“No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.” – Nelson Mandela
I believe it’s safe to say we all agree that the above quote is accurate.
What I’m not so sure about is how well we all agree on the shape and form this so called “education” should take, to equip those exposed to it, to emerge with real world relevant competence to “develop” their respective countries.
This is why some societies push millions of people through their “educational systems”, who on completing their programs arrive larger society unprepared to deal with realities of fending for themselves, talk less of influencing change to develop society.
The above scenario is a common one, that strongly indicates that societies need to constantly review and evolve their educational systems to give learners the knowledge, skills and attitudes to function as competent members of society.
These persons would not only have the ability to flourish financially and otherwise, but also understand how to work with others to influence positive social change and progress in their society.
When that kind of educational system is in place in any society, the wisdom contained in Mandela’s above mentioned quote will become “harvestable” there.
Take a close look at countries we call developed or advanced today, and you’ll realize most strive continually to reinvent their “educational” systems to equip their learners to deal effectively with the evolving realities of larger society.
In contrast, less developed societies tend to be guilty of doing the exact opposite.
For instance there are countries where parents, education providers and policy makers mindlessly continue to place illogical preference on having youths attend universities to earn degrees, despite ample evidence that many of those instutions in their country offer mostly theoretical learning with little or no practical or real world exposure provided to the learners.
As a result, they continue to blindly operate outdated educational systems, churning out millions of “products” ill equipped to be useful to themselves or the society.
The developed societies on the other hand have various aspects of their system tailored to meet the unique needs and talents of learners, as well as the society.
As a result, learners get useful guidance to choose the best career path to follow, which sometimes would not require a tour of university academics.
For instance some learners demonstrate traits that qualify them to attend Vocational Skills Development programs or technical colleges, emerging with market ready income earning skills that make them unlikely to become a burden on those who support them after comnpleting their “education”.
The same cannot be said for persons who undergo mostly theoretical education.