When I was a child, I used to go to the holy Satsang with my grandparents. There were several times when I was told that “human beings are the best living creatures among the 84 lacs living species.”
At that time, I was unable to understand the whole meaning of this sentence, but it was deeply inculcated inside me. A few years later, some questions occurred to my mind. I wondered about how we are better than the other living species. What things do I have, that makes me excellent? I looked for a long time to find my answers. I looked at elder people around, but I couldn’t get my answers.
Then, suddenly, I started reading self-help books and the biographies of the world’s great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, etc. And I finally managed to get my answer. We are excellent because we have the ability to acquire knowledge, self-awareness and wisdom. We can develop character and self-dependent dreams or desires. We can imagine, construct and invent.
I learnt that man is a master of his own thoughts, the moulder of character and the maker and shaper of conditions, environments and destiny. We have the ability to make incredible changes in the lives of others, by our contributions and services.
Appropriate education and training is the most important tool to acquire these above-mentioned abilities or characteristics. Education and training play a vital role in any individual’s overall development.
Across the world, a large number of people spend their early 15-25 years of life gaining education and training. And as we know that India is the second largest populated country in the world, so it’s very obvious that a large number of people are spending their valuable time in getting education and training in this nation.
As Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” And yes there is no doubt that without education and proper training, man is just like any other animal. By acquiring correct and appropriate education and training, anyone can ascend to the peak of success and prosperity.
But unfortunately, the current education system of our nation is dilapidated, outdated and worthless. Marks, grades and certificates are the only measurements of a person’s ability in our education system.
Current education is all about careers, salary packages, designations and titles. There are no elements of moral values and character building. The outdated and dilapidated education system of our country is unable to stimulate the unique talent and creativity of youngsters.
The current syllabus has a majority of formal or traditional subjects but is just about collecting facts, figures and information. More than 95% students of our nation are not appropriately trained to meet the demands of the globalized world. One of the most successful industrialist, intellectual and co-founder of a leading IT company Infosys, N.R. Narayan Murthy said that “In the past 60 years we have not made any earth-shaking innovation that has been globally accepted by households.”
A McKinsey survey states that hardly 25% engineering graduates and 40% of science and math graduates are employable. The condition of other traditional courses is even worse. The current education system is generating fear, insecurity, greed, frustration, struggle and breakneck competition. And this type of worthless education is creating chaos in our society. New exposed and increased cases of corruptions, brutal crimes, strikes and riots, suicidal death and depression are the strongest evidence and examples of chaos.
According to me, the worth of real education is not related to the economy and career, the real knowledge is about the formation of character and integrity, and also associated with the spiritual and intellectual development of an individual. Right education enables people to connect with their inner self, and it helps people to identify their enormous potential and passion.
Our nation is facing numerous fundamental problems such as unemployment, poverty, economic instability, gender inequality, and many more. According to my consideration, the biggest reason for all these problems is dilapidated and worthless education. Our nation is not harmed by poor and uneducated people, but by educated, greedy and selfish people.
Dilapidated education means, education that fails to develop character, imagination, creativity, leadership and critical thinking. As of February 2017, there are 789 universities, 37,204 colleges and 11,443 stand-alone institutions in India as per the latest statistics from the UGC website. More than 90% of these institutions fail to provide what their students should have.
Rapid growth in the nation’s development is only possible by revolutionary transformation in our education system and policy. We need such type of education which can:
– stimulate the unique talent and enormous potential of every individual.
– develop dignity and self-esteem.
– develop an attitude of social responsibility and patriotism.
About 65% of Indian population is under the age of 35, and we are the youngest country in the world. And I believe that human resources are better than any other resources that exist in the world.
But rather than focusing on transformational inventions and innovations, our education system is focused on manufacturing our people to become clerks or servants. There are thousands of educational institutions in India, teaching their students to become mediocre and nothing more than an employee. The policy makers of our education system and educational institutions of our nation should have to focus on the formation of practical dreamers, transformational leaders, inventors and entrepreneurs rather than focusing on the formation of labour and employee.