The Perks of Education

Education is essential – this much is true. Most of us abhor studying, but the fact remains- we couldn’t possibly get anywhere without it. However, there seems to be a dichotomy between studying and receiving proper education. We take it for granted - so much so that we grossly underestimate the magnitude of people who are divested of it.

A country’s development greatly depends upon its people, what we call human resource. Motivated and industrious people drive a country towards progress. Without whom, a country would lag behind in its overall growth process. To elicit a change, we have to do. And any kind of action comes from knowing. Education provides us with the most important thing there is: Knowledge. With knowledge comes the power to act, and actions materialize into results.

According to Teach for India, an organization that aims at eliminating educational inequity in India, 4% of Indian children never even begin schooling. 58% don’t complete primary education and 90% don’t complete their schooling at all. Only 10% go on to get college education. It is indeed unfair to those who have never gotten a chance, but doesn’t it also seem unfair to all those who could have potentially benefited from their contribution?

We see posters all around of how a child grows up and discovers the cure to cancer – but he never did because he never got the chance. That’s what education does. It gives us opportunities, and the power to choose. It helps us grow, and it helps the community to do so too. Education is of paramount importance on a personal level as well as on a social one. And yet, not enough thought is spared towards it. Even now while efforts are being made, change is rather slow and ineffective.

The emphasis laid on education is not as much as it ought to be. It is a given in well-off families, but financially insecure ones usually tend to prioritize the need for money over educating their children. Oftentimes, pulling their children out of school and impelling them to some form of manual labour in order to assist with the finances. Understandable as it is, education leads to better opportunities and hence, a chance to earn more. It takes time, investment and effort but the results are indeed worth it.

So is that reason enough to pursue education? Not really. More than half of the things we know, we know because we have learnt them at some point in life. We can read and write – we can understand spoken language. What fun would movies be if we couldn’t? We know of other countries - other cultures - we know that we strive towards development because all of these are things we have learnt in school.

It is not only about what education has given us, but where would we be if it hadn’t. Thinking about a constant seems silly – what we have already isn’t going away, so why think of it as when it’s not there? It is precisely because of that. We very conveniently mock at people who can’t operate computers or understand technology. Where do you think we would be if we hadn’t learnt it in school or had the privilege of owning a laptop at home? 

All the seemingly trivial and unimportant things that we have learnt, and even the life-changing big ones too, they all constitute in making us what we are today. Education doesn’t just limit itself to textual knowledge, it goes beyond that.

And therein lays its momentousness.

-Riddhi Bhole (FYBA)