International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666 : Vol.2, Issue-4(1), October-December, 2015 Impact Factor : 1.855

Ritu Nautiyal, Research Scholar, Uttarkhand Open University Haldwani Dr.Dinesh Kumar, Assit. Professor, Uttarkhand Open University Haldwani

(a) That the method of science provides a viable method of acquiring knowledge; Eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee Dr. CNR Rao said,” scientific (b) That the human problems can be temper is nothing but the way of viewing understood and solved in terms of life, everyday happenings in life."Spread knowledge gained through the of Scientific temper in society is much application of the method of science; more important than the spread of (c) That the fullest use of the method of science and technology. Any citizen, science in everyday life and in every whether a scientist or not, or whether a aspect of human endeavour from ethics to student of science or not, can and should politics and economics is essential for possess a scientific temper. “A Statement ensuring human survival and progress; on Scientific Temper” prepared by a and group of scholars and issued on behalf of the Nehru Centre, Bombay, in July 1981, (d) That one should accept knowledge mentions that “Scientific Temper gained through the application of the involves the acceptance, amongst others, method of science as the closest of the following premises: approximation of truth at that time and question what is incompatible with such knowledge; and that one should from International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666 : Vol.2, Issue-4(1), October-December, 2015 Impact Factor : 1.855 time to time re-examine the basic approach our problems – political, foundations of contemporary knowledge.” economical, cultural and educational.

Though the importance of scientific Our nation’s survival and its future temper had been generally recognised, no depend upon the upholding of the specific role or place was assigned to it in scientific temper. I quote Jawaharlal the Indian Constitution as originally Nehru who did more than anybody else to enacted. The Fifth Parliament by the 42nd develop scientific institutions in this Amendment to the Constitution inserted country. He has stated in his ‘Discovery Part IVA which consists of only one of India’ (page 452) as follows: article namely Article 51A. “Too many scientists today, who swear by Article 51 (A) says that “it shall be the Science, forget all about it outside their duty of every citizen of India to develop particular spheres. The scientific the scientific temper, humanism and the approach and temper are, or should be, a spirit of inquiry and reform”. A true way of life, process of thinking, a method citizen of India, a good citizen of India, of acting and associating with our fellow- anyone who swears allegiance to the men. That is a large order and Indian Constitution is duty bound to undoubtedly very few of us, if any at all, develop the scientific temper. Scientific can function in this way with even partial temper is neither a collection of success. But this criticism applies in knowledge or facts, although it promotes equal or even greater measure to all the such more. It is an attitude of mind, injunctions which philosophy and religion which calls for a particular pattern of have laid upon us. The scientific temper behaviour. points out the way along which man should travel. It is the temper of a free It is the duty of every true citizen of India man. We live in a scientific age, so we are to acquire those attributes and to wage told, but there is little evidence of this war on the enemies of the scientific temper in the people anywhere or even in temper. How many people in this country their leaders”. are aware of this fundamental duty? How many, being aware, make any effort Indian science flourished initially in the towards its fulfilment? The answer is immediate post independence era, but highly disappointing. The ongoing science modern Indian education is limited on textbook only and science establishment is now struggling not fostering into people ( Ronotosh to survive in the University’s Science Chakroborty Departments (S. B. Kabiraj ) In fact for It has called upon all scientists, an overall growth and development of technologists, social scientists, any organization or the country as a educationists, teachers, media men to join whole, we have to foster a Scientific hands and undertake on priority basis Temper in the citizens with absolute the task of nurturing scientific temper.It capacity for critical evaluation. The lack is of universal applicability and has to of Scientific Temper weakens our ability permeate through our society as the to take rational decisions. This may be dominant value system powerfully the reason why the concept of “Scientific influencing the way we think and Temper” was built-in in our constitution. International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666 : Vol.2, Issue-4(1), October-December, 2015 Impact Factor : 1.855

According to Viswanath, science including the scientific attitude education has an important role to play among the students. in the all-round cultural and societal Lack of interactions between development of human kind and for science communicators and evolving a civilized society. The essence of teachers/students is another big scientific spirit is to think globally and challenge also reflects a act locally, since scientific knowledge is challenging scenario before the universal in nature while the fruit of existing education system. science have some site specificity. Trained science communicators Similarly Kalbag (1991) says that the contribute in the development of scientific temper or scientific approach is scientific temper in the society a refinement of the process of thinking and their absence augments the that comes naturally to every human hindrance in developing an being. informed society. Also science laboratories are not equally equipped and are not used for experimentation and Though a number of efforts are being discovery. made for developing scientific temper The biggest challenge in among the students through school developing scientific temper is education system, but there are several the existing examination and problems and challenges in achieving the objectives of providing minimum science evaluation system. Because the examination system does not for all. Some of such challenges are as allow to thing out of the box, given below: which is the basic requirement of The traditional chalk and talk developing scientific attitude. In method of teaching science which fact, students are taught to hardly creates any interest answer the questions, rather than among the students towards questioning the answers. Unless science. we develop an ability to raise questions, it may not be possible Minimum use of learning science to achieve the objective of by doing. Hardly any special developing scientific attitude effort is taken to raise the among the people. curiosity of the students. Even if any student dares to ask questions beyond the scope of Conclusively it can be said that though class, he/she is not encourages. our education system has all provisions of Lack of trained teachers and developing scientific temper, but they are science communicators in the not being implemented the way they schools. Normally the science should be Though activity based teaching teachers aim at completing the learning methods are talked about but syllabus instead of inculcating are seldom practiced in our schools. . The the basic scientific skills teaching-learning is mostly school- centred whereas for developing scientific International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666 : Vol.2, Issue-4(1), October-December, 2015 Impact Factor : 1.855 attitude and scientific skills the education the Hindu, dated February 26, system should be made child centred. 2003. The principal component of education 6. S. B. Kabiraj : , 68(6): p- should be the development of scientific 569-570, (1995). temper. The objective of school education is to develop an active and informed 7. Ronotosh Chakroborty, : learner not a passive and unaware one. , No.9, March, p- 37- The curriculum must talk to the learners 38 and enables children to examine, analyse everyday experiences. As the NCF recommendations, the spirit of ‘Children’s Science Congress’ should be revolutionized in order to promote discovery learning across the nation. Effort should be made to encourage maximum use of innovative teaching learning aids/ instruction materials like audio-visuals aids in science learning which in turn help in developing scientific temper among the students. . The feudalistic mindset, consequent authoritarianism and no scientific temper among science people cause this decline in science.

Viswanathan,B. The Relevance And Need Of Scientific Temper, http://203.199.213.48/1040/1/the_ revelevance_and_need_of_scientif ic_temper2.pdf, Retrieved on 09- 12-2011 Kalbag, S.S. (1991), Developing Scientific Temper, http://www.vigyanashram.com/ht ml/C-28.pdf, Retrieved on 09-12- 2011 National Policy on Education, 1968, MHRD, Govt. of India. 4. National Curriculum Framework, 2005, NCERT, New Delhi 5. ‘Of attitude, application and action’ – a seminar report on ‘Scientific Temper’, published in