How does education work?
THE path to moral, ethical and spiritual understanding is constant learning. Education is the power to act sagaciously, think keenly and behave wisely. It is a prerequisite to picking the route to unrivalled brilliance and victory. For successful states, education always stays a supreme priority. Having the potential to change the outlook of generations, education shapes the success of communities in the following ways: First, acquiring knowledge is a way to secure wisdom. It attracts progress and growth for communities. It causes people to envision modern happenings in economic, political and technological realms. Second, effective schooling transforms people into refined persons, bringing enlightenment to all. Third, knowledge broadens one’s outlook which augments humankind’s hidden potential.
It is a resource to form consciousness. Without it, the collapse of societies becomes a reality. Fourth, education sharpens the ability of nations to make them indomitable and undefeatable. Since time immemorial, it has remained a valuable instrument for societies to gain economic and technological advancement. The rise and fall of empires depend on how well nations do in the education sector. Fifth, education inculcates ethical and moral instruction in youth and brings necessary transformation to a community. Sixth, education is an instrument that ensures parity in opportunities. The provision of equal chances to all and sundry enables different segments to gain remarkable growth. Amid fair competition in an egalitarian system, the conflict fades away, making a community peaceful and progressive.
It further reduces the class conflict that frays the social network. Seventh, education brings stability — a key to national welfare. A report published in Lebanon in the aftermath of the Syrian crisis stresses the role of education in bringing stability. The report describes that learning, both traditional and non-traditional, has a strong potential to strengthen social cohesion. Eighth, gender equality drives the engine of national growth. It remains a wishful thought unless getting quality education becomes a norm in society. Developed countries have improved their gender equality index by ensuring the quality of education. These states have well comprehended the power of knowledge in achieving the highest level of growth.
According to UNCTAD SDG Pulse Inclusive Growth Index, high-income countries bear a score of 71/100 in the gender parity index. Contrarily, developing economies in Asia and Oceania have a dismal rate of 48/100. Whereas, economies in Africa have a low score of 35/100 on the gender equality index. Effective schooling safeguards weak genders by promoting gender equality, which is a tool that denotes a remarkable victory for nations. Ninth, national integration is a consequence of investing in the educational sector. Despite all the disparities in a societal structure, meaningful learning unifies a nation. Education sets aside fissiparous inclinations that slink into a state when nefarious elements try to flare up religious and political differences.
France has leveraged instructive programs as a weapon to integrate its assorted society. The country has employed the assimilation theory to fortify the alliance between ethnic, religious and political groups. Tenth, technological innovation and adoption are the outcomes of investment in schooling and learning. Japan’s example explicitly supports this notion. By acquiring human development through education, Japan eradicated dependency and developed into a self-reliant nation. Japan today exports machinery and technology around the globe and competes with America in the technological domain. Japan’s key to triumph lies in the development of its human capital through its investment in education. Singapore has outdone itself in automation and modernization.
The country’s literacy index speaks volumes about the concept that learning is the passport to success for Singapore. Eleventh, perpetual growth in every sector depends on the learning a nation provides to its citizens. Attaining progress and keeping a high rate of development is the outcome of continual investment in education. It builds human capital that helps a country sustain development in the long run. A report by the Sustainable Education panel states that learning for continual advancement preserves and improves the quality of life. The report reflects that training for sustainable development equips people to develop the knowledge, values and skills to participate in the decision-making process. It augments the state of living on the planet. Last, established legal norms create a healthy atmosphere for people to grow and develop.
Educating the people hones their conscience, making them cultured enough to respect the law of the land. Meaningful guidance fosters a constructive outlook for the citizens of a country, which inspires a nation to implement the rule of law. Unfortunately, chaos in social, economic and political realms has been plaguing Pakistan for many years. Having shown a lack of interest in uplifting the education sector, Pakistan has veered away from the road to advancement and success. Therefore, a critical analysis of the ills in the educational sector is required. This realm requires reforms in terms of infrastructural improvement and curriculum revision. Wisdom urges for providing equal openings in education to address our longstanding issues in all domains.
The roots of all the obstacles Pakistan encounters today lie in our failure to prioritize our education sector. Investing in our schooling and higher education is the path to altering our destiny. Our unresolved problems, such as communal turbulence, economic stagnation, political deficiency, moral degeneration and foreign reliance, need immediate attention. Beyond a doubt, quality learning is the only remedy for these diseases. It is the right moment we understand the gravity of this irrefutable reality. If we cannot advance our education system, the dream of making Pakistan a self-dependent, progressive and technologically advanced country will stay a far-off dream.
The future of this country cries out for transformation of its education sector and this is the only remedy to make our dreams come true. It is possible for Pakistan to achieve desired goals in the social, political and economic sectors by prioritizing the education of its populace. Only by transforming our young people into intellectual beings, we can build the foundation of a prosperous, serene and progressive nation. And education is the only path that can lead us to a glorious future.
—The writer is CSS Officer, based in Sargodha.
Email: waqarhassancsp@gmail.com
