An educational irony

Since their inception on Earth, human beings have experienced and evolved various means of understanding the environment and addressing the problems facing them. In earlier times, knowledge was acquired through sensory perceptions, superstitions, mythology, divine experiences and intuition. However, as societies evolved and became more complex, individualised and haphazard learning risked disrupting the nascent social order and harmony. To prevent this, modern societies incorporated their moral practices and cultural norms into institutionalised education systems. These well-designed educational systems focused not only on academics but also on social and cultural aspects, with a strong emphasis on humanistic norms. Consequently, the pragmatically framed educational systems put many societies on sustainable roads to prosperity and enlightenment.

Unfortunately, we have yet to fully recognise the true essence of education, let alone realise it. While education may be a buzzword in our discourse, practical manifestations paint a gloomy picture of its normative aspects. The most discussed topic regarding education is its quantity: why do we have relatively fewer educated individuals compared to other regions and the world? What often goes unattended is the quality of the already educated population. Do we need more individuals educated like the ones we have, or do we need people educated in the truest sense? Why has our educational system failed to cultivate a decent social order?

Although education is the foundation of human values, knowledge and skills, it often fails to achieve the desired outcomes in our society. While we may lament a low literacy rate, we frequently overlook the quality of the literate population. The bitter reality is that we have deliberately failed our educational system, and the educational system has responded in kind. Moral, social, political, economic and intellectual bankruptcy bear witness to this.

Instead of producing truly educated, self-reliant, independent and humane beings, the education system often reinforces blind submission, promoting a culture of materialism, ethnocentrism and egotism. It produces enlightened thieves and hypocrites, as evidenced by most of the country’s bureaucracy, politicians, media personalities, judges, etc. This way, it creates more problems than it can solve, as evidenced by the decades-long mess our society has been struggling with.

As a result, a significant portion of the country’s intellectual elite has become power-hungry, complacent, pliant, arrogant and egoistic. They exploit people’s miseries, agonies and vulnerabilities, each of them becoming a dictator in their realm. Most public offices are occupied by individuals with chameleon-like natures whose dealings are determined by personal interests. These offices serve as safe havens for corrupt practices and public exploitation.

We have many educated individuals but little development; more healthcare professionals but little improvement in public health; more judges but little justice; more educators but little genuine education; more media personalities, but little truth; more problems but inadequate remedies; more poverty but limited strategies to address it; more politicians but limited focus on genuine politics; more watchdogs, but insufficient control over social evils. We have more humans but less humanity; more religion but fewer practical values; and we make lofty claims but take little action. Instead of getting enlightened from education, we have chosen to live in the shadow of light.

Similarly, our education often serves as nothing more than a licence for employment, and even that is often based on favoritism or financial means. Once in positions of power, we take it as a licence to plunder public resources. Moreover, our educational standards call for simplistic solutions to our animalistic nature and deep-seated social malaise. Should we call ourselves educated when we exploit the country and countrymen? The answer is a resounding no. Therefore, we would continue to tread on the road to degeneration unless extensive soul-searching and comprehensive structural and normative educational reforms are carried out.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2023.

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