Purpose of education: Ideals and Reality

A few million years ago, our ancestors were still swinging from branches. It really is quite remarkable how swift the rise of humans from our ancestors has been. This evolution has seen our cognitive abilities advance significantly, enabling us to think, communicate complex thoughts and accumulate information over generations far better than any other species on the planet. These advancements would not have been possible if humans could not transfer knowledge through communication. The ability to learn and transfer the accumulated knowledge has led humans to where they are today. This is where education comes in.

Dr. B.R Ambedkar labelled education as the solution to every problem in society, and he was right. In the developed world today, education is seen as a basic need, along with shelter, clothing, food, and water and it’s a reasonable view.. Education is a potent tool for uplifting social standards. Data available shows strong correlation between education and quality of life. An educated person earns more than his uneducated counterpart. It is also a tool of upliftment, of empowerment. A battered but educated wife is more likely to use laws that are there to protect her. Education gives her the ability not only to feed herself but also raise voice against any misconduct by her husband. A closer look reveals how an educated society is more likely to follow good health practices, have less unemployment and crime rates. It is thus, quite hard to overstate the impact of education. A child when born is an empty canvas. In springing years, it learns from the people around and education plays a big part in it. Lets walk through what that education looks like. As soon as you turn three or four, your parents send you to school to get educated. In first grade, she learns how to add 2 and 7. As the years roll by, the coursework increases, the complexity does and so does the pressure. Before you know it, you’re in high school and know begins the fight for entrance exams. The best part? throughout the process your teachers, parents, even neighbors and relatives you barely know, are always ready to ‘motivate’ you by telling how student ABC got a two-digit AIR and how you too, could be such a success. If this feels hard, try being that person who didn’t go for a doctor and engineer degree and see yourself being labelled a failure by half the society even before you’ve entered your career field. This race, this judgement is where the ultimate purpose of education, that students should learn something meaningful gets lost. All thats left is a fight where a few will succeed, but the majority will be made to think of themselves as failures, even before they become adults.

The above story tells us how current education looks like. But is this the real purpose of education? Education is much more than making our students capable of solving calculus problems or answering biology MCQ. They should understand how the theory that they are learning applies in real life. Music, drawing, sports, should not be treated as something to do in extra time; instead, students should be encouraged to do these activities to ensure their complete growth. An education system, in my opinion, must be judged by the number of research papers published and not from the amount of packages students got. Everything discussed so far boils down to the fact that the purpose of education is to inspire students to learn and not to mug. The motto of schooling is innovation that adds value to life, and that demands understanding how things work. An education system that ensures it’s students keep on pushing the boundaries of science and arts is a success. Our learning process should encourage innovation and free thinking, not bind students self worth to marks because in that lies the true worth of education in our society.