Education is not merely the bookish education and the acquiring of diplomas and degrees. It is also the training of man’s faculties to draw out the best from him and to make him a better person. Education must result in an all-round personality which means physically, mentally, intellectually, morally and spiritually he is developed. He makes good use of what he has learnt to improve the world around him and beyond.
But, what is the scenario today? The so-called educated man class has formed a class of their own and isolated themselves from the general public. They adopt a snobbish attitude and form exclusive clubs in which the ordinary man in the street has no place. They might even quote from the books to justify their actions.
The fruits of this education do not propagate more fruits because they are not filtered down to the lower level. Even within his family, the educated man shows snobbery. The college-educated son begins to look down on his parents and their way of life. He forgets that it is this way of life that helped finance his studies. He has adopted new ways from staying in a hostel and now cannot tolerate the conditions at home. These are considered common and low class unlike the conditions he had tasted in hostels. Thus he alienates himself in his own home and familiar surroundings.
Man does not only become snobbish but he also becomes a walking zombie. He only sees and appreciates materialism and will use all sorts of tactics including breaking he law to get what he wants. What he wants is wealth, materialistic wealth not emotional wealth. He is immune to what others feel or say about him as he feels that as long as he has money, he is on top of the world.
The responsibility for such a development falls on the education system and the educated. Most of the time, the education system prepares a person for a job rather than for society. Society changes with time but the education system does not. The school environment is so examination-oriented and the students and educators alike are more concerned with the number of distinctions they should score rather than making them mature and adaptable to society.
To reverse the situation and make the educated man show and value his education, he should turn back to his family and relearn the value of family love and traditions. He can learn the value of humility and charity as there is a lot of give and take within a family. Reading literature through poetry, novels and drama will imbibe a person with humane qualities. He will learn to be more sociable and approachable. If the educated man is not able to act as a man then he is lost to the world. It is possible for education to alienate man from his people.
faculties capabilities
snobbish proud
imbibe enrich
