The values of education

Simple living and high thinking, as Mahatma Gandhi rightly said, is a must for education in our society. If education was not given to us then we would still be in darkness. If education was not provided to us, the progress of mankind wouldn't have taken place. We would be still in the jungle surrounded by ignorance and superstition.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair once said that his priority was education ... education and education. Teachers with utter dedication should give their pupils the best possible grounding and encouragement. Education stands as a bridge between the people and its cultures. Education teaches us the deeper levels of human consciousness.

A nation will not become prosperous unless its citizens are well educated. We live in a knowledge-based society. So acquiring knowledge is much more important than anything else. To acquire knowledge one should be provided with a good education. Human intelligence is expandable. When you give them proper education they can get actively involved in good things. When you don't provide them with good education then the idle mind is the devil's workshop. The phobia of violence could be eradicated only by giving a vaccine called education. Education is both an injection and an injunction against violence.

Education has an inexhaustible power. Its value never depreciates. What you sow is what you reap. When education is given to the people then the result is that the literacy rate of the nation is high. When proper education is not given to people then the country is surrounded by illiterate and ignorant people. While referring to ignorance, an old story comes to mind.

A middle-class father and mother decided to save a little. They were happy to see their savings. One day the man said to his wife that he saved eight cents that day. The wife in full of praise and asked: "How did you do it?" He husband said he missed the bus. So I ran after it and reached home. But the wife told him that he could have saved more than a dollar if he ran after a taxi. Who can save them from their ignorance?

The value of education is at least known in major cities. But the real pity is that the value of education is not much known in villages. Education should no longer be confined to a select minority. Free education should be given to poor people so that they can also acquire knowledge.

Let us not be the victims of ignorance. Ignorance will stop a bud from blossoming. But is that all we want? A nation will not grow unless its maladies ended. To prevent the malady from turning to violence, turbulence, ignorance and from negative vibrations, the perfect remedy is giving proper education.

UMA RAMA KRISHNA

Jakarta