Bridging the gulf

All About Education

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Whenever we talk about education, the first thing that comes to mind is what is education? Education is not merely learning to count or knowing the alphabets. It is a tool which empowers a person to deal with every life situation, voice his thoughts and to do right. A literate person is not an educated person – a person who’s been to school but has never learned to be compassionate, respect women at home, outside or in a workplace, protest against injustice whether by individual or state, and has not learned to raise his voice along with his brothers and sisters for their rights can never be called ‘educated’.

In our country, the culmination of education is seen in how much you can earn by it. Students are told to be single-mindedly focused towards their goal be it to be an engineer or a civil servant. They are not given a choice. What if you don’t want to be a bureaucrat but don’t know what to do? There are not many channels at present that can give the students a complete and a wholesome overview of the choices available to them.

There is a lacuna; a huge gulf between demand and supply of right information to students. In a country where the government schools hardly function and the education in private/public schools is reserved for those who can afford to pay for it there is a need for a right channel to guide the students. We claim to live in a technologically enhanced age where information is available at a flick of a finger. The question then is why can’t we use this technology to ‘educate’ our children, give them all the help they require in their quest for a career and make them more informed citizens of the world?

I’ve worked consistently with children and in the education sector for a more than a decade. I know that a child, no matter where he is – whether in a top-notch school, a small town or a slum, carries within himself/herself great potential and talent. We as educators need to recognise that potential and give it shape.

This brings me to my next point. This blog has been created to initiate a dialogue between people who have stake in education – teachers, scholars, academicians, parents and above all, students. A dialogue necessarily means a two-way communication. It will require everyone to post and comment on issues raised by me and anyone else. Let us use this opportunity to get to know each other and come together to talk about education and future of children.

Editor, MMI Online

Hindi Translation: खाई को पाटने की कोशिश