The Role of Educational Institutions in Forming Values
RAS Mains, Paper II, Unit I, point 1: "role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values"
- Updated for the Jan 2026 syllabus
- Read time: about 9 minutes
Exam weight (our count from the real 2018-2024 papers)
2024 Part B Q7 ("Formal education or Social inculcation: Which of the above two is more important in creation of a good administration?") is a direct question. Near ones are 2021 Q6, 2021 Q7 and 2018 Q7 (the roles of family and society). Point 1 drew 9 questions in all. This is our own count, not an RPSC notice.
30-second summary
Remember
- Educational institutions teach values along with knowledge through the curriculum, co-curricular activities, the teacher as a model and the institution's culture (the hidden curriculum).
- Sport, NCC, NSS and debating give practice in discipline, service and teamwork.
- Policy base: the Kothari Commission (1964-66) and the National Education Policy 2020 both treat values as part of education.
- Limits: marks-centred rote learning, competitive pressure (and shortcuts like cheating) and preachy value education.
- Remedies: dialogue, service learning, case studies and values training for teachers; the same approach in training public servants.
Part A box (each line 15 words or fewer)
Remember
- Question (our practice question, not a PYQ): What is the hidden curriculum?
- Answer: The hidden curriculum is the institution's atmosphere that teaches values without saying so. (13 words)
- Ready line 2: A teacher's conduct often influences students more than the lesson does. (11 words)
- Ready line 3: NEP 2020 stresses ethical and constitutional values as part of education. (11 words)
1. Institutions
Schools, colleges and training institutes teach values alongside knowledge, in an organised way.
2. Curriculum and activities
Values are introduced through civics, history and literature; sport, NCC, NSS and debating give practice in teamwork, discipline and service.
3. The teacher as a model
A teacher's behaviour can influence students more than the lesson.
4. Institutional culture
Fair assessment, discipline and a respectful atmosphere become a hidden curriculum, which teaches values even when nobody says a word.
5. Policy base
Kothari Commission: appointed on 14 July 1964, report submitted 29 June 1966; chairman D.S. Kothari. It linked education to productivity, social and national integration, modernisation and the development of social, moral and spiritual values.
National Education Policy 2020 (approved 29 July 2020): paragraph 4.23 lists "ethical and moral reasoning" among the skills students need, together with "knowledge and practice of human and Constitutional values". Paragraph 4.28 says students will be taught at a young age the importance of "doing what's right" and given a logical framework for making ethical decisions; it also names traditional Indian and constitutional values (seva, ahimsa, satya, nishkam karma, tolerance, pluralism, gender sensitivity and others). In later years it is to be expanded along themes such as cheating, violence, plagiarism, tolerance, equality and empathy. (These numbers are paragraphs of Part 4 of the NEP, curriculum and pedagogy in schools.)
6. Limits and challenges
Marks-centred, rote-based schooling neglects character building.
Heavy competitive pressure encourages shortcuts such as cheating.
Value education turns formal and preachy.
7. Remedies
Dialogue-based ethical discussion, service learning, case-based training and values-based training of teachers.
8. "Formal education or social inculcation" (2024 Q7)
Formal education gives knowledge, understanding of law, skills and ethical reasoning, and it is organised. Social inculcation (family, community) gives habits of character and conduct, learned from the examples of life. A good administration needs both: inculcation lays the foundation of character, and education builds competence and ethical judgment on it. A balanced answer joins the two in this way.
9. Administrative angle
In institutions that train public servants (the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, and in Rajasthan the Harish Chandra Mathur Rajasthan State Institute of Public Administration, Jaipur, or HCM RIPA), teaching ethics as case studies and practice rather than only as a subject is judged more effective (this is our assessment).
Worked example (documented, with year)
Giving values a place in policy: from the Kothari Commission (1964-66) to NEP 2020.
1964-66: the Kothari Commission opened its report with the sentence "The destiny of India is now being shaped in her classrooms." and named the development of social, moral and spiritual values among education's aims.
29 July 2020: the National Education Policy counted ethical reasoning among essential skills (paragraph 4.23) and promised to teach "doing what's right" from an early age (paragraph 4.28).
Rajasthan: foundation training for state services such as the Rajasthan Administrative Service, the Rajasthan Police Service and the Rajasthan Accounts Service is held at HCM RIPA, Jaipur (set up in 1957); values-based training there bears directly on this page.
Source: the official NEP 2020 text (paragraphs 4.23 and 4.28); summaries of the Kothari Commission in education-history sources; the HCM RIPA entry (Wikipedia gives the institute's profile).
Lesson: for about six decades policy has held that education gives more than information; the real challenge is to carry values into the classroom, activities and the institution's culture (our conclusion).
How to use it in an answer
after "educational institutions teach values", add: "NEP 2020 (paragraph 4.28) too speaks of giving students a logical framework for ethical decisions."
Thinkers and quotes box
| Name | Idea | Usable line |
|---|---|---|
| Kothari Commission (1964-66) | Education shapes the nation's future | "The destiny of India is now being shaped in her classrooms." (first line of the report) |
| National Education Policy 2020, paragraph 4.28 | Ethical reasoning from an early age | "Students will be taught at a young age the importance of 'doing what's right', and will be given a logical framework for making ethical decisions." |
| Martin Luther King Jr. | Education aims at intelligence with character | "Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." (The Maroon Tiger, 1947) |
Diagram: three pillars
A value-rich citizen / public servant
Top
Family: imitation, dialogue
Three pillars
Society: approval and censure, tradition, media
Education: curriculum, activities, teacher, institutional culture
Constitutional values: justice, liberty, equality, fraternity
Foundation
Limits: marks-centred, rote, preachy; remedies: dialogue, service learning, case studies
Small box beside the education pillar
How the concept was asked before: a direct question on educational institutions came only in 2024; family (2021) and society (2018, 2021) had been asked earlier. A question linking the three institutions is a possible next form (our guess, not a forecast).
Common mistakes
Remember
- Writing "education gives morality by itself"; marks-centred, rote schooling can neglect character.
- Mixing up policy names and years (Kothari Commission 1964-66; NEP 2020, approved 29 July 2020).
- Taking one side in "formal versus social"; for 2024 Q7 it is better to join the two with reasons.
Self-check (5 questions)
Remember
- What is the hidden curriculum?
- Name two co-curricular activities that teach values.
- In which years did the Kothari Commission work, and what was the first line of its report?
- What does paragraph 4.28 of NEP 2020 say?
- State two limits of value education and two remedies.
Mini case study
Illustrative exampleHypothetical case (काल्पनिक केस)
During board exams, District Education Officer (DEO) Rakesh gets word of organised cheating at one exam centre. It is alleged that the centre superintendent and some teachers are involved. A group of parents and a local leader say, "Do not ruin the children's future; hush it up."
- Stakeholders
- honest students, students who cheated, the teachers and the centre superintendent, parents, the local leader, DEO Rakesh, the education board, society.
- Issue and clashing values
- "the children's future" and local pressure against honesty, fair assessment, the honest students' right and the credibility of education.
- Three options
- (a) Overlook it or issue only a warning. Pro: local peace. Con: injustice to honest students and a wrong message to all. (b) Cancel the whole centre and act hard against everyone. Pro: a strong signal. Con: innocent students are hit too; the risk of skipping due process. (c) Act by procedure: step up monitoring at once (flying squads, extra invigilators, cameras where available), inquire into those involved and act under the rules, report to the board, protect the innocent students' exams, and talk to parents. Pro: fair and proportionate. Con: protest to face and more work.
- Best option and supporting value
- option (c). Values: honesty, justice, proportionality and the credibility of education. The message: an exam tests character as well as marks.
Lesson
Action: Short term: tighter monitoring, inquiry, a report to the board, and clear dialogue with parents. Long term: dialogue on honesty and service-based activities in schools, assessment reform that reduces rote learning, and values-based training for teachers.
Practice Questions
Practice questionabout 50 words
Formal education or Social inculcation: Which of the above two is more important in creation of a good administration?
Model answer
Both are needed, but the order matters. Social inculcation lays the foundation of character: honesty and empathy come from home and society. Formal education builds on it knowledge, skills and ethical judgment. Education alone can produce a skilled but unethical officer; so character is the foundation and education the structure.
Practice questionabout 100 words
Discuss the role and limits of educational institutions in value formation.
Model answer
Educational institutions develop values in an organised way through the curriculum, co-curricular activities and the teacher's conduct. Sport, NCC, NSS and debating build discipline, service and teamwork, and a fair atmosphere works as a hidden curriculum. Policy too has stressed values, from the Kothari Commission (1964-66) to NEP 2020. But marks-centred schooling, competitive pressure and preachy value teaching are limits. Dialogue-based ethical discussion, service learning, case studies and values training for teachers can remove them. Service learning means learning through community service. Teachers' own example remains decisive. The same practical approach should shape the training of public servants.
Real PYQs
2024Paper II, Part B, Q75 marks
Formal education or Social inculcation: Which of the above two is more important in creation of a good administration? [point 1]
2018Near this topicPart B, Q7
Explain the role of society in inculcating human values. [point 1] (page 1.6)
2021Near this topicPart B, Q7
Family is the most important institution for the moral development of man. Evaluate this statement. [point 1] (page 1.5)
How to Write This Answer
Introduction
institutions give values along with knowledge
Body
- curriculum, activities, teacher, culture; then limits
Conclusion
remedies: dialogue, service learning, case studies
Value addition
- Kothari 1964-66, NEP 2020 paragraphs 4.23 and 4.28, training at HCM RIPA and LBSNAA
One-page Revision
- Curriculum + activities + teacher + institutional culture (hidden curriculum)
- limits: marks-centred, rote, preachy
- remedies: dialogue, service learning, case studies, teacher training
- Kothari Commission (14 July 1964 to 29 June 1966)
- NEP 2020 (29 July 2020; paragraphs 4.23 and 4.28)
- LBSNAA (Mussoorie), HCM RIPA (Jaipur, 1957)
- 2024 Q7: character as the foundation, education as the structure
- Case: DEO Rakesh, organised cheating, action by procedure.