Gyanshala - Jain Gyanshala
Gyanshala has two aspects,
one is social and the other spiritual.
- The social wing of Gyanshala is an NGO [Non-Governmental Organisation] in India aiming to provide basic education for poor children.
Gyan meaning knowledge or wisdom, shala school, the aim of Gyanshala is to realise better living based on good education for poor people as well.
The Gyanshala conception of learning considers the difficulties of a nation like India having the huge task to give education actually for nearly 300 millions of young people, but lacking the huge amount of money needed to finance professional teachers for primary schools.
The focus of Gyanshala lays on the teaching material and on rooms as means of education, teachers are counselled by highly qualified experts designing the material. The teachers are not specialists in pedagogic, but specialists in transferring the curriculum requirements, they just train the children until they have learned what they are asked for to continue their education after primary school or to give them the basics in Mathematics and language – reading, writing, expressing oneself - to survive in a modern society.
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- Further information at: http://www.gyanshala.org
- To get an overview please read the introduction.
- The spiritual aspect is elaborated by Jain Gyanshala.
Children are trained to remove their inner hindrances against learning by influencing their deep rooted habits.
This tradition is very old in Jainism where education was always in the first row.
The Jain ascetics and lay followers instruct children how to contact the inner self and to configure a harmonised character.
Regular Jain Gyanshala camps are held to give spiritual orientation for poor children from all walks of life.
The combination of the two aspects is a new approach for poor children to develop a holistic personality in a modern society without being excluded from self-realisation.
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