The brahmacari-ashram, often away from the home (somewhat like a boarding school), was primarily intended for fostering spiritual values. Memorisation and skill development were subsidiary to character formation and self-realisation. Even sons of the royal family were expected to undergo this austere and rigorous training.
To be celibate and live a simple life, free from sense pleasure and material allurement.
To serve the guru (spiritual teacher) and collect alms for him.
To hear, study and assimilate the Vedas.
To develop all the appropriate qualities: humility, discipline, simplicity, purity of thought, cleanliness, soft-heartedness, and so on.