India’s education system needs to make value-based teaching and learning an “integral” part as its need assumes “greater importance” in the present day, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Friday while launching the Heartfulness Essay Competition being held in Hyderabad. “Our education system needs to recognise that it is time to move beyond academics and make value-based teaching and learning an integral part of the delivery. The need for value-based education assumes greater importance in the present-day, fast-paced IT-driven material world,” said Naidu, in virtual interaction, while inaugurating the ‘Heartfulness All India Essay Writing Event’. The Vice President feels governments, parents, teachers, institutions and voluntary organizations, among others, have a huge responsibility in imparting “critical life lessons” to students but they must also ensure that the children think and act with values. “I am confident that if we move in that direction, India will lead the resurgence of value-based education for the world to follow.” He further went on to call the “share and care” as the core of Indian Philosophy, he said that it was important to focus on inculcating values of empathy, respect for elders, and religious tolerance. “This is also the time for us to return to our roots and draw upon the wisdom of our traditional methods of teaching and learning to rebuild the foundations based on universal values,” he added. The annual essay competition aims to “inculcate” value-based thinking among youth by writing on topics inspired by their experiences.
