UNIT 2 INNOVATION

SHANTINIKETAN(ABODE OF PEACE)
 It was built by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his
son Rabindranath Tagore whose vision became what is now a university
town with the creation of Visva-Bharati.

 Santiniketan, popularly known today as a university town, a hundred

miles to the north of Kolkata, was originally an ashram built by
Debendranath Tagore, where anyone, irrespective of caste and creed,
could come and spend time meditating on the one Supreme God.

 The area is flanked on two sides by the rivers, the Ajay and the Kopai.

 Rabindranath Tagore first visited Shantiniketan in 1873 when he was 12

years old.

 In 1888, Debendranath dedicated the entire property for the establishment

of a Brahmavidyalaya through a trust deed. 

 In 1901, Rabindranath started a Brahmacharyaashrama and it came to be

known as Patha Bhavana from 1925

 Rathindranath Tagore was one of the first five students at

the Brahmacharya ashrama at Santiniketan

 Santiniketan embodies Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of a place of

learning that is unfettered by religious and regional barriers. 

 Rabindranath founded a school for children at Santiniketan and it was

around this nucleus that the structure of an unconventional university
developed 

 Tagore was one of the first to support and bring together different forms
of arts at Santiniketan.

 Tagore encouraged artists such as Nandalal Bose to take up residence at

Santiniketan and devote themselves full-time to promoting a national
form of art
  Shantiniketan was established with the aim of helping education go
beyond the confines of the classroom, Santiniketan grew into the Visva
Bharati University in 1921

About Vishwa Bharati University

 The Visva-Bharati University, founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921,

is the country’s oldest central university. 

 Visva Bharati was established as a centre for culture with the objective of
exploring the arts, language, humanities, music etc.

 It was also declared an institution of national importance by an Act of

Parliament in 1951.

 In May 1951, Visva-Bharati was declared to be a Central University and

“An Institution of National Importance” by an Act of Parliament. 

 It was granted the status of a unitary, teaching and residential university.

Rabindranath Tagore’s Ideas on Education

There are four fundamental principles in Tagore’s educational

philosophy; naturalism, humanism, internationalism and idealism.
Shantiniketan and Visva Bharathi are both based on these very principles. 

He insisted that education should be imparted in a natural surroundings.

Tagore said, “Children have their active subconscious mind which like a tree
has the power to gather its food from the surrounding atmosphere”.  

According to him an educational institution should not be “ a dead cage in

which living minds are fed with food that’s artificially prepared. Hand work and
arts are the spontaneous over flow of our deeper nature and spiritual
significance”.

According to him, “Education means enabling the mind to find out that
ultimate truth which emancipates us from the bondage of dust and gives us
wealth not of things but of inner light, not of power but of love. It is a
process of enlightenment. It is divine wealth. It helps in realization of truth”.

The main objective of his school Shantiniketan was to cultivate a love for

nature, to impart knowledge and wisdom in one’s native language, provide
freedom of mind, heart and will, a natural ambience, and to eventually enrich
Indian culture.

Religion was ideal for Rabindranath Tagore. His ‘Visva Bharathi World
University’ stood for his nobility of soul. In the pamphlet named ‘The Centre of
Indian Culture’, the poet expresses the ideals of Visva Bharathi.

In The Centre of Indian Culture pamphlet he writes, ‘In education, the most

inspiring atmosphere of creative activity is important. The primary
function of the institution must be constructive; scope must be for all kinds
of intellectual exploration. Teaching must be one with culture, spiritual,
intellectual, aesthetic, economic and social. True education is to realize at every
step how our training and knowledge have an organic connection with our
surroundings”.

He says, “We should know that the great task of our institution is to provide for
the education of the mind and all the senses through various activities”.

Tagore also lays emphasis on the learner’s contact with nature. Apart from
physical activity, nature teaches a man more than any institution. Educational
institutions should realize the importance of this fact and inculcate co-curricular
activities to good effect.

He believed that one of the main aims of education is to prepare the

individual for the service of the nation and education stands for human
regeneration, cultural representation, harmony and intellectualism.
Educational institutions should build on the power of thinking and imagination
in an individual and help turn herself/himself into a self-sustained building
block of human society and a creative canvas of a nation on the whole.

VIDYA BHAWAN UDAIPUR

Vidya Bhawan was founded by Dr. Mohan Sinha Mehta in 1931. Inspired by
the Boy Scouts Movement and Gandhi's ideas, he set up VB with a
revolutionary vision of education. He believed that our society needed
individuals who had strong educational foundations and had a strong sense of
duty towards social change and inclusion.

Vidya Bhawan started off as a small middle school in Rajasthan,with only four
classes, way back in 1931. It aimed at shifting the emphasis from book learning
to character formation. Physical, aesthetic and ethical development of the
students is an integral part of the educational program at Vidya Bhawan.

Vidya Bhawan is now a group of 14 institutions located in and around Udaipur.

The current activities of the organization include school education, professional
and technical education, teachers training, educational research, farmers’
support and agricultural research, skill and technical training to lower middle
class, making hand-made paper, orientation of Panchayati Raj personnel,
orienting Anganwadi workers.

The geographical coverage of VB is quite large. The support from VB extends

to children from many different towns and villages of Rajasthan and its
organizations support many institutions in the State. Part of the faculty of VB is
engaged in helping other State Governments develop educational packages
including teacher training modules and textbooks and playing host to a large
number of state and National level workshops and teacher training camps.

The vision of the four Vidya Bhawan schools is to provide democratic, secular
and socially meaningful quality educational experience to children from all
sections of society to make them socially responsible and capable citizens.
Children are encouraged to be co-operative and individual competition is
eschewed. Children coming to these are from mixed backgrounds such as the
bastis, the rural area around Udaipur, the orphanage in Sukher and from other
low income and socially disadvantaged communities.

The Vidya Bhawan Education Resource Center (VBERC) was established in

1995 to facilitate cross fertilization of ideas on pedagogy and sharing of
experiences among Vidya Bhawan institutions. Since then, VBERC has been
working with the governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Andhra
Pradesh and Gujarat in various dimensions such as organizing teacher’s
trainings with the objective of reparing resource groups with deeper
understanding of concepts, nature of subjects, textbooks, syllabus and
curriculum.
 Educational rights of Transgender
Community with special reference to
Supreme Court judgment of 2014.
The transgender community in India has faced systemic oppression at the behest
of the largely cisgender society. It was only in 2014, when the Supreme Court
delivered the NALSA judgment, that the transgender community finally felt seen
and heard as individuals with their distinct identity.

Given the deep-rooted prejudice against the community, actualising the rights of
transgender persons has taken longer. It was only in 2018, with the passing of
the Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India verdict where Section 377
(punishment for unnatural sex) of the Indian Penal Code was decriminalised,
that the NALSA verdict was given holistic meaning.

Transgender persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2014 has been passed by Rajya
Sabha on 24th April 2015 which mentions the rights of transgender under the
following sections:

1. Section-2 (t) Transgender person means a person like other human.

2. Section-2 (i) define inclusive education as a system of education where in all

students learn together all time.

3. Section-2 (q): clearly referred to attain and maintain maximum independence,

full physical, social, sensory intellectual, psychiatric, inclusion and participation
in every aspect of life.

4. Section-7 (1), Act 2014 give rights to all transgender have the right live in the
community with choice equal to other.

5. Section-13 (i) transgender students without discrimination provide equal of

opportunity for sport, education, recreation leisure activities and on equal an
equal basis. (ii) Provide appropriate conformity of the individual needs. (iii) The
legal of inclusion provide necessary support in environment that augments
academic and social development & (iv) also provided monitor participation
progress in school attainments in education for every transgender students
 Measures being taken by the Central government for the trans community

Steps being taken by the Central government for the benefit of the trans
community include:

1. Allocation of funds to set up shelter homes as part of the Garima Greh

project

2. Formulation of a support scheme by the Union Ministry of Social Justice

and Employment called Support for Marginalised Individuals for
Livelihood and Employment (SMILE)

3. Online training programs enabling issuance of identity cards to

transgender persons on a national portal for transgender persons by
District Magistrate or Collectors

4. Conducting awareness programs for Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile

Justice Boards, prison functionaries, healthcare officials and media
professionals

In an order passed by the Madras High Court in June 2021, guidelines

were laid down to establish a conducive environment for LGBTQ+
individuals in schools. Some of them were:
1. Ensure availability of gender-neutral restrooms for the gender-non-
conforming student.
2. Change of name and gender on academic records for transgender person
3. Inclusion of ‘transgender’ in application forms for admission, competitive
exams, etc.
4. Appointing counsellors who are LGBTQ+ inclusive for staff and students
to address grievances and provide solutions.
5. Implement measures laid down with respect to health, education and social
security for transgender persons.
The Kerala High Court in a significant ruling in March 2021 held that a
transgender person should not be denied entry to the National Cadet Corps
(NCC) on the basis of their identity.

A petition was filed before the Delhi High Court to direct the State government
to construct separate toilets for transgender persons, as using the same toilets
meant for either of the gender binary would be violative of their right to
privacy.
Transgenders are also human beings and they also have right to live with
dignity without fear and embarrassment in society. They are struggling for their
rights since hundreds of years in India. They are not given proper treatment at
public places. They are not provided with proper education. In India, they are
now considered as “third gender” and given fundamental rights by law. But for
their upliftment, the Indian government needs to implement the policies and
laws made for them. Otherwise, their status will always remain deplorable.

HOSHINGABAD SCIENCE TEACHING

PROJECT
The HSTP story began in early 1972, when a group of scientists, engineers,
educationists and social activists formulated a vision of developing a model of
school science teaching close to the ideal envisaged in various policy directives.
The Department of Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh, permitted two
non-governmental organisations, Friends Rural Centre (FRC), Rasulia, and
Kishore Bharati (KB) to take up a pilot project in May 1972 in 16 middle
schools spread over two blocks of Hoshangabad district.
The main objective of the project, which came to be known as the HSTP
(Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme), was to explore the extent to
which innovative changes can be introduced within the framework of the
government school system. To test this hypothesis, the HSTP undertook to
investigate whether it would be feasible to introduce the ‘discovery’ approach to
learning science in village schools in place of the traditional textbook-centred
‘learning by rote’ methodology. In course of time, the concept of environment-
based education was included as an integral part of science teaching.
A basic assumption behind this effort was that learning science through
experiments and field studies would help build up a questioning and analytical
attitude in children. Since the programme also emphasised learning directly
from the local environment, it was hoped that the children would eventually
begin to question the traditional social structure of their village society.
The Madhya Pradesh education department played a special role in this nascent
effort by giving administrative backing and academic freedom to experiment
with books, kit, curricula, teacher training and examinations. This freedom
allowed the HSTP to address innovation and quality improvement in science
education as an integrated whole, focusing on all aspects of school functioning
to facilitate innovative teaching. This unique instance of a state government
accepting the role of a voluntary agency in changing school education within its
own framework was a landmark in education in the country, enabling the HSTP
to evolve as a model for innovative quality improvement in the mainstream
education system on a macro scale.
The programme was academically guided through the active involvement of
young scientists, educators and research students from some of the leading
academic and research institutions in the country. The initial impetus was given
by groups from the All-India Science Teachers Association (Physics Study
Group) and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. They
were joined in 1973 by a group from the University of Delhi, which went on to
take over the academic responsibility for the programme. Other institutions of
repute that contributed to the effort included the Indian Institutes of Technology
(IITs), various universities and post-graduate colleges.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) granted fellowships to faculty
members from Delhi University and other academic institutions to participate in
the programme at the field level while the Madhya Pradesh government also
permitted its college science teachers to interact on a regular basis from 1975.
This synergy between the university community and school science teachers in
developing academically sound curricular materials for village schools was also
a unique feature of the programme.

PEOPLE'S SCIENCE MOVEMENT

THE origin of the People's Science Movement (PSM) in India may be traced to
the early 1950s when a number of organisations emerged with the aim of
creating scientific awareness among the general public. The Kerala Shastra
Sahitya Parishad (KSSP), the Marathi Vigyan Parishad, the Assam Science
Society and the Banga Vigyan Parishad are the more prominent among them.
They began dissemination of information about science and technology (S&T)
by publishing literature in various Indian languages. Of these, the KSSP in the
1960s and the 1970s grew into a mass organisation.

The basic philosophy of the PSM is that S&T inputs are essential to achieve the
goal of an equitable and sustainable society although such inputs by themselves
are not sufficient. The PSM groups believe that the public needs to develop a
critical understanding of S&T in order to be able to participate in the growth
and application of S&T, especially in the choice of technologies in different
contexts. Given the widespread illiteracy, let alone scientific illiteracy, it was
also becoming clear that the efforts to propagate science awareness and create a
scientific temper among the people should go hand-in-hand with efforts in mass
literacy.

The PSM activities can be broadly classified into four categories:

1. Science Communication: Science communication is the basis for the

movement in several States. It involves science teachers, working scientists and
the science-qualified middle class and students. The activities include science
publications, popular science lectures, street plays and school science activities.
Cultural forms of communication are extensively used in the Kala Jathas.  One
of the sustained activities of the Haryana Vigyan Manch has been its campaign
against superstitions and myths.

2. Policy Critiques: The forum of PSM allows scientists and professionals to

critically evaluate state policies, not just S&T and research and development
policies; study their inadequacies and propose alternatives. The idea being that a
detailed critical understanding of developmental policies empower people's
organisations to intervene in decision-making. Sustained interventions in the
area of S&T policy and management are required if a people-oriented science-
society linkages are to emerge.

3. Development interventions: This has been a major component of the PSM's

initiatives through mass campaigns and discussions. By developing pilot models
in literacy, health, agriculture, credit cooperatives, watershed development,
local/panchayat level planning programmes, promotion of small enterprises and
their networking, the PSM groups have been able to intervene effectively in the
decision-making process in several instances. These campaigns serve the
purpose of people's resistance to unfair policies and highlight their demand for
appropriate alternatives.

4. Technology Development: PSM groups have engaged in developing and

encouraging people-centred technologies that are less capital intensive and
empower a large number of people, workers, craftspersons and artisans. Some
examples of such initiatives are: wireless in local loop for telecommunications,
the simputer and village information software, bio-mass as replacement for
cement/concrete in civil constructions, windmills and bio-mass based energy
systems, non-chemical inputs to boost agricultural productivity, improved
small-scale mechanised looms, small-scale oil presses and other food processing
units, and mechanised black smithy.
Roughly, once every two years, the PSM groups come together at the All India
People's Science Congress (AIPSC) to review their actions, interact with
experts, learn from their experiences and plan ahead.

The PSM has come a long way from merely disseminating scientific
information to involving the people in advocacy, discussions and interventions
in science-related policy and developmental issues. The movement has gone
from strength to strength to become a vibrant mass movement with practically
every State having an active people's science group. The efforts of the PSM are
becoming more relevant today as the adverse impact of liberalisation and
globalisation is felt increasingly by the ordinary people and the state is
gradually abdicating its responsibilities in education, employment, health and
social welfare.

BANANSTHALI VIDYAPEETH
Banasthali Vidyapith (Banasthali University) is a university located in the Tonk
district of the Rajasthan state in India. It is a deemed universityBanasthali
Vidyapith is a fully residential women's higher education institute which offers
an integrated system extending from the primary tothe Ph.D. level.It was on
October 6, 1935 that Smt. Ratan Shastri and Pandit Hiralal Shastri founded
Banasthali to fill up the vacuum caused by the sudden death of their highly
talented and promising daughter Shantabai. Banasthali is one of the five higher
education institute in India meant exclusively for Women.

To achieve its objective of 'synthesis of spiritualvalues and scientific

achievements of the East and the West', it has evolved Five-fold Educational
Programme (Panchmukhi Shiksha) comprising of the following aspects : (i)
Physical, (ii) Practical, (iii) Aesthetic, (iv) Moral and (v) Intellectual. This way
the students develop an integrated and balanced personality.

VISION AND MISSION

Banasthali Vidyapith has been conceptualized to materialize the ethos of nation-

building and Indian Culture.The architects of the Vidyapith believed that an
educational programme should be able to promote the development of a
balanced and harmonious personality of the students. Hence, the educational
programme of the Vidyapith was distinct from the form of education prevalent
at that time which emphasized book learning to utter neglect of all other aspects
of education. Banasthali Vidyapith’s aim of a full and balanced development of
students' personality got concrete expression in the form of 'Panchmukhi
Shiksha' which evolved out of initial experimentation.

Panchmukhi Shiksha attempts a balance of the five aspects of education, namely

Physical, Practical, Aesthetic, Moral and Intellectual and aims at all round
harmonious development of personality.

INNOVATIVE EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATION

Banasthali Vidyapith aims at the synthesis of spiritual value of the East and
scientific spirit of the West. The main thrust of all the activities of the
Banasthali Vidyapith is the development of a complete personality. The
institution firmly believes that the personality consists of interdependent
components, each being equally important requiring equal attentionand can only
be developed through a wholesome education. The ‘Panchmukhi Shiksha’
which has evolved from experimentation, attempts a balance among the five
necessary aspects of education: Physical, Practical, Aesthetic, Moral and
Intellectual.

PHYSICAL: Under physical education programme, various activities like

parade , shooting, riding, flying, girl guiding, bulbul, swimming, yoga and
various modern and traditional sports like kabbadi, kho-kho, hockey, basket
ball, badminton, long jump, high jumpetc . are included. Students who have
opted for a physical activity under the Five Fold Education programme
compulsorily take a Fitness Assessment test.

AESTHETIC: Students learn music and painting up to class v,. they can
choose either music (vocal or instrumental) or painting.dance education is being
provided to the students of all levels.

PRACTICAL: Under practical education sanganary printing & dying, batique,

bandhej, tailoring, embroidery, craft, papermache etc. are included. Under
domestic education, students are supposed to performcleaning and washing and
collective Shramadan.

MORAL: The aim of moral education is to develop personality ofthe students,

so as to cultivate in them the feeling of respect for allreligions. It is achieved by
the means of weekly prayers, talks, Veda, Geeta & Ramayana path etc. The
common evening prayer and Udbodhen program is unique.
INTELLECTUAL: intellectual education is being given to the students in
order to avoid the relative aspects of modern education. natural and social
sciences with languages and mathsare being taught with sciences from the
beginning . education methods are adopted with the help of projects related to
social and natural environment. banasthali vidyapith never believes in
examination-based education system. it gives emphasis on practical education.

SNDT UNIVERSITY
SNDT Women’s University is the first Women’s university in India as well as
in South-East Asia. The University was founded by Maharishi Dr. Dhondo
Keshav Karve in 1916 for a noble cause of Women’s Education. The first five
women graduated in 1921 from this University. The University Headquarters is
in Churchgate Campus, Mumbai and the other two campuses of this University
are at Juhu, Mumbai and Karve Road, Pune.

In a century old existence, the university has grown into a multidisciplinary

institution hosting diverse professional, technical and liberal arts programmes
from K12 to PhD. SNDTWU is probably one such university where there is
Nursery school as laboratory for Human Development Department, Centres for
Women's Studies, Inclusion and Exclusion, Distance Education, and has
affiliated institutions for doctoral programmes. Unlike most universities in the
country which have to have state jurisdiction, SNDTWU is unique in terms of
jurisdiction. SNDTWU can affiliate colleges/institutions anywhere in India with
prior consent from the State Government.

SNDT Women’s University is committed to the cause of women’s

empowerment through access to education, particularly higher education,
through relevant courses in the formal and non-formal streams. Further the
university is committed to provide a wide range of professional and vocational
courses for women to meet the changing socio-economic needs, with human
values and purposeful social responsibility and to achieve excellence with
“Quality in every Activity” through vocational and professional courses for
women.

GOALS
  Provide Access To Higher Education For Women Through Formal And
Non- Formal Streams Including Adult And Continuing Education.
 Provide A Wide Range Of Professional And Vocational Courses For
Women To Meet The Socio-Economic Demands.
 Develop Scholarship And Research In Emerging Areas Of Study,
Particularly With Focus On Women's Perspectives.
 Inculcate Among Women Positive Self- Concept, Awareness Of
Women's Issues And Rights With A Rational Outlook Towards Society.
 Enhance Purposeful Education With 'Human Values' And Social
Responsibility By Participating In Outreach Programmes.

The University has 2 institutes named as -

Jankidevi Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JDBIMS) is the Centre

of Management Studies and Post graduate Department of Management
Education of SNDT Women’s University. It is a part of the bold initiative
taken by the SNDT Women's University in the field of professional education
for women. JDBIMS is named after Smt. Jankidevi Bajaj, a distinguished
representative of Indian womanhood who worked for the awakening and
emancipation of women. She was a revolutionary social worker in a tradition
bound society and is a perfect example of karma yogini.

Usha Mittal Institute of Technology) UMIT - A Landmark in Technical

Education for Women UMIT has been approved by the apex bodies like the
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE and the Directorate of
Technical Education (DTE). It envisages an educational complex with state of
the art laboratories, workshops and computer centre equipped with the latest
equipment. It also envisions close liaison with the Industry and handling live
Industry Projects as part of the curriculum. The curriculum has been designed to
embrace modern developments in the field of technology to equip the students
to face the challenges of the Industry.
 CASE BARODA
The University has its origins in the Baroda College, established in 1881 by
Baroda state. The main building, which houses the Faculty of Arts, was
designed by Robert Fellowes Chisholm in Indo Saracenic architecture style, in a
fusion of Indian and Byzantine arches and domes in brick and polychrome
stone. The main dome on the convocation hall was modelled after the great
dome of the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur.

Pratap Singh Gayakwad of Baroda (1908-1968),(the last Maharaja of the

erstwhile Baroda State)founded the university in 1949,on the wishes of his
grandfather, Maharaja Sayajirao Gayekwad III(1863-1939),and settled the “Sir
Sayajirao Diamond Jubilee and Memorial Trust ” which exists to date,
catering to the education and other needs of the former Baroda State.

OBJECTIVES OF MSU

The Government of Baroda and its people had for a long time desired to have
separate University of their own . The object of establishing MSU was to
provide a distinct type of University-a teaching and residential university which
should have complete freedom in all academic matters, and free to institute new
branches of studies suited to the needs an aspirations of the region.