Page:SELECTED ESSAYS of Dr. S. S. KALBAG.pdf/168

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This means abstraction and conceptualisation. This brings us to the other dimension of this diversity, the levels at which the education is given. The training of graduate engineers does not pose much of a problem. They are trained to learn through abstraction and can (or should be able to) use concepts to develop a line of action. These engineers will also be occupying more influential positions in their future career. The variety of graduate technical courses could be counted in tens and many of these could share common courses. At the technician level, the number of different courses will already rise to hundreds and the trainees need more specific instruction with less conceptualisation. They also need more practical demonstration of actual practices desired. At the non-formal / adult education / extension work level, the short term training courses will run into thousands. The materials they handle, the processes and the local environment, will all be different and changing all the time. Environmental problems are interdisciplinary. They relate not only to the physical sciences, but also the biological sciences and the earth sciences. The students are likely to be familiar with only one of them. How can they be taught the principles of all of them? This is the contradiction in the modern world; even as specialisation increases, the importance of multidisciplinary studies also increases. In order to tackle this complex task, Sven Grabe proposes three channels, I) Adult training and retraining systems 2) Extension wings of agriculture, health and engineering education centres, 3) Public and private enterprises, who in the end are related to every possible Rural Development Through Education System 155