Malcom X aptly said, “Education is our passport for the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” A lot has changed since his America and none of this would have been possible without systemic improvements in the education sector.
Education is a basic human right as stipulated in article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This means that every single person should have access to learning up to secondary school level. However, the global reality is a far cry from this: about 265 million children and adolescents around the world do not have the opportunity to join or complete school, more than a fifth being of primary school age and most being of the female gender.
Many factors contribute to this- poverty, discrimination, armed conflict, effects of climate change.
Education has the power to fight poverty, eradicate disease, stop child marriages, create peace and ensure food security. It alleviates communities to higher standards and changes the populace’s mind set to one of forging alliances that are beneficial to all. It keeps the youth out of trouble while furnishing them with skills for their future survival.
The reverse, of course, is dire.
“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” ~ Albert Einstein
Lack of education has devastating consequences, including unemployment, exploitation and gender inequality and frustration. People with little or no education are prone to poor health which translates into a shorter lifespan. With lack of knowledge, citizens tend to have no voice to rise against the unfair policies and practices that lead them to their situation. Lastly, lack of education maintains the cycle of poverty through generation after generation.
There are several ways in which we can curb this unfortunate menace. Reduction of the cost of education has been seen to work in some sub-Saharan countries where the governments have cancelled school fees for primary and secondary schools in some cases. More pupils have also attended school where school lunch programmes are ran. In many cases, educating the parents in adult learning centres and normal schools make them more inclined to ensure the schooling of their children.
Another way of improving the quality and longevity of learning is by having better pay and resources for the teachers/lecturers. Updating the teaching curriculums also goes hand in hand with an ever-changing world and brings relevance to those that pursue the learning.
This year’s International Day of Education UNESCO event on 24th Jan will position education and the learning it enables as humanity’s greatest renewable resource and re-affirm the role of education as a fundamental right and public good. All in all, it’s our responsibility to strive for a more educated populace and hold our governments accountable for the advancement in achieving this goal.
Transolution Services has been a champion in transforming lives with education, being one of our top priorities. Through our training, coaching and counselling services, we have impacted:
14+ countries, 10,000+ young people, 15+ educational institutions. We also provide follow up sessions and evaluation methods for young people, parents and teachers.
As we commemorate the International Day of Education day, our promise to scale up the limits of people and businesses is reinforced.