प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

164 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [Ch.
Other Devices in Teaching : The use of parables
was often made in expounding obscure principles, as
would appear from the plot of the Hitopadeśa and the
Pañchatantra, where principles of politics are taught
under the guise of telling stories about animals. The
dialogue method was followed by many a philosopher,
as would appear from the evidence of the Upanishads
and the Buddhist Sūtras.¹ It enabled the teacher to
ascertain the reactions in the student's mind to his
own observations. The value of comparison and
observation was also realised by many teachers who
used to develop the power of understanding of dull
students by asking them to carefully observe new facts
and compare them with those already known.²
Individual Attention : We have already shown
at pp. 82-3 how the classes in ancient India were
usually small ones, consisting of not more than 15
or 20 students. It was therefore possible to give
individual attention to each student. This was one
of the strongest points in the ancient Indian system
of education. Lectures to large classes of 100 or
200 students, which are unintelligible to some,
superfluous to others and partially useful to the rest,
were unknown in ancient India. Students could not
afford to go to the class room without thorough
preparation. There was a daily examination of every
student and no new lesson was given until the old
one was thoroughly mastered.³ There were no annual
examinations and mass promotions at fixed intervals.

1. It is interesting to note that many of the commentaries are
   in the form of a dialogue between the teacher and the student. The
   earlier part advances a view such as a student may be expected to hold
   as plausible, the later part contains its correction or refutation, as
   may be done by a teacher in his lecture.
2. Jātaka No. 124.
3. Mil Pan., I, p. 18.