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Introduction
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The Mother inaugurating
the Centre in 1952 |
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A sitar
class in progress |
Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, an integral
part of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, serves as a field of experiment and research in
education. For years Sri Aurobindo considered the formation of an Education
Centre as one of the best means of preparing the future humanity to manifest
upon earth a divine consciousness and a divine life. To give a concrete shape to
his vision, the Mother opened a school for children on December 2, 1943. Since
then, the school has continued to grow and experiment on various educational
problems and issues. In 1951, a Convention was held at Pondicherry which
resolved to establish an International University Centre in the town as a
fitting memorial to Sri Aurobindo. Accordingly the Sri Aurobindo International
University Centre was inaugurated by the Mother on January 6, 1952. In 1959, the
Mother decided to rename it "Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education."
The Centre of Education provides education from Kindergarten
to collage levels of study. It has the faculties of Humanities, Sciences,
Languages, Engineering Technology, and Physical Education, and facilities for
learning Drawing, Painting, Handwork, Music and Dancing (Indian and Western),
Dramatics, and Arts and Crafts. There are also, facilities for practical and
manual work, and several libraries and laboratories.
As its name itself suggests, the Centre is international in
character. It aspires to represent the cultures of different regions of the
world in a way that is accessible to all. The ideal is that every nation with
its distinctive culture should make a contribution of its own in order to create
a practical and concrete interest in a cultural synthesis.
The Centre has its own official journal, Bulletin of Sri
Aurobindo International Centre of Education, a quarterly, which is published
on the four Darshan days. It contains writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother,
the Mother's talks and also a quarterly report of the activities of the Ashram
and of the Centre of Education, along with photographs pertaining to these
activities
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