Dr Sudipta tells us the many benefits of education, which dispels ignorance and paves the way for a cultural revolution – an exclusive for Different Truths.

Education is the enlightenment that alters an ordinary mind into a divine one. Through education, we can transform into contentious individuals who can differentiate between wrong and right.

A child can be aware of a new culture through the learning channel. He can be a rational being through the process of learning only. S\he can develop their cognitive thinking through which they can feel and react. A child can perceive the surroundings beautifully and admiringly with developed motor skills.

The youth might develop an awareness of the nature in which s\he survives. But the fundamental approaches to education are wrong everywhere. The system is unfair. How can we evolve into the right person by following the wrong paths?

Today, we fail to relate to our nature. In the predicament of this modern era, we try to hoard luxurious things instead of joy — everything we can’t buy. Money does not give us pleasure. With an immature mind, we are trying to earn money. Hence in this society, we find that the poor become poorer. With increasing poverty and violence, we survive. We failed to realise the real zest of knowledge. As a result, in a war-torn situation, we struggle to breathe. 

In this imbalanced ecological arena, we are forced to face the damages done by us because of faulty educational systems. Due to detachment from our religious roots, we develop hypocrisy, and due to loss of values and morality, we are unaware of our fellow beings. We constantly indulge in harming our planet. We are now degraded into enslaved people in the hands of scientific invention.

We have failed to establish a harmony between science, technology, and religion. We are trying to become absolute power by evading our rivals by neglecting the central part of our education. The fundamental goal of education is to utilise science and technology for the betterment of the nation. But do we follow the absolute paths of education?

Today, almost all the world’s countries have freedom from their colonisers. But we don’t know the meaning of freedom until now. Our children are still learning with faulty methods. Examination-based syllabi and marked-oriented systems are still here to oppress our kids. Hence, we must change education methods to create our nation’s future.

A child can evolve into an extraordinary being through constant vigilance and by bestowing importance on the holistic approaches to learning.

So, let’s see what the real meaning of education is.

We must revive the classical methods of learning which were based on the participation of both teacher and learner. The learners were engaged in question-making processes of understanding. They tried to explore things. They communicated through questioning, and the teachers always tried to search for the answers to enhance the quality of learning. In the simultaneous investigation and answering process, students enjoyed the ambience because of the non-threatening situation.

Hence, in education, a teacher does not work as a student for the highest score through cramming methods. Through rote methods of learning, one cannot be a victorious individual. Due to the wrong ways of learning, a student only wants to secure marks in exams so that he can be a rich individual in future. Is this the real meaning of education, then? We only want to fit in this civilisation’s rat race through education. Without bringing any glory to society, we want to buy a car and luxurious houses and become famous for our rich status. We don’t care for anyone. Is this the real meaning of education?

Proper education seeks to develop a compassionate attitude toward the nation where we survive. Education tells us to be sympathetic to the biodiversity of this ecological system in which we dwell. Knowledge directs us to feel the rhythm of nature through developing care for the entire humankind on this planet. Schooling instructs us to refrain from excess greed and lust for the unnecessary things for which we constantly engage in wars and violence. Are we being educated to become a monster without any senses? Eliot has quoted a term for us that is ‘lost generation.’

After getting educated in the universities, we shamelessly develop a devilish attitude of destroying the nation in the name of religion, caste, and colour. Then why are we educated? We are getting an education to transform into indifferent people with no sensitivity and righteousness. Primary education means being aware of the right and wrong things.

Education asks us not to believe someone easily. An educated person always develops a quality of detachment in attachments. He should be self-critical. He should know in-depth knowledge of every subject.  The real education of a student allows him to think critically about a topic without accepting nasty things blindly.

Education means enlightenment. Through enlightenment, a student can perceive the divine inspiration to create a change in himself. And a changed individual has the power to bring about positive changes in the existing system. Education is the real weapon through which a person can raise his voice against injustice. So, we need to be educated to bring a new cultural revolution.

Picture design by Anumita Roy, Different Truths

Dr. Sudipta Mishra

Dr Sudipta Mishra is an Indian author and poet. She is an erudite scholar of English language literature in the Puri District of Odisha. She is a source of inspiration for the young generation of this country. Her free verse in romantic and melancholic poems is appreciated around the world. She has penned more than a hundred articles.