Education in Ancient India c4.14

c4.14

Education to begin at Proper Time: Ancient Indians were convinced that no good results would follow if education is begun late in life. A boy who begins his education at 16 is not likely to bring any credit to his teachers¹. During our childhood, mind is pliable, memory keen and intellect receptive; it is only at this period of life, that it is possible to form good habits that may be of life-long use to us. Ancient Indians have therefore insisted that education ought to commence in childhood. One thinker observes that parents themselves would become the greatest enemies of a child, whose education has been neglected during the childhood². It was held that the 5th year and the 8th year would be the proper time for the beginning of the primary and the secondary education respectively. Our educationalists had however recognised that it would be necessary to vary these years in accordance with the cultural traditions of the family.³