Education: An apparatus of change
Dar Shahid Hussain, K Sajad Ahmad
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” (Nelson Mandela).
To acquire knowledge is the first thing striking our mind when we think about education. Indeed, it is a tool which provides people knowledge, skill, technique, information and enables them to know their rights and duties towards their family, society as well as the nation. It expands the vision and outlook or offers a prism to see the world through different angles. It works as a weapon to fight injustice, violence, corruption and many other evil elements in the society.
Education furnishes us knowledge of the world around. It develops a mindset to nourish our lives. Without it, one might be unable to explore new ideas which can work as a tool of creativity and simultaneously to develop the nation in varied spheres. Therefore, it is regarded as the most vital element in the evolution of a nation.
To say ‘education is important’ is an understatement. In fact, Education is a weapon to change and improve one’s life. It certainly determines the quality of an individual’s life. It improves one’s knowledge, skills and develops the personality and attitude. It is important to live with happiness and prosperity which only can be attained by acquiring education. It is a tool to fight against failures and achieve success. It is through education only that that can remove corruption on earth and lives, unemployment, and environmental disorder, social evils, economic chaos,distinctions of cast creed, gender and religion etc.
Education is not all about pursuing a degree but it is about how you can live on your own and combat daily life challenges. It helps to turn one as a good parent, entrepreneur, doctor, sibling and most importantly a responsible citizen. Being in contact with an educated person and having an intelligent conversation with him expands knowledge and introduces a certain creativity and joy in the mind. Education makes the national development process rapid and develops a good political ideology among people. The standard of living of its citizens is largely dependent on thelevel of education the citizens are able to acquire.
Countries with a high rate of illiteracy are prone to poor hygienic conditions and health. India in past decades had lost millions of lives to diseases that occur due to the absence of healthcare facilities and poor sanitation. To improvise the health and hygiene sector of the country, schemes like ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ and ‘Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram’ draws people to come safely under the fold. But to understand and imply these schemes, education will work as a force.
Education doesn’t only create skills but it also cultivates moral values which shapes the behavior of a man. Therefore, it is the primary duty of the policy makers to regulate the system in such a manner that good moral values are imbibed in the behaviors of the learners. Simultaneously, it needs to be made available to far off and remotes areas so that the fundamental right will be availed by everyone.
To summarize, this is only to convey that the importance and role of education is not limited to acquire bookish knowledge that we are forced to cram up before exams and then rehearse onto the answer sheet to get a degree and a job. I believe that it is more important to make use of our education in a way that unleashes our creativity and eventually brings behavioral changes in us for the greater good of mankind.
If every one of us understands the real importance of education and its qualitative significance, and if everyone is educated then what changes can we expect to see in the world? I must re-emphasize that education isn’t just about schooling but a tool of power which every must acquire through whatever means.
(The authors are research scholars)
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