their studies without understanding the meaning and the context of what
they were reading about (College of Education, 1956). The NNEPC report
described the set routine in a monastery as follows:
The day’s routine for a student began with prayer at the break of day in
the prayer hall ... The students squatted cross-legged in long criss-cross
rows over carpets. The choir leader squatted on a dais and chanted hymns
... The singing of psalms was done in a deep bass (to imitate the voice
of Buddha) by the choir leader, followed by the thousand voices of the
students. There was occasional clapping to mark the pause in the stanzas
and also to drive out evil. With the coming of day, the students attended
open air classes, sitting on the ground, each class forming a group. ... While
one class was receiving instructions, the rest formed circles and practiced
debating. (College of Education, 1956, p. 15).Sharma (2005) notes, however, that rote learning was not the only practice
used by teachers. Other teaching-learning methods employed in religious
schools included listening, speculation, explanation, question-answer and
discussion.
Teachers held high status as a source of knowledge and had a fair measure
of autonomy as to the selection of texts and the pacing of pedagogy with
regard to individual needs and progress. As noted earlier, those students who
had already memorized a given piece of text would be given the next part of
the task (Altekar, 1956).
Following the adoption of democracy in 1950, education expanded rapidly.
Recognizing the need for education reform, the NNEPC report made the
following suggestions (College of Education, 1956):
- Teach children rather than cover textbooks (p. 92).
- Use a thematic approach (p. 94).
- Arrange both teaching periods and practice time (p. 96).
- Make children take an active part in the learning process (p. 101).
- Follow the activity or project method (p. 101).
- Engage in cooperative teacher-pupil planning (p. 101).
- Use an informal method of teaching that is well-adjusted to children (p. 105).
- Cater to the individual needs of the children (p. 104).
Later education commissions (MOE, 1961 and 1971) also made suggestions
for improving classroom pedagogical approaches. These recommendations
were not heeded, however. In 1992 the National Education Commission (NEC)