Allama Iqbal was one of the greatest Muslim philosophers, was born in Sialkot in 1873. Apart from being a great poet, he was a great educational philosopher, though he was not an educationist in the limited sense of the word. Education does not only compriseacademic learning at a formal place but it also include those informal influences which shape and modify the behavior and conduct of an individual and ultimately that of a nation. Iqbal is the greatest educationist in this broad sense of education. The detail of educational philosophy of Iqbal is discussed below.
1. His Criticism Of The Existing Educational And Social Institution:
Iqbal was not satisfied with the existing social and educational institutions and their functions. He has bitterly criticized them in his poems and suggested the means for their development and progress.
2. Aim Of Education:
According to Allama Iqbal the aim of education is the development of the personality of individual. He insisted upon the re retention of one,s precious self. therefore the highest aim of education, according to Iqbal, should be to strengthen the individual qualities of the child by the cultivating his originality and uniqueness.
3. His Concept Of Individuality:
Iqbal strongly opposes and criticized the doctrine of "pantheism" which means that the highest objective and ideal of man is to loose his individual identity in the absolute. Iqbal discarded this thought of negation of self and insisted upon the retention of one's precious self. Development ofindividuality requires that the individual should undergo challenging experiences of life. He therefore, laid stress on importance of self-respect.
4. Curriculum:
Iqbal suggested the following subjects to be included in the curriculum; philosophical subjects, art and literature, religious subjects, social subjects, history and science. He decries mere bookish and crammed knowledge,
The knowledge which is not related to real life situations and which is therefore meaningless. Mere academic knowledge can not prepare a man for a life full of activity and struggle. In real criterion of learning is not learning of the book only but the ability if the learner to implement and apply the knowledge thus acquired in different life situations.
5. Method Of Teaching:
Iqbal does not favor the conventional method of teaching in which student is a mere listener. He stress on " Learning by doing", students should not only be contended on lectures; they should learn things by doing them practically. This helps in building up of the confidence and self-reliance among the learners. The teacher should made the teaching lesson as interesting as possible.
6. Women Education:
Unlike Plato and like Rousseau, Iqbal differentiate between the role of the men and the women in the society. According to him, education is the preparation for life, hence the education of the women should prepare them for their assignment duties. At first, he was not in favor of modern education for women.
7. Conclusion:
In a nutshell Iqbal is a great Muslim educational philosopher in the broadest sense of education. He believes in the importance of individuality and the respect for self. He advocates learning by doing and active participation of the students in the development of lessons. His theories are identical with modern educational theories.
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