Nancy Moirangthem
Peace education is a diverse and continually changing field, responding to developments in society and, to some extent, to the advancing knowledge and insights of peace research. As practiced in elementary and secondary schools and presented in the university programs that prepare classroom teachers, peace education goes by various names: conflict resolution, multicultural education, development education, world order studies, and more recently, environmental education. Each of these approaches responds to a particular set of problems that have been perceived as the causes of social injustice, conflict and war. The conceptual core of peace education is violence, it’s control, reduced, and elimination.
One of the important things to bear in mind is that Peace Education is not another subject; it performs two important functions in a curriculum:- Firstly, it unites all other subjects under the holistic vision of peace. In the absence of such a holistic view the learning done in subject compartments tends to be fragmentary and remain superficial Secondly; Peace Education humanizes education. It is a humanistic approach to education rather than a subject.
Any lesson in any subject could be presented through the peace approach with full justice without formal knowledge, use the peace education approach in their lessons and classroom management. This shows the fact that such an approach is integral in good education. However, theoretical and practical knowledge can improve their present class room practices.
Importance of Peace Education:
The task of peace education is the dissemination of peace knowledge primarily through preparation for action. It facilitates learning to intervene in situations of peace less ness, learning how to take action as responsible citizens, but mainly and most especially learning how to learn the skills and knowledge required for effective action. Good Peace Education helps students to learn to make arguments based on sound analysis and contextualized interpretation. It helps them to determine the types of policies and intervention that follows from those arguments and hopefully, opens to them the possibilities to take action. Such goals of course have always characterized progressive educations approach to education for citizenships and democracy.
NCERT: (National Council for Educational Research and Training)
The formation of the National Focus Group can indeed be viewed as a progressive step taken by the Central Govt. out of the 21 Focus Groups; Peace Education has also found a way under the Chairmanship of Prof. Rev. Valson Thampu. The conferences of the Chairperson held on the 6th Dec., 2004 have concluded with the recommendation the essentials to be incorporated in the curriculum, where Peace education is one of them from among the eleven subjects chosen. To reiterate the meeting held on 11 Oct 2004, (APEID – Asia Pacific Program of Educational innovation for Development at NCERT in Delhi). Chaired by Shri. B.S. Baswan, Secretary (S & HE) MHRD. He observed that Peace Education and Value education need to be included in curriculum of school education as highlighter in the Meeting of APEID in Tokyo. Recently during the month of April 2005, the NCERT has a week long consultation on developing framework for peace studies as a curriculum next session.
Present Situation in North east India:
The increasing violent activities are felt in every areas of life in the States of Northeast. Various groups have resorted to violent means of protest and airing their discontentment within the state. There is also less interaction and dialogue in any conflict situation leading to stalemate and violent recourses. There is also various elements, organized section that openly resort to violent means of protest without any care or concern for human lives. The Northeast India is heterogeneous and multiethnic with many tribal groups, Muslims, business communities and plain people. The various groups are also culturally very sensitive. It is in this context, that the idea of tolerance, peaceful co-existence, respect of human lives, responsible action are becoming more and more important. Presently the states such as Manipur, Assam Tripura and Nagaland are affected by violent armed conflict, but on the other hand states like Arunchal Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram and Meghalaya are comparatively peaceful.
So two pronged strategy of conflict resolution, and prevention of conflict can be both applied when we think of the region as a whole. But the importance of the various ethnicity must be given importance. Each tribe is important at the same time how to bridge across the differences ethnicity, with the overall objective of promotion democracy and national objectives at large.
The children are exposed to so much of violence, be it in the TV, newspapers, or in real life. It is becoming importantly crucial that this be addressed within the context of the educational system. So that in the long run, students have the idea of creating a better world which is tolerant tolerance, and dialogue as a form of conflict resolution and finding the ways and means to transform violent conflicts. The increasing violence is being felt in every spheres of life. It is in violent conflict, needs to be explored and given the most important place in finding a possible alternative to the present situation of the State especially for the student communities. Therefore in order to explore and find some possibilities such a workshop is being organized targeting teachers and community leaders of various NGOS, who will be the main instruments in bringing these desired objectives.
Designing a Peace Program:
In the words of Prof. Betty Reardom: “Thinking about how the world might be and envisioning a Society characterized by Justice are the essence of conceptualizing the conditions that comprise peace education. If we are to educate for peace, both teachers and students need to have some notion of the transformed world we are educating for”
In doing so, A school or an education system needs a clear vision and a model to ensure the integrity and the consistency of the effort. The concept of peace being so wide the absence of a model leads to a piecemeal work, sometimes resulting in contradiction. In such conditions as having too many unrelated views, values and concepts distorts the essential message. Once a model is developed, especially in the curriculum it can be developed spirally in depth and width from grade to grade.
Those who are interested to join the workshop at Shillong from 21-23rd April, 2007, may contact at email: cfpem@mail.com or call at 9436034426 / 9436272137
The workshop/seminar on Peace Education for All in the North East India was held on 21-23rd April 2007 at Shillong. It was organized by the Centre for Peace Education Manipur (CFPEM) and RAISE, Itanagar, and sponsored by the North East Council (NEC)
