” Education is the most poweful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
-Nelson Mandela
What is your dream? Do you have a goal? Do you want to gain respect from everyone? You will be able to achieve your aim, but what matters is, how you achieve it. That is the whole point – Education.
Education and learning are the most important processes in today’s society. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s teachers. It plays a crucial role in the advancement of technologies. Education means obtaining knowledge. A person, who has knowledge of his surroundings can survive happily in this society. It does not only helps us to survive but also makes people aware of their rights and duties towards the nation.
It is a right that everyone is born with. But, is it happening? Are people getting educated? Are all the children getting enrolled in the school? Is free education sincerely provided to the needy? There are many questions but none has an accurate answer. Sometimes, I wonder, why? Why the rich gets admissions in schools easily and poor doesn’t? Why the powerful gets all the facilities and the underprivileged remains restrained from the same? Why healthy people get more nutrition and weak become more feeble? Why is there deception? Why fraud persists? Sometimes, I really wonder, did God actually made all this? Why did he make some rich, some poor, some are good and some are bad? Why is there so much disparity? Why have we not been able to achieve a holistic understanding of what the word ‘education’ essentially means? It is high time we answer these questions. These questions can never get answered the way we want. . All we can do is try to act like humans.
Literacy is a Power. It gives individuals the power to make basic choices in their lives and lead their lives as they want to. A great philosopher Aristippus once said – ” Native ability without education is like a tree without fruit.” According to UNESCO, at least 750 million people still can’t read and write and 250 million children are failing to acquire basic literary skills globally. Thirty five percentage of world’s illiterate population is in India. If India can improve and change the education scenario, the total global education system will change.
Education gives empowerment. It helps turn weakness into strength. It gives us the confidence to stand for ourselves. It improves our decision making capabilities, makes us mobile and gives us access to social networking.
In words of Malala Yousafzai- ” Books and our pens, they are the most important weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first.”
We hear people imposing on education and commenting on it. But do we really understand it’s significance? It is not just about getting a degree. It is about confidence, it is the strength to stand tall. It gives us the courage to fight all odds. It makes us wise to differentiate between right and wrong and helps us identify who we really are. It enhances our skills, our thinking. It is a journey from being insane to sanity, from darkness to bringing light.
But have we been able to achieve all this? Still, there are honour killings happening, students die every other day out of depression. There is terrorism in the name of religion. There are so many education schemes, still child labour doesn’t cease to plague the society. I wonder why people neglect the very basics of life. They wear the most expensive clothes, they put their precious time and money into looking so perfect. But what happens as soon as they start talking? Their words are not valuable. They are meaningless. Words and thinking matters and not the outer appearances. These words can change the world. Because these words are the direct reflection of our thoughts and opinions.
Education is the only thing that can open our eyes well enough to see how our world works. It is the only weapon against destruction, poverty and hunger. The human race has made significant progress from being cave dwellers to being futurists. We have become planet of approximate seven billion people. We should understand, value the power of education and appreciate how it turns a goal into a shining diamond.
Being Literate is being powerful,
The society can sparkle,
The world can bloom,
Such is the essence of education!
Contributor: Mehak Gupta Grover
