The Multi-disciplinary approach to education covers all-inclusive in itself. Again, the thought of a multi-disciplinary and unitary education process goes together. Unitary education tends to include the essential branches of knowledge as a complete course. Here, the division of various steams - science, arts and humanities, and commerce in the case of Bangladesh - requires non-permitted; rather, the students are required to achieve core competency in the branches of knowledge, which tends to be necessarily essential for human society to know. However, it must be ensured that all-inclusive does not either include all the branches of knowledge, a human being can think of or is devoid of the basic human skills and core knowledge about human existence, science, philosophy, and moral education. The International Bureau of Education, the leading institution of UNESCO, defines the multi-disciplinary approach to education as a way of integratingthe diverse perspectives of different disciplines.
This approach leads to think that a learner must acquire basic knowledge, and learn basic skills up to a certain stage of class boundary so that they can establish in society being a human in a complete sense. For instance, a learner of the 21st century cannot move on without knowing ICT, AI, health and sanitation, environmental processes, and catastrophes. Again, a learner's interest and tendency to learn can never be limited to the mentioned subject areas. Because the aim of the world is not served by inventing nuclear and hydrogen power energy; rather, a learner needs to learn how to use this knowledge for the greater good of humanity. Hence, the lessons of morality and governance turn out inevitable logically. Yet, the aspiration of human civilization shows that the sphere of knowledge is being re-created and new branches are being established, thus tending to gift diversified sub-groups of knowledge. As a result, it is quite impossible for an individual to get acquainted with all of them. And the futile effort to become a 'Jack of all trades, master of nothing' may cripple a learner's reaching the height of success in the case of research, and innovation through detecting gaps in their study area.
The new curriculum adopted in Bangladesh aspires to bridge the knowledge gap among the students, who will go through a process of learning various basic skills, and branches of knowledge without giving priority to a special branch till a specified level of their learning span. The new curriculum adopted in January 2023 designates that the learners must go through the process of a unified learning system up to the 10th grade, and they will be able to choose their respective groups in the 11th grade that will determine their future enrollment in various subject and skill or profession - based areas. This new curriculum is hopefully implementable within 2027 at its full implementation.
Michael J. Gelb, an America-based non-fiction writer, and genius thinking, executive coaching, and innovative leadership says, ''your brain has a capacity for learning that is virtually limitless, which makes every human a potential genius."This wise saying dictates the thought of limitless learning faculty our human brain possesses without harming the potentiality of an individual to emerge as a genius. In the context of Bangladesh, we had to experience various sectorial educational systems - general, technical, madrasah, and English medium for example. The impending gap among these sectorial systems is that there prevails no synthesis or synchronization among them. General education follows its own curriculum, English medium has its own, and there also prevails distinctions within themselves, the consideration of the English medium curriculum, English version curriculum, Alia Madrasah, and Kwame Madrasah curriculum may be sufficient to amplify the standpoint of the emphasis.
The diversification of knowledge may never pose a barrier to the all-throated development of an individual. Rather, the lack of connection, and harmony among them may cripple an individual to expose themselves as a balanced human being. The sectorial paradigm in the educational landscape hampers every learner to gain basic knowledge of human civilization and its progression strategy. Thus, a section of learners is growing up without inculcating love for their country due to the lack of knowledge of demography, history, liberation war, and state policy. On the other hand, a section of learners is being oriented with the factional idea of theological supremacy over the state and common human interest. The murder of Abrar Fahad, an Electrical and Electronic Engineering student in BUET, by his fellow students on October 7, 2019, leads us to think how a fellow student of the highest merit kills his fellow sacrificing the principle of humanity, morality, and theology.
The multi-disciplinary approach to education leads a learner to have the capability to choose whatever he likes for his future destination. As a result, he is not forced to learn to make their parents happy. Being oriented with the basic subject knowledge, a learner will be able to identify their true passion and purpose. This approach has pragmatic value also as a student can get time to identify the possible advantages and challenges of a subject. As a result, he can carve his own way. Thus, the rate of dropout at the higher level of education may be minimized in our educational context.
However, a multi-disciplinary approach has challenges also. The prime concern for this approach is the possibility of distraction on the part of the learners. Lots of courses are offered in this approach which may distract a learner, who may lose his attention to any of them due to the jumbled courses. Again, a learner may feel love for a specific course or subject area which may hopefully lead him to become the master of that subject. But, this approach loosely supports this.As a result, this approach may produce a Jack of all trades.
Moreover, the multi-disciplinary approach to education is not like the Biblical dictum of 'Let there be light, and there was light'. Lots of preparation is required beforehand. A trained and expert human resource is inevitable in the educational scenario. It is they who will keep the learners on the track. They must always remain vigilant to identify whether the learners feel distracted and adopt curative measures. Again, they should inspire the learners to gain expertise in a specific domain if a learner shows a tendency of interest to a specific domain of knowledge. Obviously, the teachers must have an orientation to this new approach so that they can track the learner's progress and regression. And, the traditional evaluation system must embrace innovations so that the learners do not feel disturbed by taking preparation of myriads of courses for the rigorous exams.
Thus, the implementation of the multi-disciplinary approach in education is a pressing need of the time. Simultaneously, the teachers must be oriented to this new approach promptly for the best output as 'It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge', says Gerald Belcher. And the exam system, the evaluation strategy, as well as the teaching methodology must integrate this new realization. Then, the benefit will be achieved in its fullest sense.
The writer is a BCS Cadre (General Education) & Editorial Member, International Journal of Recent Innovations in Academic Research
