Importance of Education

By Jyoti Mishra

Education imparts knowledge. Something that begins even before we are born and it goes on till we take our last breath. Education is what makes us different from any other species on this planet. There are two ways in which people perceive education. One in which students are enrolled in some sort of institution, get a degree, apprentice, diploma etc. to get a job. On the other hand education means learning new ways, learning to question, how to question, what to question and when, to know the difference between right and wrong, to accept challenges, to explore. It refines our ability to think, to decide, to act, to take responsibility of our actions, to unlearn things, to relearn and to grow continuously as a human being. Thats what education is, a process that shapes our personality and makes us who we are. By nature human beings are self-centered. Almost everyone thinks he/she is the ultimate center of universe. Their problems, demands, priorities and decisions are prime. Everybody else is just in the way of getting what he/she wants. This self-centeredness is so deeply etched in our brains that if not checked one can spend lifetime without realizing. Thats where education plays an important role. It frees us from this illusion of- I am the center of the universe. It gives us perspective, an ability to think and more importantly what to think and what not to. It gives us a choice- to think otherwise. Education teaches us how to learn from experiences and learning is something that never fails, not even in the worst of all conditions. Nelson Mandela very aptly said that- Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Education has that power of transformation and if observed closely history is full of such examples. Education is not just mere teaching and learning, it is awakening. Awakening from a sleep of ignorance, of illusions, of misconceptions and bathe in to the eternal river of knowledge and wisdom. Aristotle equated an uneducated person with a dead person and it clearly reflects how important education is for a human life. It is about developing rationale and logics and not accepting things blindly. It frees us from the clasps of blind certainty, a kind of close mindedness that amounts to an imprisonment so total that prisoner doesnt even know that hes locked up. It stops us from being stubborn and adamant thereby inculcating faculty of permissiveness, accepting just differences that exists in a society. Real and genuine education cultivates curiosity, ingenuity, and imagination which are vital for a brighter future. It encourages and motivates to take the road less traveled, to create and develop a new world, a new age. It gives us tools of assessment, analysis, critical thinking, logics and reasoning. Its not mere recording and reading history but learning from history. In the words of Socrates- Education is the kindling of flame, not the filling of a vessel.

It is the duty and moral obligation of every government and individual to take all possible steps to promote education. Free and compulsory education should be the birth right of every individual. Victor Hugo in his famous novel Les Miserables criticizes the governments who fail to provide such facility. He argues that- society and governments are culpable in not providing a free
education for all and it must answer for the night which it produces. If the soul is left in darkness sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness. The greatest lesson education teaches is tolerance and provides people with an opportunity to make a difference. Education never ends, its an array of lessons with the greatest for the last.