Asatoma sadgamaya, thamaso maa jyotirgamaya, mrityor maa amrutangamaya”
“From untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from death to life

Ancient saints in India have always valued education and the knowledge derived from it. In fact, the above words have been mentioned in the Upanishads to state the importance of knowledge derived from education. Rich tradition and education have always been a part of Indian heritage. Education has become a gradual process of acquiring knowledge through instructions and teaching and remained as a system that prepares for life.
 
In ancient times, education was inherited through informal learning and instructions and it was mostly achieved orally, through observation and imitation. It wasn’t simple as it sounds but it involved lot of logical thinking and practical work. The modern education system has not only incurred the positive intellectual energy from the past but has also surpassed its expectations.

In modern terminology education can be defined as a process that transmits collective knowledge, skills and values from generation to generation and considers all the activities which aid in the flow of knowledge to be a part of it.  Modern society is hence considering education as something that goes beyond schooling and unrestricting; things have been changing so much that education is becoming an important personal attribute.

Few points have been cited here to elucidate the power and role of education in bringing healthy transformation to human lives:

Education teaches us moral values and also improves the quality of life. If we compare educated from uneducated, we see that educated group enjoy comparatively a better quality of life which is because education gives strength to analyse our abilities and goals prudently.  It helps us realise good and bad in a broader perspective and hence refines human nature. It results in good upbringing and teaches moral social values.

Education has and will in future contribute to advance our nation’s ability to evaluate information efficiently, predict future outcomes and enhance economic growth. It has a power to lead India to a better technological country which is why it is considered to be India’s topnotch infrastructure.

It has an eminent power to grow fast and increase the number of well-educated, well trained work force. If a factory worker is considered, education can help him to be aware of his rights in the workplace. It enables him to know and understand his importance in the work place. It can make him understand labour laws effectively. Besides this, the knowledge, abilities and social skills acquired over a period will diversify his work opportunities.

Education has the ability to create fairly large number of income generating opportunities (increase in number of opportunities can be seen now when compared to the past). It makes us career oriented and helps us handle cut throat competition. It will certainly assist us in finding jobs and leads us to our success and our family’s as well. ‘If a person has a good job and can earn ample money then he not only feeds himself but also his family. His standard of living would be automatically improved when compared to an illiterate who relies on his daily wages’ (A daily labour is forced to depend on his daily wage, if he has no work for that day then he may have to starve). The quality of living is what differentiates an educated from uneducated.

Education can transform a person’s life by broadening up his job opportunities which is why we can see an Indian working in USA or Australia and a Chinese working in India or Malaysia.  People from one country are now able to work in another country, for a better company and for a better pay. Even companies around the globe are working mutually with each other, forming healthy social and formal relationships. The factor contributing to these cross cultural and functional relationships can be strongly cited to be education because it is education that has real power to transform and territorialise the way people think, communicate and work.

Education has been playing a pivotal role in harmonising and improving economic growth. People now are able to step out of the boundaries that have been limiting their knowledge inflow. They are able to take benefit of the available resources and claim what they deserve. For instance, many families both in India and other nations who are dedicated to producing goods and crops in the rural areas unlike few decades ago are now being able to communicate with urban markets directly in supplying their products for a better price. This change is because of the awareness programmes engineered to adequately educate the unschooled or undereducated rural people.  Community education programmes have been contributing impressively in educating people both in rural and urban areas.

Not just in villages but everywhere and around the world education can improve lives of many. It has the power to teach people how to live and how to liberate themselves from poverty. It clears illiteracy limitations. ‘Man without education is a splendid slave and a reasoning barbarian’. According to United Nations Population Fund, 115 million children around the world don’t attend grade school. It is so distressing that there are many countries including India which are still accepting illiteracy. Here people are living below poverty line with a daily earning of less than $ 2. This state of pain can be attributed to lack of self esteem, lack of ability to earn a living. No education or a bad education system is contributing to this adversity.

In short

• Education is the best tool that can fight to end poverty

• Education refines human nature and way of thinking

• It induces a sense of well-being both mental and physical

• It brings human recognition in a positive way

• It establishes a healthy social relationship

• It raises problem solving ability

• It helps us develop moral values and understand the ethical behaviour acceptable to the society.

• It aids in creative thinking and decision making.

• Develops personal and professional satisfaction through self-realisation.

• “Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development”. –Kofi Annan.