The speech made by Honourable C.Krishna Pillai B. A. in his capacity as the chairman of the prize giving ceremony held at Vanchiyoor Malayalam Grant in Aid School is worthy of attracting the attention of all the educationists in this country. Mr. C. Krishna Pillai is an authority on education, who has put in more than 30 years of dedicated service for the growth and spread of education here. He has also widely read upon various systems of education being followed in different countries of the world. The observations made by such a person in his speech makes it amply clear how well acquainted he is with the developments in the modern world. We regret that we are not in a position to give a detailed account, touching upon all aspects of his considerably long speech at this stage. However, we are happy to summarise his opinions and admonitions as follows:

The progress and prosperity of any country in the world is dependent on the method of education being followed and the kind of education being given to its people. The fact that only 26 out of a hundred are educated in Travancore is a deficiency that needs to be rectified urgently. In his introductory remarks, Mr. C. Krishna Pillai pointed out that only the measures undertaken to propagate the spread of primary education as far as possible will help the state to meet this end. It is more than 40 years since primary education was first introduced in this state. And within the last 23 years of these 40 years, many measures aimed at reforming primary education have been initiated as well. More reforms aimed at reforming primary education are also recommended. First of all, primary education must be given to all people, irrespective of their caste or religion, without collecting any fee for it from them. Secondly, the kind of education being given to the children must be of some use to them later in life. Thirdly, the age limit for acquiring primary education must be altered, raising it from the current level. He proposed fixing it for the age group from 5 to 14 years. Mr. C. Krishna Pillai expressed the hope that during the royal rule of His Highness, the present King, who is bent upon introducing such reforms, these steps would be taken. When His Highness's rule completes its five year term, more than anybody else, the department of education, students, and their parents and guardians, will be able to celebrate the fruits of these reforms implemented thanks to the large heartedness of the King.

He was pained to state the undesirable and pathetic conditions prevailing in our schools with respect to subjects prescribed to be taught, the methods adopted by teachers in exposing these subjects, and the unhygienic school buildings. All these factors, he said, are detrimental to our students. He elaborated on the methods of teaching currently in practice, which encourage students to learn lessons by rote. Learning by rote makes the children imbeciles as the lessons learnt by heart thwart children’s ability to think on their own. He pointed out that it was indispensable to have gardens and museums attached to schools so that the students can see and understand for themselves the many things they are taught about in the classrooms. As it is being followed in countries like Germany, students must have opportunities to learn directly from nature so that overdependence on textbooks and textbook learning can be cut short, he stated further. He found fault with the annual examination system, which has proven to be burdensome to children. Since those who do not pass the exam are made to sit in the same class for three to four years, their minds’ growth gets stunted and they lose enthusiasm for learning anything further. It has been noted that when the exams draw close, some teachers at certain schools make their students sit up and attend tiresome special classes. He elaborated on this with an illustrative example. Somebody told him that his child was brilliant and since the exams were around the corner, he willingly sent his ward to attend the extra classes being conducted by their teacher at four in the evening when the school classes were over. As each student was required to pay an extra fee of Rs.1/- for this special class, his son was asked to meet the teacher’s demand even if that meant forgoing his lunch for which the money would have been otherwise used! What more could a parent or a teacher do to harm the health of a child? If students are made to suffer mental strain like that, it is likely that in future they will become unhealthy and prone to many infirmities. Now, the school buildings and the furniture also paint a bleak picture. Dark classrooms that are not properly ventilated and dusty floors are no less hazardous to children. Their health is further endangered as the benches on which they sit are without backs, which force them to lean forward constricting their chests. The ill effects of children reading poorly printed textbooks in poorly lit classrooms also pose many problems to them. As students are made to sit in classrooms in which free flow of pure air is deficient, they find it too difficult to speak clearly and well.

His words of advice to teachers are given below:

Of all the occupations in the world, the profession of a teacher is considered to be the most valued. But the value and position of a teacher should not be gauged by the amount of money he has earned as a teacher. The job of a teacher should not be considered as a means for making money. Putting the question of making money behind, teachers must guide their children towards the right path, making them aware of their duties and rights, thereby opening a path to them to become exemplary human beings both in their own communities and in the world at large. This is what makes the profession of teaching ennobled. Teachers should not think that it is demeaning to work for the betterment of their students. Rather, the teachers must discharge their duties properly, keeping in mind the loftiness of the profession of teaching. Any work or act will attain greatness, if it succeeds in fulfilling the just demands of the people. We should not classify work into high and low based on its nature and position. The job of a street scavenger and the profession of a priest are both great alike. What is despicable is to eat off another’s earnings, without ever doing some work by oneself. Therefore, one should not hesitate to do a job that meets neat standards. If you become adamant that a particular job is meant for a particular caste and therefore the members of that caste alone must do that job, people will not be able to hone their intellect and go on to become inventive.

God or an element of his divinity is present in every human being. Therefore, Hinduism teaches that all human beings are equal. Hence, he said, it is necessary for us to emphasise the concept of equality. In truth, we are all one. Utterances like ‘I belong to one caste. You belong to another caste; therefore, it is just logical to discriminate between you and me’ are artificial and man-made. That which is real is what should be followed; what is man-made should be dispensed with. Discriminating between men is against nature itself.

The world is inching toward prosperity. The universe is being diversified, the earth, water, and air have come together to progress into different spheres such as the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, and human beings. We human beings must act by keeping in mind these principles of evolution. In order to reform the world, each human being must recognise his right to work for his own empowerment and enrichment. Since all humans have this right equally, it is expected of them that they all must work toward the betterment of the masses, jettisoning their false pride arising out of family status and lineage. Like this, all people must have the willingness to work toward the common good. Caste differences will disappear in due course of time and all human beings will be united by a common bond as brothers. It is quite natural that such a change should take place in the world. When these changes take place, men should approve of them, and it should never be an impediment to them. At the same time, when the new changes run counter to the old customs, the traditionalists may make fun of those who go with the changes. Ignore them. Apart from being ridiculed, you may be harmed or even killed. Nonetheless, if we refuse to follow the changes that are indispensable for the progress of the world, the world will not move even an inch forward. World history is full of stories of great men who were mercilessly persecuted by their enemies for attempting to change them. Great personalities like Jesus Christ, The Buddha, Sankaracharyar, and Ezhuthachan had to sacrifice even their lives in the thick of their struggles to bring about change in the world.

Human nature is like that. First of all, they mistake the actions of those who set out to reform them for evil doings and start to abuse and persecute them; but when they are dead or gone, they take cognizance of their actions and start to worship them as God incarnates. Change is a principal concept that drives the world. It is impossible to conceive of a world far removed from change. If the world had stood static, we would not have had the reforms and refinements we have at our disposal now. Therefore, it behooves us that we reject the old and impeding practices and support the positive changes that are being envisaged and introduced. In future, we will have to spend the money that is now being wasted on folk arts and rituals like padyani*, ooruttu*, and kuthiyottam* for the progress of education and industries. Common prayer halls surrounded by gardens will be built in place of temples reeking with bad odour and filth. Those who vie now for conducting temple festivals with fanfare and hullabaloo will compete for getting their children educated in the best possible way. Women’s Associations will take over the venues where young women are paraded in traditional, colourful attire and ornaments and also carrying trays arranged with rice, coconut bract and perfumes etc. for thalappoli* (which is performed by circling around temples of goddess Kali and on certain occasions to ceremonially welcome dignitaries). He elaborated in clear terms that if people are to oppose these changes, the world will fail in enhancing the commonwealth. Therefore, the people must act in accordance with this principle.

Notes by the translator:

*Traditional folk art forms in Kerala.