I adhere to the belief that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” (Nelson Mandela) – Mankind has evolved in its journey on earth from the education system that builds community and their citizens.
We envision a nation’s intelligence to drive in change and prove that education is the weapon to enact change. Today, we have witnessed how our prospective engineers built ventilators for our local COVID 19 patients under artificial respiration, we have witnessed how our medical students are on the frontline to fight the pandemic…. but what about our kids? Are being taken for granted with confused verbs?
We are living in an unprecedented time where protocols are to be strictly observed – yet we highly question the quality of education provided to our future generation. Our modern era speaks of getting outside the box – we have shifted to online classrooms and distance learning; this facilitate us to investigate if the lecture hall or the physical classroom is the actual box hindering the passage of progress.
As a global citizen and university student, I defy that our education lies only in the content delivery from institutions and from what our system is framing. Education starts from the premise that “learning is a womb to tomb process”. Its high time for our democracy to define Education and empower the community to go beyond four walls – lets define education as the power to harness the mind, heart and soul. Our life outcomes are not a set of predefined curriculum but it’s a living experience of our thoughts, skills and determined actions.
Traditionally, formal and informal education was the norm – but I see today the need for transformational education. A healthy, harmonious and holistic approach to set standards in our system not only to educate but construct a mastery that comprehends and fill the voids of our society.
‘Knowledge is Power’ – What is the purpose of this power? Should we tag our citizens as literate or illiterate? We are living a paradox of literacy – not for what has been learn in books or those who had the chance of wearing school uniforms are better – but what has been applied for our progress is what we really need. Let’s take the simple practical example of a planter today – he is the man we need beyond every technology to live in the COVID challenge. The real power lies in the practice and principles of our dear passion. (Application is what makes you Powerful)
In the face of challenging the system, the wise approach is to demystify our educational needs that are related to our growth needs. Our wrongdoing proved us wrong – a few months ago, the government decided to close the Faculty of Agriculture at the University to reengineer the various structured agricultural programme. The Faculty of Ocean Studies got expired also…Unbelievable! Our island surrounded by a vast maritime zone of 2.3 million square kilometers and an additional sea area of 396 000 square kilometers is unable to produce local marine experts out of our educational system.
Our way forward is not only to preach about innovation with our kids being supported with tablets but it’s the training to each and every citizen to give substance to our living. It is high time that the system acknowledges its poor performance. Education seems empty without our sound policies and wise leadership which we have been waiting for ages – forthwith the pandemic; while we reflect on our educational mediums, policies and progression – it is a mirror that reflects a ‘CoCovid’ (Creole Expression for an empty mind)
There is continuous debate about the nature of our education system and how it nurtures the future of this country. The fate of education can be distinguished by connecting the dots – we ought to build a landscape not only with said ‘intellectuals’ but our ability to influence each citizen to be inclusive as an indispensable element of the education that we really need. We need responsible parents to socialize their children – We need professionals to share knowledge – We need businesses that urge innovation – and all of these are the results of a built in educational system.
We need to connect the fundamentals of every area of our lives to allow for a sound educational system to prevail…where this cycle from primary- secondary – tertiary – then ready to work is the dominant culture that leaves behind many of our men … we need ‘another brick in the wall’ and it is FAIRNESS – ATTITUDE – TRANSFORMATION – EMPOWERMENT that will be the fate of education and the future of our nation.
