Page:SELECTED ESSAYS of Dr. S. S. KALBAG.pdf/13

 ﻿________________

INTRODUCTION India has seen many educational experiments as well as theories in post independence period which are based on the principles of "learning while doing" and "learning through productive work". Many of these experiments and theories have borrowed ideas from the "programme of basic education" propagated by Gandhiji. However, these experiments and theories lacked confidence in the use of science and technology and were suffering from disconnect with the real needs of the rural masses. Dr. Shrinath Sheshagiri Kalbag, a scientist turned educationist, exhibited a rare confidence and conviction about the relevance and usefulness of new technological developments in the education based on productive work. Dr. Kalbag was a quintessential scientist with extraordinary commitment to the people at grassroots. He was very much pained by the great divide between haves and have nots in Indian society. He always tried to diagnose it from the perspective of a scientist and an educationist. His observation that the poor people in India are severely handicapped with regard to some basic intellectual skills and are therefore unable to use the available knowledge that flows Rural Development Through Education System 8