PART
TWO
MESSAGE,
LETTERS AND CONVERSATIONS
I
SRI
AUROBINDO INTERNATIONAL
CENTRE
OF EDUCATION
During the 1920s and 1930s, the Mother's educational guidance was
limited to instructing a few individuals in French and offering general counsel
in other courses of study. At that time, children were not permitted, as a
rule, to live in the Ashram. In the early 1940s, a number of families were
admitted to the Ashram and instruction was initiated for the children. On 2 December
1943, the Mother
formally opened a school for about twenty children. She herself was one of the
teachers. The number of pupils gradually increased during the next seven years.
On 24 April 1951, the Mother presided over a convention where it was resolved to
establish an “international university centre”. On 6 January
1952, she
inaugurated the Sri Aurobindo International
University Centre. The name was changed in 1959 to the Sri Aurobindo
International Centre of Education.
At present, the Centre of
Education has about 150 full or part-time teachers and 500 students, ranging
from nursery to advanced levels. The curriculum includes the humanities,
languages, fine arts, sciences, engineering, technology and vocational
training. Facilities include libraries, laboratories, workshops, and a theatre
and studios for drama, dance, music, painting, e .
The Centre of Education
seeks to develop every aspect of the individual, rather than to concentrate
exclusively on mental training. It employs what is called the “Free Progress
System”, which is, in the Mother's words, “a progress guided by the soul and
not subject to habits, conventions or preconceived ideas.” The student is
encouraged to learn by himself, choose his subjects of study, progress at his
own pace and ultimately to take charge of his own development. The teacher is
more an advisor and source of information than an instructor. In practice, the
system is adapted to the temperament of teacher and student, and some still
prefer the
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traditional methods of education, utilising prescribed courses of
study with direct instruction by the teacher.
Sciences and mathematics
are studied in French, other subjects in English. Each student is encouraged to
learn his mother-tongue, and some study additional languages, both Indian and
European.
The Centre of Education
does not award degrees or diplomas, since it seeks to awaken in its students a
joy of learning and an aspiration for progress that are independent of outer
motives.
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