 The international community began its efforts

in 1990 to search for an educational

philosophy for better international
understanding and an educational system that
can meet the challenges of 21st century.
 The most important step was taken by the
UNESCO by appointing an International
commission on Education for the 21st century
(1993-96).
 Learning: The Treasure Within, a report submitted to UNESCO, Paris by
an International Commission on Education for the twenty-first century
under the chairmanship of Jacques Delors of France.
 The members of this commission comprised of 14 members from different
countries like China ,France ,Japan , Poland etc including Dr. Karan
Singh from India. The report of this commission was published in 1996 by
the name of ‘Learning: The Treasure Within’
 The Delors Report (1996) ‘Learning – The Treasure Within”
reaffirms the view of Education Commission (1964 – 66) when it
visualizes learning as harnessing “the treasure within’. According
to the Delors Report, learning constitutes “the heartbeat of
society” while ‘learning to know’, ‘learning to do’, learning to
live together’ and ‘learning to be’ constitute four pillars of
education; mutual understanding, peaceful interchange and
harmony can be taken as the social aims of education.
The commission identifies a few tensions that it regards
will be central to the problems of the 21st century. They
are:

 1) the tension between the global and the local, i.e.,

local people need to become world citizens without
losing their roots;

 2) while culture is steadily being globalised, this

development being partial is creating tension between
the universal and the individual
 3) the third tension is pretty familiar to Indians the
tension between tradition and modernity. Whereas for
some the process of change is slow, for others it is not
so, thereby creating problems of adaptation;

 4) the need to balance between impatient cries for

quick answers to peoples' problems and a patient,
concerted, negotiated strategy of reform results in the
problem/tension between long-term and short-term
considerations
 5) tension arising out of human desire to compete and
excel and the concern for equality of opportunity;

 6) the tension between the extraordinary expansion of

knowledge and the capacity of human beings to
assimilate it;

 7) lastly, another perennial factor the tension between

the spiritual and the material.
 It is the last tension which the commission thought was
necessary to address. In the language of Delors; "There is,
therefore, every reason to place renewed emphasis on the
moral and cultural dimensions of education, enabling each
person to grasp the individuality of other people and to
understand the world's erratic progression towards a certain
unity; but this process must begin with self-understanding
through an inner voyage where milestones are knowledge,
meditation and the practice of self- criticism"
 Commission stressed the need of educating young
children and youth which is an expression of
affection.
 Education is an ongoing process of improving
knowledge and skills and it is exceptional mean of
bringing about personal development and building
relationships among individuals ,groups and nations.
 The members of the commission accepted that only
through education we can hope for a world that is a
better place to live in; there will be mutual respect to
the rights of men and women ;there will be mutual
understanding and the knowledge will be used to
foster human development.
Commission also noticed that it is a tedious
task to overcome the obstacles presented by
extraordinary diversity of situations in the
world and to arrive in a commonly
acceptable conclusions.
 The reason why the commission titled its report Learning: The

Treasure Within is taken from a line in one of the parables of La

Fontaine (1668-1694), titled The Ploughman and his Children,

which calls learning a treasure. But what placed it inside is not clear

except that the spark within is divine.

 The chapter scheme in the report reflects the basic thinking already

done by Delors and Co. The recommendations consisted of 3 parts

and 9 chapters.
Part one:- • Chapter -1,Chapter -2 ,and
Chapter-3

Part two:- • Chapter- 4 and Chapter -5

Part
• Chapter -6, Chapter -7,Chapter
Three:- - 8 and Chapter-9
 Chapter 1 is titled “From the Local Community to a World Society,”

 Chapter 2 is “From Social Cohesion to Democratic Participation,”

 Chapter 3 is “From Economic Growth to Human Development,”

 Chapter 4 is “The Four Pillars of Education (partly new in ideas);

 Chapter 5 is “Learning Throughout Life” (Chapters 4 and 5 together

constitute Part Two of the volume), and

 Part Three starts with chapter 6 titled "From Basic
Education to University"

 Chapter 7 is "Teachers in Search of New Perspectives"

 Chapter 8 is "Choices for Education: The Political

Factor,"

 Chapter 9 is titled "International Cooperation: Educating

the Global Village," and the last is called "Epilogue."
 Education is declared to be "the principal means available
to foster a deeper and more harmonious form of human
development and thereby to reduce poverty, exclusion,
ignorance, oppression and war.“
 Delors regards "education as an ongoing process of
improving knowledge and skills, it is also perhaps
primarily an exceptional means of bringing about personal
development and building relationships among individuals,
groups and nations."
Continu….
 The commission defines education, once again, as “a
social experience through which children learn about
themselves, develop interpersonal skills and acquire
basic knowledge and skills’’.
 Delors repeats the concept of broadening international
cooperation in the global village.
 Education for conscious and active citizenship must
begin at school. Democratic participation should be
encouraged by instructions and practices adapted to a
media and information society.
 It’s the role of education to provide children and adults
with the cultural background that will enable them to
understand the changes taking place.
 Commission stress the need of improvement, general
availability and strengthening of Basic Education-A
requirement which is valid for all countries.
 The emphasis should be laid for primary education
and its traditional basic programmes –reading,
writing , arithmetic-but also on the ability to express
oneself in a language that lends itself to dialogue and
understanding.
The commission acknowledges the existence of several types of institutions

of higher learning, both private and public, and also vocational and non-

vocational. The suggestions are laid for the universities to diversify what

they offer, like

 - as scientific establishments and centers of learning from where students

go on to theoretical or applied researcher teaching;

 - as establishments offering occupational qualifications and highly

specialized training courses adapted to the need of economic and social

life.
 - as meeting places for learning throughout life;
 - as leading partners in international cooperation;
 - for the developing countries they must provide the vocational
and technological training of future leaders; the higher and
middle level education is additionally required to save them
from grinding poverty and underdevelopment.
The strategies proposed are (i) seeking co-operation of the local
community including parents, schools, teachers and others, (ii)
public authorities, and (iii) the international communities.
The commission lays stress on life-long learning, a
concept which the UNESCO has been propagating for
over four decades with an added emphasis to rethink and
broaden the notion.
 The concept of life long education is different
from the traditional distinction between initial
and continuing education.
 The concept of ‘Learning Society’ , in which
every one affords an opportunity of learning and
fulfilling one’s potential.
 It press the need of literacy work and basic
education for adults.
 Teachers should be provided with the
psychological and material situation by the
society and their position should be recognized
with suitable resources and necessary authority .
 Teachers should be also concern the need for
imperative requirement to update the knowledge
and skills; should accommodate the professional
opportunities; should benefit from the economic
,social and cultural life experiences.
 Commission stress the importance of exchanges
of teachers and partnerships between institutions
in countries.
 The administrative decentralization and
autonomy of educational establishments are
required for the developments .
 It also recommends for the reorganization of
funding structures in the light of the principle
that the learning should continue throughout
individual’s lives.
 The diversification and the improvement of distance education
through use of technologies; greater use of technologies in
adult education and in-service training of teachers;
dissemination of such technologies throughout the society
are also the commission recommendation.
 The need for international co-operation should be felt in the
field of education.
 A policy for strong encouragement for the education of girls
and women should be promoted at the level of international
co-operation .
In the view of the commission, there will be
four bases of education in the twenty first
century:

 1. Learning to know
 2. Learning to do
 3. Learning to be
 4. Learning to live together.
 In the opinion of Delor’s commission, to understand
the rapid changes occurring due to scientific progress
and social processes, and cultivate skill to work
accordingly, the following will be necessitated in the
twenty-first century-
 1. Basic education should be expanded.
 2. Specific education should follow basic education.
 Commission suggest that learning to know can be achieved by
combining a sufficiently broad general knowledge with the
opportunity to work in depth on a small number of
subjects.

 In the view of the commission, the children should be trained

in learning methods, especially in focusing concentration,
memorizing and thinking, and this task should be started right
from infancy. In the view of the commission, these are the
methods of learning which can help learn lifelong.
 1. The provision for work experience and social service will have to be

compulsorily made along with formal education.

 2. Peoples should be given opportunities to learn life long. For life long

learning, the societies have to be transformed into ‘learning societies’. By

‘learning societies’ the commission means such societies in which are

given different opportunities for obtaining knowledge and skill in social,

cultural and economic field, also with imparting of formal education.

Taking part in real-time activities in these fields will help develop common

sense, decision-making power and leadership skill. And the most

important thing is that they will inculcate far-sight and insight.


 The aptitude and latent talents of children and peoples can be
brought out.
 Children’s personality can be fully developed.
 Physical abilities and mental abilities (memory, reasoning, and
imagination) can be developed in children.
 Social skills and aesthetic sense and communication skills of
children can be cultivated together with leadership ability. In
the opinion of the commission, only such people
will be able to guard themselves in the twenty-first
century.
 In the commission’s view, the first thing for this is to
cultivate the ability to understand one another. Unless
all people are able to understand others, they will not
like to live together. Our modern needs have so
expanded today that we are no more self-dependent
even in our family, social and national matters, and
leave alone international level.
 Education should train children to understand others.
 Children should be trained to cooperate with one another for
the attainment of goals right from the beginning.
 The commission has explained that when people come nearer,
some conflicts can arise among them. Therefore, education
will have to train them in subsidizing conflicts, and they will
have to be trained in eradicating conflicts on the bases of
human values.
 The commission has clarified that now all nations of
the world will have to resolve their mutual
differences, will have to sow the seeds of peace
instead of that of war, and will have to solve one
another’s problems in mutual cooperation. Therefore,
it is essential that children be trained to live together
right from the beginning and be taught a lesson of
peace and harmony in place of conflict and struggle.