Page 81 - EW July 2025_Neat

in competitive, rapidly evolving indus- made a compelling case for reviving
tries,” said Matcheck, an economics “teleological understanding” ground-
graduate of Michigan State and Cor- ed in the cultivation of virtue as the
nell universities. ultimate aim of education. Drawing
This 90-minute intensive session from the works of a wide range of clas-
was followed by a two-hour open win- sical and modern thinkers, including
dow for delegates to engage in one- Aristotle, Plato, Maritain, and Martin
on-one discussions, networking and Luther King Jr, Dr. Diener lamented
explore collaboration possibilities. that contemporary education has lost
The day ended with a typically early its moral and philosophical compass
(6.30 pm) American dinner hosted by because of prioritising utility and tech-
Dr. Larry Arnn, President of Hill- nique over purpose and character. He
sdale College. An alum of Arkansas called upon American and Indian ed-
State University, London School of ucators to revive “classical education,
Economics and Oxford University, rooted in the liberal arts to restore
former Director of Research to the late education’s true end: the formation
Sir Martin Gilbert, who has written of wise, virtuous, and free human be-
the eight-volume official biography of Dr. Diener: teleological understanding ings”.
the legendary British Prime Minister Dr. Diener’s stimulating address
Winston Churchill (1874-1965), Dr. telligence agents of hostile powers. provoked spirited response from
Arnn is a globally acclaimed histo- President Trump wants to disqualify primary-secondary education lead-
rian. After he moved from Britain to these elements, which I believe he ers struggling to reconcile the con-
the US, Dr. Arnn served as Director of should. I don’t expect these regula- tradictions of India’s National Edu-
the Claremont Institute, California, an tions to affect the vast majority of cation Policy (NEP) 2020 which has
American think-tank prior to his ap- bona fide students coming to study in set out lofty goals — universalising
pointment as President of Hillsdale America,” said Arnn, who described pre-primary and primary education;
College in 2000. the inaugural EW-Access USA lead- introducing vocational and life skills
ership summit as “a joy to host”.
in secondary and higher secondary
I N HIS ENGAGING DINNER ad- MAY 24, DAY 3. The first workshop of education, and raising GER in higher
Day 3 was conducted by Dr. Da-
dress Dr. Arnn recounted the
education from the current 28 per-
history of Hillsdale College
(estb. 1844) as one of the first vid Diener, Assistant Professor of cent to 50 percent by 2030. Among
Education at Hillsdale College. In a
the Indian delegates who contributed
higher ed institutions to admit women 40-minute thought-provoking open- insightful comments and observations
and black students, and elaborated his ing address titled ‘The Value and were Capt. A.J. Singh, Director of
mission to “preserve Hillsdale’s liberal Purpose of Education’, Dr. Diener the top-ranked Pinegrove School,
traditions grounded in timeless and L-R: Michael Weiler, Ayush Bansal, Manoj Kutty & Mukesh Sharma
eternal values”. “It’s the duty of demo-
cratic nations to uphold these values.
America and India, as democratic na-
tions, need to deepen their coopera-
tion and spur each other on towards a
brighter future,” said Arnn.
An influential grandee of the Re-
publican Party, Dr. Arnn didn’t side-
step Indian fears about the Trump
administration’s new visa regulations
to discourage foreign students from
enrolling in American universities. “I
don’t think President Trump intends
to reduce the number of international
students coming to our country. The
intention is to filter out student agi-
tators likely to disrupt campuses and
communities where they study and
also filter out students serving as in-

JULY 2025 EDUCATIONWORLD 81