The non-governmental organisation (NGO) Satyam Gyanam Anandam Society (SGAS) wants to fill the missing link in education. Instead of a purely academic system where pupils only work to obtain a certificate, it wants to reach the overall development of the individual. With this objective in mind, the association has proposed to the ministry of Education to introduce self-education and self-development at secondary school level. The request was made last December and, despite an official letter stating that it was ?under consideration?, they have obtained no official reply so far. ?This learning will address knowledge and skills that will cater for a harmonious development of the following three essential components of an individual which are the body, mind and heart,? commented Alfred Wong from the association.

?In view of the growing violence and high number of problems in schools and society in general, we have to tackle the root causes of problems,? added Gyandev Becceea. This is why they are moving around in various schools and municipalities to present awareness sessions on self-education while still hoping to have the ministry?s green light. So, self-education involves the education about the body, the mind and the heart.

For the body component, the aim is to make the pupil become ?an overall self-conscious individual who can develop self-discipline and appropriate care and maintenance of his body?. Students will then be brought to develop a normal lifestyle including physical exercise and a balanced diet to develop quality and healthy living habits right from a tender age.

The education for the mind ?does not include the role that the present curriculum is fulfilling but considers development of the unexplored components of the intellect?. Self- awareness, skills to observe, creative thinking are some of the main objectives of this type of education.

One of the ways of reducing stress, sadness, suffering, repentance and grief may well be self-education, according to members of SGAS. Hence, the subject wants to ?facilitate the development of an emotionally stable, healthy and happy person who can positively relate to his environment, face crisis and learn to accept the realities of life?.

What SGAS proposes is to train teachers so that they inculcate these values into students without making the curriculum heavier, as the subject would not be examinable.

Thanks to meditation methods, breathing exercises, physical exercise and the teaching of some values, Gyandev Becceea is convinced that pupils ? the ?adults of tomorrow? ? will develop many more faculties than the present system. ?Children would see their level of concentration increase and their capacities at school improve,? he said.

SGAS is a non-governmental organisation set up by Swami Paranamanda in 1992. Its members make it clear, ?We are no religious federation.? It proposes meditation sessions in its centre in Dubreuil and will soon start the building of a second centre in La Flora. They, however, insist on trying to inculcate spirituality and meditation to children because, as Alfred Wong explained, ?school only caters for the development of the child?s academic side. It needs a complement?.