Education for Survival

EDUCATION, 1 Dec 2025

Surya Nath Prasad – TRANSCEND Media Service

29 Nov 2025 – Today human survival is in danger. The greatest danger of humanity is world war in which if it happens, no one will survive. Nations have developed selfish tendency and they promote this tendency among their citizens directly or indirectly. This is why nations of great wealth live side by side with nations which cannot even feed their people. The wealthy live with every comfort and convenience while in many parts of the world people live and die in the streets without even the basic of food and shelter, unwanted, uncared for and without home Mahatma Gandhi said, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not for every man’s greed.” On the one side of the world over fifteen million children die of malnutrition every year and millions more suffer the debilitating effects of related diseases; on the other side world military spending today is in the range of $400 billion a year or over $1 billion every day.

This selfishness has created mutual hatred, hostility and distrust in man and in nation. This is also a threat for survival. This situation to be insane is created by nations themselves. Erich Fromm also observes, “An unhealthy society is one which creates mutual hostility, distrust, which transforms man into an instrument of use and exploitation of others, which deprives him of a sense of self, except in as much as he submits to others or becomes automation.” Thus selfish bosses in the nations and heads of nations exploit masses and initiate violence and war. Freire also finds, “Violence is initiated by those who oppress, who exploit, who fail to recognize others as peoples not by those who are oppressed, exploited and unrecognized.” Illich blames for this New Pax Economica which does not just permit, but encourages the destruction of the Commons. It empowers new elite to make all people’s survival dependent on their access to education, health care, police protection, apartments and super-markets. It exalts the producer and degrades the consumer.

Hence every individual or society or nation lives and dies in alienation or without mutual sharing being exploited by oppressors or producers and or new elites. This is why Erich Fromm considers in-humanity as “Schizoid self-alienation”. He warns, “The danger of the future is that men may become robots. True enough, robots do not rebel. But given man’s nature, robots cannot live and remain sane, they become “Golems”, they will destroy their world and themselves because they cannot stand any longer the boredom of a meaningless life.” Schumacher also believes, “Today man is being destroyed by inner conviction of usefulness, and no amount of economic growth can compensate for this loss.” Thus self-alienation is itself the root cause of war. The basis of all wars is fundamentally the sense of separateness, egoism and selfishness-national, political, religious, economic and individual selfishness.

Hence humanity faces the greatest challenges of its history – the challenge of learning to live with cooperation and mutual sharing for its own survival or peace. This is why education for survival is urgently needed for the whole world.

Survival: Which Way and Why?

Survival is the basic innate desire of all species. But question arises which way survival is needed and desirable: Survival through struggle or survival through mutual sharing, cooperation and altruism? In animal world, only fittest can survive; but in human world weak also survive due to the human nature of mutual sharing, love and altruism. If man is only animal, he might also choose struggle for his existence. Hermann Hesse also says, “In so far as man is animal, he lives by struggle, he lives at the expense of others, whom he fears and hates. Life is then war.” But man is not animal. So human survival is desirable or needed through mutual sharing, cooperation and altruism. Charles Darwin himself stressed this law of cooperation and mutual aid, side by side with that of the struggle for existence, although for sometime this aspect of his theory was neglected by many Darwinians. In 1880, the Russian Zoologist Kessler made it clear that the law of mutual aid on cooperation is as fundamental as that of the struggle for existence. Karl Kessler presented his ideas on the law of mutual aid in a lecture in January 1880 at a Russian Congress of Naturalists.  Later on, Peter Kropotkin, in his ‘Mutual Aid’, then in his ‘Ethics’, demonstrated this principle convincingly. Since that time an enormous body of evidence has been produced showing that the principle of cooperation has possibly been even more important in the evolutionary process than that of egoistic struggle for existence. Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin, in their book ‘Origins’, have set out to show, “…that humans could not have evolved in the remarkable way in which we undoubtedly have unless our ancestors were strongly cooperative creatures. The key to the transformation of a social ape-like creature into a cultural animal living in a highly structured and organized society is sharing: the sharing of jobs and sharing of food.”

Ivan Illich in his addresses to a Peace Research Conference at Yokohama in December, 1980 said, “Peoples peace had protected the commons. It guarded the poor man’s access to pastures and wood; it safeguarded the use of the road and rivet by people, it reserved to widows and beggars exceptional rights for utilizing the environment.” The reason is that no nation can survive without altruistic conduct among its members. If new born infants were not cared for, they would die. Similarly, without altruism, all the sick, incapacitated, and aged members of a nation would soon die. In every nation some are handicapped by inherited defects and latent tendencies to disease and weakness. All who are afflicted with poverty, sickness, bereavement, unemployment, imprisonment, exile and oppression need thoughts of love and sympathy and earnest wishes from those who are free from the above weaknesses for their relief and release from suffering.

Dr. Radhakrishnan also said in his address to the students of Social Work in 1944, “While science will add to richness of life, social improvement will make creative life possible. Even, then most women and many men will remain lonely, damped and worried. Many will still be without zest for life and without freshness in vision. They will require not curiosity but understanding, not sermons but sympathy, a lively perception and sharing of each other’s sorrows, a bearing of one another’s burdens.”

In fact, they are not responsible themselves for their misfortune. They are victims of heredity, un-democratic social and political systems and education. Dr. Lala Hardayal says, “Their personal responsibility of their mistakes and misdeeds is infinitesimal indeed. If you start to be angry with someone, you should logically go on and vent your wrath up-on his father, mother, teachers, grandparents, uncles, neighbors and many others who have made him what he is.” Hence they deserve sympathy and love of all who surround them. An Indian spiritual Psychologist Prof. Lalji Ram Shukla says, “It is good to love a man when he has virtues, but it is better to love him when he has none.” Love and sympathy cannot be limited for people of a particular nation. But love has no boundary. It may reach to all peoples of all nations excluding none Spiritual healer of Japan Masaharu Taniguchi preaches, “Love is the most powerful energy that brings peace. Love transcends the interest of personal gain or loss. True love is to love someone even when he suffers a loss from it. This applies to relationship between man and wife or even between countries. As long as he is concerned only about his interests, peace will not come.” The ancient Indian Epic: Mahabharata also teaches us:

“Small Souls inquire, ‘Belongs this man

To our own race or sector clan?’

But larger-hearted men embrace

As brothers all the human race.”

Thus humanity cannot survive through struggle. Humans can survive only through mutual love, sharing, cooperation and altruism.

Education for Survival: How?

The human organism seems to have both the Tendencies to struggle, and to cooperate with others mutually for its own survival. So human tendency to struggle for existence (or of selfishness or egoistic) can be sublimated through promoting creative and constructive work (but not this tendency of animal), and its nature to cooperate with others and to work through mutual aid can be encouraged through pro-per education for its survival or peace. Dr. Charles Mercieca, Executive Vice-President of the IAEWP and a Professor of Education of A & M University, Alabama, USA also said four years ago, “Every species has to learn to adapt to survive. Man is on the road to extinction if he doesn’t adopt. Man must evolve from a primitive impulse fighter to a reasoning creature that can overcome the instinct to fight.” Betty Reardon considers, “Humanness is the first requisite of survival and, therefore, of relevance. Understanding the common problems of mankind is the second requisite and should be the basic learning goal of education for survival.” Hence she suggests to replace traditional citizenship education with a “survival curriculum” such as that proposed by Michael Scriven who suggests, “that education for survival is largely education for creation of an adjustment to revolution.”

Nevertheless education for survival means education for peace, or survival through education for mutual sharing, cooperation and altruism. Schools, Colleges and Universities are appropriate places where peace education or teaching for mutual aid and sharing can be facilitated to make the students true altruist and cooperative which lead them to be peace-minded.

However these educational institutions will have to extend their services to other adult groups of society also who are busy in family as parents, in school as teachers, in religious institutions as preachers and in state as rulers; because they are ultimately responsible to teach the younger generation deliberately and/or incidentally through the and behaviors in their respective institutions. Then Indian Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi also said in her Inaugural Address of UNESCO Experts Meeting at New Delhi, “Education for peace must be spread in schools and Colleges but not to be confined within their four-walls. It must pervade in all pervasive media. It must find a place in all conferences and meetings…”

It was said by a great reformer and educationist, “Give your children, and I will give the World”. But today we should say, “Give the children right understanding about the nature of man and his relation with the world, and they will give us security for survival or peace.” This is the time when we must include in our curriculum the teaching for survival or peace. Mrs. Gandhi also said in an interview, “Peace studies in Universities are welcome, even if their reach be limited. One of the objectives of education at all stages should be sublimation of the instinct of aggression.” P.A. Sorokin also wants schools to be remade because he believes,”…the school will be one of the main springs of altruistic and constructive forces which make for peace, happiness and genius.” Dr. (Mrs.) Madhuri R. shah, then U.G.C. Chairman also indicates, “Schools will have to build bridges between man and man… Education will have to be planned to heighten the opportunity for each moment of his living into one of learning, sharing and growing.”

Hence educational institutions can include Education for Survival or Peace Education as an independent subject in their syllabus containing the following contents to make the pupils and masses true altruists, in return for their own survival:

1. Teaching for Disarmament;
2. Teaching about Nature of the Man and the world;
3. Training for Democracy;
4. Teaching about Human Rights;
5. Teaching about United Nations and its Specialized Agencies;
6. Teaching about other countries;
7. Teaching the Concept of Panchsheel; and
8. Teaching Ideals of the Great Altruists of the different Nations.

1. Teaching for Disarmament: Physical Disarmament needs no teaching. However, it demands mutual agreement between statesmen to ban the manufacture and testing of nuclear weapons and for the destruction of their stock piles to save the humanity.

It was the good start that India was the first to sign the Moscow Treaty on the banning tests or nuclear weapons. India was again the first after the initial signatories of U.S.S.R., the U.S.A. and Britain to sign the Moscow Treaty on the Prohibition of nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in the outer space and under water. In her address to the.. Parliament of Uruguay in Montevideo on 27th September 1968, Mrs. Indira Gandhi said, “We must bend our energies to bring about nuclear disarmament and true internationalization of science in the service of humanity.” After that, sometime later she said also that greater support should be mobilized to resolve issues through peaceful means and to create a climate in favour of universal and total disarmament.

Japan has to set and Costa Rica has already set concrete examples of the ideal of total disarmament by abolishing military from their countries.

According to Section 8 of the new Constitution, Japan is not to possess an army, navy or other military forces (except police forces). Costa Rica has also dared to constitutionally forbid the existence of a standing army. But unless all nations of the world follow the same, survival of mankind is doubtful.

However physical disarmament is the temporary remedy of the war weary world. Mere physical disarmament cannot remove wars unless peoples are disarmed psychologically. Psychological disarmament is fundamental to physical disarmament and peace. William Brown also observes, “There is explosive material in every one of us which can cause tremendous trouble and distort things in all sorts of ways. It has been said that moral disarmament (sometimes called moral rearmament) must precede physical disarmament and can alone make the latter possible, My contention is that psychological disarmament is more fundamental still and must be achieved before world peace can be assured.”

 Thus psychological disarmament is basic condition of physical disarmament and permanent cure of wars. All the weapons and wars are products of human minds and the results of specialized training for arms and wars; so human minds can also be prepared for disarmament and peace. This is why UNESCO preamble also says, “Since war begins in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men, the defences of peace must be constructed.” Hence students and masses should be taught for psychological disarmament for physical disarmament and peace or survival.

2. Teaching about the Nature of the Man and the World

 The Man: The man must be acquainted with the true nature of his own and its relation with the world.

Man is made of five sheaths, viz.   physical, vital, mental, intellectual, and spiritual or social. He or she needs to be unfolded all his or her energies to be physically strong, mentally stable, intellectually sound, spiritually enlightened through being socially cooperative and altruists. Balanced development of all these five can make man peaceful. Development of first four can make man egoist being deprived spiritually. Spirituality can be developed through social contact, mutual aid and sharing. Development of mere one or two of potentialities makes man handicapped in the rest.

Unfavorable political and social systems deprive man to develop all his or her energies. So these man-made unjust systems are responsible for his or her egoistic nature, while just systems are the basis for his altruistic nature. However, sometimes in unjust social and political situations great altruists came out with great zeal and enthusiasm even sacrificing their own lives.

Nevertheless, even if egoistic nature is innate in man, it can be sublimated through promoting creative and constructive work.

 The World: The world is in all men and women like all men and women belong to the whole world. This is why every man or woman is considered as a miniature universe. The world is essential for the evolution of man because living in the world, man gets opportunity for sublimation of his or her aggressive tendencies and selfishness and for development of altruism. Living in the world, peoples learn to live well with others. They learn to love all for none is different-universal oneness. World belongs to all. Man is one with the whole world. We belong to each other.

“Our only true, deep buried selves

Being one with which we are one with

the whole world”.

Rabindranath Tagore also said, “We have come to this world to accept it, not merely to know it. We may become powerful by knowledge, but we attain fullness by sympathy. The highest education is that which does not merely gives us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence. But we find that this education of sympathy is not only systematically ignored in schools, but it is severely repressed. From our very childhood habits are formed and knowledge is imparted in such a manner that our life is weaved away from nature and our mind and the world are set in opposition from the beginning of our days. Thus the greatest of educations for which we came prepared is neglected, and we are made to lose our world to find a bagful of information instead. We rob the child of his earth to teach him Geography, of language to teach him grammar. His hunger is for the Epic, but he is sup-plied with chronicles of facts and dates. He was born in the human world, but is banished into the world of living gramophones, to expiate for the original sin of being born in ignorance. Child-nature protests against such calamity with all its power of suffering, subdued at last into silence by punishment.”

Where there is duality, there is competition, strife and unhappiness. Duality divides man. The idea of oneness in all unifies the man and the world and it is the strongest force in the life of nations and races. Thus proper understanding about the man and the world promote mutual sharing and cooperation and altruism for survival or peace.

3. Training for Democracy: Students should be trained for democracy. Humanity can survive or be in peace only when political democracy exists in the whole world. But the world-wide political democracy cannot be realized without world-wide education for democracy. This is why UNESCO’s “Learning to Be” guides, “Whatever rules, forms and customs through which this or that country may apply the principles of democracy, democratic life necessarily presupposes debate of ideas and confrontation of opinions… Education, through its instruction, practice and commitment, should contribute to a project which is very typical of our time that of replacing a mechanical, administrative type of authority by lively, democratic process of decision-making.”

To be democrat is the basic requirement of the man for his or her survival or peace of the humanity. Principles of democracy – equality, liberty, fraternity, cooperation, tolerance and justice – are based on man’s altruistic nature. He or she needs liberty and wants to feel equality, to deal with fraternity, to live with cooperation and to act with tolerance and justice.

Equality: Men may be unequal physically but they are equal – spiritually and socially. The spirit in larger human society which binds all human beings in unity or in universal brotherhood is common and equal in all as all men and women belong to the same species Homo sapiens. The poor man and the rich, the weak nation and the strong are equal. As Massinger sang,

“Equal nature fashioned us

All in one mould.”

The sense of equality and togetherness in students should be developed through proper teaching.

Liberty: Liberty is the birth right of every man. It is man’s nature to be free for full development. In the absence of liberty no man, society or nation can progress and be in peace. So, all men need full liberty of speech, assembly, association, discussion and criticism. Liberty is of the inner man, even of the innermost mind, voluntary, sociable and cooperative, Hence students should be given full liberty for the development of themselves and the society which they belong. Dr. Lala Hardayal says, “Give us good school and new economic and political institutions, and let there be more and more of liberty all round. Train better citizens; establish cooperation, banish competition and coercion; and there will not be the slightest danger in allowing unlimited liberty, which is indeed every citizen’s birthright.”

Fraternity: Literal meaning of Fraternity is brotherhood. But its original meaning is love. Equality and liberty prescribe for all men and women what they are entitled for; but love thinks of giving more than is due. Love thinks of all. The rule of Fraternity in distribution is, “Everyone should work according to his ability and receive according his or her need.” The children, the weak, sick and handicapped can get their due, not due to they have right, but due to full love. Hence students should be encouraged to live according to this creed, “Each for all and all for each.”

 Cooperation: It is man’s nature to live with co-operation. The present situation also has made human life so interdependent that no man or nation can make progress or survive without seeking cooperation of other persons and nations. No nation is self-reliant in all sense. So every nation is in need of each other’s cooperation for its survival. Then Indian Minister of State for Education and Social Welfare Smt. Sheila Kaul said in her Valedictory Address in an UNESCO Expert Meeting at New Delhi on Dec. 11, 1981, “The human race has a dire need to take advantage of all its available talents for development and peace.” Hence youth of all nations should be taught mutual dependence of mankind and need for love and com-passion. Sense cooperation should be developed in the students through practical teaching from the very beginning of their school life. UNESCO also observes, “One mission of education is to help men see foreigners not as abstractions but as concrete beings, with their own reasons, sufferings and joys, and to discern a common humanity among the various nations.”

Tolerance: Human beings are so diverse in the ways of living. They have different cultures, religions, languages and opinions. Differences of opinion among the peoples of different races, cultures and religions are natural. Life will become intolerable if every individual thinks alike and acts alike Diversity is in his constitution and to suppress it is to dehumanize him and ultimately the world. So every person should have right to differ for creativity and peace.

The basis of tolerance is consensus which is in man’s nature and it means listening to others and arriving at certain genuine compromise. Compromise is the first condition of cooperation. Many persons cannot live or work together without the habit of mutual regard and accommodation. Thus-tolerance is essential to readily accept each other’s differences Democracy welcomes and encourages all honest differences of opinions. Tolerance is a symptom of understanding. To be tolerant is to be humane. Hence the development of the sense of respect and hospitality towards other cultures and civilization in the students should be encouraged through our schools, colleges and universities to create a favourable environment for peace.

Justice: In a great book – The City of God‘-St. Augustine asks, “Take away justice, what are the kingdoms of the earth but great bands of robbers?” Lala Hardayal also says, “Human society is only a herd of beasts, if it is not founded on justice.” History reveals to us how wars cannot be avoided, so long as justice is not practiced by man to man’, by nation to nation, unless we accept the principle that the weak have right against the strong. Students should be acquainted with the fact that everything belongs to all. The wealth of the whole world is heritage of all who live on the earth. Justice gives everyone his due. It is the parent of peace and harmony. So, all persons have right to take their shares as citizens. Humanity is entitled to equal treatment and to same protection in everything which is fundamental, Paul R. Mort states, “Democracy demands that each human being be dealt with by his fellow as a living, growing and potentially flowering organism that has a right to be a participant in decisions that stand to affect him.”

 Only a just man can love justice. Hence students should be trained to be just. Love of justice should be cultivated in them.

4. Teaching Human Rights: Article 28 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December, 1948) explains, “Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedom set forth in this declaration can be fully realized.” But this can be realized only through education. Final Document of UNESCO’s International Congress on the Teaching of Human Rights describes Aims of Human Rights Education and Teaching as:

(i)        fostering the attitude of tolerance, respect and solidarity inherent in human rights;

(ii)       providing knowledge about human rights in both their national and international dimensions, and the institutions established for their implementation;

(iii)      developing the individual’s awareness of the ways and means by which human rights can be translated into social and political reality at both the national and the international levels.

To realize these aims special activities should be undertaken by Schools and Colleges in the observance of programmes designed to promote respect for Human Rights in the minds of children. Students should be made aware of the rights as also obligation and they should be motivated to take action for realizing such rights in their development and to create respect for others’ rights. This teaching of human rights can also secure survival and promote peace.

5. Teaching about the UN and its Specialized Agencies: United Nations and its agencies are working for unity, peace, progress and prosperity for all the peoples of the whole world irrespective of any discrimination. Hence it is proper to acquaint our young generation and masses at large with the activities of UN and its agencies. For promoting understanding about the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies the following aims can be set:

(i)        to help students to understand the objectives forming U.N.;

(ii)       to help students to know the origin of U.N.;

(iii)      to help students to study the constitution and actual working of U.N.; and

(iv)      to help students to know the actual work done by the U.N. and its Specialized Agencies.

Teaching about U.N. and its Specialized Agencies broaden the mind and heart of students through understanding the men and the world and their problems in broader perspective and to solve them cooperatively.

6. Teaching about other Countries: Students should be acquainted with the lives and peoples of different countries of the world. Interest of students about the ways of life and culture of people in other countries should be stimulated. The sense of appreciation of similarities as well as dissimilarities existing in different cultures should be developed among students population.

The objectives of teaching about other countries should be:

(i)        to create the interest in students in knowing about the other countries;

(ii)       to make them understand the inter-dependence of different nations and to enable them to think nationally about similarities and dissimilarities between their country and other countries;

(iii)      to clarify their misconception about people living in other countries;

(iv)      to develop among the students a sense of appreciation of the common culture of mankind; and

(v)       to help them in promoting international understanding, cooperation and mutual sharing.

The proper program of teaching about other countries can also make the future generation true altruists who can assure the man and the world to survive through mutual aid and sharing.

7. Teaching the Concept of Panchsheel: Students should be well informed about the concept of Panchsheel. The five principles of Panchsheel were first formulated in the Preamble to the agreement between India and China in regard to Tibet, which was signed on April 29, 1954. These principles, which later came to be known as Panchsheel are:

(i)        Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty;

(ii)       Mutual non-aggression;

(iii)      Mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs;

(iv)      Equality and mutual benefit; and

(v)       Peaceful coexistence.

Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru said, “If Panchsheel is fully and sincerely accepted by all countries, peace would be assured everywhere, and cooperation would follow.”

 Hence Principles of Panchsheel should be fully explained to the students and its importance should be emphasized.

8. Teaching Ideals of the Great Altruists of the World: The ideals of the great altruists of humanity such as Buddha, Jesus, Saint Francis of Assisi should be taught. They loved even their enemies. Their sphere of love was unlimited. Their love was more intense. Their altruism was of the most creative, wisest, and purest type. The highest types of altruists are great creators. Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Anthony were as eminent creators of altruistic values as were Beethoven and Sir Isaac Newton in their fields. Students should be acquainted with their creative altruism. The teachings of Indian spiritual leaders such as Kabir, Namdev, Sena, Dadu, Ramdas and Tukaram should be made familiar with the students. They were true altruists. They indicated the path to the spiritual liberation of man through devotion to God and the unity and brotherhood of all human beings. Their central teaching was that all men and women irrespective of caste, creed, sex or religion were equal before God and that therefore none should be despised as low caste or untouchable. They raised their voice not only against caste system of Hindus but against all religious differences which divided man from man.

Students should be acquainted also with the teachings of Guru Nanak, Guru Angad Dev, Guru Aman Dasa, Guru Rama Dasa, Guru Arjan Dev and Guru Teg Bahadur. Nanak believed in the cosmic identity and unity of human consciousness and this is identified to be the basis of non-violence. Guru Angad Deva reiterated the preachings of Nanak and emphasized the ethics of humanism. Guru Aman Dasa opposed the tendency of self-love (selfishness) in men. It could be avoided by compassion for other beings and feelings of altruism. Guru Rama Dasa taught against cruelty, heartlessness and self-centeredness. Guru Arjan Dev re-emphasized the need for the suppressions of egoism and self-will and approach God with absolute humility. He exhorted his believers to cultivate nine treasures of virtue and abjure from evil deeds. Among these virtues “repose and peace” happened to be foremost ones. Guru Teg Bahadur taught cultivation of humility, devotion towards God and love for fellow beings as supreme virtue for men.

Other altruists are scientists, poets, dramatists, artists, philosophers, moralists, educators and inventors. They all freely perform for the greater welfare of humanity which benefits a large number of human beings. Their life histories and creative works should be communicated to the students. They will inspire them to be altruists and to live with mutual aid and cooperation.

Conclusion

In conclusion we may say that human beings of twenty-first century are not dead. Nevertheless, they may be sick. Hence, they make wars and prefer violence. So, they need proper healing through mutual care, cooperation, love and sympathy to be sane to survive.

It is good sign that United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan and University for Peace in Costa Rica have been established for promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence, and to stimulate cooperation among peoples and help lessen obstacles and threat to world peace and progress, and in keeping with the noble aspirations proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations. Many peace colleges, institutes are also already working for teaching peace, disarmament and human rights. Besides these institutions, many peace organizations, foundations and associations are also serving for human survival or peace through education.

IAEWP (International Association of Educators for World Peace) – A NGO, United Nations and UNESCO Affiliate-is also dedicated especially for education for survival or peace. It serves through-out the world through its branches. It (IAEWP) stands for:

1. Promoting the kind of education which will stress the release of full potential of individual in terms of his or her development in the family, the local community, his or her country and whole family of nations.

2. Encouraging the development of Colleges and Universities for peace research, including support of UN efforts in this regard.

3. Using fully ways of communicating and clarifying controversial views and issues in order to achieve maximum understanding.

4. Developing the kind of education which will contribute to the formation of characters capable of delaying aggression so that conflict situations may be solved in positive manner, and

5. Helping put into practice the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Members of the IAEWP work for altruism, understanding, cooperation and right human relation-ships, which are the bases for survival or peace. They freely do their best because of their devotion to love itself.

All these educational activities for mutual sharing, cooperation and altruism assure survival or peace of the globe. However, it is still needed to open more such institutions and organizations in other nations of the world also, where such facilities are not available, for easy access of their masses and pupils, to prepare more peoples for mutual aid and altruism to ensure human survival more certain.

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Illich, Ivan D. (1973). Deschooling Society. Penguin Books.

Kropotkin, Peter (1902). Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution. William Heinemann

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 _______________________________________________

 This article is based on the Paper presented in the Third World Congress of International Association of Educators for World Peace (IAEWP) held from November 23-27, 1982 at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA, and published in two issues of University News – a Fortnightly Chronicle of Higher Education – a Journal of Association of Indian Universities, Vol. XXI, No. 10, May 15, 1983 and Vol. X XI, NO. 11, June1, 1983

 Dr. Surya Nath Prasad, Former President of the International Association of Educators for World Peace (IAEWP), Retired Professor of Education (India), Former Visiting Professor at Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Peace Education: An International Journal. dr_suryanathprasad@yahoo.co.in

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 1 Dec 2025.

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