True Education- A stimulus to Life and Higher Values

"Where is the life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?"- T. S. Eliot

Visualizing an erudite society sans education is similar to staging 'Hamlet without the King of Denmark'. Can you imagine a world without education? Probably the first thought that we get after hearing such a question is, No! A world without education is as a bird without wings. “Education has been called the technique of transmitting civilization. In order that it may transmit civilization, it has to perform two major functions: It must enlighten the understanding, and it must enrich the character,” avers, Nani Palkhivala. Hence education always tops the list of highest priorities in any society. In India, it has been so from the Vedic ages. The supply of 'priceless' human resources for educated society is possible only through education. Therefore, the need of the hour is, 'A spiritual paradigm to education.'

Truth and Possibility

People often confuse education with schooling, whenever there is a discussion on education. When they hear the word, their mind simply thinks about schools or colleges. They might also look at particular jobs like teachers or tutors. The problem with this is often that while looking to assist people to learn, the way tons of faculties and teachers operate is not necessarily something we will properly call education. They have chosen or fallen or been pushed into 'schooling' — trying to drill learning into people consistent with some plan often involved by the others. Paulo Freire (1973) famously called this banking — making deposits of data. Such 'schooling' too easily descends into treating learners like objects, things to be acted upon rather than people to be related to.