Present Education System—Worthy or Worthless!

Education means to acquire knowledge. Knowledge that makes us aware of our surroundings. We know not only what’s going around us but also what’s going around the world. It serves like a magnifying tool that magnifies the brains of its acquirers. It makes us confident enough to present our views in a systematic way.

Here a few questions arise; Do we acquire knowledge only through formal education? If education is confined up to gaining knowledge? And last but surely not the least, if our present education system is strong enough to produce well learned individuals?

The answer to the first question is undoubtedly- a big No! Because we can learn anything, anywhere, anytime or anyhow. Society we live in or surroundings around us teach us a lot. Formal education does give us theoretical knowledge and we learn different subjects. Whereas informal education is acquired from family,friends, society or life experiences. Formal education assures our intellectual growth while informal education makes us emotionally, spiritually or aesthetically sound. This way, knowledge acquisitions can not be credited only into the accounts of the formal education system.

While answering the second question, we can say that education and knowledge go hand in hand. Education is like a tree having different branches of vision, mission & care and deep roots of core values of teaching & learning. If we want a tree to grow to the fullest, its roots are to be watered and nurtured carefully as well as regularly. If core values of ethics, integrity, excellence, diversity, dignity, selflessness and morality do not exist, there remains no use of education. The perfect mash up of all these attributes becomes the basis of a better future world.

As far as suitability of the present education system is concerned, it provides a global perspective to the learners. Present curricula are the best in global contexts but surely lack in terms of core values. Through present means of education, we are reproducing the intellectuals who walk in confidence but evidently lack in sensitivity at times. We are experimenting with new learning methodologies to get the best out of the learners. Rote learning has been replaced by learning by doing. Plethora of activities are included to provide education in a fun filled manner. Alas! In Spite of all these we still remain ineffective in providing value based education though we have even included such related questions in curricula. The reason is- value based teaching is not the cup of formal teaching. Only preaching won’t work, we need to aim at inculcating values and exhibiting the same would have greater impact. Present education system needs more overhauling so as to provide more practical ways to impart value based education. Perhaps then the core objective of education is achieved.