Chapter 2 - Informal Education: Definitions and Agencies

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above three categories of education. Since informal education is the main
area of the present research, especially the current state of informal
education in Sanskrit, that part is discussed, giving due consideration the
agencies of informal education associated with Sanskrit.
Since Sanskrit is an ancient language with a very long tradition that
is still present and relevant in Indian education the search for the informal
agencies in Sanskrit education could not be limited to the contemporary
agencies of education only but it should be extended into the means and
methods of education of the past also. In ancient India we had the great
Gurukula system of education which was considered at that time as a
standard or formal method of education that institutionalized the intense
teaching and learning under a preceptor for a specific period, but at the
same time, the informal agencies like family and community which
functioned under the laws of varṇa and āśrama had also a decisive role in
deciding the kind and quality of education. Therefore an attempt is made
to find out in which ways the society in the ancient and medieval times.
was able to provide education to its members. This inquiry is relevant also
as we see that the ancient traditions still exist in various parts of India
which stand detached from the mainstream education and operate like
informal centers education in the modern times.