Education....
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
― Mahatma Gandhi
Even after 18 years of education and continuous learning, describing education in a few sentences is probably a very difficult task. It is something which makes me eligible, today, to write this article and makes all the esteemed readers, eligible, to read it. India has seen the gradual metamorphosis of the education system in India right from the ancient times when there were Gurukuls to the present day where we have primary, secondary and higher educational institutions coupled with institutions offering graduation and post graduation degrees and diplomas.
The urge for knowledge has never been sufficed. This has led to continuous learning, inventions and innovations. Education had enabled people to broaden their sphere of knowledge and helped us to progress and grow in every sphere. Education has a vast scope wherein an individual not only gains intellectual knowledge but also gets an opportunity to rejuvenate their rational thinking capabilities making them more organised, farsighted, actionable and capable.
India is progressing, speedily, towards attaining complete literacy by promoting governmental as well as private enterprises to venture into the field of education. You would be interested to know that as of 2011, India has 42 central universities, 275 state universities, 130 deemed universities, 90 private universities, 5 institutions established and functioning under the State Act, and 33 Institutes of National Importance. Other institutions include 33,000 colleges as Government Degree Colleges and Private Degree Colleges, including 1800 exclusive women's colleges, functioning under these universities and institutions as reported by the UGC in 2012. This definitely shows the tremendous efforts of improving the education system in India.
There have been innumerable success stories of education and empowerment in cities like Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Bengaluru, to name a few. We have also witnessed the greatest success of the present times wherein a 21 year-old student from BITS Goa, Mr. Krunal Kishorebhai Patel landed a job of Rs. 1.40 Crores in the reputed American Multinational Company, Google.
Education and empowerment are deeply interconnected. With education comes the ability to enforce the rights that a person possesses. Today, most of the criminal activities that are taking place in the Indian cities and towns are a result of poor education and literacy levels. People are unable to exercise their civil rights majorly because they are unaware of these rights or because they are unable to voice out their grievances. Education is indispensible for protecting the rights of the citizens of any country. GDP and Per Capita Income are not really sufficient to judge the growth and success of any nation. These measures undoubtedly present the financial figures but they certainly do not measure the contentment or safety of individuals in a country. It is the education, employment, equality and justice that make a nation successful. Education gives an individual insight into what is wrong and what is right. This distinction is very thin in many cases which then requires an individual to use his rationality and take appropriate decisions. These vital decisions are the building blocks of future growth prospects and development.
Student's Desk,
Sanjana Goel
MBA Student
IBS Hyderabad
