychoanalysis may themselves be treated as literature, and re-read for the light cast by their formal qualities on their theoretical content (Freud’s texts frequently resemble detective stories, or the archaeological narratives of which he was so fond).

Like all forms of literary criticism, psychoanalytic criticism can yield useful clues to the sometime baffling symbols, actions, and settings in a literary work; however, like all forms of literary criticism, it has its limits. For one thing, some critics rely on psychocriticism as a “one size fits all” approach, when other literary scholars argue that no one approach can adequately illuminate or interpret a complex work of art.

As Guerin, et al. put it in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, The danger is that the serious student may become theory-ridden, forgetting that Freud’s is not the only approach to literary criticism. To see a great work of fiction or a great poem primarily as a psychological case study is often to miss its wider significance and perhaps even the essential aesthetic experience it should provide.

Freud wrote several important essays on literature, which he used to explore the psyche of authors and characters, to explain narrative mysteries, and to develop new concepts in psychoanalysis (for instance, Delusion and Dream in Jensen’s Gradiva and his influential readings of the Oedipus myth and Shakespeare‘s Hamlet in The Interpretation of Dreams). The criticism has been made, however, that in his and his early followers’ studies ‘what calls for elucidation are not the artistic and literary works themselves, but rather the psychopathology and biography of the artist, writer, or fictional characters’.[3] Thus ‘many psychoanalysts among Freud’s earliest adherents did not resist the temptation to psychoanalyze poets and painters (sometimes to Freud’s chagrin’). Later analysts would conclude that ‘clearly one cannot psychoanalyse a writer from his text; one can only appropriate him’.

Early psychoanalytic literary criticism would often treat the text as if it were a kind of dream. This means that the text represses its real (or latent) content behind obvious (manifest) content. The process of changing from latent to manifest content is known as the dream work and involves operations of concentration and displacement. The critic analyzes the language and symbolism of a text to reverse the process of the dream work and arrive at the underlying latent thoughts. The danger is that ‘such criticism tends to be reductive, explaining away the ambiguities of works of literature by reference to established psychoanalytic doctrine; and very little of this work retains much influence today’.