Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself.

Scenario 1
In the early 1830s, a Scottish Missionary, William Adams, visited the hinterland of Bihar. He went to ‘Pathshalas’ to inquire about the education system of India. To his surprise, the concept of open, free, experiential classes under the Banyan tree was so suited to the local needs. With no rigid curriculum, no fixed fees, no rigid examination, these ‘pathshalas’ paved way for the poorest.
Scenario 2
In the pandemic-hit year of 2020, even worse news broke out! It was the month of November. As Ayesha stood outside the Notice Board of Delhi University, checking if she made it into the lists this time, a heartbreaking news came to her. A senior of her school had committed suicide. Unable to cope up with the pandemic-induced distress, she took this extreme step. Not able to afford a Laptop to cope up with the saga of ‘digital education’, she failed in her final semester! The loss of failure was huge… ‘A life’!
Do you notice the contrast in these two scenarios? The 1st one was informal, flexible though it may not have guaranteed a high-profile job in a Big tech as it surely made the children of peasants not only prepare for life but indeed became their life! The 2nd scenario did just the opposite – took away a life?
The story of many such people raises a question – ‘Is education just a preparation for life’? Is education just a means to achieve the ends? Definitely not, for ‘Education’ is life itself, let’s explore how…!!
The true meaning of Education – EDUCATION V/S LITERACY
Education starts where literacy stops. Education is not the ability of rote memorization. It is neither a means to a sumptuous grade or a high-profile job. In fact, education is not confined within the four walls of the classroom. Education starts the day an infant is born. He touches and learns the feeling of care. He talks and learns the art of communication. He walks and learns the lesson of ‘falling but never stopping’.
It is precisely this wisdom of learning through doing, the creative self-expression of physical, moral, social, artistic, intellectual development that defines the true meaning of education. Education cannot be chained within the prison of exams or marks. Education is a bird’s wing.. It empowers one to fly, no matter how windy outside it is!
THE GURUSHISYA PARAMPARA OF INDIA-
One may trace this empowering motto of education from the Vedic times. The ‘upanayan Sanskara’ was a commitment to learn not only shastras and Vedas but also experiencing life in Nature through doing. When Dronacharya had to test his disciples, he told them to position his arrow on the bird. Arjuna was the only one who saw ‘the Ultimate goal’? It was this experiential learning which stayed with him on the battlefield of Mahabharata.
Voltaire, Rosseau ignited the flame of ‘liberty/equality/fraternity’. These Concepts were not taught to them in any class. The source of all this wisdom was their own lives and experiences. Education to them was not passively following what someone taught, rather a continuous process of ‘self-evolution’!
WHY IS EDUCATION LIFE ITSELF?-
The evolution through learning has not been confined to Voltaire or Rosseau. There are numerous examples in all sectors to prove that Education is life itself!
In the ‘Social sphere’, a holistic and thought-provoking education empowers one to think critically. ‘Savitribai Phule’, an agitator of women’s education made the pursuit of learning her goal. For her, education meant women empowerment, enabling them to challenge patriarchy infanticide, dowry. For Ambedkar, the constitution was not simply to be upheld in letter or in law schools. The constitution was to serve as a compendium of ‘Moral education’ for All.
In the ‘political sphere’, education is the development of a ‘leader’ and not just a ‘politician’. Nehru studied at Oxford, but English could never colonize his mind. He traveled countryside, learned the condition of India by his own experiences. Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel did not become beacons of emancipation because they had learned law in some law school. It was their constant questioning, Experimenting that made them so. For all them education meant a continuous process of leading life for the welfare of others.
In the realm of environment’, Mahendra Singh Dhoni presents a motivating example. He operates a 150-acre organic farm in Ranchi. He is not formally educated in farming. However, the value of ‘leadership, stewardship, promoting the values of Nation, that he got during his cricketing career, made him champion even here. For Dhoni, his entire life journey is the greatest ‘education’ he got.
People who have created ‘digital’ games like ‘Blue whale’ or people who were engaged in ‘Boys locker room controversy’, they must have been digitally literate, Isn’t it? But were they educated? perhaps not. For education cannot be destructive if imparted in true sense. Education cannot be preparation for achieving one’s nefarious means by hook or by crook. Even a terrorist making Bombs is educated in the ‘literal sense’. However, education to him has never been about morality, ethicality humanism, internationalism that it is supposed to bring.
And of course, ‘ethics’ is one such area without which even the most prestigious degrees remain a dead horse. For education is the acquisition of compassion, emotional Intelligence, work culture ethos as one grows up.
WHAT IF EDUCATION BECOMES PREPARATION FOR LIFE?
Education becomes preparation for life when it is replaced by degrees and grades when education reduces students into mere 99 percentile columns and suppresses their critical thinking; it chains rather than liberating. Education then becomes a status symbol, a testimony of one’s material intellect and a badge to humiliate those in lower rungs.
And the result of such education is unsustainable. It would suppress questioning dogmas in society, lead to inefficient leaders, reduce the value of labour and skilling. It would lead to marginalization of Dalits and minorities. It would become a commodity to be sold and bought in free market – Bet if you can pay’! It would in fact become ‘Tyranny of meritocracy!
HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT EDUCATION IS NOT MERELY A MEANS BUT AN END IN ITSELF
We need a new definition of ‘Meritocracy’. It need not be just the academic grades we earn; rather the kind of value system we create within individuals. Education needs to be promoted as a two-way Socratic dialogue and not a monologue. Science has to be learned in the lap of nature – Learning speed, distance and time from looking at a flowing stream, learning reaction between salt and water while one cooks, learning the art of ‘bouncing back’ while one fails.
Education has to be holistic and inclusive. It has to sow the seeds of innovation. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, it has to be