Education: broadening your horizon…

One of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) tagged Vision 2030, which was birthed in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 and later approved in 2015, is the provision of Quality Education for all. The United Nations, as a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), decided to tackle all forms of imbalances plaguing the world today. The need to reduce out-of-school children globally as well as provide opportunities for more people to learn are all projects classified under SDG 4 which encompasses quality education for all. Hence, it can be deduced that education is a strong forte to build if a society is determined about growing into a well-developed one.

There is no proper society without education. Tracing down the evolvement of man, it is seen that the more he became aware he was different from the animals in the jungle, the more enlightened he became about using his brain. He began to act, rather than just react. The more he knew, the better the quality of life he lived. The higher the knowledge he acquired, the wiser he became. So, we can say a proper, standard society can only be gotten by the level of exposure – education, the citizens have. It is arguably true that to build a society, occupied by highly intellectually sound, civilized people with immense technological advancement accompanied by economic buoyancy and a reduced crime rate, there has to be a necessary ingredient. There has to be a backbone upon which all other sectors –health, transportation,  rest and thrive. And that very important factor is none other than education. A civilized country isn’t characterized only by the number of beautiful infrastructures and technological equipment found therein but by the efficiency of its workforce, the learned, and the outcome of their innovations. Thus, we can say that a society without education has no future at all. So, if a community of people or society is concerned with all-around development, trifling with the education sector is predictably disastrous. It is a basic human right!

What then, is education?

Education is more than staying within the four walls of a classroom. Education is the process of learning, the acquisition of skills and the reformation of character. It is a lifelong process that is aimed at building a person into a total human, able to maximize opportunities for himself as well as make a meaningful contribution to the world at large. It is a continuous process that completely refurbishes one’s mindset, empowers one with an appropriate skill set, and enriches an individual with the right behaviours and outlook toward life. True education is synonymous with a light shining into a work of ignorance and illuminating it. True education is an all-around catabolic reaction that cuts through all aspects of life – academics, finance, emotions and creativity.

There are different levels at which education is administered all over the world. There’s an order it follows. A toddler does not become a professor in two months. Neither does a student become a medical professional in a year. There are procedures to follow and examinations to be undertaken. It’s more or less like a ladder to be climbed where each rung of the ladder symbolizes an increase in the compendium of knowledge and reformation of character.

What is the significance of education to our society? What is the importance of education to our world? How does education affect our world positively?

Just like Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel laureate, rightly said “Books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons,……can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first!”. If the world is to be transformed at all, if there would be a balance between social and economic inadequacies, education is the most adequate tool. Through education, civilization surfaces, development is upgraded, innovations are birthed and the economy is restored. It is of surety that economic productivity increases as the number of educated workers in a society increases. One of the criteria for measuring the development of a country is the number of skilled educated workers it has. In other words, economic stability is assured.

The impact of education in the eradication of superstitions and illogical beliefs cannot be over-emphasized. Education liberates one from the shackles of age-long barbaric acts and attitudes and displaced ignorance. For example, the killing of twins in West Africa, Nigeria precisely, was discontinued as the ignorant days went past. The same can be said for the plague of sickle cell. Once ways have been devised on how sickle cell syndrome can be managed and death prevented, more people are given the privilege to live freely like every other person. Ignorance of weighty knowledge can be harmful to a society añd so in another form, education improves the health sector through the preservation of lives.

It is of a truth that education is an agent of change. It is the most powerful investment that yields the highest form of R.O.I. (Return On Investment). For an individual, adequate education gives one a level of independence and self-sufficiency. The ability to think constructively, view situations and scenarios from different standpoints as well as take rational decisions are inherent in an educated individual. The power of imagination is strengthened and there is evidence in the improvement of character. It expands the opportunities for employability and broadens the mind.

Education is necessary for all sectors of a society to enjoy a better level of societal development. Herbert Spencer once said, “The great aim of education is not just knowledge, but action”. The accumulation of knowledge gotten from various sources has to be strategically exemplified in all sectors through taking drastic measures to alleviate poverty, reduce the crime rate, tackle corruption, battle insurgency and insecurity and provide a wide range of solutions to the problems of the society.

Undoubtedly, education is like a bright light that should be shone on all corners of planet Earth. It is one of the greatest assets given to man to improve his status quo. It is one of the treasured of the world that should be distributed to all of mankind.

Victoria Idowu

The Editorial Team, God is Love Educational Foundation