CHARACTER AIM OF EDUCATION

   CHARACTER AIM OF EDUCATION:-

Character is a mental quality and it should be built very cautiously by education. T. Raymond opines, “Education finds its real meaning and value when its aim is character-building”. Bertrand Russel emphasizes that the formation of character is the chief aim of education. Herbart, the great educator of nineteenth century says, the whole work of education may be summing up the concept of “morality”.

M.K.Gandhi viewed, “Character building is the aim in education I would try to develop courage, strength, virtue, the ability to forget oneself in working towards great aims. I should feel that if we succeed in building the character of the individual, society will take care of itself”.

Swami Vivekananda, Dayanand Saraswati and all other philosophers of the east also emphasized the development of character as the aim of education. Character, essentially, includes all the best and noble qualities which can be better cultivated by education. Morality or moral qualities include tolerance, truthfulness, honesty, courtesy, loyalty, justice, sincerity, endurance, courage or fortitude, fellow feeling, freedom, self-control, non-violence, forgiveness, will power, conviction, temperance, etc.

These should be fostered by a suitable programme of education. Therefore, S. Radhakrishnan says, “The troubles of the whole world including India are due to the fact that education has become a mere intellectual exercise and not the acquisition of moral and spiritual values”.

It is education for character which will enable a man to rise above narrow mindedness, self interest, anger, fear, miserliness and to utilize his knowledge for the betterment of humanity rather than for its destruction and dilapidation. As such, the aim of education should be the development of character or building of character for the larger interest of the community and humanity as a whole.