A Gurukul is a type of ancient Vedic school in India in which students go to the house of their teacher, or the guru, to live and study under his care. The students are all treated the same no matter what their social castes are or how elevated in society his family is. The students not only study, but also render menial services such as cleaning, washing clothes, collecting wood and water, etc. Even when Lord Krishna appeared on earth He underwent the same austerities while living at the house of His guru, Sandipani Muni, along with His elder brother Balaram in a place now known as Ujjain. The ashram is still there and millions of pilgrims go to visit this sacred place.
This system of education is the oldest on earth for it has existed since the dawn of Vedic civilization. According to modern chronology its roots can be traced back 10,000 years to the time of the ancient civilization. The curriculum ensures the development of the physical, mental and spiritual conditions of the student.
At the Gurukula, the student learns about self-development in all possible areas that he will go through different stages of life, such as householder life, professional life, etc. What is astonishing is that students also learn about ecology and world preservation for they become fully aware of self-sufficiency, farming and cow protection.
ISKCON Gurukul: Srila Prabhupada had a vision which is being accomplished by his disciples nowadays. This vision was to provide education not only to members of our society but to whoever interested in getting their children trained in the best possible environment for devotional service to the Lord. In our Krishna consciousness movement, the Gurukula plays an extremely important part in our activities, because right from childhood, the boys and girls are instructed about Krishna consciousness.
Thus they become steady in their pursuits in life and they are not prone to become materialists. Students learn to become Krishna conscious and live up to Brahminical standards. They become well conversant in the revealed scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. While growing up, the students develop different qualities and as such they get to know to which social class they belong: brahmans, ksatriyas, vaisyas or sudras. The girls don't go to gurukul. They stay at home and learn cooking, sewing, etc. They also learn dances such as kathak and Bharat Natyam. Girls are meant to be protected at every stage of their life and they are not the ones who run a family or who take the leading roles in society. That is one of the reasons why it is not necessary to send them to gurukul.
But nowadays in the ISKCON society there is gurukul for girls where training is given to them. This is because we have devotees all round the world and most of us don't come from a family of vedic background. So the gurukul is there to give training to such children coming from these families.
Education is accorded a high priority in the Romanian scheme of things. The educated people have traditionally been given the respect that they deserve all through the ages in Romania. Vital positions in a rural society, like the village mayor, teacher or priest used to be reserved for the educated ones. That tradition continues to this day in Romania. Education is compulsory up to the age of 16 for every citizen of the country. The level of education too is competitive for children and demanding for their teachers.
Nursery school in Romania starts at the age of three. It can continue up to the age of six or seven, depending on the aptitude of the student. School time is usually from 8 a.m. till 12 noon. The children are taught to draw and to colour, are told a lot of stories and the teachers make sure that the little students comprehend what they are being taught.
Apart from all these things, the children are taught how to sing and dance, and how to be useful with their hands. They learn crafts like making paper boats and snowflakes and other things related to their immediate environment. Depending upon the profile of the school, they are also taught a foreign language like English, French or German apart from their mother tongue.
At the end of the nursery school stage children are evaluated by the schools that they will attend. Primary education therefore starts at the age of six or seven and it finishes at the age of 10 or 11. In this case, as well, classes start at 8 a.m. and they finish at noon too. Children do not have lunch at school but they can have a sandwich from home and as snack, they get a small carton of milk and a roll.
The curriculum in primary school is considerably more varied. Students are taught the Romanian language, Mathematics, Biology, Geography, History, Religion, Physical Education, Arts and Crafts, as also a foreign language, say English. The detailed syllabus is designed to make the children inquisitive and to make them aware of a lot of facts and information. Upon evaluation, the children are awarded grades like "Very Good", "Good", "Satisfactory", and "Not Satisfactory".
To continue, during lower secondary school, which lasts for four years too, students learn new subjects like Physics, Chemistry, another foreign language, which is French , German or Spanish. During the 7th grade, they have to pass two national tests in Romanian and Mathematics at the end of each term. By the way, the academic year has two terms and children are on holiday for Christmas, between the two terms, for Easter and the summer holiday is from June 15 to September 15.
The end of the 8th grade, the most vital in lower secondary school, is marked by the final examination in Romanian, Mathematics, and History or Geography. The results are declared in a scale of 1 through 10. The results of the students in this test determine whether they can go on to high school or not.
At this stage the students have to fill in a form listing high schools and make a few choices in order of their preference. Whether they can get admitted to the high school of their choice depends, however, on the grades they score in the test.
Students, who have not fared well in the exam, can get admitted to schools offering vocational training, where they are taught different skills. On finishing these schools, such students, who are not academically oriented, can acquire a qualification.
Finally at the end of four years of high school, students have to take the baccalaureate examination, after which they become eligible to enter a university for furthering their academic career if they want so.
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