Article Abstract 2

The age of fast-paced technological changes, social fragmentation and increased performance pressure has brought the question of the purpose of education back into focus. This paper revisits the vision of value-centred education through the lens of Madan Mohan Malaviya and its relevance in the context of the policy framework of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and other relevant documents. The study is a qualitative document analysis and incorporates the conceptual argument in the article with recent evidence of SEL, life skills, and mindfulness in education, as well as current official policy documents and education statistics. The analysis reveals significant overlap between Malaviya\'s focus on character development, moral self-control, service, and cultural foundations and the policy priorities of today—holistic development, constitutional values, interdisciplinary learning, and socio-emotional skills. The magnitude and urgency of this agenda is highlighted by the following system indicators: India has approximately 24.69 crore students in the school system, 14.71 lakh schools, and more than 1.01 crore teachers; the Higher Education system is one of the largest in the world. In addition to this, recent policy initiatives like NCF-SE 2023, Mulya Pravah 2.0, Aadharshila, and Navchetana, push the value-based conversation beyond higher education to school and early childhood education levels. The paper concludes that a contemporary understanding of Malaviya cannot only be construed as moral sermonizing but also can be used to create a pedagogic approach that is inclusive, based on dialogue, service learning, reflective practice, multilingual cultural literacy and ethical reasoning. It ends with an implementation matrix for schools and higher education institutions and claims that value-based education is only credible when it is integrated into the institutional culture, the education of teachers, the reform of assessment, and the involvement of the community, instead of being an add-on subject.
Keywords: Madan Mohan Malaviya; Spiritual Education; Holistic Development; NEP 2020; Value-Based Education; Social-Emotional Learning